Friends -- it is already mid July! JULY! How can that be? That means that it is basically August, which means school is already back in session, and we might as well all start planning for Thanksgiving and Winter Break. Actually, this year I am already planning for Thanksgiving and Winter Break, but that is a real anomaly for me. We’ll see if I keep it up in 2025.
Regardless of where you are on the plan ahead train for holidays, I’d like to encourage you to get on the plan ahead train for your finances. We all have to take care of our personal finances, whether we like it or not. The question really is, would you like to do it in a way that feels calm and (relatively) stress-free or would you like to do it feeling like a chicken with your head cut off?
In order to tackle your finances with a healthy dose of CHILL, that means that you need to do things before they snowball into problems. So, over the next few months I’ll be covering some low hanging financial action items that will make you feel accomplished and financially confident come November and December.
Photo by Ivan Samkov: https://www.pexels.com/photo/high-angle-shot-of-a-notebook-and-a-pen-beside-a-mobile-phone-7213436/
Today we are going to start with something super basic, but often overlooked…your accounts!
Make a list of all of your bank accounts (checking, savings) and make sure that you can log into each portal online. Save your usernames and passwords in a safe location. I highly recommend using an encrypted password saver, like KeePassXC or 1Password.
Check to see if any of your bank accounts charge regular fees. If they do, call/chat and ask if there are ways to avoid the fees. If there aren’t ways to avoid them, then I recommend looking at the following options as alternatives:
American Express (only available to credit card users)
While fees aren’t the end of the world, they really do add up. For example, if you have a $20 monthly fee, you end up spending $240 per year or $1,200 over five years. If you put that same amount in a high yield savings account with a 4.25% interest rate, you would end up with a total of $1,359.14 after five years. And really, which would you rather have, negative $1,200 or positive $1,359.14?
Speaking of, if you don’t have a High Yield Savings Account, this is your sign to get one. My favorites are: American Express, Ally, and Vio Bank money market savings. For most of my clients (and myself) I recommend having a savings account that is housed at the bank where your main checking account is, even if it doesn’t have a great interest rate. That savings account should hold a buffer amount of money that can be transferred to checking immediately if the need arises (i.e. the cost of rent or your mortgage payment). The rest of your savings should be in a High Yield Savings Account, earning you interest.
That’s it! Check your accounts, make sure you can log in, save your passwords, reduce fees, and optimize interest! If you do all of that, you are on your way to being a financial wizard, or, at the very least, an incredibly confident adult. And hey, that may be better than being a wizard anyway. I hear the hats are less silly.
As always, I’m rooting for you.
XOXO,
P.S. Do you have any recommendations for other topics for me to cover? I’d love to hear your input! Just hit reply to this email.
P.P.S. Want to work with me one-on-one? I’d love to work with you! Book a free consultation call here or fill out the new client inquiry form and I’ll follow up with you via email.