HAPPY NEW YEAR! NOW LET'S GET TO WORK.
Welcome to a new year at Wealth Weekly! Before I begin, please take a look over at my friends over at Brilliant Brown, who have some new articles up on New Year's Resolutions and Relationships. I always like to start off the New Year with some optimism towards how the year will play out—no negativity today, we instead will focus on things you can do to quickly get a good start on this year.
1. Tax Time is almost here! Yes, with the New Year, you can now determine the amount of money you paid in taxes last year. Keep in mind that if you get a refund later this year, it does not mean that you didn't have to pay taxes this year. It means you paid too much in taxes, and hence you're getting a refund. This year, make sure that one of your financial resolutions is to make sure you keep more of your money.
2. Contribute to you. If you haven't done so, this would be an excellent time to kick off your switch to a high-yield savings account for your long-term savings.
3. Contribute to Your Community. This should be something you do financially and physically. Financially, your can contribute a reasonable amount to your favorite charity, your church (through tithes and offerings), or both. Financially, if you give enough, you can make a nice deduction from your tax bill. Physically, by showing up you can put a face to the money and get involved in your community by meeting and networking with others.
4. Actively Save. Many sites are very good at telling you to forgo some spending. For instance, once you get into your work routine of (roughly) $3 coffee breakfasts and $7 lunches, you will probably dedicate about $2000 of your earnings to at-work food alone. Brown-bagging once a week can trim about $400 in annual savings. Instead of just "knowing" that, it's only beneficial if you actually take that money and literally transfer it over to your savings account.
5. Obtain Your Credit Report. If you haven't done this within the past three months, perhaps it's time to take a look. You usually are allowed to get one free copy per year from each credit bureau, and it will also help you keep up with your credit history (if you have one) and will also let you know if your identity is being maliciously used by someone else.
I hope things go well for you this year, and let's make this year the year you get on the path to better financial security. Peace and blessings.
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2 comments:
I hate to do it, because it's always disappointing, but check my credit reports every year at https://www.annualcreditreport.com
I'm sure there are other ways to do it, but this is a totally free one-stop shop.
That's good stuff. Use annualcreditreport.com and not that FreeCreditReport.com site --they'll try to make you pay.
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