Now there may be some correlation between not knowing what does ira stand for and needing to take a full look at your overall finances. It’s ok to need some help. It’s better to ask a professional, family member, or friend for help, as otherwise you could be wasting precious money each month that could otherwise be used for more important areas such as building an emergency fund, paying off debt, or saving for retirement. A few tweaks to your behavior and you could see the dollars add up in no time.
Not Checking Your Credit Report
You may not think about saving money and your credit report but think about whenever you go to apply for a mortgage, loan, credit card, or even a job, your credit score is the factor that is pulled to determine how much you are paying each month. The higher the credit score, the better interest rate you can get, which the lower the interest rate, the less interest you’re paying each month and a lower overall monthly payment. Checking your credit at least once a year could ensure that all accounts are accurate and up to date, free of fraud.
Paying Credit Card Interest
Now the interest rate will determine how much you will get charged if you do not pay the full statement balance by the due date, but that doesn’t mean you should find out. Charging and paying off the balance each month is the best way to ensure you don’t charge more than you can afford and start paying interest, which avoids sending yourself in a downward spiral of debt, something that can take years to come out of, while other even have to turn to bankruptcy, so it’s best to steer clear of that road.
Going Out to Eat
Sure, it’s nice to have someone prepare your meal for you, but that adds up pretty quickly depending on the restaurant and the number of courses for that matter. If you can do a little meal prep by going grocery shopping and avoid grabbing lunch at work or stopping for carryout for dinner on your way home, you can see the savings start to add up right away, probably adding up to hundreds of dollars in savings by avoiding going out to eat. You may be thinking you’re not the best cook, but it may be worth learning a few tricks if it means saving this much money.
Using the Wrong Credit Card
We talked about avoid paying interest, but what about the card that you are using for purchases. Did you know that you could be missing out on free money if you’re not currently using a rewards credit card? By making the purchases that you would have made anyways with a debit or another credit card, you can earn points and dollars that can add up to hundreds of dollars a year if you use the rewards card for all of your purchases, but just watch charging more you can afford, just to see the rewards add up.