It’s the start of a new year! A time when we are all surrounded by ideas for self-improvement. Eat better. Indulge less. Exercise more. Control spending and save. These are great ideas – easy to say and even to start, but challenging on the follow through. Although we can’t pack salads in your lunch box or drive you to the gym, Trademark is here to help your financial resolutions.
All of us at Trademark are focused on helping Members improve their financial lives. This year, our goal is to help Members with a Resolution Revolution. By helping you to identify achievable goals, we hope to make a difference in your life.
We’ve put together a few ideas and created a simple checklist to help you keep track!
- Build a Budget – Write down your expenses and see how your money is spent. This will highlight areas where you might make changes. Make conscious choices about expenses you will willingly cut out or reduce–but be sure to leave funds for a little fun!
- Automatic Transfer to Savings – set up your Trademark checking account to automatically transfer a certain amount to your savings account each month. If you save $10 per week, that’s an additional $520 in your savings account by the end of the year.
- Stay Consistent– Compare your actual spending to your budget each month. See what’s working and what needs to be changed.
- Make Your Money Work for You – Your money could earn more interest just by moving it into a different deposit account. If you have $10,000 in a regular savings, your annual interest earned would be $15. If you move that to a money market account, it could earn $85 in a year or, switch to a 12 month CD to earn $185. Trademark has deposit accounts for all your savings goals.
- Remember Your “Why” – Are you saving for a special event? Trying to reduce debt? Trying to feel more in control? Whatever the reason, whatever your “Why”, write it down and remind yourself that every dollar saved moves you closer to your important milestone. You can even personalize the name of your account to match your goal! Just log into Trademark Online go to the Member Service tab and select “Suffix Preference” to rename your account.
Trademark is invested in helping you increase your financial health. These are just a few examples of strategies to help you save money. Come in and sit with one of our representatives to find out about the tools available to you.