Take Charge of Your Finances

We’ve all heard the same things over and over again, make a budget and stick to it, but for some, that can be overwhelming and you’re left feeling defeated. Here are a few things you can do to start taking charge again.

Reframe your mindset; be conscious with your spending and don’t rely on your willpower. Sure, you probably hear this advice - just give up avocado toast — but you have to make that decision every day. That means using your limited amount of willpower to forgo something you love to eat in the hopes of achieving a vague savings goal. Sorry, but one day, you’ll give in and buy that avocado toast.

Instead, if you truly want to take control of your finances, you need to adopt a new mindset. You can have your avocado toast and your morning lattes without feeling guilty, as long as you are continuously conscious with your spending.

One of the most expensive mistakes you can make is to carry a lot of debt, especially high-interest credit card debt. If you want to gain more financial freedom, you’ll need to pay off your debt as quickly as possible.

Start by listing out all of your current debts (credit card(s), student loan(s), car loan(s)), and figure out the minimum amount due each month. Simply paying the minimum amount each month won’t get you out of debt quickly, so evaluate how much of your discretionary spending budget you can allocate toward debt repayment to pay your debt off quicker.

Having an automatic system in place for your personal finances is a great way to:

It’s also the best way to make sure you’re conscious with your spending.

One reason we don’t save our money is due to the pain we feel of actually transferring your money into your savings account each month. If we have to manually do it every paycheck, we’re setting ourselves up for failure.

When you simply automate these things, you won’t even realize it’s happening.

Our Branch and Customer Care teams are skilled and ready to assist you. We have empowered our staff to support your specific needs. Should you have questions regarding your account, online resources, or are experiencing a financial difficulty, contact a Branch or our Customer Care team at 518.730.3000 for assistance.