OTTUMWA, Iowa (KYOU) –
Whether you’re sitting on a mountain of cash, or you’re living paycheck to paycheck, it’s never too late to focus on your finances.
Duane Lusson from Ameriprise Financial says the new year is a great time to start.
Lusson explained, “When you go through your budget and set up that budget, you’ll be able to determine okay, ‘what do I need to spend money on and what are some of my discretionary expenses and do those discretionary expenses match my values”?
Those discretionary expenses could include /Subscriptions we have/ that we might have forgotten.
“If you haven’t audited those in quite some time, I think the first of the year is a good time to audit those expenses. Because you can realize oh wait, I really don’t use that as much as I thought I would.,” Lusson explained.
Once you figure out what you cut out, Lusson says you can start saving what cash you can
“3-6 months’ worth of cash reserves. When an emergency comes up, they can handle that emergency without it throwing off their long-term plan,” said Lusson.
Lusson says it’s a good time to also check with your bank if you can set up automatic savings programs. That will help you save without putting in that extra effort.
Lusson says that is the case because, “You can get those savings programs in place so that by the end of the year you’ll see progress that you can look at and say, “I did that” “.
Lusson also advises to get your taxes ready, the earlier the better. And ask your employer about retirement plans where they match your investments.
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