Turning a Bad Budget Beautiful

Balancing a budget is hard to do under all that paperwork. That’s where Levo comes in. Discover how turning to your credit union in times of crisis can help you walk that line.

If you’ve ever tackled the unenviable task of balancing a budget, you know that digging deep sometimes means a lot of paperwork. Budget when it comes to managing your money, turning to a place like Levo Credit Union might honestly be the key to some success that doesn’t involve shoeboxes filled with receipts from purchases past. Now, we’ve all got debts—some of them are manageable and necessary, such as your mortgage or an auto loan. And some are high-interest and racking up a balance you’d rather not mess with, such as a high-rate credit card. The beauty of these debts, though, is that you’re in the driver’s seat when it comes to totally eliminating them in the lowest-interest way possible.

The best way to tackle paying down debts is to write up a list of each, including their interest rates, their minimum monthly payments and their total balances. Determine the ones that can be paid down most quickly or that will garner the most interest if left for longer. Prioritize your spending, and, if the occasion arises, transfer your balances to a consolidated or lower-interest situation.

All right, so beyond what you owe, what about what you’re saving? Sure, incidentals can rack up and that late-night food run or that oops you had with the car on your commute the other day probably doesn’t help. But sometimes out of sight, out of mind is the best way to ensure you’re posting meaningful savings balances. One of your best savings friends comes in the form of automatic deposits—often as simple as setting up your online banking portal. Commit to transferring some of each paycheck to an interest-earning savings account—it could be $25 or $100 or even more. The point is, your savings will start to grow without you having to take the manual step of putting it there in the first place.

How about some easy wins? What are some surefire ways to incrementally improve your financial situation without having to dramatically alter your day-to-day? Here are some quick tips to get you to the next level: Tip 1—make sure you choose a credit card with a low rate and the right kind of rewards—particularly ones that pay you back. Tip 2—don’t carry a balance over month-to-month — if you only charge what you can pay off every billing period, you’ll build credit history and avoid interest. Tip 3—if you can transfer your balance for a promotional 0% interest period, do it. It buys you the time you need to pay down sizable debts without racking up unnecessary interest.

So how about the future? Whether you’ve set yourself up with an aggressively earning 401(k) or the stabler Roth IRA, it’s important to have some diversity in your portfolio. Here’s one important tip to make sure your retirement savings is doing its job—when your earnings increase, you should, in turn, increase what you’re contributing. So if you’re putting away $50 from every paycheck, and you received a 10% raise this year, increase your 401(k) contribution to $55. There are future vacations and luxury purchases calling your name—make sure you have the planning in place to enjoy them fully by setting up yourself for budgetary success now.

Let’s Make the Next Move

As you can see, there’s a lot to love and learn when you join Levo Credit Union. And that doesn’t stop here. Join today and live your best life – the Levo way!