Connect with us

News

4 ways to get your finances in order this season, according to a financial expert

Published

3 months ago

on

Welcome back to Money Made Easy, where we focus on simple ways to manage your finances and save money. In the latest installment of the series, CNBC Select Contributor and financial advisor Kristin Merrick walks us through her best tips for rethinking how you manage your money in 2023. 

Check out the full interview featured on TODAY in the video below and read on to see some of Merrick’s best strategies. 

Review your accounts, and how they’re growing

LendingClub High-Yield Savings

LendingClub Bank, N.A., Member FDIC

  • Annual Percentage Yield (APY)

  • Minimum balance

    No minimum balance requirement after $100.00 to open the account

  • Monthly fee

  • Maximum transactions

  • Excessive transactions fee

  • Overdraft fees

  • Offer checking account?

  • Offer ATM card?

Marcus by Goldman Sachs High Yield Online Savings

Goldman Sachs Bank USA is a Member FDIC.

  • Annual Percentage Yield (APY)

  • Minimum balance

    None to open; $1 to earn interest

  • Monthly fee

  • Maximum transactions

    At this time, there is no limit to the number of withdrawals or transfers you can make from your online savings account.

  • Excessive transactions fee

  • Overdraft fees

  • Offer checking account?

  • Offer ATM card?

Pros

  • No minimum balance (just $1 to earn interest)
  • No monthly fees
  • No limit on withdrawals or transfers per statement cycle
  • Easy-to-use mobile banking app
  • Offers no-fee personal loans

Cons

  • No option to add a checking account
  • No ATM access

Take a closer look at your spending

Review your subscriptions and expenses to free up extra money for saving and investing.

Start by taking a look at your credit card statements and your bank accounts. “If you’re getting charged for something you don’t understand, look into it,” Merrick says.

For a more automated approach, using a budgeting app could help you trim your subscriptions. One of CNBC Select’s best budgeting apps, PocketGuard, can find subscriptions you didn’t know you had and help you cancel them.

Advertisement

You can also enlist the help of a bill negotiation service to negotiate down fees and subscription charges.

Check up on your credit

Experian Dark Web Scan + Credit Monitoring

On Experian’s secure site

  • Cost

  • Credit bureaus monitored

  • Credit scoring model used

  • Dark web scan

  • Identity insurance

Your credit report is equally important to stay on top of. A credit report is a statement with all the information about the credit you’re using, your payment history, and all of your personal information. “Maybe somebody took out credit in your name, and you don’t know,” Merrick says. “This is how you know.”

While there are a number of ways to get a copy of your credit report, annualcreditreport.com is authorized by federal law to provide your report for free.

Plan your summer travels and save

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Information about the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card has been collected independently by Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication.

  • Rewards

    5X miles on hotel and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, 2X miles per dollar on every other purchase

  • Welcome bonus

    Earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening

  • Annual fee

  • Intro APR

    N/A for purchases and balance transfers

  • Regular APR

  • Balance transfer fee

    0% at the regular transfer APR

  • Foreign transaction fee

  • Credit needed

The Platinum Card® from American Express

On the American Express secure site

  • Rewards

    Earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year, 5X Membership Rewards® Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel, 1X points on all other eligible purchases

  • Welcome bonus

    Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 on purchases on the Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.

  • Annual fee

  • Intro APR

  • Regular APR

  • Balance transfer fee

  • Foreign transaction fee

  • Credit Needed

Subscribe to the Select Newsletter!

Our best selections in your inbox. Shopping recommendations that help upgrade your life, delivered weekly. Sign-up here.

Bottom line

A new season means yet another reason to take a step back and check in on your finances. Merrick recommends checking in on your savings accounts to make sure they’re earning and growing as much as possible. Next, take a look at your credit report and trim any unnecessary subscriptions. Finally, book your summer travel in advance, and take advantage of credit card rewards as you plan.

Catch up on Select’s in-depth coverage of personal finance, tech and tools, wellness and more, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to stay up to date.

Advertisement

Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.



Source: CNBC

Follow us on Google News to get the latest Updates

Related Topics:
Advertisement

Trending