If there’s one invaluable piece of advice my dad has ever imparted, it’s this: “Never live beyond your means.” It’s an axiom that I’ve followed, resolutely, all throughout my adulthood — but when it comes to personal finance on a much broader scope, my approach has been to just…wing it. Every year, I say that I’ll budget, that I’ll spend less, that I’ll track my expenses, that I’ll play more of an active role in my spending/saving habits, but those emphatic declarations often lose their gusto by the second month, and then abandoned outright. “While we start out with the best of intentions, the hardest part of keeping financial resolutions is creating a habit that can stick. Having a well thought-out plan and clear actions you take to get you closer to your goal will help,” says Christina Claudio, Head of Product for Connected Banking at Chase, who offers up one example of a goal: to create an emergency savings fund. Her suggested course of action: 1) outline how much you’ll need to put in your savings account at the beginning of each month, and 2) take advantage of digital banking apps, like the Autosave feature on the Chase Mobile® app to help set up recurring deposits into a savings account. “It’s never too late to start learning how to manage your finances — even I started later in life. No matter how far behind you think you might be, there is always room to improve your spending habits, budgeting skills, and your credit score,” she says. “Your goals are there to help you have a plan for your money. But overall, be kind to yourself and be flexible because your goals need room to grow and move with you.” So, with that said, together with Chase, we’ve outlined three impactful, extremely actionable personal finance goals that you (and I) can make — and most importantly, keep — for the rest of the year, and beyond. Create A Budget We may already be two months in, but it’s not too late to use the new year as inspiration to start fresh. “You can use digital tools to create a budget and help you plan what expenses you’ll have this year,” says Claudio, who swears by Chase Mobile®app’s Spending Planner feature to help you create a budget and keep tabs on spending categories to see how your expenses are going month to month, and help you find ways to put money aside for savings. ”Check your budget regularly throughout the year to see the impact of your purchases in real time.”No two budgets are alike. Regardless of what your goal is (whether that’s multiple bills to pay, or a major event like a birthday or wedding, or a huge milestone purchase like a house or car), Claudio says you can create a budget using the Chase Mobile® app that works for you. Save Where You CanThe 2025 equivalent of clipping coupons? Chase Offers. “Use this feature to take advantage of deals that could help you get a statement credit when shopping at your favorite retailers,” Claudio says. “Every litt
Mar. Feb 11th, 2025
