Day 1: Take inventory of your financesDay 2: Get back on budgetDay 3: Pay down debtDay 4: Build an emergency fundDay 5: Save for retirementDay 6: Check your credit scoreDay 7: Make your goals a reality
This checklist can help you focus on your financial self-care and manage your well-being. Financial well-being spans four key areas: security to pay your recurring bills, a plan for unexpected costs, freedom of choice with how you spend, and pursuing your long-term financial goals. This checklist covers all four areas. And your success in achieving financial well-being can be influenced by a variety of factors, including your attitude toward money, decision-making, and behavior.
Day 1: Take Inventory of Your Finances
The first item on your financial checklist is one you can’t skip if you’re committed to promoting better financial health. Once you know where you’re starting from financially, you can work on fine-tuning your plan for long-term wellness where your money is concerned. Taking stock of your monetary situation begins with asking the right questions and reviewing the right things. Your budget is a great place to start. For example, here are some of the most important questions to ask as you take inventory of where your money is coming from and going:
How much money are you bringing in each month?Is that income consistent month to month?How often do you get paid and how are you allocating money toward your bills?What are your recurring monthly bills? Are you overspending in any category?How much of your budget is going to debt repayment?Are you including saving as a line item in your budget?
Getting familiar with what you earn versus what you spend is the foundation for any financial self-care plan. But it’s also important to look at your bigger financial picture. For example, if you have debt, you should know who you owe money to, the amount you owe, what you’re paying in interest, and what percentage of your income goes toward debt each month. This information can come in handy once you get to Day 3 of your financial checklist (more on that below).
Day 2: Get Back on Budget
Budgets aren’t necessarily set in stone. While your income may stay relatively consistent month to month, you may find yourself spending more or less at different points in time. Charting your spending on a budget spreadsheet can make it easier to spot the patterns in your spending. Once you’ve created your budget spreadsheet, analyze it to determine what you may be wasting money on each month and where you can afford to cut back. For instance, some more-obvious things to reduce or eliminate may include:
Streaming or subscription services you don’t useRecurring memberships you don’t actually need (for example, the gym)Entertainment and recreationAnything that’s not a need, such as electronics, clothing, dinners out, etc.
Beyond those expenses, you should also look for other opportunities to practice financial self-care by trimming your budget. For instance, you may be able to lower your car insurance costs by shopping around for a new provider or save on homeowners insurance by bundling coverage.
Day 3: Pay Down Debt
Debt can be a roadblock on the path to financial wellness. Household debt reached $16.51 trillion in the U.S. in the third quarter of 2022, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Whether it’s credit card debt, a mortgage, or a loan, there are ways to pay them down. If you have debts that you’re paying via automatic payments, first review your bank account activity to ensure you have the money to cover those bills. This can help with avoiding costly overdraft fees or late payment penalties if a credit card or loan payment is returned. Next, consider how to approach your debt payment plans if you have extra money left over in your budget after essential and non-essential expenses are covered. If you’re carrying high-interest debt, that money could be applied toward those balances to pay them off faster. The sooner you can clear high-interest debt, the more money you can save on interest charges. There are a few strategies you can try, like the debt snowball strategy or the debt avalanche method. Keep in mind, however, that you may want to allocate extra funds to savings if you don’t have anything set aside for emergencies. According to a 2018 study from the Federal Reserve, approximately 40% of households aren’t able to cover a $400 emergency with savings. If you don’t have any money set aside, building up your savings can keep you from having to add to your debt by using credit cards to cover unexpected expenses.
Day 4: Build an Emergency Fund
Emergency funds can help bail you out financially if you run up against an unplanned expense or a financial situation you weren’t expecting. They take time to build, so starting as soon as you can with any amount will help. For example, if you get laid off from work or get sick and can’t work, an emergency fund can help cover bills until things get back to normal. You can also draw on emergency savings to pay for things like vet bills, car repairs, or another critical expense you didn’t see coming. The amount you should have saved is up to you, although financial experts often recommend having three to six months’ worth of expenses saved. Another rule of thumb you might use is to save a set dollar amount for each member of your household. So if you’re a family of four, you might aim to save $2,500 per person for a total of $10,000 in emergency savings. An effective way to save for emergencies is to add it to your budget as a recurring expense. By treating savings like a bill that has to be paid, you can ensure your emergency stash grows consistently.
Day 5: Save for Retirement
While you may not track your retirement savings every week, it’s still important to have this item on your financial self-care checklist. Knowing how much you’re saving (or not saving) toward retirement can help you determine how likely you are to reach your goal. Investing through a 401(k) or 403(b) is often the easiest place to start with retirement planning. Many employers make it easy to save by making enrollment automatic when you’re hired. If you’re not sure whether you’re enrolled in a retirement plan at work, get in touch with your human resources department. They can tell if you’re signed up, what you’re investing in, and how much you’re contributing each payday. If you don’t have a retirement plan at work, an individual retirement account (IRA) is another way to save for the future. IRAs offer a tax-advantaged way to save for the future, and you can open one at virtually any online brokerage. As you check in with your retirement savings plan weekly, monthly, or quarterly, pay attention to the things like:
How much you’re contributing each month and yearWhat you’re investing your money inHow well your investments are performingWhat you’re paying in fees to invest
That last part is important because fees can eat away at your returns over time. Investments like low-cost exchange-traded funds (ETFs) can help keep fees at bay.
Day 6: Check Your Credit Score and Report
Checking your credit score yourself doesn’t impact your credit report or score, so it’s fine to add this to your weekly financial wellness routine. As you look at your credit score, take note of how it’s gone up or down over time. Then refer to your credit report—you can get a free report every year (if not more frequently) from AnnualCreditReport.com— and pay attention to what’s on there to see how it may have impacted your score. For example, things such as paying bills on time, keeping credit card balances low, keeping old accounts open, and only applying for new credit sparingly can have positive impacts on your credit. Paying late, running up large balances in relation to your credit limits, and opening multiple credit accounts in a short period of time can hurt your score. Also, review your credit card statements each month to check your total spending and what you may pay in interest charges if you’re carrying a balance. This is also a good opportunity to review your statements for suspicious transactions that could indicate fraud.
Day 7: Make Your Financial Goals a Reality
Setting financial goals is another important aspect of self-care when it comes to your money. A lot of what’s included on your financial checklist affects your money situation right now, but you should also keep the future in sight. Ask yourself what your financial goals are. They may be something simple, like taking a solo vacation or buying a new car, or something bigger, like buying a home. As you brainstorm goals, create a roadmap for achieving them. For example, say your goal is to pay off your $20,000 in student loans in the next two years. Your current monthly payment is $500 and your interest rate is 7%. In this case, your financial checklist may look something like this: You could use the same approach to save $20,000 instead if that’s your goal. Only the steps might be something like: The key is making your goals specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. And besides that, make sure you’re keeping track of your progress weekly, monthly, and annually to see where you may need to adjust your plans.
