Having a sound financial strategy is essential to living comfortably. While you should always aim to save as much as possible, sometimes that doesn’t cut it. If you want to take your investing game to another level, here are five moves that can get you there.
People buy new cars with the expectation that they’ll be around for a while. But, as you may have experienced first-hand, this isn’t always the case. Having a service contract ensures that you’ll be able to recoup your investment in the event of a major failure or accident. You can use a service like CARCHEX reviews to compare car warranty options.
A service contract is a limited warranty that covers your car against both major and minor repairs, depending on the terms of the contract. There are two main types of vehicle service contracts:
A service contract helps protect your investment. By covering major, unexpected repairs, you’ll be able to avoid unplanned expenses. A service contract can also improve the retail value of your car if you choose to trade it in.
If your company offers a 401(k), you should always take full advantage of it. Employer 401(k) matching is pretty common. Essentially, your employer agrees to contribute to your retirement portfolio if you do. So, if your company offers a 50% partial 401(k) match, that means it’ll add 50% of what you put into your 401(k) each year up to 6% of your salary.
Some companies offer dollar-to-dollar matching, meaning your employer will match your contribution up to a certain percentage of your salary. Even if your employer only provides a match up to 3% of your salary, it makes sense to take advantage of the opportunity because it’s basically free money and boosts your nest egg significantly.
The IRS limits how much you can contribute to your retirement plan, though. The maximum amount you can contribute to your 401(k) is $19,500 as of 2021. On the plus side, employer matching doesn’t affect your limit. So, even if you max out your contributions each year, the additional funds from the employer match won’t count towards the limit.
However, the combined investment from employees and employers has a limit of either 100% of your salary or $58,000. Either way, take advantage of your 401(k) by contributing to the max and letting go of any anxiety that you’re going to be stuck with a low return on your investments.
This particular move might be a challenge, but it’s one that will provide you with some extra wiggle room down the road. If you can make it a priority to save at least 10% of your paycheck in an emergency fund, you’ll be in good shape. It puts you in a position to have several months of expenses saved up. A rainy-day fund can be helpful should you lose your job or encounter other emergencies that are outside your control.
There are many ways to save money year-round. If you’re having trouble saving 10% of your salary, try one of these options:
Paying your credit card balance in full every month is a smart move. To get rid of your credit card debt, there are three things you should do:
Your credit score can be used to help determine your creditworthiness. It is a number that reflects the amount of risk you are for lenders. The higher your credit score, the less risk you are.
A credit score estimator calculates your credit score based on five factors:
There are ways to repair your credit. To get started, you’ll need to know the reason for the negative mark and figure out the best way to fix it. There are also a few things you can do right now to improve your chances of repairing your credit. Here are some tips for how to repair your credit.
Being savvy with your money doesn’t require any special skills or even financial knowledge. All you need is to develop a habit of saving money on a daily basis, make a few educated decisions, and soon enough, you’ll be able to reach your financial goals.