Stay Focused on Your Goals: If you’re feeling nervous about your retirement/personal savings or lack thereof, keeping track of your financial goals can help realign your focus for what is down the road.  Take a clear look at your savings goals and map out where you are in reference to where you’d like or need to be. You may need to prioritize establishing a short-term emergency fund over building up a long-term savings account, but mapping out these goals and realigning your focus is the first step. Remember, the average investor doesn’t need a lump sum of thousands of dollars to start investing. The act of consistently investing a certain fixed amount allows you to buy into the market at different times for different prices.(1)   Maximizing the power of dollar-cost averaging is a proven method to build wealth over time and to help you reach your short-term and long-term savings goals.

Slash and Burn Bills Where You Can:

Consumers shell out an average of $273 a month for subscription services.(2) That’s $3,276 a year - more than three times what survey respondents thought they were spending on these services!(2) Checking to see if you’re overspending in this area is a great way to improve your financial health. Another easy place to start is with auto insurance. At least once every two years, getting a quote from another insurer helps to put into perspective how much you’re saving on insurance by staying with the same carrier. Feel disloyal about shopping around? Don’t be. You can switch car insurance providers at any time, and some drivers can save several hundred of dollars a year just by switching.

Avoid Taking on New Debt: Adopt some easy ways to avoid overspending. Pay your bills on time, keep track of your spending, and limit the number of credit cards you have. Identify needs versus wants and try using a 24-hour rule when considering purchasing expensive items. Think over each purchase greater than $50 for at least 24 hours before purchasing it. This way, you’ll reduce regrets about impulse buys and have more money available for savings.

Look for Ways to Reduce Your Exposure to Risk: There are any number of costly, life-draining habits we humans could give up to reduce our individual exposure to risk and tighten up our budgets at the same time. Can you step back and look for ways your behavior contributes to your own bad habits? Do you sit at a desk all day, eat fast food, drink soda, smoke cigarettes, or vape? Do you regularly eat out when you could bring your own lunch or draw cash from an ATM that charges you fees? Look for ways you can adopt a more healthy lifestyle with positive intentional habits.

Increase Your Income: Adding on a part-time gig is a great way to get through a crunch. Consider starting your own business on the side – as long as it has low start-up costs. Ask your Primerica Representative how you can start earning extra money helping families with their finances for less than $100 upfront and a low monthly fee.