Achieve Your Financial Goals in 2023 With These Simple Tips
As another ball drops in Time Square and the Christmas lights get put away, one constant that remains is your household’s finances. Why not start the New Year off right? Jeremy Bratton, VP of Training and Compliance at Texas Bay Credit Union is here to share how you can set up your finances for success this year.
After just a few short minutes with Jeremy Bratton, you’ll come to realize he’s not only a financial expert but one who adamantly believes you can never be overprepared. With a refreshing dose of both honesty and optimism, Bratton shares all the keys to making your financial resolutions come true this year.
The final tip on saving is to get a credit card with good rewards that include perks such as cash back, airline miles, points for everyday expenses like gas and groceries or retail shopping, and more.
“There’s such a wide variety of rewards available in the market today to suit each person’s particular spending habits,” Bratton says. “I tell my wife how much we’re redeeming on a yearly basis and she's blown away!”
From the eyes of a financial expert, the consumer must take a careful look at their spending habits, and that way they can find a card that appropriately matches their needs to maximize the benefits.
By StoryStudio on January 1, 2023 11:19 AM
Pay balances on time every time
Keep low balances on your revolving accounts - typically 30% or less
Only apply for credit when you need it. It looks bad when you’re seen as seeking credit.
ABOUT TEXAS BAY CREDIT UNION
Founded in 1936, by Houstonians, for Houstonians, Texas Bay works tirelessly to provide the best service to its members and works to find each member a tailor-made solution to help them reach their financial dreams. Visit www.texasbaycu.org for more info, including branch locations and hours of operation.
Always number one on the list, this is for a reason that’s set in stone – nothing is more important than first having an annual budget as your blueprint for financial success.
“If you already have a budget, fantastic,” Bratton says. “But people’s income, expenses, and overall lifestyles change from year to year, especially in our current economic climate. It’s always a good idea to revisit the budget on a routine basis and ensure it stays current and more importantly, that it’s realistic.”
Bratton also points out that if you don’t have a budget yet, that’s okay too. Make 2023 the year you start better managing your monthly income and spending priorities! In this day and age, there are some great tools out there for consumers. Simply leverage your financial institution’s online budgeting tools available through your online banking app, downloaded directly to your smartphone.
“The great thing about technology is it’s right there at the edge of your fingertips,” Bratton says. “Resources like these make the budgeting process easier and more enjoyable.”
For example, if you download the Texas Bay app, it only takes a few minutes to get set up and you can update the budget wherever you are while on the go. This is far more convenient than having to pull up a desktop and input numbers into an Excel spreadsheet long after each purchase is made.
Manage your monthly income and spending priorities with a budget
Make sure you revisit your budget on a routine basis
Utilize online budgeting tools by downloading the Texas Bay app
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Second to creating a budget, having an emergency fund is the top priority Bratton recommends to absolutely everyone. An emergency fund is essentially a safety net put in place to protect you from unexpected financial events such as expensive home or car repairs, medical emergencies, or even a potential job loss.
“Having that safety net in place not only reduces your stress by giving you more peace of mind, but it will also help prevent you from accumulating more debt when one of those unexpected life events occurs,” Bratton says.
The most general question financial advisors at Texas Bay get asked is how much to have stored away. Bratton has a firm recommendation but acknowledges that every situation is unique.
“It really depends on your financial situation,” he says, “but a rule of thumb that you’ll find pretty much anywhere is three to six months worth of living expenses.” If saving up this much seems intimidating, the good news is you only have to put in a little each month to build up a fund for use on a rainy day.
“The trick is to start small,” Bratton continues. “There are many different strategies you can use to help build your emergency fund, but the most effective is to set a minimum amount aside on a predetermined basis.”
Determine how much you can afford, set it aside each month or pay period, and be consistent about it. You will be surprised how quickly those small contributions add up if you stay the course and remain disciplined.
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All of us are searching for the best ways to save more money, and there are several simple ways to make this happen! One of the easiest methods is to set up automatic transfers to a savings account every time you receive pay via direct deposit.
“I’ve personally realized by doing this I don’t even miss that extra amount each month,” Bratton says. “And as I see my savings start to grow over time, I’m even more inspired to increase that amount whenever I get a chance.”
Any time that opportunity may arise – for instance, if you get a raise, tax refund, or pay off a car loan and have a little bit of extra money each month – just up the amount of your automatic savings transfer. Even the genius Albert Einstein himself said, “Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world.” So, don’t lose out on rising savings rates. Now is the ideal time to place your money aside in a high-interest savings account to help grow your money even faster!
Another great way to save more is to cut back on unnecessary spending. Of course, this one can be tough considering how many expensive hobbies most of us have. “That's probably the hardest for a lot of people, including myself,” Bratton states. “This is really where people need to take an honest look at their spending patterns to try to eliminate those unnecessary expenses like expensive restaurants or impulse purchases that you may not really need.”
To maintain financial discipline, he recommends writing down your goals and tracking your progress. Doing this will create visible results so you can celebrate your success and be inspired to save even more.
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Revisit or Create a Budget
Start an Emergency Fund
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Revisit or Create a Budget
Texas Bay Credit Union Has You Covered
Having joined the team at Texas Bay back in 2010, one thing that attracted Jeremy Bratton so much to this credit union is the level of commitment they never fail to show to their members.
“I've held a bunch of different positions and I've witnessed a lot of growth and a lot of changes,” Bratton says, “but one thing that has never changed through all that growth is that commitment. Moving around the organization and being exposed to so many different areas, I can see that it’s literally woven into the fabric of our organization. And it remains at the heart of everything we do here.”
The New Year is the perfect time to set financial goals for you and your family that are 100% attainable! If you need help executing the above plan or want assistance staying on track, the team at Texas Bay is ready to welcome you in as a family so you can meet all of your financial needs.
SPONSORED BY Texas Bay Credit Union
SPONSORED BY TEXAS BAY CREDIT UNION
Start an Emergency Fund
Save More
Build Your Credit
As VP of Training and Compliance for Texas Bay, one of Bratton’s crucial roles is to handle loss prevention for the organization. As you can imagine, he’s seen his fair share of identity theft cases. Fraud complaints and losses are becoming more and more prevalent, especially as consumers continue to shop more online. Because of this, consumers need to make sure they are monitoring their credit regularly so they can quickly identify any suspicious activity on their credit reports.
“You can do this by requesting a free copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit reporting agencies, once a year,” Bratton recommends. “You don’t have to worry about this affecting your credit rating either since those are considered soft inquiries.”
If you look into identity and credit monitoring, those services will monitor your credit activity on a continual basis – daily – and if any activity is detected, that service will notify you and you can confirm whether the activity in question is legitimate or fraudulent so any issues can be dealt with immediately.
Another important aspect is to learn the basics of what hurts or improves an overall credit score. If you missed the advice shared in Financial Expert Offers 5 Key Secrets to Building Credit ASAP, this can be a little bit of a daunting task because there are so many credit reporting agencies that use different models.
But you don’t have to feel overwhelmed. Regardless of the reporting agency or credit model, raising your credit score ultimately comes down to a few simple recommendations:
Manage Your Debt
If you’ve decided to do something about managing your debt, you’ll need to come up with a plan and create a timeline for paying off those outstanding balances.
“My advice would be to make a list of your outstanding debts, as well as the interest rates associated with each one. Once you have that list together, figure out how much you can pay toward each debt each month. Hopefully by reducing your expenses, you have a little extra to pay down on some of your debt obligations,” Bratton advises.
When determining which debts to pay the most on, prioritize those debts with the higher interest rates, which more likely than not are going to be your credit cards. If you have multiple high-interest loans and/or credit cards, consider consolidating them to one loan with a lower interest rate since there are multiple benefits associated with consolidation.
Practice Self-Care
Before you can take care of your finances, you have to take care of yourself. It’s important to remember this part because financial independence and a healthy lifestyle truly are interconnected, requiring equal focus.
“If you're not maintaining a focus on your wellness, you're going to increase your risk for health problems, which can in turn cause greater financial strain and increased stress,” Bratton warns. “Stress on the body increases the probability of even more health problems. Don't get caught in that cycle.”
If you try to prioritize your wellness, make sure you're staying active, eating healthy, and getting consistent sleep, then you’ll be better able to celebrate your successes and even raise your pay. That’s right – you’ll be more likely to earn more.
“If you're prioritizing your wellness, hopefully, that’s increasing your energy, right? And that’s increasing your ability to focus on work, which is allowing you to be more productive. Well, all those things can have a greater impact on your earnings potential, helping you earn more and helping you save more,” Bratton says.
At the end of the day, don’t get so caught up in stress and slaving away to meet so many goals that you forget to stop and smell the roses. The resources provided by many employers offer financial assistance toward wellness programs for physical, mental, and financial health. Look into this and always prioritize your wellness by making sure you’re doing things you love.
Part of practicing healthy habits with your credit cards entails paying the full credit balance every month – on time, in full – if you can. You’ll save quite a bit on interest in the long run. But if you absolutely must carry a balance, you will want to make sure you have a card with no annual fees and a lower APR.
BONUS TIP
Vice President of Training & Compliance at Texas Bay Credit Union
Jeremy Bratton
The final tip on saving is to get a credit card with good rewards that include perks such as cash back, airline miles, points for everyday expenses like gas and groceries or retail shopping, and more.
“There’s such a wide variety of rewards available in the market today to suit each person’s particular spending habits,” Bratton says. “I tell my wife how much we’re redeeming on a yearly basis and she's blown away!”
From the eyes of a financial expert, the consumer must take a careful look at their spending habits, and that way they can find a card that appropriately matches their needs to maximize the benefits.
scroll
Jeremy Bratton
Save More
Part of practicing healthy habits with your credit cards entails paying the full credit balance every month – on time, in full – if you can. You’ll save quite a bit on interest in the long run. But if you absolutely must carry a balance, you will want to make sure you have a card with no annual fees and a lower APR.
BONUS TIP
Build Your Credit
As VP of Training and Compliance for Texas Bay, one of Bratton’s crucial roles is to handle loss prevention for the organization. As you can imagine, he’s seen his fair share of identity theft cases. Fraud complaints and losses are becoming more and more prevalent, especially as consumers continue to shop more online. Because of this, consumers need to make sure they are monitoring their credit regularly so they can quickly identify any suspicious activity on their credit reports.
“You can do this by requesting a free copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit reporting agencies, once a year,” Bratton recommends. “You don’t have to worry about this affecting your credit rating either since those are considered soft inquiries.”
If you look into identity and credit monitoring, those services will monitor your credit activity on a continual basis – daily – and if any activity is detected, that service will notify you and you can confirm whether the activity in question is legitimate or fraudulent so any issues can be dealt with immediately.
Another important aspect is to learn the basics of what hurts or improves an overall credit score. If you missed the advice shared in Financial Expert Offers 5 Key Secrets to Building Credit ASAP, this can be a little bit of a daunting task because there are so many credit reporting agencies that use different models.
But you don’t have to feel overwhelmed. Regardless of the reporting agency or credit model, raising your credit score ultimately comes down to a few simple recommendations:
Manage Your Debt
If you’ve decided to do something about managing your debt, you’ll need to come up with a plan and create a timeline for paying off those outstanding balances.
“My advice would be to make a list of your outstanding debts, as well as the interest rates associated with each one. Once you have that list together, figure out how much you can pay toward each debt each month. Hopefully by reducing your expenses, you have a little extra to pay down on some of your debt obligations,” Bratton advises.
When determining which debts to pay the most on, prioritize those debts with the higher interest rates, which more likely than not are going to be your credit cards. If you have multiple high-interest loans and/or credit cards, consider consolidating them to one loan with a lower interest rate since there are multiple benefits associated with consolidation.
Practice Self-Care
Before you can take care of your finances, you have to take care of yourself. It’s important to remember this part because financial independence and a healthy lifestyle truly are interconnected, requiring equal focus.
“If you're not maintaining a focus on your wellness, you're going to increase your risk for health problems, which can in turn cause greater financial strain and increased stress,” Bratton warns. “Stress on the body increases the probability of even more health problems. Don't get caught in that cycle.”
If you try to prioritize your wellness, make sure you're staying active, eating healthy, and getting consistent sleep, then you’ll be better able to celebrate your successes and even raise your pay. That’s right – you’ll be more likely to earn more.
“If you're prioritizing your wellness, hopefully, that’s increasing your energy, right? And that’s increasing your ability to focus on work, which is allowing you to be more productive. Well, all those things can have a greater impact on your earnings potential, helping you earn more and helping you save more,” Bratton says.
At the end of the day, don’t get so caught up in stress and slaving away to meet so many goals that you forget to stop and smell the roses. The resources provided by many employers offer financial assistance toward wellness programs for physical, mental, and financial health. Look into this and always prioritize your wellness by making sure you’re doing things you love.
Texas Bay Credit Union Has You Covered
Having joined the team at Texas Bay back in 2010, one thing that attracted Jeremy Bratton so much to this credit union is the level of commitment they never fail to show to their members.
“I've held a bunch of different positions and I've witnessed a lot of growth and a lot of changes,” Bratton says, “but one thing that has never changed through all that growth is that commitment. Moving around the organization and being exposed to so many different areas, I can see that it’s literally woven into the fabric of our organization. And it remains at the heart of everything we do here.”
The New Year is the perfect time to set financial goals for you and your family that are 100% attainable! If you need help executing the above plan or want assistance staying on track, the team at Texas Bay is ready to welcome you in as a family so you can meet all of your financial needs.
Vice President of Training and Compliance at Texas Bay Credit Union