Financial Tweaks for 2023

You’re hoping that 2023 will be a better year for your finances than last year, but how can you make that happen? You don’t have any control over the national economy, but you have a great deal of control over your own economy.

There’s no question that the number one thing you should do in 2023 is get out of debt. With today’s higher interest rates, you’re paying even more to carry balances on credit cards.

Use the snowball method to pay off those cards. Prioritize them by smallest to highest balance, pay all the minimums and use any extra funds to pay more on the smallest balance. When that’s paid off, use your now increased extra funds to pay off the next smallest, and so on.

Of course, you’ll need to be on a budget to determine how much extra cash you have to pay down your debt. Spending without a budget is like a circus performer working without a net. So if you don’t have a budget yet, download the FaithFi app. It’s got three different ways to set up your spending plan, and one will be just right for you.

Another great financial tweak for 2023 is to start or increase your savings. We don’t know what lies ahead for the economy, but having an emergency fund will help prepare you for anything.

A 2022 survey by YouGuv showed that 49% of Americans couldn’t cover an unexpected bill of just $400. That was a big jump over the previous year, probably due to higher interest rates and inflation. It’s vital that you putting away something from every paycheck into a savings account.

Start with a goal to save $1500. Then keep going until you have one month’s living expenses and don’t stop until you have 3 to 6 months’ living expenses saved up in your emergency fund. That covers your short term saving needs.

You also have long term savings needs and that means retirement investing for the day when age or health prevent you from working. Another great financial tweak for 2023 is to make sure you’re at least maxing out any matching contributions in your 401(k). If you want to go further, you can contribute up to $22,500 to a 401(k) or 403(b) this year.

If you have an IRA, either traditional or Roth, you can contribute up to $6,500 in 2023 and an extra $1,000 if you’re over age 50.

Another way to improve your financial condition this year is to beef up your skill set by taking web courses. Online learning exploded with COVID and it remains easier than ever to get professional certifications and specializations, even under-grad and master’s degrees, without leaving home and often at a fraction of the cost of in-classroom programs.

Those are all “offensive” tweaks you can make to improve your finances in 2023, but what about “defensive” tweaks, such as protecting yourself from fraud and identity theft? One way to do that is by signing up for transaction or account alerts with your bank and credit card issuer.

You can usually do this online. Once you’ve logged into your account, look for security settings and select the “transaction monitoring” option. The system will then text or email you whenever money is taken from the account and you can take steps to minimize the damage if fraud has occurred. The card issuer will investigate any false charges and remove them from your account.

You can also put a freeze on your credit at the three reporting bureaus, Experian, Transunion and Equifax. That will block credit checks and prevent thieves from setting up new accounts in your name. It’s free and easy to do, but you have to do it at each of the three bureaus individually.

While you’re doing that, it’s also a good idea to get your credit reports. You can do it for free once a year for each bureau at AnnualCreditReport.com. It’s a good idea to stagger them, getting one every six months.

When you get your credit reports, look for errors or suspicious activity. If you find any, the credit bureaus all offer you an option to dispute those transactions online. The bureau will notify the creditor about your dispute, and the creditor will have 30 days to resolve the issue or it gets dropped from your report.

Take advantage of these financial tweaks for 2023 while the year is still young!

You can also listen to the related podcast on this topic.