Tomorrow is the last day of our social media campaign, Financial Wellness Checkup! Over the past five weeks, we have covered several of your favorite personal finance topics, credit management, estate planning, back-to-school planning, and financial exploitation. We are closing out with a focus on ways to grow your savings. We understand that this is a hard topic during an economic downturn, and encourage you to consider some small ways you can still build or rebuild your savings.
Protect your rainy day fund
Did the car break down on the highway? Did heavy rain cause flooding in your basement? An emergency fund protects against the unexpected. A recent post on the Be Centsible blog provides some strategies for you. Why should I build an emergency savings account? Our latest podcast on Family Financial Feuds tackles ways to cut expenses, which can help free up change to create a rainy day fund, Exposing Expenses.
Explore ways to save for educational expenses
Educational expenses are major lifetime purchases. Families and individuals save many ways for education, regular savings, 529 accounts, other investments, or inheritance. A Student Loan Hero article stated that there are about 45 million student loan borrowers. Among the class of 2019, 69% of college students took out student loans. These two resources are available to help you plan for educational expenses, Save for Post-Secondary Education, and Compound Interest Calculator.
Determine how much you need to save for down payment on a house
Before you purchase a home, take time to calculate how much money you will need to save for a down payment and other initial expenses. This excellent resource from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Determine your down payment, provides information on how to prepare to shop.
Calculate your retirement expenses
Using a retirement calculator can help you estimate how much you need to save, plus think about all the different factors that go into that decision! This Retirement Calculator from FINRA is a wonderful tool to help you develop a reasonable estimate.
We hope you have enjoyed our Financial Wellness Checkup campaign. Please continue to follow us on your favorite social media platforms:
- Instagram: @family.finances.food
- Facebook: Around the Table
- Twitter: @famfinancefood
To learn more about our other educational efforts, visit our Family Financial Feuds podcast and recordings from our latest webinar series, Let’s Talk Money on Illinois Media Space.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Camaya Wallace Bechard is a Consumer Economics Educator with University of Illinois Extension, serving Livingston, McLean, and Woodford Counties. Camaya Wallace Bechard provides leadership in financial management to individuals, families, and communities and delivers educational programs that focus on building skills and knowledge about money management and financial decision-making.