Score Financial Touchdowns: Block Bad Habits and Tackle Big Challenges

It’s that time of year again. The season is heating up with hometown pride, team banners are hanging in windows, and the unmistakable aroma of tailgates is filling the air. That’s right, football season is upon us! And as your favorite team prepares to make their mark on the field, it’s the perfect time to sharpen your own financial playbook. With a few key adjustments, you will set yourself up for lasting financial success. Read on, and we’ll guide you through blocking your bad financial habits and tackling your challenges. Now, let’s take the field and start making those winning moves!

Block Your Bad Financial Habits

Just like guarding your opponents on the field, the first step to improve your financial health is to block against bad habits. This starts with recognizing your opponents. Try to identify and address the habits that are holding you back, like overspending, neglecting savings, impulse buying, and accumulating debt.

Here’s how to block these habits and fortify your defenses:

• Budget: Start by establishing a budget that outlines your income and expenses. Be sure to stick to your budget and set spending limits!
• Emergency Fund: Building a solid emergency fund is essential for safeguarding against unexpected financial challenges. Try to save 3-6 months’ worth of expenses in a separate, easily accessible account. It’s also useful to automate your savings to ensure that you are staying on track. (SIDELINE STRATEGY: Learn how to calculate emergency savings with an Emergency Savings Fund Calculator).
• Track Expenses: Utilize tools like financial calculators, apps, or spreadsheets to track your daily expenses. By monitoring your spending habits, you can pinpoint where your money is going and identify opportunities to make cuts.

Tackle Your Financial Challenges

Addressing bad habits is only half the battle; you also need to confront the financial obstacles that threaten your financial well-being before they cause more damage.

1. Manage Debt

Debt can be a major hurdle, but you can overcome it with the right gameplan. Here’s how:

• Debt Snowball Method: Start by tackling your smallest debt first, then progress to the next smallest to build momentum and motivation.
• Debt Avalanche Method: Target the debts with the highest interest rates first to reduce the overall amount of interest paid.
• Consolidate Debt: Consider combining high-interest debts into a single military personal loan with a lower interest rate. This simplifies your payments, reduces overall interest, helps you pay everything back faster. (COACH’S PICK: The best military personal loan for consolidating debt at Armed Forces Bank is called the “Access Loan”¹).

2. Improve Credit Score

A strong credit score is essential for your financial well-being, as it impacts your ability to secure loans, receive favorable interest rates, and even rent a place to live. Here’s how you can increase your credit score:

• Pay Bills on Time: Timely bill payments are one of the most important factors in your credit score. This is known as your payment history. Be sure to pay all your bills on time to support your credit score.
• Decrease Credit Utilization: Strive to use less than 30% of your available credit limit. High credit utilization can injure your credit score, so aim to pay your balances regularly to keep it low.
• Review Credit Reports: Regularly view your credit reports for errors or discrepancies. Dispute any inaccuracies right away to ensure your credit report accurately represents your financial history.
• Use a Secured Credit Card: If you are working on building or improving your credit, a secured credit card might be a good option. These cards require a deposit that sets your credit limit, making them easier to qualify for and helping you establish a positive credit history. (GAMEDAY STRATEGY: Armed Forces Bank offers the Credit Builder Secured Credit Card², which is one of the best credit cards for building credit).

For more tips on how to build credit, check out our previous article: Building Credit and How it Works.

Create a Winning Game Plan

With your bad financial habits blocked and your financial challenges tackled, it’s now time to execute a game-winning plan for your financial future. This will help you advance the ball down the field and score BIG with your finances.

• Set Goals: Define both short-term goals and long-term financial goals, such as building an emergency fund, paying off debt, and saving for retirement. Utilize a Savings Goal Calculator to make this process easier.
• Determine Milestones: After establishing your goals, break them into smaller, achievable milestones. This approach will help you monitor your progress and keep you going.
• Develop a Financial Plan: Create a budget that aligns with your goals, include diversified investments to build your wealth, and adjust your plan as necessary.
• Wear Your Game Face: Frequently review your progress and celebrate your successes to stay motivated throughout your financial journey.

Let Armed Forces Bank Be Your Trusted Teammate

At Armed Forces Bank, we’re dedicated to supporting you every step of the way, offering tools and resources tailored to the military community, so you can stay in the game and drive toward success.

Be sure to leverage our online calculators to easily strategize and monitor your financial goals. For example, you can use our Credit Card Payoff Calculator to create a repayment plan or our Debt Consolidation Calculator to combine your debts into a more manageable formation. Want to improve your credit score? Our Credit Assessment Calculator can help you understand your financial health and gauge your progress.

If want to save money effortlessly, our Saving Cents³ program is a great solution. Every time you make a purchase with your debit card, your transaction is rounded up to the nearest $1 or $5, then the extra change is automatically transferred to your savings account each night. It’s an easy way to boost your savings without impacting your daily life.

Finally, our financial education resources are tailored to equip you with the knowledge and confidence to make smart decisions about your money. Plus, with our personalized service, we provide advice and solutions that align with the specific financial needs and goals in the military.

As the football season kicks off and your favorite team plays their way to victory, let us help you achieve BIG WINS in your financial journey. Here’s to a successful season both on and off the field!

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¹ Subject to credit approval. Restrictions Apply. Direct deposit relationship required. Origination fee applies, 10% or $100 whichever is less. Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is based on credit score. Only one personal loan allowed to any borrower at any time. Loan terms are based on the loan amount.

² Subject to credit approval. Transaction and Penalty fees apply. Credit Builder Savings account required. $5.00 quarterly fee charged to the Credit Builder Savings account if not enrolled in eStatements. Improved credit score is not guaranteed. Credit score is determined by credit reporting agencies based on multiple factors, but satisfactory performance on a credit card product can improve your credit score. Default on a credit card, including missed or late payments can damage your credit score. Once added, funds cannot be withdrawn from the Credit Builder Savings account and the Credit Builder Card without closing the savings account and the credit card.

³ Choose from $1 to $5 increment to round up on your debit card purchases from your checking account. Each night all the extra change will automatically transfer from your checking to your savings.