{"id":4999,"date":"2021-07-27T09:08:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-27T16:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.soundcu.com\/?p=4999"},"modified":"2023-10-30T20:47:45","modified_gmt":"2023-10-31T03:47:45","slug":"5-signs-youre-on-the-path-to-becoming-financially-aware","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.soundcu.com\/blog\/5-signs-youre-on-the-path-to-becoming-financially-aware\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Signs You\u2019re on the Path to Becoming Financially Aware"},"content":{"rendered":"
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As we approach\u00a0National\u202fFinancial Awareness\u202fDay\u00a0on\u00a0August\u202f14,\u00a0it\u2019s a good\u00a0opportunity to\u00a0remember that\u00a0the way\u00a0we handle our money is a key part of financial wellness.<\/p>\n

With\u00a0COVID-related mortgage, rent, student loan and other relief programs\u00a0ending, being financially aware\u00a0is\u00a0more important now than ever.\u00a0Yet being financially aware goes well beyond managing everyday bills and expenses.<\/p>\n

To recognize National Financial Awareness Day, here are five signs that indicate you\u2019re on the path to becoming financially aware.<\/p>\n

\u00a01.\u00a0You\u00a0Put Your Goals in Writing<\/h2>\n

People with written goals are\u00a0more likely to achieve them. It entails envisioning what you see for yourself and then using that goal as the momentum to make it a reality. Financial goals can be both short-term and long-term.\u202f\u00a0A\u00a0short-term\u00a0goal\u00a0may be that\u00a0you plan\u00a0to pay off debt, whereas a long-term goal may be\u00a0saving\u00a0up enough money to buy a house.\u00a0Financially aware people\u00a0make sure to revisit\u00a0their\u00a0goals at least once every 3-4 months and\u00a0make adjustments\u00a0when\u00a0needed.<\/p>\n

2. You\u00a0Use\u00a0a Budget<\/h2>\n

Many people see budgeting as a\u00a0distasteful duty.\u202fAnd\u00a0it can seem that way if you are trying to correct years of financial problems in one day.\u00a0But\u00a0really a budget is just a financial blueprint that shows income and expenses on a monthly basis.\u00a0For the financially aware, a budget helps people\u00a0make informed decisions\u00a0as to\u00a0where your money goes.<\/p>\n

3. You Build\u00a0Emergency Funds<\/h2>\n

Having an emergency fund to manage unforeseen circumstances can mean the difference between a financial disaster and a minor setback.\u202fWhen\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0financially aware, you\u00a0plan for\u00a0the\u00a0unexpected.\u202fDepending\u00a0upon your\u00a0budget, you can determine a set amount to put into a savings account from each\u00a0paycheck.\u00a0Some financially aware people have their employer directly deposit part of their paycheck into a savings\u00a0account. Over\u00a0time,\u00a0you can build\u00a0a\u00a0budget buffer.<\/p>\n

\u00a04.\u00a0You\u00a0Work to Get\u00a0a Handle on Debt<\/h2>\n

Debt is borrowing money you\u00a0haven\u2019t\u00a0earned yet.\u00a0It is a useful way to manage finances provided you have a plan to pay off your balances.\u00a0When you are financially aware, you obtain\u00a0low interest loans\u00a0to acquire an asset or improvement – like\u00a0a house, car, or student loan.\u202fYou stay\u00a0current with\u00a0high interest credit cards that can become difficult\u00a0to pay back if your financial circumstances change\u00a0unexpectedly.\u00a0Depending\u00a0upon your situation, there may be options to get out of debt more quickly.\u00a0Financially aware people might consider a debt management plan to get\u00a0a handle on\u00a0any outstanding\u00a0debt.<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0You\u00a0Check Your\u00a0Credit\u00a0History and\u00a0Score<\/h2>\n

One in three Americans\u00a0has never\u00a0checked their credit\u00a0history, according to a Bankrate study.\u00a0Financially aware people keep tabs on credit history, which\u00a0is\u00a0used to calculate your credit scores — those three-digit numbers\u00a0that\u00a0help determine whether lenders approve you for new credit and what interest rates\u00a0will be offered to you.\u00a0Annualcreditreport.com<\/a>\u00a0is\u00a0a \u201cone stop shop\u201d to check your reports from\u202fExperian, Equifax, and\u202fTransUnion\u202f\u2013 the three industry standard credit bureaus.\u00a0The Financial Experts at\u00a0GreenPath\u00a0<\/a>can\u00a0review\u00a0your credit history\u00a0with you\u00a0and\u00a0guide you through the steps\u00a0that you can take to build your credit score.<\/p>\n

Build\u00a0Your Financial Awareness<\/h2>\n

Financial awareness starts with information, and we all make the best decisions we can with the\u00a0resources\u00a0we have available to us.\u00a0 Through our partnership, we encourage you to connect with a caring, trusted and certified\u00a0financial counselor\u00a0to\u00a0get information to\u00a0build your financial awareness.<\/p>\n

This article is shared by our partners at\u00a0GreenPath\u00a0Financial Wellness<\/a>, a trusted national non-profit.<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Financial awareness starts with information, and we all make the best decisions we can with the\u00a0resources\u00a0we have available to us.\u00a0 Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":5000,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","_searchwp_excluded":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[110,90,143,139],"class_list":["post-4999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life-finances","tag-budgeting","tag-credit-score","tag-debt","tag-financial-awareness"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.soundcu.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.soundcu.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.soundcu.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.soundcu.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.soundcu.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4999"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.soundcu.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4999\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.soundcu.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.soundcu.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.soundcu.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.soundcu.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}