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The start of a new year is a popular time to focus on personal finances. And if you’re married, that’s something you’ll want to do jointly with your spouse. Here are a few specific financial conversations you may want to have this January so you can set yourselves up for a successful 2024.
1. What’s our top financial priority this year?
Maybe you and your spouse realize you’re not adequately prepared for a financial emergency. Seeing as how 63% of Americans don’t have enough savings to cover an unplanned $500 expense, according to SecureSave, that wouldn’t be shocking. In that case, you may decide that boosting your savings account balance is your top goal.
Or perhaps you have a decent emergency fund, but your retirement savings needs work. In that case, you may want to explore your options for finding the right retirement plan and figure out together how much you can afford to contribute this year.
2. What are we going to do about all of our debt?
If you feel like you’re drowning in debt, you’re no doubt in good company. As of the third quarter of 2023, Americans had a collective $17.29 trillion in debt, according to Ascent research. Of that, total credit card debt came to $1.08 trillion, with an average balance of $6,365 per household.
If you’re uncomfortable with the amount of debt you have, or if your monthly payments are putting a huge strain on your finances, then it’s time to make a plan together to shed that debt over time. This doesn’t mean you need to commit to being debt-free in 2024. That may not be possible, especially if you have larger debts, like a car loan or mortgage to pay off.
But if you have high-interest debt, like a credit card balance, to work off, then it’s a good idea to sit down and come up with a payoff plan this month. That could mean consolidating your various balances onto a single credit card or into a personal loan, and then taking turns working side hustles to drum up the cash to pay that debt off.
3. What changes to our spending do we need to make?
Maybe you and your spouse feel that you’re doing fine financially — you have adequate emergency savings, you don’t carry credit card balances month after month, and you’ve already started building a retirement nest egg. Or maybe you and your spouse agree that your finances aren’t optimal.
Either way, the start of the year is a good time to examine your spending — because whether you’re in a good place financially or not, there’s no sense in paying for things that don’t add a lot of value to your life. Take a look at your existing bills and evaluate each one.
You might be paying for a streaming service you hardly use anymore. Even if that only saves you $15 a month, why not keep that money in the bank or use it for other things? Similarly, if you audit your spending and realize you’re spending $500 a month at restaurants, that may be a wake-up call to do more cooking at home — especially if you have goals you’re trying to save for, like building an emergency fund or buying a house.
Talking about finances at the start of the year is a great way to kick things off on the right foot. You may want to have these three conversations with your spouse this month so you can work together to make 2024 your best financial year to date.
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