Dupaco’s Erin Engler teaches a personal financial wellness course to Dupaco staff as part an employee benefit training opportunity all staff receive on February 26 at Dupaco’s Pennsylvania Ave. branch in Dubuque, Iowa. (M. Blondin/Dupaco photo)
5 steps you can take to boost your financial IQ
Knowing how to manage your money can be the difference between living paycheck to paycheck and living financially free. And there’s always an opportunity to expand your financial IQ.
“A lot of it comes down to your attitude,” said Dupaco Community Credit Union’s Megan Redmond. “Take ownership of your finances. Even if you’ve had some bumps in the past, look toward the future.”
Dupaco believes that when you know better, you do better.
Here are five ways you can boost your financial IQ with the help of your credit union:
|1| Create a budget
Without a budget, it’s hard to know where your money is going.
“It’s easy to get caught up in the ads and buy unnecessary things,” Redmond said. “People get stuck not having a budget in place.”
Dupaco’s free Money Makeover can help you create a budget that fits your needs.
“The coolest thing about our Money Makeover is that it can go in whatever direction you need it to,” Redmond said. “We’ve done a lot of budgets for members and have helped them see where their money is going.”
Request your free Money Makeover >
|2| Save automatically
Your budget should allow you to pay yourself first.
Dupaco offers several free savings accounts to help you save for your goals.
“What is it that you want to save for in the future? A vacation, a house, your child’s education?” Redmond said. “Everybody can save.”
She recommends creating a savings plan that’s automatic and systematic so your money doesn’t stay in your checking account, where you might be tempted to spend it.
|3| Know your credit score
It pays to understand your credit history.
Lenders use your credit score to determine how much interest you’ll pay on loans. Insurance providers can look at your score to determine your rate. And landlords and employers might look at your credit to assess how responsible you are.
With Dupaco’s free Credit History Lesson, you can learn how to drive up your score, consolidate debt and pay less.
Then, you can continue to monitor your score with Bright Track, Dupaco’s free credit score monitoring service that gives you access to your score—and tools to improve it.
Request your free Credit History Lesson >
|4| Read up
Dupaco’s Learn section on dupaco.com features educational tips and tools to help you learn more about your money and get ahead. It covers budgeting, systematic saving, credit score monitoring and other resources to help you optimize every stage of your financial life.
Want a break from reading?
Watch Dupaco’s Money Clips. The short video segments feature advice on how to navigate life events.
|5| Go to class
Dupaco offers in-person seminars and webinars to help you make eve better financial decisions.
Check out the latest seminars and webinars to find out how you can dig deeper into understanding your money.
