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Thursday's Challenge:Sign up for a free budgeting class, either online or in person. To report your completion of the challenge, log on to the Imagine a Happier You website You could win special prizes including savings bonds, UESP scholarships and gift cards.
Cristie Richards with Zions Bank talked with KSL Thursday morning about getting financially organized.
She suggested committing to create and keep a budget for three months using the free tool at * zionsbank.com/ezbudget. Remember, you might not balance out to zero at first, but keeping up the momentum will help you reach your financial goals.
She said a great way to get started is by participating in a brief webinar to inspire you to save. It's something you can do on your lunch break.
- Today at noon, Richards will be encouraging people to get their financial ducks in a row by hosting a free 30-minute webinar at blog.zionsbank.com.
- Participants will learn steps for preparing a personalized budget using Zions Bank's free eZ Budget online tool.
- Webinar participants will be entered in a drawing for a $200 savings account.
- If you can't join at noon, the webinar will be archived for you to view at a later time.
Start organizing your finances today with these steps to budget preparation:
- Identify where your money is being spent
- Create a cash flow system that works with your budget
- Pay yourself first — save! Do it by setting up automatic direct deposit into your savings account or your children's college savings account.
- Explore easy cost savings and rein in your spending - take your lunch to work, reevaluate your cable bill, etc.
- Use your budget to pay down debt - you can tackle it with a debt snowball plan, paying off one debt at a time and then adding payments to the next debt on your list.
Remember:
- Your budget won't work perfectly the first one to three months
- Plan to make corrections and adjustments
- Focus on learning the process and following through each month
*About eZ Budget: www.zionsbank.com/ezbudget
Zions Bank's eZ Budget online tool is free and available to anyone who wants to achieve financial goals. It allows you to create your personalized budget that can be automatically updated from month to month. Plus, you can plan events like weddings, budget for specific projects like home remodels, and create customized gift checklists.
