Smart financial advice from local experts. Dollars & #ense 5 Ways to Ditch Your Bad Money Habits There is no doubt that many Americans have poor money habits. Think you may be one of them? No need to be embarrassed - if you're like most of us, you were never taught financial literacy in school. However, there's no time like the present to start learning! These are tried and true ways to say "goodbye" to bad money habits. Track Your Spending It's easy to overspend if you don't really watch where your money is going. And if you aren't taking a close look at what's coming out of your bank account on a recurring basis, you may be even more likely to make impulse purchases. Choose a day of the week to review your expenses. Sunday is usually a good day because you can review what you spent the week prior and set goals to improve in the coming week. Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to finances! Choose Growth Over Convenience Many of us love the convenience having nearly anything you want delivered to your front door in a matter of days. However, this has the potential to take a toll on your bottom line. We challenge you to choose financial stability over conve- nience. Too often, we rationalize that the convenience is worth paying a higher dollar amount. But in most cases, it's not. Really think about whether you can wait an extra day or two for an item by selecting a different shipping method or picking up the item in store. You may even find that delaying that purchase by just a few hours or even minutes will make you realize that you don't need it at all Stock Up On Essentials Your house is likely always in need of toilet paper, dish soap. laundry detergent and perhaps a few other items. You know these are items that your household needs to function, so don't wait until you are completely out to buy more. If you keep an eye out for sales, you can stock up on these items and even buy in bulk to really reduce your overall cost. Some retailers even discount your purchases for subscribing to receive certain items on a recurring basis. Just be sure to regularly review your subscriptions so you are not purchasing items you don't need just to "save" 5%! Be a Problem Solver While some household fixes are too serious to tackle on your own, there are many others that can be solved with a little help from YouTube. The next time something breaks, see if you can find free online tutorials for fixing it yourself. You will be surprised at how much this can save you, and you'll learn a little something in the process too! You can be on your way to better habits by implementing even one of these steps into your life. Need a little more help? Con- tact us today and we'l be glad to help you get control of your finances with our convenient accounts and online services! - TARMERS & IlMERCHANTS BANK & TRUST O FDIC Mene Downtown Marinette 1644 Ludington St. 715-735-6617 Marinette Branch 2811 Roosevelt Rd. Crivitz Branch 114 $. Hwy 141 715-854-7445 715-732-4411 www.fmmarinette.com Smart financial advice from local experts. Dollars & #ense 5 Ways to Ditch Your Bad Money Habits There is no doubt that many Americans have poor money habits. Think you may be one of them? No need to be embarrassed - if you're like most of us, you were never taught financial literacy in school. However, there's no time like the present to start learning! These are tried and true ways to say "goodbye" to bad money habits. Track Your Spending It's easy to overspend if you don't really watch where your money is going. And if you aren't taking a close look at what's coming out of your bank account on a recurring basis, you may be even more likely to make impulse purchases. Choose a day of the week to review your expenses. Sunday is usually a good day because you can review what you spent the week prior and set goals to improve in the coming week. Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to finances! Choose Growth Over Convenience Many of us love the convenience having nearly anything you want delivered to your front door in a matter of days. However, this has the potential to take a toll on your bottom line. We challenge you to choose financial stability over conve- nience. Too often, we rationalize that the convenience is worth paying a higher dollar amount. But in most cases, it's not. Really think about whether you can wait an extra day or two for an item by selecting a different shipping method or picking up the item in store. You may even find that delaying that purchase by just a few hours or even minutes will make you realize that you don't need it at all Stock Up On Essentials Your house is likely always in need of toilet paper, dish soap. laundry detergent and perhaps a few other items. You know these are items that your household needs to function, so don't wait until you are completely out to buy more. If you keep an eye out for sales, you can stock up on these items and even buy in bulk to really reduce your overall cost. Some retailers even discount your purchases for subscribing to receive certain items on a recurring basis. Just be sure to regularly review your subscriptions so you are not purchasing items you don't need just to "save" 5%! Be a Problem Solver While some household fixes are too serious to tackle on your own, there are many others that can be solved with a little help from YouTube. The next time something breaks, see if you can find free online tutorials for fixing it yourself. You will be surprised at how much this can save you, and you'll learn a little something in the process too! You can be on your way to better habits by implementing even one of these steps into your life. Need a little more help? Con- tact us today and we'l be glad to help you get control of your finances with our convenient accounts and online services! - TARMERS & IlMERCHANTS BANK & TRUST O FDIC Mene Downtown Marinette 1644 Ludington St. 715-735-6617 Marinette Branch 2811 Roosevelt Rd. Crivitz Branch 114 $. Hwy 141 715-854-7445 715-732-4411 www.fmmarinette.com