5 Ways to Start Saving Money in the New Year

In this economy—and especially during this time of year—many of us are facing our very own fiscal cliff. While we may not be able to raise revenue as easily as the federal government can, these five steps may help you reach solvency and put savings in the bank, financial planners say.

1. Get organized. Put due dates for bills on an electronic calendar and you’ll get email reminders to avoid late fees. A good filing system will help when tax time rolls around and will be useful in the next step below. In fact most banks have online bill pay options for you to take care of this.
2. Get a budget. There’s a ton of free online resources for this, including mint.com and budgettracker.com. Some even track your bills.
3. Get a debit card—and some scissors for your credit cards. Better yet, pay cash whenever possible. It’s a fact that most people spend more when using a credit card. 
4. If you use a credit card, pay the full amount owed each month. Servicing that debt will only get you deeper into debt. Credit cards are generally more useful on purchases that you want to protect, as the right company will often go to bat for you in the event of returns.
5. Get a handle on your credit score. The first three steps will help with this. A higher credit score can help you get a better interest rate if you’re looking to lower your home mortgage by refinancing, or help you get lower credit rates in general.
6. Get professional help. Nonprofits like Money Management International offer assistance at no charge.  In town, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Edward Jones broker Katie Orvis and (for more extensive estate planning) firms like Muskego Legal can help you with questions on bankruptcy and protect what you have.

Once you’re free of debt and ready to grow your savings, you can look to financial services companies for investment advice, including banks (Bank of America, Wells Fargo and others), insurance agents (State Farm, American Family and others) and brokers.

Good luck!