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Put Your Best Financial Foot Forward in the New Year

At the start of the new year, we tend to set a whole bunch of intentions about “better” ways to do everything from eating to exercising to managing money. When it comes to increasing our chances to improve our “financial fitness” in the new year, we asked some of our trusted banking professionals to share their favorite tips to help boost savings. From time-tested to high-tech, let the team at North Shore Bank help you put your best financial foot forward this year!
 
North Shore Bank - 100 Years. What are the best tips for saving money?Streamline How You Save. By far the top tip offered by our team is setting up your payroll deposit so that a portion of your paycheck – determined by your income, expenses and savings goals – goes directly into a savings account. “Just think of it as another of your regular bills,” suggests Aubrey Abrahamson, our Assistant Branch Manager in Allouez. Adds Cathy Swanson, a Mortgage Underwriter at our corporate office, “Everything you save adds up. You can start small and work your way up to a larger amount as your budget allows.”
 
Be Real about Your Budget. One of the favorite budgeting tools of Shannon Quinn, a Personal Banker at our Brookfield Capitol branch, is to apply the 50/30/20 budget method. “In general, we should spend about 50% of our monthly income on expenses, 30% on ‘wants,’ with the remaining 20% going into savings,” he explains. Even if you can’t start at that amount right now, you can work up to it. Abrahamson adds, “Being realistic with your budget also means being honest about random spending. If you know you like to get take-out food every Friday night, put that in your budget – or assess if you might need to trim it out.”
 
Take Advantage of Mobile and Tech Tools. North Shore Bank offers a host of different tools and technologies that can help track spending and boost savings. Abrahamson suggests the “Trends” tab within Online Banking to help customers get a better handle on where they are spending, while Emmeline Knight-Guzman, Assistant Branch Manager at Howard-Suamico, suggests the new My Card Manager tool, which allows users to set limits on different categories of spending.
 
Don’t Underestimate “Old School” Savings. The time-tested “change jar” can be a fun way to save, especially if you have young kids who can help or are saving for a smaller special purchase. “Save your singles and/or your change somewhere it’s easy to access as a reminder,” suggests Lacee Kalepp, Area Branch Manager for Northland-Menasha. “It’s a tangible way to watch savings add up, and always fun to cash in!”
 
North Shore Bank customers enjoy free coin-counting. Stop by a branch to learn more.
How can the dedicated team at North Shore Bank help you establish savings best practices and meet your savings goals for the year head? We’d love to hear from you and are always here to answer questions and provide assistance.
 
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