How Healthy Are Your Finances? Virginia CPAs Offer Tips!

Need to start a new diet? The Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants (VSCPA) offers the following tips to help get your finances in shape.

1. Start small. You can make simple changes in spending and saving that will improve your financial health for years to come.

2. Open a 401(k) retirement account. Check to see if your employer matches a percentage of your contribution. A matching contribution is free money.

3. Bank your raise (or at least a portion of it). If you don’t get used to having the extra money, you won’t miss it.

4. Pay down your loans. Make repaying them a priority over discretionary consumer spending.

5. Raise the deductible on your insurance policy. For example, if it’s $100, increase it to $200. It will have an impact on your premium payments.

6. Be energy efficient. Turn down the thermostat, and turn off the lights.

7. Pay your credit card bill in full each month. You’ll avoid interest charges. Choose credit cards with cash back rewards and no annual fees. Review your free credit report annually at www.annualcreditreport.com.  

8. Dust off your library cards. You can watch DVDs and get books for free. And many libraries offer free Internet access.

9. Kick a spending habit. Smoking is hard on the wallet and your health. Brew your own coffee at one-eighth the price of a latte.

10. Take advantage of free financial resources. Visit the VSCPA’s consumer Web site, www.FinancialFitness.org, for a financial check-up quiz, budget templates, money management articles and a wealth of financial tools! Also, e-mail financialfitness@vscpa.com to sign up for a free monthly e-newsletter or to “Ask a CPA” your financial question.

Through community outreach and education, the VSCPA’s award-winning Financial Fitness campaign is part of a national effort of the CPA profession to educate and increase knowledge of Virginians and all Americans — from school children to retirees — on topics related to wise money management and fiscal responsibility.

For more information on the VSCPA Financial Fitness program, please contact VSCPA Media & Public Relations Specialist Shawnte Reynolds at sreynolds@vscpa.com or (800) 733-8272.

The Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants (VSCPA) is the leading professional association dedicated to enhancing the success of CPAs. Founded in 1909, the VSCPA has approximately 8,300 members who work in public accounting, industry, government and education. For more information, please visit the Press Room on the VSCPA Web site at www.vscpa.com, e-mail vscpa@vscpa.com or call (800) 733-8272. To search for a CPA in your geographic region, visit www.FinancialFitness.org and click on “Find a CPA.”