What's one thing you could do differently to improve your finances?
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans wants to know. It launched its "Do One Thing Differently" campaign to urge people to make a single, small step to fix their finances.
"You don't have to dramatically change your life to save money or plan for the future," said Jackie Hintz, Thrivent vice president of member growth. "One small step can make a huge difference in seeing your savings cushion grow or reducing your debt."
Even if you think your finances are pretty well set, tweaks can always be made. For instance, we recently reduced our Netflix subscription because we are watching more shows using instant web streaming. And we recently downgraded the data package on one of our cell phone lines because we realized we don't need unlimited access.
If you're short on a few ideas, here are some of mine to chew on:
- Bring lunch to work once more per week
- Boycott the workplace vending machine
- Paint your own nails for a month
- Swap babysitting with friends
- Make your own pizza
- Use a couple of coupons at the grocery store
- Stick to a list when shopping
- Head to the library for a DVD to watch or book to read
- Evaluate the expenses and performance of one mutual fund you own
Share your own ideas in the comments section.
Like many campaigns by financial services companies, there is the underlying message that it's a good idea to have a financial adviser. I think that while an adviser can be useful, not everyone needs one.
But the site is still worth a visit for the daily suggestions of small steps to make (why not use cash on St. Patrick's Day, for example). The site also includes a calculator that helps you quantify your savings, and a list of free workshops being conducted by Thriven financial consultants on a variety of topics, from kids and money to budgeting.
