You have a 401(k) from an old employer that you haven't looked at in weeks, a high-interest credit card you've been meaning to do something about for months, and cash sitting in your checking account that's doing nothing. You've been meaning to whip your finances into shape for a while now, but haven't had the time. Do it now: take a day off of work or school if you have to, get up early, and put your finances through boot camp. Here's how.
Photo remixed from an original by JutASC (Shutterstock)
Take a Day Off
The first thing you'll want to do is make sure you take a day off from work or school where you won't be distracted by your daily activities. You don't actually have to play hooky, but if that's what it takes, do it. You're going to spend a lot of time on the phone, so you don't want to be distracted by an incoming call from a colleague at the office or a family member at home that wants your attention. For this to work, you'll need—at least for a good portion of the day—to sequester yourself in a quiet place where you can focus while you use the phone, read documents, and browse the web.
0800 Hours: Enroll In (or Check Up On) Your 401(k)
If your employer offers a 401(k) and you're not using it (especially if your employer is willing to match some portion of your contribution), now's the time to sign up. Most companies partner with an investment firm to manage their 401(k) program, and to enroll all you have to do is log in to that firm's site with credentials supplied by your employer (or sign-in instructions supplied by your employer.) Photo by _e.t.
SEE MORE at THEIR WEBSITE0900 Hours: Move/Consolidate Your Old 401(k)
If you're changed jobs a few times and made use of your employer's retirement funds at each company, you probably have a couple of 401(k) enrollments lying around collecting dust. If you've been attentive, you know which funds you're enrolled in for each of them and how each one of them is performing. Then again, if you were attentive, you wouldn't need to take a day off for financial boot camp. SEE MORE at THEIR WEBSITE
1000 Hours: Call Your Credit Card Companies for Lower Interest Rates
This step may take a while if you have several credit cards, but now's the time to take a look at your bills, the interest rates you're paying for each credit card, and start making phone calls to ask for lower rates. We've discussed how a simple phone call can save you money on your credit card bill, and discussed it again in our bill by bill guide to saving money on your monthly expenses.SEE MORE at THEIR WEBSITE
1100 Hours: Call The Lowest Interest Card Issuers and Consolidate Debt
After you've called your credit card issuers and negotiated lower interest rates, your debt landscape should have changed a bit. Now that you have lower rates from some companies (and perhaps no results from others,) take the next hour to call the ones with the lowest rates and see if you can consolidate your credit card debt to one, low-interest card. There may be a balance transfer fee associated with the move, but many issuers waive the fee for new customers and customers who have been with them for a long time. Photo by Andres Rueda.SEE MORE at THEIR WEBSITE
1200 Hours: Lunch
Seriously. You've been working a full day here whipping your finances into shape. Take some time to put your feet up and enjoy a well-deserved meal. If you don't feel like taking a whole hour out of the day when there's more to do, you can use some of this time to follow up on phone calls from earlier, or eat into this hour if the previous steps are running behind. Whatever you do though, take a time out for at least a little while: it's been a productive morning! SEE MORE at THEIR WEBSITE
1300 Hours: Call Your Cable/Cell Phone/Internet Service Provider and Negotiate Lower Bills
It'll help to go into these conversations educated. Before you pick up the phone, check out your cable provider, wireless carrier, or ISP's website to see how much they're offering your level of service to new customers. Then go check out their major competition in your area, if there's competition available. There's no guarantee that you'll get the same bargains when you call them up to and ask for it, but you'll at least know how much you could save.Photo by Mike Fisher.
When you call your cable TV company or ISP, cite how much they're offering your level of service to new customers, and ask if you can get a break. Explain that you don't want to have to leave for the competition, even if their packages are competitive. This is another situation where a front-line customer service rep may not be able to help, and you'll have to chat with a customer retention representative or a sales rep who can get you to the right people. When you call your cell phone carrier, keep your usage in mind and bump down to a lower-cost plan if you're paying for features you don't use.
Your mileage may vary here. Some companies will be happy to offer long-time customers a break on their bills to keep their business: I actually had a Comcast rep ask me how much I was willing to pay per-month for my current level of service just to keep me as a customer. Other reps have heard this refrain from enough customers that it just won't work anymore, even if you cite their own discounts and bargains. You may have to make good on your threats to quit and go with a lower priced competitor-which is why it's important to do the research before you call. Don't cancel on the spot, but if they won't help, let them know you likely will. For some more tips on how to trim those bills, check out our guide to minimizing your monthly expenses.
1400 Hours: Call Your Bank to Automate Your Checking and Savings Accounts
Now that you've organized your retirement funds and gotten yourself a break on your monthly expenses, it's time to do the heavy lifting and call your bank. At the very least, you'll want to take some time to open a high-interest savings account (or any interest-bearing account) if your bank offers one that you qualify for, but the real goal here is to take the time to automate and organize your routine expenses and cash flow. Photo by m.prinke.
Once you have your savings account open, consider opening an additional checking account for your bills. SEE MORE at THEIR WEBSITEI
1500 Hours: Open High-Interest CDs or Interest Bearing Accounts
Now that you've gotten your regular expenses sorted out with your bank, it's time to take some of your discrectionary cash (if you have any, of course) and put it to work doing something better than standing by in your checking account for your next impulse buy.SEE MORE at THEIR WEBSITE
1600 Hours: Spruce Up Your Budget
By this time, the banks are closing, and financial institutions are winding down the end of their business day. It's time to put the phone down and turn your attention to matters at home. Take a look at your budget, and make sure that your expenses actually match up with it. Many of you said that the humble spreadsheet was one of your favorite personal finance tools: make sure the money going out of your bank account actually matches up with the spreadsheet. If it's not, it's time to reevaluate your budget, or try a ddifferent tool that can help you create and stick to a budget. Photo by espensorvik.SEE MORE at THEIR WEBSITE
1700 Hours: Clean Up
By now your finances should be in order, and in the last hour you spent some time making sure that you trusted the processes you set up and understood where your money was coming from and eventually going. Now, take it a step further and tidy up your documents and files. Shred old bank statements and bills that you don't need anymore and scan documents like your tax returns, old W-2s and 1099s that you want to keep. Get your filing cabinet in order, and take some time to dig out from the piles of paper that you probably have, and may have spent a good deal of the day sifting through.SEE MORE at THEIR WEBSITE
1800 Hours: Dinner
You're all finished, and your day of boot camp is over. If you didn't finish everything, make a short list of the things you want to come back to, or the things that require some follow-up when you have other documents at hand or after you've spoken to someone you couldn't reach. Don't let the ball drop just because your boot camp day is over-follow up and finish the job. SEE MORE at THEIR WEBSITE
Thoughts?
What do you think? Are there additional steps that you would put into a financial boot camp regimen? Do you think it's too much to tackle in one day? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
You can reach Alan Henry, the author of this post, on tehwebsite
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