National Financial Planning Month: Year-End Money Management

Financial Planning Month Part 1: Prep Your Savings for Year-End Expenses

October is National Financial Planning Month, making it the perfect time to strengthen your financial foundation. In this two-part series, you’ll receive tips to protect your budget before the holiday spending season begins, plus learn how to secure your family’s financial future.

This week, we’re focusing on three interconnected pillars: emergency savings, smart debt management, and safeguarding your assets.

Build Your Financial Safety Net

When October temps start falling and the holidays are in sight, keep in mind that life can throw unexpected expenses your way, causing financial strain. Whether it’s a sudden major appliance replacement or repair, a hospital room visit, or an unexpected job change, having a solid financial safety net isn’t just smart, it’s essential.

Financial experts recommend saving 3-6 months of living expenses in an easily accessible account to use as emergency savings. Don’t let that number overwhelm you if you’re starting from zero. Even $500 can cover many common emergencies and prevent you from relying on high-interest credit cards.

As you build your safety net of emergency cash funds, you’ll feel better prepared to handle what life throws your way.

Achieva’s Solutions for Financial Planning

Achieva Credit Union has several checking and savings options that come with GOOD perks for money management.* For instance, with Achieva Checking Plus, you’ll receive high-yield interest³ and valuable protections like identity theft protection¹ and credit file monitoring⁵. This helps you spot potential financial issues before they become emergencies.

Regarding the emergency savings mentioned above, you can build your wealth using Achieva’s Consumer Premium Savings accounts. They offer competitive rates while keeping your emergency fund separate from your everyday spending money. Additionally, you’ll earn higher premiums than traditional savings accounts, making it a great choice to include in your year-end money management routine.

Tackle High-Interest Debt Strategically

With the holiday season approaching quickly, getting a handle on existing debt now can prevent a financial hangover come January. The best way to approach existing debt is to tackle it using a two-part solution.

Part 1: Consolidate for savings: Consolidating multiple high-interest debts into a single, lower-rate loan has the potential to save you thousands. Achieva Personal Loans often offer significantly lower rates than store credit cards, especially for borrowers with good credit.

Part 2: Holiday spending without the debt trap: As you tackle existing debt, avoid creating new problems during the holidays using the following tips:

Never spend more than you can pay off by January.
Keep away from store credit cards with sky-high interest rates.
Set a firm holiday budget and stick to it.
Consider using cash or debit for discretionary purchases.

Protecting Your Financial Future

Building wealth is only half the equation—protecting what you’ve built is equally important. Many people focus so intently on saving that they skimp on insurance, not realizing that one major incident can wipe out years of careful financial planning.

Start with an annual insurance checkup

October is perfect for your annual insurance checkup. Ask yourself:

Auto Insurance: Are you getting all available discounts?
Homeowners/Renters: Do coverage limits reflect current property values?
Life Insurance: Does coverage match your current financial obligations?
Health Insurance: Are you maximizing plan benefits?

Get professional insurance guidance that saves money

Achieva Insurance Agency provides expert guidance that identifies gaps in your protection while finding money-saving opportunities. Get competitive quotes across multiple insurance types, with local expertise that understands regional risks.

Take Action Before the Year Ends!

✓ Build your safety net and tackle debt strategically.
✓ Protect your assets with proper insurance coverage.

Visit Achieva Credit Union to explore more savings and debt management options, or contact Achieva Insurance Agency for a complimentary insurance review that sets you up for financial success.

Next week: Growing your wealth and securing your family’s financial legacy.

*.Registration/activation required. 1. IDProtect service is a personal identity theft protection service available to account owner(s) and their joint account holders. For revocable grantor trusts, the service is available only when a grantor is serving as a trustee and covers the grantor trustee(s). For all other fiduciary accounts, the service covers the beneficiary, who must be the primary member (fiduciary is not covered). Achieva Checking Plus is not available to businesses, clubs, organizations and/or churches and their members, schools and employees/students. 2. Special Program Notes: The descriptions herein are summaries only and do not include all terms, conditions and exclusions of the benefits described. Please refer to the actual Guide to Benefit and/or insurance documents for complete details of coverage and exclusions. Guide to benefit and/or insurance documents are provided at account opening. Coverage is provided through the company named in the Guide to Benefit or on the certificate of insurance. Achieva Credit Union has partnered with Econocheck Corporation to offer certain products and services. These products and services are not offered, performed or insured by Achieva Credit Union. 3. You may earn interest on your Achieva Checking Plus Account when you have 18 posted transactions per checking statement cycle, are using your Achieva debit or credit card, or a combination of both. The Annual Percentage Yield (APY) for the Achieva Checking Plus Account can be earned for balances up to and including $15,000. Certain fees may apply and may reduce earnings. 4. Standard data and text messaging rates may apply. Contact your mobile carrier for details. 5. Credit file monitoring may take several days to begin following activation. 6. Immediate family members of such, defined to include parents, children, spouse, or surviving spouse of the member, or any other relative by blood, marriage, or adoption even though such individuals do not reside in the same household with the member are eligible for membership. Insurance products are not insured by NCUA or any Federal Government Agency and are not a deposit of or insured by the Credit Union or any Credit Union affiliate.