KCAL On Your Side: Improving your financial health in 2023
It's hard right now to improve your finances, between inflation and rising interest rates. But there are steps you can take to boost your bank account in 2023.
Financial experts say now is the perfect time to improve your financial health.
Starting with tackling those credit card balances. Interest rates on credit cards are at an all-time high. The average rate is sitting around 19 percent.
"So if you have the national average credit card debt, which is around $5,500, according to TransUnion, if you only make minimum payments at that average rate, you're going to be in debt for about 17 years and you're going to pay about $7,500 in interest," said Bankrate.com Senior Industry Analyst Ted Rossman.
So the best bet is to get a zero-interest credit card and roll those balances over. You can get up to 21 months at zero percent to pay off the debt.
Other tips:
- This is a good time to check your credit report. Make sure there isn't anything on there you don't recognize.
- If you have any extra cash you don't need, move it into a federally insured savings account. You can get up to 4.16-percent interest.
- Get rid of any subscriptions you don't need. You may not realize you're still paying for them.
If you're looking to buy a home, interest rates are likely to continue to rise and experts do not see them coming down until the end of this year into 2024.