Five Steps To Fiscal Fitness

CLEVELAND, Jan. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Financial wellness – like physical fitness – doesn't happen overnight. To be financially well is to be confident that everyday financial choices create financial flexibility to manage unexpected financial challenges and to make the most of financial opportunity.

And financial wellness, like physical fitness, isn't simply a matter of what you do. It's what you do every day that matters. Financial wellness requires consistent and continuous activity. But the payoff for financial wellness, just like the payoff for physical fitness, is well worth the effort. 

In celebration of Financial Wellness Month, KeyBank offers the following five steps toward becoming financially well:

1. Pay yourself. Nearly two-thirds of Americans don't maintain adequate savings to pay for an unexpected $1,000 expense. Yes, it's important to pay down credit card debt. But tapping savings rather than an interest-bearing credit card to pay for unanticipated costs is less expensive in the long run.
2. Pay others, meaning credit card issuers, and pay them on time. Paying credit card bills on time protects your credit score. Earn bonus points for paying extra – the required minimum AND that month's charges, including interest.
3. Watch your wallet. Know where your money is going. Look for one or two small but regular expenses that you can live without. Boost your emergency fund with the money saved.
4. Help your employer help you. Company matches up to a certain percent of your 401(K) contribution? Make that match. Company offers automatic health savings account deductions? Participating in a HSA can help meet the cost of insurance deductibles and unexpected medical costs. Plus, HSA contributions accumulate from year to year, and might come in handy for medical expenses in retirement.
5. Be consistent. Base all financial decisions – even the small ones – on how the choice today affects financial wellness tomorrow.

This material is presented for informational purposes only and should not be construed as individual tax or financial advice. Please consult with legal, tax and/or financial advisors. KeyBank does not provide legal advice.

About KeyCorp

Key traces its history back more than 160 years and is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. One of the nation's largest bank-based financial services companies, Key has assets of approximately $94 billion. Key KEY provides deposit, lending, cash management and investment services to individuals, small and medium-sized business under the name KeyBank National Association. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name.

For more information about KeyBank, visit www.key.com. Follow Key on Twitter at @keybank or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/keybank.

Banking products and services are offered by KeyBank National Association. Key.com is a federally registered service mark of KeyCorp. ©2015 KeyCorp. KeyBank is Member FDIC. Credit applications are subject to credit approval.

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SOURCE KeyBank