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Credit card debt hits record levels<\/p>\n
Americans are carrying a record amount of credit card debt, and interest rates are almost near record highs.<\/p>\n
Fox – Seattle<\/p>\n
Personal finance can be daunting. Few consumers relish the thought of reading a credit report, shopping for car insurance or parsing a bank statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But what if we told you that some of the smartest \u201cfinancial fixes\u201d take an hour or less?\u00a0<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the spirit of a report from AARP titled, \u201c9 Smart Financial Fixes You Can Tackle in an Hour.\u201d It appears in the October\/November issue<\/a> of AARP The Magazine.\u00a0<\/p>\n We\u2019ve adapted their report into one of our own, covering some favorite AARP tips and a few others.\u00a0<\/p>\n Here, then, are 8 financial fixes for anyone with an hour to spare.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Read your credit report\u00a0<\/p>\n Credit reports are inherently scary. But it\u2019s a good idea to check yours regularly, said Ted Rossman<\/a>, a senior industry analyst at Bankrate.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n One 2024 analysis found that nearly half of credit reports may contain errors<\/a>. Those mistakes can hurt your credit score.<\/p>\n It\u2019s fairly easy nowadays to read a credit report. The big credit agencies give you free access on the site AnnualCreditReport.com<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n As you read your report, Rossman said, look for accounts that don\u2019t belong to you, wrong names and addresses and anything else you don\u2019t recognize. Report errors to the credit bureaus, or to the company that holds the account.\u00a0<\/p>\n Freeze your credit\u00a0<\/p>\n Freezing your credit ensures no one else can open an account in your name. It\u2019s a strong defense against identity theft.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt locks the bad guys out,\u201d Rossman said. \u201cIt\u2019s one of the few proactive things we can do to protect our identities.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n A credit freeze is relatively quick, and it\u2019s free. U.S. PIRG offers a step-by-step guide<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Apply for a zero-APR credit card\u00a0<\/p>\n Vexed by credit card debt? One of the best ways to pay it off, ironically enough, is with another credit card.\u00a0<\/p>\n A zero-APR credit card<\/a> is a potent tool for paying down debt. Here\u2019s how it works: You transfer debt onto the card from another loan with an onerous interest rate. Then, you have a promotional period of roughly 12 to 21 months to pay it off. During that time, you pay no interest.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cA zero-interest card, used properly, is a huge tailwind for your debt-payoff efforts,\u201d Rossman said.\u00a0<\/p>\n You can apply for a zero-APR card in minutes. Be forewarned, though, that consumers with lower credit scores may get turned down.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Open a high-yield savings account\u00a0<\/p>\n One of the easiest fixes in personal finance is to put your savings to work in a high-yield account.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n More than half of savers earn less than 3%<\/a> in annual interest, Vanguard reported in a recent survey.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Inertia hinders many consumers from seeking out higher rates. But many online banks offer 3.5% to 4% on high-yield savings, according to roundups from NerdWallet<\/a> and Bankrate<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think that an important step there is to shop around the different options and make sure you\u2019re getting the highest APY,\u201d or annual percentage yield, said\u202fSam Taube<\/a>, a lead investing writer at NerdWallet.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n Shop for discounts on auto insurance\u00a0<\/p>\n Auto insurance rates are projected to rise by 7.5% in 2025<\/a>, according to MarketWatch Guides.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n All the more reason to shop around before renewing your policy, said Daniel Bortz, personal finance editor at AARP.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n To speed things up, collect quotes from multiple insurers. You can do that on comparison sites such as Insurify<\/a>, Policygenius<\/a> and The Zebra<\/a>, Bortz said.\u00a0<\/p>\n As you shop, \u201cmake sure you\u2019re comparing apples to apples,\u201d Bortz said. Policies differ on coverage limits and deductibles.\u00a0<\/p>\n You can also save money by tweaking your policy. You can raise your deductible. You can drop collision coverage on an older car. In an earlier report, we covered those and other hacks for saving on car insurance<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Look for unclaimed assets\u00a0<\/p>\n Millions of Americans have unclaimed cash in lost or forgotten accounts: old bank accounts, uncashed paychecks and even left-behind 401(k) accounts<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Drop in to\u202fMissing Money<\/a>, a one-stop clearinghouse of unclaimed property, to find old bank accounts and other lost funds.\u00a0<\/p>\n For forgotten 401(k) money, check out the\u202fNational Registry of Unclaimed Retirement Benefits<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Audit your subscriptions\u00a0<\/p>\n Many consumers spend money every month on subscriptions they don\u2019t use. It\u2019s easy to sign up for a streaming service or online news site. It\u2019s just as easy to forget about it.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe average American has something like 12 media subscriptions,\u201d Bortz said. \u201cVery often, you could be paying for a subscription you\u2019re no longer using.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n