One new New Year’s resolution for financial well-being
December 20 2016 - 12:30PM
In the midst of the busy holiday season it’s easy to get swept up
in a swirl of festivities. But don’t allow a cyber-Grinch to
steal your celebration.
With the increase in online shopping, sneaky hackers are working
overtime to gain uninvited access to your accounts. To help reduce
the risk of identity theft, take a few moments to update the login
credentials – password and perhaps even your username – for your
online financial accounts. To remain safe over time, make
this part of your financial New Year’s resolutions each
year.
This is especially important if you use the same login
credentials for multiple sites.
One way to help keep your information safe is to create
different usernames and passwords for each of your online financial
accounts. Hackers count on habits, and they often use spyware to
steal a username and password from one account to gain access to
your private information in others. Don’t be a victim this season –
help thwart would-be hackers by updating to unique login
credentials for all online financial accounts.
And now that you’re cyber savvy with New Year’s resolution #1,
here are four more resolutions the bankers at First Tennessee
suggest to improve your financial health in 2017.
- Adopt a Budget – Let’s be real. In
the same way that fad diets or quick-fix exercise programs often
fail, unrealistic budgets usually get tossed away like old wrapping
paper. Track your spending for one month to see where your money is
going, and then create a sustainable budget that balances expenses
versus income. Resolve to eliminate unnecessary expenditures for
one month and determine a better way to use any extra funds.
- Attack Debt – Focus first on credit cards and
loans with high interest rates and resolve to pay them down as soon
as possible. The sooner you get out from under the burden of
high-interest debt, the sooner you can put that extra money to work
for you.
- Allocate Extra – Increase monthly loan
payments for auto, college or mortgage debt. Making an additional
partial loan payment each month can help reduce debt faster and
potentially save thousands of dollars in interest. You can
make an additional full mortgage payment each year by simply paying
half your mortgage note every other week, which is simple if you
have the payments automatically deducted from your checking
account.
- Anticipate Emergencies – Life is full of
surprises, and many have price tags attached. So prepare
yourself for unexpected financial shortfalls by establishing an
emergency fund. Putting aside just one dollar a day will yield $365
by this time next year, and increasing that to $1.50 each day will
generate almost $550. The important thing is to develop a habit of
saving that promotes financial security.
About First Tennessee BankFirst Tennessee was
founded during the Civil War in 1864 and has the 14th oldest
national bank charter in the country and one of the highest
customer retention rates of any bank in the country. First
Tennessee has the largest deposit market share in Tennessee.
The FTB Advisors wealth management group has 313 financial advisors
and $27 billion in assets under administration. First Tennessee,
FTN Financial and FTB Advisors are part of First Horizon National
Corp. (NYSE:FHN), which has 4,300 employees. First Horizon has been
recognized as one of the nation's best employers by Working Mother
and American Banker. More information is available at
www.FirstTennessee.com.
FHN-G
Contact: James Dowd (901) 523-4305 JEDowd@FirstTennessee.com
Kim Cherry (901) 523-4380 KCherry@FirstTennessee.com
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