Received a tax refund? Consider the following five ideas to stretch your dollars further.
Start a savings goal – Whether your goal is a summer vacation or buying a house, having a tangible goal makes savings more real and attainable. The Piggy Bank feature In the Money Network Mobile App* makes it easy to set aside money. You can add up to three Piggy Banks in your App* and even set up automatic transfers from future deposits.
Pay down credit cards – Making minimum payments on credit cards often isn’t enough to get out of debt, especially with the high interest rates some cards carry. Pay off a card with a high interest and try to avoid using it.
Build your emergency fund – If you have an emergency fund, use this lump sum to increase it for when that emergency hits. If you don’t have one, open one in a way you’re unlikely to use for a non-emergency.
Open a retirement account – If you’re a millennial, retirement may seem like it’s never going to happen. But planning for retirement today makes the inevitable a lot easier. If you invest a $2,000 tax refund in an index fund at age 29, in 30 years it will grow to $20,400 (assuming the stock market continues its average 8 percent annual growth).
Pay down student loan debt - It can be hard to move forward with student loan debt hanging over your head and only a small percentage of borrowers will ever qualify for loan forgiveness. Paying down student loan debt will brighten your financial future.