Your 2023 Financial Wellness Guide

Is there a dream vacation in your near future, a new car, or perhaps a new home? With 2023 just around the corner, now is the perfect time to evaluate your finances, set financial goals, and start planning your budget for the year ahead. After all, the sooner you get a handle on everyday expenses and put a savings strategy in place, the more opportunity you’ll have to reach your savings goals.

Whether you’re saving up for a large purchase or focusing on building your emergency fund, choosing a Chase checking account can help provide a head-start. Together with the savvy savings strategies and budgeting tips below, you’ll be well-positioned to start off the New Year off right.

Start by determining how much you earn and spend on both regular and routine costs (from monthly bills and groceries to medical checkups and car maintenance). To help determine these costs, track your household expenses by reviewing several months of bank and credit card statements. Once you’ve determined what it takes to cover these expected expenses, set a savings goal that’s comfortable — perhaps starting at 5% of your after-tax income, eventually rising as you see fit — and plot how to reach it.

This budgeting worksheet can help you plan for the months ahead, and offset new expenses that you may incur to keep up with New Year’s resolutions, such as a gym membership or creative workshop. It may also help to open a separate checking account for these new expenses, like Chase Total Checking®, which requires no minimum deposit and allows customers to manage their money, deposit checks and pay bills or people from anywhere.

Between inflation, increasing energy costs, and growing economic uncertainty, you may also wish to reevaluate these monthly expenses and adjust accordingly. Likewise, to save some cash, it’s an opportune moment to turn to community events or the local library as sources for free or low-cost entertainment.

Once you’ve got a handle on your expenses and identified a savings target, decide where you’ll focus your financial efforts. For example, do you want to save for education, or finally renovate your basement so that your teens have a place to hang out?

Visualizing a specific item that you’re saving for, setting a tangible financial goal, and working backwards to set monthly and yearly savings targets can help keep you motivated as you work towards your goal.

Tip: Don’t forget to build some micro-targets (say, putting aside funds for a new mobile phone or a fabulous pair of heels) into your plan as well. Working towards these smaller wins can help get you accustomed to practicing good financial habits.

If cutting back on monthly activities isn’t giving your finances enough of a boost, try automatically setting aside funds from your paycheck into a savings account. Autosave can help you reach your savings goals with automatic transfers from your Chase checking to your Chase savings account. All you have to do is create a goal, set an automatic transfer, and watch your savings grow. Other savvy strategies include paying down high-interest debt or consciously hold off before making a big purchase to determine if it’s truly a must-have. 

Alternatively, you may want to adopt the 50/30/20 rule—a popular budgeting technique that categorizes your monthly income. It’s simple: divide after-tax monthly earnings into three spending categories, allocating 50% to your needs, 30% to your wants, and 20% towards either savings or paying down debt. Need more than a basic checking account? Consider Chase Premier Plus CheckingSM, which earns interest and you’ll also save money on counter check fees, cashier’s check fees, and other select fees. 

If you’re not already using digital tools to help manage your finances, you’re missing out. Check your bank’s mobile app to see what resources are available to you. (Chase Mobile® app is available for select mobile devices. Message and data rates may apply.) Credit Journey, for example, monitors your credit score and provides round-the-clock support, while protecting you and your score through identity monitoring. For debit and credit cardmembers, Chase Offers provides exclusive deals at top retailers that can be found right in the mobile app. So, whether you’re looking to track spending or enjoy credit score monitoring capabilities, it’s easy to make this technology work for you.

Tip: Interested in an account with no overdraft fees every month? Consider Chase Secure BankingSM.

As you make your financial resolutions for 2023 and beyond, don’t forget to get your kids involved. It’s never too early to start teaching them the basics of money or touch on the subject of financial wellness—topics that your entire family can learn more about by reviewing this handy conversation guide.

Kids typically learn best by doing, which is why it’s important to explore what children’s banking resources your bank provides. Chase First Banking provides the opportunity to put actual tools into a child’s hands and allows them to experience money by having their own debit card, all while the parent can supervise spending via the mobile app. This is a great starting point for teaching children how to enjoy a healthier, more responsible relationship with money.

Setting aside a few minutes during this busy holiday season to create a New Year’s budget and 2023 savings plan may seem like a luxury you can’t afford. But there’s no time like the present — and no better gift you can give yourself and your family — to have a clear financial roadmap for the year ahead.

Accounts subject to approval.