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A12 BUSINESS
Wednesday 20 december 2023

Millennial Money: 5 financial New

Year’s resolutions for 2024

learn more about budget-
ing, saving and investing.
Whether you browse repu-
table sites online, check
out finance books from
your library, or talk to a cer-
tified financial planner or
other licensed expert, there
are lots of people who are
eager to impart their fi-
nancial know-how. As you
learn more about personal
finance, you might find
yourself getting inspired to
create your own financial
goals. Perhaps you want to
The likeness of Benjamin Franklin is seen on U.S. $100 bills, retire early, save for a down
Thursday, July 14, 2022, in Marple Township, Pa. payment on a house or
Associated Press
build a healthy emergency
CHANELLE BESSETTE of Nerd- and see if there’s any way fund. Once you’ve nailed
Wallet you can reduce your pay- down your goals, you can
The new year is upon us, ments. For example, if you determine how much mon-
and it’s a great time to earn less money now than ey you’ll need, then set a
plan for your financial fu- you did before student loan timeline for saving it.
ture. Here are five financial payments were paused, 4. TRY USING AI FOR YOUR
resolutions to consider for then updating your income FINANCES
2024. in your student loan portal In 2023, artificial intelli-
1. GET A HIGH-INTEREST may change the amount gence chatbots such as
SAVINGS ACCOUNT of your income-driven re- ChatGPT and Bard be-
Interest rates are still high payment. There’s another came popular tools for re-
on savings accounts right way you might be able to search and advice. In 2024,
now, especially high-yield reduce your payment if you can experiment with
online savings accounts. you’re on an income-driv- using them for your financ-
Some accounts are offer- en repayment plan: If you es. You can give a bot spe-
ing more than 5% annual have a retirement fund, cific prompts, such as “My
percentage yield, which is you may want to consider salary is $50,000, and I want
10 times more than the na- putting some money away to save $5,000 by the end
tional average on savings as a way to reduce your of the year. How can I do
accounts. Take advantage student loan payment. that?” and it can do the
of this “free” money by “If you put your money in math for you, calculating
opening a new account a pre-tax retirement ac- what you need to save
with a high rate or upgrad- count, that lowers your tax- and suggesting how to cut
ing your current one. Just able income for the year,” back on different expens-
make sure you avoid fees saysJen Mayer, an accred- es. You can also instruct a
as much as possible, and ited financial counselor chatbot to find you good
choose a bank or credit and founder of the Brook- deals for things like grocer-
union that is easy for you lyn, New York-based firm ies, school supplies, gifts
to access, either through Fully Funded. “The percent- and more. Just remember
remote customer service or age that you’re paying for that AI pulls information
in person. income-driven repayment from various sources, and
2. FOCUS ON STUDENT LOAN is going to be lower.” those sources may not al-
REPAYMENT 3. BUILD YOUR FINANCIAL ways be accurate. Be sure
For many, student loan KNOWLEDGE AND SET SOME to double-check any in-
payments resumed in 2023. GOALS formation you receive by
If you’re feeling anxious Though personal finance doing the math yourself,
or uncertain about how isn’t a standard part of checking with an expert or
much you owe, it’s best to an American education, going to a reputable web-
face the numbers head-on there are plenty of ways to site to learn more.
5. SET UP RECURRING DO-
NATIONS TO A NONPROFIT
Recurring donations pro-
vide reliable income to
nonprofit organizations,
which allows them to plan
their budgets more easily. If
you’re interested in setting
up recurring donations for
a particular nonprofit, there
are several ways you can
do this.q