January is a big month for making resolutions.  And if you’ve been making resolutions for a while, you know how many of them fall by the wayside before February.

These suggested resolutions are different in two ways -- they’re in the ‘set and forget’ category, and they can make your life so much easier that you’re likely to keep them:

 

* Set up direct deposit.  Once you arrange to receive regular payments like your paycheck or Social Security and pension checks with direct deposit, you’ll never have to worry about making timely deposits again.  You’ll know that your deposit is in your account exactly when you expect it to be.

* Set up automated transfers to savings to pay yourself first.  The next smart step, after direct deposit, is to get funds into savings right away so they can begin earning dividends from the get-go.

* Automate your mortgage payment.  Even with the typical grace period that most mortgage lenders allow, it’s always a good move to take care of that big monthly payment.  Again, you’ll never have to worry about making the payment on time.

* Automate minimum credit card payment or payments.  The penalty for a late credit card payment is not pretty.  Set up an automated payment to cover at least the minimum due on all your credit cards; you can always pay additional amounts so you retire those debts as soon as possible.  Set payments a few days before the due dates to protect your credit score.  This is easy to accomplish with CPFCU's free suite of online services, like Bill Pay.

* Arrange to have any overdrafts automatically covered from savings or another credit union account.  Even if an overdraft is rare in your household, it can happen to the best money managers.  Make sure you can cover any inadvertent overdraft with a direct transfer from your savings or other credit union account, and there’s another worry you’ll never have again.  (CPFCU offers several overdraft protection options, including savings and Cross-Account Transfers.  Call a Member Service Representative for more information.)

 

If you’ve already managed these resolutions, then think of one or two more that could help you get on -- and stay on -- the straight and narrow financially.  For example, you might want to set up a low balance alert or a payment due alert from CPFCU’s free Mobile Money service.