by Scott L Nelson, Stake Finance Specialist

If you’re looking to get a bit closer to managing your money and reaching your financial goals, try these ten things that’ll each take less than ten minutes.

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Pay Down Debt

Organize your debts by the interest rate, then the current balance, and pay down the highest first (See “Personal Finances for Self-Reliance Chapter 8) —just don’t pay it at the expense of your emergency and savings accounts.

Increase Contributions

Try increasing your retirement contributions by 1% and see how you feel knowing you’re taking care of your future self.

Schedule a Date

Open your calendar and schedule “financial self-care” time to update and review what’s happening in your financial world.

Know Your Net Worth

Knowing your net worth is the best way to see your entire financial picture and enables you to make better informed financial decisions. Start measuring your net worth at least once a year.

Amp Up Savings

Check your bank savings account and see if there’s an option to move from a traditional to a high-yield savings account.

Goal Setting

Reflect on your current habits and write down specific goals for the future, then calculate how much money you’ll need to reach each one.

Pay Yourself

Make sure you’re always working toward your long-term goals by setting up automatic direct deposits into high-yield savings accounts (See Personal Finances for Self-Reliance chapter 11 for examples.)

Ask for Deals

It’s worth a phone call or two to negotiate the rates on your bills—often, Internet and phone companies will offer lower rates if you’re a loyal customer and Property Insurance Companies will offer incentives to get you to switch/ stay).

Look for Benefits

If you’re going to use a credit card, and be sure you’re paying it off monthly, look for ones that offer rewards such as airline miles or cashback.

Being good stewards of what the Lord has blessed us with isn’t as difficult as we sometimes make it out to be. Like the old joke, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” Likewise, breaking your tasks into bitesize pieces like the examples above and doing them will make a dramatic difference in your financial future.

If you have questions, or suggestions for future articles, please email me at

scottnelson84 [a t] gmail [ d o t ]com

Adapted from PersonalCapital3