April is Financial Literary Awareness Month and Wisconsinites worried about housing, grocery and transportation costs, or watching their retirement account on the stock market roller coaster, may be wondering what they should do.
Many households are still recovering from the economic impact of the pandemic, as concerns mount about the effects of tariffs.
Todd Christensen, education manager for the nonprofit Money Fit Financial, said creating a spending plan and identifying priorities is a good first step. If you are considering buying a car or house, or taking a vacation, he noted a budget is about more than dollars and cents.
"Whatever it is that motivates you, set a purpose, is number one," Christensen outlined. "Number two is not to start adding income -- that's usually where people start -- but you've got to prioritize expenses. If you don't prioritize them, you will inevitably have to start eliminating expenses anyway. And you'll go with your emotions rather than with the rational part of your brain."
Christensen sees cash, credit cards and popular "buy now, pay later" apps as convenient tools consumers often misuse. The convenience prompts human nature to kick in and encourage overspending. He suggested having two checking accounts, with one for automatic bill payment and another for fun purchases, and a savings account for long and short-term goals.
Christensen supports teaching kids good money management habits before they earn spending cash as teens by mowing lawns, babysitting or doing chores. If they are not taught how to take care of small amounts of money as early as possible, he cautioned, they will be "terrible" with larger amounts as adults.
"By age two, children have been in their parents' arms going through a checkout stand enough times that they know that there's an exchange going on," Christensen observed. "They're learning that there's something magical about that plastic card, or about the phone that they tap."
The Bureau of Labor Statistics said between 2022 and 2023, Green Bay workers earned an average wage of $28 an hour in May 2023 compared to the nationwide figure at almost $32 an hour. Employees in management jobs earned the most at almost $63 per hour, health care practitioners and technical workers earn nearly $50 per hour, and legal staffers earned $47 per hour.
