January 07, 2026
Financial Education
5 Ways to Get and Stay Financially Organized
Keeping your finances organized is one of the simplest ways to reduce stress and stay in control of your money—but it’s a habit many people struggle to maintain. Between busy schedules, digital accounts, and constant transactions, it’s easy for things to slip through the cracks. The good news? A few small changes can make a big difference. Here are five practical habits to help you get—and stay—financially organized.
1. Set up mobile app notifications.
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2. Perform a monthly statement review.
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3. Add credit card/debit card alerts.
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4. Use recurring transfers to build savings.
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5. Set up automatic bill transfers.
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1. Set up mobile app notifications
Typically located under the “More” button in your banking apps, set up alerts or notifications to go off when certain triggering events occur on your accounts. Refrain from the urge to turn on all of the notifications. Look at the options and decide which ones will be the most meaningful to your money situation. Too many notifications and you’ll likely get annoyed quickly, setting you up to ignore them or turn them off altogether.
2. Perform a monthly statement review.
Whether digital or paper, you should review your bank and credit card statements monthly. To do this, we recommend setting up a recurring calendar reminder (especially if you don’t receive paper statements). Make your review less painful and less time consuming by consolidating it into 3 short steps: 1. Review the transactions. Is there any unusual or unauthorized activity? 2. Did I pay any fees? 3. Does my balance look right? Follow up immediately on any questions your review raises.
3. Add credit card/debit card alerts.
Ask your bank to send you alerts when certain activity hits your card. It’s a great way to spot and stop fraud immediately. It also helps to identify any unexpected or recurring charges. Review the options available and set up alerts for events outside of your normal card activity. For example, if you charge lunch on your card every day, being notified of every transaction over $1.00 may not make sense. On the other hand, if you use the card only for emergencies, being notified of every transaction over $1.00 will immediately alert you to suspicious activity.
4. Use recurring transfers to build savings.
How much do you want to save over the next year? To make sure you reach that goal, consider setting up a recurring transfer each month or each payday to move a set amount to your savings account. Since it won’t require your intervention on a monthly or bi-weekly basis, you’re more likely to leave the transferred funds alone and enjoy the bump in your savings account balances at the end of the year. Already have recurring transfers set up? Take a few minutes to review them, maybe you can afford to increase the amounts.
5. Set up automatic bill transfers.
Certain bills don’t vary much from month-to-month, like cell phone or utility services. Check and see if you can set up an automatic payment directly with the company. Automatic payments eliminate the need to set aside a time to pay bills. As long as you’re completing the monthly statement review (see #2 above), you’ll catch any issues with the amount you’re billed there. If you like to maintain more control, consider using the bill pay service available in your mobile banking app. It's faster than writing a check and you can set bills to be paid on the due date when they are received.
When your finances are organized, your money starts working for you instead of the other way around. Small changes like alerts, automation, and monthly reviews can create long-term peace of mind. Pick one habit to start today—your future self will thank you.