Budget Basics: Saving, Spending, and Investing
Maintain a Smart Financial Plan
Balance is key when managing your money: finding the right levels of saving, spending, and investing to fit your lifestyle and your goals. It can seem overwhelming at first, but the BALANCE Financial Fitness Program makes it easy. First Source Members have free access to guides and accredited counselors to make creating and balancing your budget much more manageable.
What Are Your Financial Goals?
We’re all at different stages of life, and different points in achieving or advancing our financial goals. Are you ready to develop a spending and savings plan that works for you? Do you want to get out of debt? Review your credit or credit report? Ready to buy a home and want to know how? Maybe you’re simply planning for your financial future, and would like some assistance. BALANCE gives you free and confidential financial counseling and education to help you Live Smarter in any of these areas.
What Free Services Are Available?
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Toll-Free Counseling
Find answers to your money management and personal finance questions
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Money Management Counseling
Review your saving and spending, and develop a plan to meet your goals
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Debt Management
Seek free advice on reviewing your options for managing and repaying debt
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Credit Report Review
Review and understand your credit report and your rights with a counselor
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Housing Counseling
Receive help making a plan for purchasing a home
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Identity Theft Solutions
Learn the steps you need to take to protect your identity, or recover from ID theft
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Financial Education
Find articles, mini-sites, e-newsletters, and financial calculators for your specific needs
BALANCE also offers advice and tools for managing your specific financial needs, like student loans.
Explore these BALANCE Financial Fitness program services:
Did You Know?
Under Federal Law, free credit reports are available at AnnualCreditReport.com. Once you’ve reviewed your own credit information, you can use BALANCE to request counseling and advice for better understanding the details of your report(s).
Live Smarter By Learning More
There are BALANCE Webinars available on many different credit and budget topics. Check back often, as new webinars are continually posted.
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myBalance
Get started creating your spending plan with the myBalance budgeting tool.
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BalanceTrack
Learn about financial best practices through BalanceTrack training modules.
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Disaster Toolkit
Be ready financially for a natural disaster with the Natural Disaster Financial Toolkit.
Using BALANCE services is simple, free, and confidential. For more information, call 1.888.456.2227 Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m.-11 p.m., Friday, 8 a.m.-8 p.m. and Saturday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
Live Smarter
For information and advice on how we can help you Live Smarter with your First Source accounts and services, call 315-735-8571 to talk about your options or make an appointment with one of our friendly Member service representatives today.