{"id":6468,"date":"2025-07-30T09:24:44","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T14:24:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/?post_type=education&#038;p=6468"},"modified":"2025-07-30T10:47:25","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T15:47:25","slug":"the-importance-of-being-financially-fit","status":"publish","type":"education","link":"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/education\/the-importance-of-being-financially-fit\/","title":{"rendered":"The Importance of Being Financially Fit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Being financially fit is crucial for a well-balanced, stress-free life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s why (and how):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-expand-your-financial-knowledge\">Expand Your Financial Knowledge<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A financially fit person is constantly broadening their money knowledge. They read personal finance books and <a href=\"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/education\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">blogs<\/a>, attend seminars and are aware of the evolving state of the economy. This enables them to make money decisions from a position of knowledge and power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-stick-to-a-budget\">Stick to a Budget<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A financially fit person knows that tracking monthly expenses is key to financial health. They are careful to set aside money from their monthly income for all fixed and discretionary expenses and to <a href=\"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/education\/first-budget\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">stay within budget<\/a> for each spending category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-minimize-debt\">Minimize Debt<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A financially fit person is committed to paying down debts and seeks to live debt-free. Constant budgeting, ongoing financial education and planning enables them to make it through the month, and through unexpected expenses, without spiraling into debt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-maximize-savings\">Maximize Savings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A financially fit person prioritizes savings. This allows them to think ahead and build a comfortable nest egg or emergency fund. In turn, having a robust safety net means sleeping better at night knowing there\u2019s money available to cover unexpected expenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-maintain-complete-awareness-of-the-state-of-your-finances\">Maintain Complete Awareness of the State of Your Finances<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A financially fit person knows exactly how much money they owe, the accumulated value of their assets and the complete sum of their fixed and fluctuating expenses. This awareness takes the stress out of money management, allowing them to make better financial choices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-maintain-a-healthy-credit-score\">Maintain a Healthy Credit Score<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A financially fit person knows that an excellent credit history and score are crucial factors to long-term financial health. They&#8217;re the kind of person who is careful to pay bills on time, hold onto credit cards for a while striving to keep credit utilization low. This helps them qualify for long-term loans with favorable interest rates, which saves them money for years to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-create-concrete-financial-goals\">Create Concrete Financial Goals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A financially fit person has long-term and short-term financial goals. This enables them to keep their focus on the big picture when making everyday money choices and empowers them to realize their financial dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-achieve-financial-independence\">Achieve Financial Independence<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A financially fit person is independent. By sticking to a budget, prioritizing savings and maintaining an awareness of their finances, they are strong, secure and completely independent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can achieve financial fitness. Whether you\u2019re just starting out on your path or if you\u2019re continuing your journey of being financially fit, St. Paul Federal Credit Union is here to help. Keep up to date on our <a href=\"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/education\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">education page<\/a> and subscribe to our emails for tips, tools and products to help keep you financially fit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Being financially fit is crucial for a well-balanced, stress-free life. Here\u2019s why (and how): Expand Your Financial Knowledge A financially fit person is constantly broadening their money knowledge. They read personal finance books and blogs, attend seminars and are aware of the evolving state of the economy. This enables them to make money decisions from [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":6469,"template":"","education-category":[194],"class_list":["post-6468","education","type-education","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","education-category-tips-resources"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Importance of Being Financially Fit - St. Paul Federal Credit Union<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"You may not have known the importance, but being financially fit is crucial for a well-balanced, stress-free life. Here\u2019s why (and how):\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/education\/the-importance-of-being-financially-fit\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Importance of Being Financially Fit\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"You may not have known the importance, but being financially fit is crucial for a well-balanced, stress-free life. Here\u2019s why (and how):\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/education\/the-importance-of-being-financially-fit\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"St. Paul Federal Credit Union\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/stpaulfcu.org\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-30T15:47:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/financialfitnesscouple.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"875\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@StPaulFCU\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpaulfcu.org\\\/education\\\/the-importance-of-being-financially-fit\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpaulfcu.org\\\/education\\\/the-importance-of-being-financially-fit\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Importance of Being Financially Fit - St. Paul Federal Credit Union\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpaulfcu.org\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpaulfcu.org\\\/education\\\/the-importance-of-being-financially-fit\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpaulfcu.org\\\/education\\\/the-importance-of-being-financially-fit\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpaulfcu.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/financialfitnesscouple.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-30T14:24:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-30T15:47:25+00:00\",\"description\":\"You may not have known the importance, but being financially fit is crucial for a well-balanced, stress-free life. Here\u2019s why (and how):\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpaulfcu.org\\\/education\\\/the-importance-of-being-financially-fit\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/stpaulfcu.org\\\/education\\\/the-importance-of-being-financially-fit\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpaulfcu.org\\\/education\\\/the-importance-of-being-financially-fit\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpaulfcu.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/financialfitnesscouple.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpaulfcu.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/financialfitnesscouple.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":875,\"caption\":\"A couple discussing the importance of being financial fit\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpaulfcu.org\\\/education\\\/the-importance-of-being-financially-fit\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpaulfcu.org\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Education\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpaulfcu.org\\\/education\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"The Importance of Being Financially Fit\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpaulfcu.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpaulfcu.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"St. Paul Federal Credit Union\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpaulfcu.org\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpaulfcu.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpaulfcu.org\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"St. Paul Federal Credit Union\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpaulfcu.org\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpaulfcu.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpaulfcu.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/07\\\/logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpaulfcu.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/07\\\/logo.png\",\"width\":264,\"height\":46,\"caption\":\"St. Paul Federal Credit Union\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/stpaulfcu.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/stpaulfcu.org\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/StPaulFCU\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Importance of Being Financially Fit - St. Paul Federal Credit Union","description":"You may not have known the importance, but being financially fit is crucial for a well-balanced, stress-free life. Here\u2019s why (and how):","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/education\/the-importance-of-being-financially-fit\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Importance of Being Financially Fit","og_description":"You may not have known the importance, but being financially fit is crucial for a well-balanced, stress-free life. Here\u2019s why (and how):","og_url":"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/education\/the-importance-of-being-financially-fit\/","og_site_name":"St. Paul Federal Credit Union","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/stpaulfcu.org\/","article_modified_time":"2025-07-30T15:47:25+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":875,"url":"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/financialfitnesscouple.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@StPaulFCU","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/education\/the-importance-of-being-financially-fit\/","url":"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/education\/the-importance-of-being-financially-fit\/","name":"The Importance of Being Financially Fit - St. Paul Federal Credit Union","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/education\/the-importance-of-being-financially-fit\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/education\/the-importance-of-being-financially-fit\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/financialfitnesscouple.jpg","datePublished":"2025-07-30T14:24:44+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-30T15:47:25+00:00","description":"You may not have known the importance, but being financially fit is crucial for a well-balanced, stress-free life. Here\u2019s why (and how):","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/education\/the-importance-of-being-financially-fit\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/education\/the-importance-of-being-financially-fit\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/education\/the-importance-of-being-financially-fit\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/financialfitnesscouple.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/financialfitnesscouple.jpg","width":1920,"height":875,"caption":"A couple discussing the importance of being financial fit"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/education\/the-importance-of-being-financially-fit\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Education","item":"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/education\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"The Importance of Being Financially Fit"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/","name":"St. Paul Federal Credit Union","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/#organization","name":"St. Paul Federal Credit Union","url":"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/logo.png","width":264,"height":46,"caption":"St. Paul Federal Credit Union"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/stpaulfcu.org\/","https:\/\/x.com\/StPaulFCU"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/education\/6468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/education"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/education"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/6469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"education-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stpaulfcu.org\/api\/wp\/v2\/education-category?post=6468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}