It’s two things:
Feeling good about your financial situation
Knowing what to do next with your money
No matter where you are on the financial spectrum today, Fidelity can help you achieve financial wellness.
Keep scrolling to learn more.
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It's okay to question whether you're making the right money moves. Financial planning isn't something most of us learned in school.
Are you...
Take advantage of a workplace savings plan, like a 401(k) or a 403(b). If you are already enrolled, consider contributing 1% more.
Access online learning resources in the NetBenefits.com Library for more help and ideas to manage your goals.
Great! Keep going! Try doing one new thing (for example, increase your savings rate or research a new investment vehicle).
No matter how you're feeling—unsure, worried, positive, or excited—we can help. Use our 70+ years of experience. Our series of steps will help you manage your financial life so you can feel good about what you're doing now—and know what to do next.
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Let's start with budgeting—the foundation for your financial wellness.
Reality: More than half of people (52%) spend more than they earn or just break even each month.1
Creating and maintaining a budget (which is just an outline for how you spend your money) sounds like a basic step–but it’s an important one. To get started:
Create a budget using the 50/15/5 rule: Put 50% of take-home pay towards essential expenses (like food and housing), consider saving at least 15%* of pre-tax income for retirement, and 5% towards short-term savings.
*Includes any employer contribution
Reality: 40% of people have too much debt.2
Don’t let high-interest debt from credit cards pile up (pay off your bill in full each month). Other forms of debt (like a mortgage) can be okay. They can help build good credit and generally have lower interest rates and tax advantages.
Pay down your high-interest credit card debt first, followed by private student loans. Pay monthly minimums on government student loans, car loans, and mortgages.
Reality: Only 30% of people are saving at least 15% for retirement.3
Once you have a budget in place, and a plan to address your debt, you need to do 2 things:
Consider saving and investing at least 15%* of your pre-tax income for retirement in a workplace plan like a 401(k), 403(b), or 457(b).
*Includes any employer contribution
Reality: Only 45% of people have at least 3 months of expenses saved.4
Once you’re saving and growing your money by investing, make sure you’re protected against loss.
Build an emergency savings fund to cover 3–6 months of essential expenses.
Review your health care and insurance benefits annually to make sure you have enough coverage.
As you can see, the financial wellness levels—budgeting, debt, saving, and protection—build as you go to guide you from day-to-day stability like paying bills on time, to helping you achieve goals like retiring comfortably.
Congratulations! You’re ready to begin your journey with a better understanding of what it means to be financially well. Fidelity can help you confidently take next steps for tomorrow.
