Now’s the time to get a grip on finances

If you're not on top of your finances in this recession, now's the time to get a grip.

See how you stack up to the 1,000 consumers age 18 and older who responded to a survey released earlier this month by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.

Their responses were "both surprising and predictable," foundation spokeswoman Gail Cunningham said.

"One of the key results was that consumers apparently now recognize their need for financial literacy. When times are good, you tend to kick back and put your finances on auto-pilot," she said.

"As difficult as this recession is, it may be the best financial wake-up call that we've had. Consumers now realize that they need to crawl back over into the driver's seat and take charge of their financial future," she said. "There's plenty of help available to facilitate that move."

Here's what consumers who participated in the study said about their:

Credit report. Although it's free from each of the three credit reporting agencies at http://www.annualcreditreport.com, 64 percent of the respondents haven't ordered a copy of their report in the past 12 months.

Have you ordered yours? Try ordering from a different agency each quarter through the above site in order to get the best year-round snapshot of your credit status. Don't forget to temporarily lift your security freeze first, if you have one activated.

Credit score. A big chunk of respondents, 37 percent, don't know their credit score, even though they're available through the free site for the price of a cheap T-shirt, about $6.

Tracking spending habits. About 42 percent said they do have a budget and do keep close track of their spending. Most, or 57 percent, don't have a budget and 7 percent don't have a clue how much they spend.

Do you know where your money goes -- and do you have a budget?

Non-retirement savings. Happily, 65 percent of the respondents said they do have savings apart from retirement savings. But 32 percent said they don't.

"It's astounding to me that one-third of the people have zero emergency savings," Cunningham said. "They are living without a financial safety net and are just one flat tire away from financial distress."

Retirement savings. Are you like the 33 percent in the survey who don't save a dime for retirement? The biggest percentage, 34 percent, save from 1 percent to 10 percent of their income annually.

Bill-paying habits. An impressive 70 percent said they pay all of their bills on time and have no debts in collection. Not so, though, for 26 percent of the respondents who admitted to not paying all of their bills on time. Ten percent struggle to pay their bills every month.

Not paying bills on time seriously knocks down your credit score.

Financial savvy. A big chunk of those surveyed, 41 percent, gave themselves a grade of C, D or F for their knowledge of personal finance. What grade would you give yourself?

The take-home message: Track your spending and start saving, Cunningham said.

Contact Iris Taylor at (804) 649-6349 or .