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Boost your finances in 2025: Experts share top New Year's money resolutions

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Boost your finances in 2025: Experts share top New Year's money resolutions

With holiday credit card bills starting to roll in, you might want to shift your New Year’s resolution from your waistline to your wallet.

In a Fox 32 money saver special report, we asked the experts for a little help on how to boost your finances in 2025.

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SMART MONEY MOVES

Why you should care:

“Some of the resolutions, some of the tips we would recommend for your New Year resolutions, financially, is to plan for retirement,” said Chip Lupo, a writer and analyst at WalletHub.

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Lupo said it’s critically important that you begin to build an emergency fund to avoid relying on high-interest credit cards during life’s unexpected moments.

“We’re in a situation now where, because of the inflationary economy, people are now relying on credit cards for everyday expenses when the primary objective of a credit card for most people is to have basically an emergency fund,” Lupo said.

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Lupo said that wages aren’t keeping up with the rate of inflation, and people are turning to credit cards for the essentials such as food and gas, which leads to significant debt by the end of the year.

“I think a big area that lot of consumers can agree on was the rising living costs,” said consumer finance expert Andrea Woroch. “Inflation impacting how much they’re spending on housing, transportation, groceries as well as even health care.”

MAKE A GAME PLAN

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What you can do:

Woroch said you need to get back to the basics – set a budget this year and follow it.

“A lot of people think of a budget as being really restrictive and while it does cap you on spending in certain areas, a budget allows you to see where you are potentially wasting money on things you don’t need,” Woroch said.

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If you think setting up a budget can be overwhelming, Woroch said going into debt and having no money in savings can be even worse.

Not to mention, there are digital tools and apps to help you set a budget, like the “You Need a Budget” app, or YNAB.

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“Saying you are going to pay off debt is not enough. You have to be specific with how much debt you are going to pay off and set a realistic goal,” Woroch said.

When you take on this financial resolution, Woroch said it’s important to have a plan in place. Use a balance transfer credit card or pay off the smallest balance first.

If you don’t have a plan, Woroch said you will likely just continue your cycle of debt.

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Another tip from our experts, they both recommended taking advantage of the high interest rates being offered with online bank accounts or CD’s.

The Source: For this story, the Fox 32 Chicago Special Projects team spoke with leading personal finance experts Chip Lupo from WalletHub and Andrea Woroch.

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Southport takes ‘each day at a time’ as state investigation continues

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Southport takes ‘each day at a time’ as state investigation continues

Southport communities and families continue to seek for recreational activities as state investigators keep probing into the city parks and recreation department.

It’s been more than two weeks since the State Bureau of Investigation began its investigation into Southport’s Parks and Recreation Department and the city remains unsure as to what will happen after the investigation.

Southport Police Chief Todd Coring on March 11 requested the State Bureau of Investigation to assist with investigating a financial discrepancy within the city, SBI Public Information Director Chad Flowers said.

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At 4:45 p.m. on March 11, the city of Southport published a news release announcing four unnamed employees from its parks and recreation department were placed on paid administrative leave due to an “appearance of financial irregularities.” The announcement also stated parks and recreation programs and facilities were on shutdown.

The “appearance” of financial irregularities was discovered after a forensic accounting investigation, according to the release.

Though approximately 13 children participated in the parks and recreation programs, Public Information Officer ChyAnn Ketchum said, the community used the facilities for events, activities, sports and classes.

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Asked how often the facilities were used by the community, Ketchum was unable to provide a response.

“We are still working on gathering data, so I am not able to provide even an estimate right now,” Ketchum said.

What has happened since the shutdown?

Program Director Maureen “Cookie” Moore resigned March 12, Ketchum confirmed.

The city’s parks and recreation before and after-school programs have been suspended indefinitely and all parks and recreation facilities and buildings remain closed, and events cancelled until further notice.

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The city’s community relations department has tried to help by temporarily taking over reservations of the Jaycee Building to honor existing reservations and hosting an Easter egg hunt.

Since the parks and recreation department matter has been turned to the SBI for further review, agents with the SBI’s coastal division are actively working to handle the case, Flowers previously told the StarNews.

What’s next for the case and the city of Southport?

The case remains ongoing and active, Flowers said. No new information is being released at this time.

“Financial crimes cases normally take longer due to the number of documents and records involved,” Flowers said.

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When it comes to how the city will move forward after the investigation closes, Ketchum is unsure.

“Because it is still an active investigation, we have to take each day at a time,” Ketchum said.

STAY CONNECTED: Keep up with the area’s latest Brunswick County news by signing up for the Brunswick Today newsletter and following us on Facebook and Instagram.

Savanna Tenenoff covers Brunswick County for the StarNews. Reach her at stenenoff@usatodayco.com.

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State to appoint fiscal monitor over NOLA-PS, citing ‘significant’ financial management issues

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State to appoint fiscal monitor over NOLA-PS, citing ‘significant’ financial management issues

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Louisiana’s Department of Education has informed the Orleans Parish public school district that it will install a monitor to oversee its financial management, citing a pattern of “significant deficiencies” over the past two years.

State superintendent Dr. Cade Brumley delivered the news in a letter sent Friday (March 27) to NOLA-PS superintendent Dr. Fateama Fulmore.

“Due to repeated accounting miscalculations within the Orleans Parish School System (NOLA-PS), schools have faced multiple years of financial uncertainty,” Brumley wrote. “This letter serves as formal notice that, as a result of these errors, the Louisiana Department of Education will appoint a fiscal risk monitor for your school system.

“The purpose of this appointment is to provide enhanced oversight of tax revenue accounting and reporting by NOLA-PS. This will include special engagement conducted by an independent certified public accountant over the next year.”

NOLA-PS did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox 8.

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Brumley cited a list of alleged “deficiencies” by the New Orleans school district, including:

  • Failure to adhere to fundamental accounting principles
  • Classification in the LDOE Fiscal Risk Assessment “Monitor” category, reflecting a high level of concern, including designation under a Critical Situation during the fiscal year
  • Negative impacts on budgeting decisions for school systems across the state
  • Provision of inaccurate financial information to NOLA-PS schools
  • Potential violation of state law due to failure to provide accurate financial data to LDOE

The appointed monitor will be tasked with reviewing the financial practices of the district, ensuring it takes corrective measures, and reporting back to the LDOE about changes made and ongoing risks. It is believed to be the first state intervention into the Orleans Parish school system since it was restructured in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Dr. Fateama S. Fulmore, superintendent of NOLA Public Schools.(NOLA Public Schools)

Nyesha Veal has served as the chief financial officer for NOLA-PS since 2024. Brumley’s letter did not mention her by name, but alleged a pattern of accounting errors and financial mismanagement over the past two years, including the recent underreporting of approximately $13 million in sales tax revenue in the last annual financial report.

Brumley wrote that the LDOE was notified of this problem by “school leaders,” and that the NOLA-PS CFO was questions about the disparity.

“During that discussion, the CFO acknowledged that the STR data submitted to LDOE was incorrect and had been underreported by approximately $13 million. The CFO further indicated that the omission of June 2025 sales tax revenue from the AFR, as well as the delayed submission of tax data, had no impact.

“This assertion is incorrect. The omission and delay have had material consequences, including impacts on statewide funding calculations and local budget planning. This reflects a concerning lack of understanding regarding the importance of accurate and timely financial reporting by NOLA-PS. … This is not an isolated incident of concern within the financial management of the system that can be overlooked as a simple mistake. Instead, this is a repeated pattern and must be addressed immediately.”

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Car finance saga: Millions of motorists to find out how they will be compensated

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Car finance saga: Millions of motorists to find out how they will be compensated

Millions of motorists who were mis-sold a car loan will find out how they will be compensated, as the finance watchdog shares its final plans for an industry-wide scheme.

Final decisions on the long-awaited programme will be published by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on Monday afternoon.

The regulator set out draft plans last year but it is likely to make several changes after receiving more than 1,000 responses to its consultation.

Under the latest proposals, the scheme will cover car finance agreements taken out between April 6 2007 and November 1 2024.

The FCA estimated that around 14 million deals, or 44% of all those made since 2007, were unfair and therefore eligible for compensation.

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Consumers were estimated to be compensated an average of £700 per agreement, but it will be more or less depending on individual cases.

This was expected to come at a total cost of £11 billion to the industry, including the total payouts and the operational costs of running the scheme.

Craig Tebbutt, a financial health expert for Equifax UK, said: “It has previously been estimated that average compensation levels could be in the region of £700 per agreement but the final details around the scale, scope and timelines are expected to be confirmed on Monday.

“However, there is nothing to stop consumers checking their paperwork now and getting their details ready in the meantime.”

He said research by the credit reporting firm found that “many consumers don’t know how to check their eligibility and expect the process to be a hassle, with old or missing paperwork being a real barrier”.

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Equifax has launched a car finance checker within its new app that lets people see a list of their past agreements and copy the details, with motorists encouraged to send a complaint to their lender using a template on the FCA’s website if they think they’re eligible for a payout.

Lenders and car finance providers had been challenging the FCA’s proposals with some raising concerns that the expected amount of compensation is too high and does not accurately reflect what customers lost.

On the other side, some consumer groups and MPs have argued that many motorists will be short-changed under the current plans.

The FCA said millions of motorists could receive compensation in 2026 (Jacob King/PA) · Jacob King

The FCA has already announced some changes that it is making to the process since the proposals were unveiled last year.

This includes giving lenders more time to contact motor finance customers from when the scheme is officially launched.

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But it is also aiming to streamline the process by allowing those due redress to accept it immediately without waiting for a final determination.

It thinks that this means million of people would receive compensation in 2026.

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