8 financial – With credit card debt at record levels and interest rates close to highs, AARP’s one-hour approach offers practical moves—checking credit, freezing it, refinancing with 0% cards, boosting savings, shopping auto insurance, hunting unclaimed assets, canceling un
Americans are carrying record credit card balances, and with interest rates hovering near recent highs, spring cleaning isn’t just about closets. It’s about budgets.
The good news is that some of the most effective financial shakeups can be done quickly. AARP outlined “9 Smart Financial Fixes You Can Tackle in an Hour” in an October/November issue of AARP The Magazine. and this coverage adapts those ideas—plus a few others—into eight concrete tasks meant to take an hour or less.
The list starts with the kind of chore that feels unpleasant before you even begin: looking at the numbers that can judge you.
Read your credit report
Credit reports can be stressful, but checking them regularly is a practical habit. Ted Rossman, a senior industry analyst at Bankrate, said it’s a good idea to review credit reports on a routine basis.
A 2024 analysis found that nearly half of credit reports may contain errors, and those mistakes can hurt a person’s credit score. The process is now far simpler than it used to be: the big credit agencies provide free access through AnnualCreditReport.com.
As you read your report, Rossman said to look for accounts that don’t belong to you, wrong names and addresses, and anything else you don’t recognize. If something is wrong, the next step is to report the errors either to the credit bureaus or to the company that holds the account.
Freeze your credit
If the goal is to stop identity theft before it starts, a credit freeze is one of the strongest tools available. Freezing your credit ensures no one else can open an account in your name.
Rossman described the impact in direct terms: “It locks the bad guys out,” he said, speaking in 2025. “It’s one of the few proactive things we can do to protect our identities.”
A credit freeze is relatively quick to set up and it’s free. U.S. PIRG provides a step-by-step guide.
Apply for a zero-APR credit card
For people stuck under heavy credit card interest, the fix may sound counterintuitive: paying down debt with another credit card. A zero-APR credit card can be used to transfer debt from a loan with an onerous interest rate.
The mechanics matter. With a promotional period of roughly 12 to 21 months, consumers can pay no interest during that window. Rossman said, “A zero-interest card, used properly, is a huge tailwind for your debt-payoff efforts.”
Applications can be quick—consumers can apply for a zero-APR card in minutes. The warning is equally clear: people with lower credit scores may be turned down.
Open a high-yield savings account
If debt is one pressure point, low returns on cash are another. One of the simplest moves in personal finance is putting savings into an account that pays more.
Vanguard reported in a recent survey that more than half of savers earn less than 3% in annual interest. Many consumers don’t switch simply because of inertia, but online banks often offer higher rates. According to roundups from NerdWallet and Bankrate, high-yield savings accounts may offer 3.5% to 4%.
Sam Taube, a lead investing writer at NerdWallet, said in a 2025 interview, “I think that an important step there is to shop around the different options and make sure you’re getting the highest APY,” with APY defined as annual percentage yield.
Shop for discounts on auto insurance
Spending can creep up in ways people don’t notice until renewal time. Auto insurance rates are projected to rise by 7.5% in 2025, according to MarketWatch Guides.
That makes shopping before the policy renews a direct budget move. Daniel Bortz, personal finance editor at AARP, said collecting quotes from multiple insurers can speed the process. Comparison sites include Insurify, Policygenius and The Zebra.
Bortz stressed the need for apples-to-apples comparisons: “make sure you’re comparing apples to apples,” he said, speaking to USA TODAY in 2025. Coverage limits and deductibles vary between policies, and comparing without care can produce misleading price swings.
There are also adjustments that can cut costs. Bortz said you can raise your deductible and drop collision coverage on an older car. An earlier report covered additional hacks for saving on car insurance, but the key here is that policy tweaks can be part of the one-hour effort.
Look for unclaimed assets
Not all lost money is hard to find—it’s often just forgotten. Millions of Americans have unclaimed cash in lost or forgotten accounts, including old bank accounts, uncashed paychecks and even left-behind 401(k) accounts.
To search for unclaimed property, the guidance points to Missing Money, described as a one-stop clearinghouse of unclaimed property. For forgotten 401(k) money, the list directs people to the National Registry of Unclaimed Retirement Benefits.
Audit your subscriptions
Subscriptions are one of the easiest ways to leak money month after month without realizing it. Many consumers spend on streaming services and online news sites they no longer use—and those sign-ups are often forgotten just as quickly.
Bortz said the average American has something like 12 media subscriptions, and “Very often, you could be paying for a subscription you’re no longer using.”
A recent CNET survey found that the average American wastes about $200 a year on unused subscriptions.
Rossman suggested a simple audit: review the last 30 days of activity on your accounts, look for forgotten subscriptions, and follow the steps to cancel them.
Raise your 401(k) contribution
The final move is about shaping future spending rather than only trimming present costs. Saving more for retirement can pay off over time, financial planners say.
The backdrop is mixed: many Americans already do a great job saving for retirement. and the 401(k) savings rate recently reached an all-time high. Still. the maximum 401(k) contribution is $23. 500 in 2025. with even higher limits for older savers. leaving plenty of room for some people to increase contributions.
The suggestion is straightforward: increase your contribution by a percentage point or two. Rossman put it in plain, human terms: “If you’re saving 10%, can you make it 11?” he said. “The point is, especially if you do it gradually, you probably won’t even miss the money.”
All of these fixes. taken together. form a focused set of choices: check the paperwork that can cost you. lock the doors that can get you robbed. restructure debt when interest is working against you. and then reclaim money quietly draining from savings. insurance premiums. subscriptions. and retirement planning.
The pressure—record credit card debt and near-high interest rates—doesn’t disappear. But an hour of deliberate attention can still change the math.
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