Want to take control of your finances? Word to the wise: make small but meaningful changes so it becomes more doable and less painful instead of taking long years to accomplish.

Here are nifty ways to strengthen your financial wellbeing today:

Lower your monthly bills – and slash them some more.

Call your cable, internet, and mobile phone providers and ask for new deals and offers that can topple your current plan in terms of value for money. If you’re aware of a competitor’s offer, mention it and your provider just might match it. If no match war ensues, switch to the competitor. If you’ve got unlimited texting, protection plans, or subscriptions that you don’t need or barely use, it’s best to drop them right away.

Reduce your credit card debt.

Accumulating interest on your credit card? Call your card issuer and politely ask for a lower rate. You can also consider making a little more than the minimum monthly repayments so you’re paying the debt off sooner. Better yet, keep an eye on your card usage and spending habits to keep unnecessary debt at bay.

Shop around for insurance.

At least once every year, take time to make phone calls to insurers to shop for comparisons. It might surprise you to know you can drastically lower your auto, life, health, or home insurance premiums by a little bit more and make them friendlier to the pocket.

Plug your biggest money drain.

Sometimes it can leave you feeling stumped: “Where are all my money going?” Sit down with your bills and statements, and take time to know where all those pesos are going. Find out your biggest cash chompers — from entertainment to your coffee habit to everyday lunches. Plug that leak with simple, practical steps, such as drinking coffee at the office pantry, grocery shopping, or starting a free hobby. Small losses can mean big wins, so be ruthless in your budgeting expedition.

Dodge fees on everyday banking.

If your bank is charging you a lot of fees or depriving you of competitive interest rates, then you’re actually losing money. Switch to safe, convenient, uninterrupted banking via the ING all-digital savings account, which lets you bank on your smartphone through interbank fund transfer or mobile check deposit. Best of all, it comes with no minimum balance, no lock-in periods, and no fees that can make a serious dent on your savings or rainy-day fund.

Savings also becomes easier said than done as ING offers a 4 percent interest rate per annum (for balance up to P10 million) from now until October 31, 2019. This is up to 16 times higher than rates currently offered by other savings products in banks.

Download the ING Philippines - Digital Bank app for iOS or Android to get into a true savings mindset today.