Warm spring weather normally brings about spring cleaning. While you are thinking about how you are going to clean your home, consider doing a little bit of spring cleaning for your finances as well. Read on for five areas of focus for your financial life cleanup.
Banking
Start by cleaning up your bank accounts. Consolidate any unnecessary accounts, and shred any old statements and checks. Close any accounts that you don’t need, or that you still have open from two moves ago. Opt for paperless statements if you feel like you are drowning in bank statements. Automate any monthly payments so that you don’t have to continue thinking about them each month.
Spending
Take a look at your spending habits over the past year. Identify places that you have over spent, and places that you can save a little bit more. Find places to cut back on, such as your daily coffee run, streaming services, etc. If you are trying to save money, it helps to automatically put it into another bank account each month. That way, you won’t even be tempted by the extra money sitting in your account.
Credit Report
The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires that the three major credit reporting agencies give you a free report once per year. Order them this spring to see where you stand. If you find any errors on your report, get them taken care of as soon as possible. Make a plan to lower your credit score over the next year. You can start by making sure that you pay your credit card bill on time, if you don’t already.
Home Inventory
Take time to inventory everything that you have. While this seems like a chore, it will actually help you in the long run. If you ever have to file a homeowner’s or rental insurance claim, you have to have a home inventory list. Take photos of the items in your home that are worth money such as electronics and furniture. Write down how much each item cost and how much it would cost to replace. It is also a good idea to sell anything that you don’t use or need as you do your inventory.
Insurance and Cell Phone Rates
Call your insurance provider and cell phone company to see if they can decrease your rates. It doesn’t hurt to also begin shopping around to see if you can find a better rate somewhere else. Re-evaluate your plans to make sure that you aren’t being charged for something that you will never use.