7 Ways to Spring Clean Your Finances

Spring is still in the air, so it's an ideal time to clean up your finances, clear out the clutter, and get a fresh start. Maybe you have more money left over at the end of the month and could use a budget tweak. Perhaps you have too many expenses. Or maybe it’s time to apply the brakes to your credit card spending. Whatever the reason may be, consider the following seven suggestions to get a better handle on your finances.

1. Clean Up Your Spending

Whether you call it a budget or a spending plan, you only need to look in the rearview mirror over the past few months (or year for some expenses) and write down your repeating bills and expenses. When you inventory those expenses, assign a priority number from one to three, with one being expenses you must meet to avoid being evicted from your home and three being rather nice to have, but you could live without. Clear out or reduce drastically your level three expenses. For example, that $70 cable bill is a great candidate for your first cut. Try less expensive streaming services.

2. Clear the Decks and Put Your Savings on Autopilot

That 50 bucks a month you recouped by disconnecting your cable service (or calling your cable provider to request a lower or promotional rate) can now be redirected automatically to your emergency fund. If you don’t have an appropriate emergency fund, you could literally be one or two paychecks away from disaster.

3. Review Your Tax Withholding

Do you typically get a tax refund and are looking forward to that big tax refund? If so, what you've actually done is given the U.S. Government a 12-month interest-free loan. Give it to yourself as a monthly upfront paycheck increase. Adjust your withholding for a better balance and slide that extra money into savings or another investment plan.

4. Inventory Your Material Wealth

Dedicate an hour or two to photographing and cataloging your household possessions. Concentrate on the big-ticket items like your furniture and expensive electronics. Write out the approximate amount you paid and when you purchased the piece. As you bring new items into your home, save the receipts and update your inventory.

5. Check Into Your Renters/Homeowners and Auto Insurance

Your spring cleaning should include a complete insurance check-up. Go to your insurance files and this time really read the fine print. Is your coverage adequate? Does your homeowners insurance have coverage to replace everything you inventoried after you followed suggestion #4 above? If you own your home, you probably know that replacement costs have risen everywhere. Make sure you're covered.

Has it been a while since you started your current insurance policy? It could be a great time to shop around with different insurance carriers to see if you can get a lower rate. This could potentially save you hundreds of dollars per year. Or if you have separate policies with different insurance companies, combining them under one company can give you a multi-policy discount, too.

6. Plug Into Technology

Let the free and secure technology of your online banking platform keep you on the straight and narrow. Most banking sites have the settings you need to do what you wouldn’t do for yourself. Want to receive a warning when your account balance gets too low or your credit card spending is over a set amount? Your bank can do that via email or text message.

7. Get Your Paper Files in Order

For the financial papers you must keep, devise an orderly filing system. If you still keep paper copies of everything and you’re after a more simplistic method, head to your office supply store and buy an expandable folder with month separator tabs. Stash the papers you usually throw away each month in the appropriate month of the folder.

If you want even less clutter, you can digitize all your papers and store them in the cloud. Most phones have cameras and the ability to scan documents quickly and easily with the snap of the camera. You can then organize the files in your cloud storage and have them accessible to you at anytime.

Finally, remember that bad financial habits come from neglect and passive spending decisions. Spring is the ideal time to get back in the driver’s seat and reacquire the big picture. Clear out the clutter and do away with what isn't working for you.

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