As you are eagerly preparing for tax season, March is the perfect time of year to do a financial deep clean. Here are some suggestions to refresh your finances and get on track.
- Declutter Financial Accounts - Do you have savings but earning no interest? Rates have risen considerably and even money markets have a respectable yield on cash now. How about those pesky Credit Cards? Are you carrying debt on credit cards that is eating you alive? Consider consolidating them with a zero-interest rate offer.
- Organize Your Budget - with the help of a budget spreadsheet you can easily track your monthly expenses. Do you have subscriptions that are auto-debiting from your account that you no longer use? Consider cancelling them and immediately redirecting that money towards a financial goal.
- Credit Report - once a year you can request a copy of your credit report at www.FREECREDITREPORT.com to make sure everything looks on the up and up.
- Emergency Fund - Make sure you've adequately funded an emergency fund. You don't want to find yourself having to tap that 401k, especially if the markets are down, in the event of an emergency.
- Set up Financial Automation - By systematically saving into your Retirement Accounts, Emergency Fund, Christmas Savings, Home Improvement/Maintenance Fund, etc. small incremental contributions really add up, just when you need it the most.
Hopefully these tidbits of Financial Spring Cleaning get you on your way to the Financial Security you want.