Spring Cleaning Your Financial House

Have you ever met anyone that doesn’t have at least one area of clutter in his/her house? I would bet that even the tidiest of homes has a closet or drawer that gets cluttered from time to time.

Life gets busy. We throw stuff here and there, planning to deal with it later. Then before we know it, we have created an all-day project. Hence the term—Spring Cleaning.

Honestly, our financial houses are no different. And may in fact be worse. Even though you think you have everything in order and in its place, your finances won’t stay stagnant. This means your financial house gets messy without you even knowing it.

Take for example your liability insurance…When was the last time your Life Planner reviewed this with you? Notice I didn’t say insurance agent – your Life Planner. Let’s just consider this review:

Over the past several years, my bet is that your assets have grown. Inflation might have contributed to this. Perhaps you bought something here and there…all of which could have outdated and altered your insurance needs. You may think you have more than enough only to find out the hard way you weren’t covered at all.  How is this possible, you ask?

Well, let’s get back to that “Life Planner” point with another bet. My bet is that you and your insurance agent work on a “don’t ask, don’t tell situation.” You only tell them what you think they need to know. And they only ask what is pertinent to the information you give them. Imagine trying to complete a jigsaw puzzle without the picture on the box. Yep! Complete trial and error…. something you really don’t want when it comes to protecting everything you have built.

Needless to say, this is just one example. Let’s consider where it hurts right now—your pocket book. Most of us are thinking a little differently when we look at that gas pump. We are feeling it in our wallets and becoming more mindful. And food costs? Inflation is a beast right now.

The truth is that you can’t change costs going up, but you can do some spring cleaning for your pocket book. Schedule some time to look through the charges on your cards and bank accounts. Specifically, take a look at some of these:

1. Subscription services and mobile apps
2. Streaming services (total cost of your TV time)
3. Other memberships and subscriptions – reading, websites, etc.

I bet you’re paying for one or two you don’t need, don’t use or want, or otherwise. You might even find a few extra gallons of gas each week!

Likewise, what about your service providers? When was the last time you looked at the competition? Look through your list of bills. What can you shop around or even get rid of? You might be surprised.

These are just a few ideas to help with your spring cleaning. You may be at a place in life when there is something else glaring at you day and night. The point is to make it a point. After all, won’t it feel good when you are done?

So, take it in four steps:

1. Look at the house below and pick something.
2. Calendarize time to get after it.
3. Celebrate your hard work.
4. Repeat

Happy Spring Cleaning!