If you think about it, Spring is also a pretty ideal time to clean your finances as well. But how or why would I spring clean my finances? Or you might take the sunnier days to spruce up your garden, organize your pantry, and finally move the couches outside so you can clean under them without fear of a dark cloud soaking them before you’re done. Some might say the rain and snow season is over, so time to clean those gutters, wash those windows, and filter out your closet for winter clothes you just won’t wear anymore. Cleaning up this debt quickly can put you in a much better financial position for the rest of the year.Why is the term “Spring Cleaning” so popular? What makes Spring particularly beneficial for cleaning? At the very least, put yourself on a stricter debt payoff plan, and pay off any debt you accumulated over the holidays. What does your current debt load look like? Spring is a good time to look at your total outstanding debts and see which loans or credit cards you could pay off entirely this year. Automatic bill pay will eliminate the chances of missing a payment and paying those pesky late fees. Set up automatic bill pay, and link it to your primary checking account. Spring cleaning isn't only about de-cluttering - it's also about making things more efficient. Use a Personal Budget Worksheet to help organize your finances. Make sure you're reporting expenses accurately and have made some room for savings account contributions. Is your budget up to date? Have you incorporated any increases or decreases in your income? Take a close look at your budget to see if you need to make any modifications. Also, important financial documents like a will, stocks certificates or bonds should be put in a safe place like a locked box or an online secure vault.To learn more about preventing identity theft, click here. Protect yourself against identity theft by logging your financial passwords in a password protected or encrypted document and storing it in a safe place. Even though you might be logging in over a secure Internet connection, there's still a risk that someone who figures out your password will attempt to access other accounts with the same log in information. Make sure you're not using the same password and log in information for all your online bank accounts and other financial accounts. Record Your Financial Passwords and Store Records in a Safe Place Plus, since the IRS accepts scanned copies of receipts, having those records available could come in handy in the event of an audit.Ĭontact your local credit union (opens new window) to find out if they host an annual shred day or event. Reducing paper clutter will not only help you stay more organized, it will also put your mind at ease. They are just waiting to be picked up by an identity thief. Leaving important documents in the trash without properly shredding them is a bad idea. But don't simply toss paperwork in the trash. If you're unsure about whether you should get rid of certain types of receipts, scan them or make a copy, then go ahead and shred the rest. Since the IRS has up to six years to audit you, keep your tax returns, canceled checks and receipts, and any records supporting your tax deduction for at least six years. Sort through your statements, pay stubs, bills and other financial records, and keep only the documents that are absolutely necessary. Organize and/or Shred Old Financial Documents Learn more about credit reports, credit scores and fixing credit report errors. Unfortunately, the majority of adults in America don’t review their credit report yearly. To take advantage of all your rights under this law, contact the credit reporting agency and the information provider. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, both the credit reporting agency and the information provider (that is, the person, company, or organization that provides information about you to a credit reporting agency) are responsible for correcting inaccurate or incomplete information in your report. Make sure your credit reports are free of mistakes. Review Your Credit Reportīy law, you're entitled to order one free credit report yearly from each of the three major credit bureaus.
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