Spring cleaning your home is a wonderful way to set the stage for a tidier year ahead. The same can be said for a financial spring cleaning. Let’s look at the top five tips to clean up your financial life and make the year ahead just a bit easier on your wallet.
- Examine Every Subscription and Streaming Service. According to the Federal Trade Commission, the average American household wastes $32.84 a month on unused subscriptions. These include access to music, movies, books, as well as video games, magazines, newspapers, and so much more. In just one year, that adds up to nearly $400. To add that money back into your monthly budget, take a look at every subscription and streaming service you have. It might require that you review your credit card statement. If you have any that you don’t use or don’t use often, end the subscription. Additionally, opt-out of auto-renewals for these services. That will force you to carefully consider re-subscribing.
- Organize Your Bills and Budget. When you know where all of your paid and unpaid bills are located, it’s easier to stay on top of your monthly expenses. It can also ensure everything gets paid on time, which can help keep your credit healthy. Additionally, take a close look at where your money is going. Is “savings” part of your monthly budget? Are there any areas of the budget where you can make cuts? Whatever you can eliminate or reduce can be used to boost your emergency savings and pad your overall family budget.
- Eliminate Old Paperwork and Accounts. If you have unused checking or other accounts or credit cards that never get used, close them and properly destroy the card(s) and old checks. This can keep them from falling into the wrong hands without your knowledge. Additionally, shred any documents that are no longer needed. Yes, you should hang onto some documents forever, including property documents, legal documents, and birth certificates, but everything else has a shelf life.
- Hang on to these documents for 6 Years:
- Tax records
- Financial Institution statements
- Medical statements
- Retirement statements
- Shred these documents when they are no longer needed:
- Electronically deposited checks after one year
- Insurance paperwork (you only need the current policy)
- Loan documents that are paid off
- Hang on to these documents for 6 Years:
- Review Your Credit Report. Every year, you’re entitled to a free credit report from each of the three reporting agencies. Visit annualcreditreport.com to download yours. Once you have a copy, look for possible fraud, duplicate accounts, incorrect information, and any errors that could affect your overall credit score. If you find anything that needs to be updated, contact the reporting credit agency.
- Set Realistic Financial Goals. Depending on your household income and the amount of that income that goes toward debt, write down some financial goals you’d like to accomplish. This could include buying a home or a more dependable car, paying off high-interest debt, or simply boosting your emergency savings account. Once you write it down, put the note somewhere that you and others involved in the goal will see it every day.
Let’s Talk about Your Financial Goals
Central Willamette CU has the tools to help with your financial spring cleaning. Stop by any branch, call (541) 928-4536, or simply check out our Personal Lines of Credit for a flexible way of accessing money when you need it, our Unsecured Personal Loans designed to help you pay off high-interest debts, or our Platinum Visa Credit Card with a low introductory balance transfer APR* to help you eliminate unwanted debt.