The Importance of Spring Cleaning your Living Spaces and your Wallet

Spring cleaning is a time where you tackle onerous tasks and projects like purging your closet, power-washing the house, or sorting through the pantry. But spring cleaning should go beyond just your living spaces as your finances can likely use some of that narrowed in attention as well.

There are several ways you can review and refresh your financial life to prepare for the organized and revived financial year.

1. Refresh your Budget: The year has started and now is a time to take a realistic look at your budget and current expenses. A healthy, balanced budget is the first step to see how you can adapt new spending patterns to free up more money and see if it is meeting all your needs and goals. Create a simple worksheet that you can check in with monthly to help ensure you’re on track.
2. Explore Mobile Apps: Let’s face it, there is an app for everything nowadays. Try giving a financial tracking app a chance to making your life easier and more convenient. Some suggestive apps like Mint, PocketGuard, or Prism all have different features based on your needs from budgeting to bill pay or debt repayment progress.  (read this again,  you might want to make some modifications to these two sentences to help make them clearer).
3. Eliminate Late Fees: Establish a bill-paying process that works for you. Everyone is different, but creating an established process is important especially for families, couples, or roommates who may need to split bills. Define each person’s role and set up reminders to avoid late fees and help pay bills on time.  For instance, enlisting in auto-bill programs or creating a calendar with due dates can be efficient.
4. Washing Down Debt: Procrastination can be one of the largest challenges in the way of a debt-free life. Try adjusting your budget and commit to paying off your credit cards or student loans on time-or even early. Many people feel overwhelmed or unsure of where to start, but don’t worry, we can help. Contact Partnership Wealth Management today for help creating an action plan for your debt-free life.
5. Review your Insurance Policies: Life can change in the blink of an eye and over time your insurance needs could change with them. Review your current coverage and talk with your insurance agent about the possibility of securing lower rates on auto, life, or home insurance. If you can lower your monthly premiums, that money can be redirected elsewhere in your budget.
6. Shred old Financial Documents: Knock out two tasks in one swoop for your living space and financial life. The IRS recommends keeping tax returns and other important documents for at least seven years after you file your tax return. Go through your financial documents and shred your older files and create a system that keeps them organized and easily accessible. Check out Bankrate’s reference sheet to determine how long you should keep various types of financial documents.
7. Cleaning Out Clutter: While it seems that spam phone calls and junk email are constantly piling up your inbox or mailbox, there might be a way to get ahead of it. Most of these letters and emails come with an unsubscribe or stop option, so make a point to eliminate the clutter. Also, the National Credit Bureau has a hotline and website that you can visit to opt out of unwanted credit card and loan solicitations.

The correlation of spring cleaning between your living spaces and financial life is something that should be thought of more collaboratively.

Questions and Consultations

If you have questions or if you’d like to schedule an appointment to discuss your finances, contact us today.

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Partnership Wealth Management is a comprehensive financial services company. We are committed to providing our clients with financial planning and wealth management services to help them make the most of their investments. At Partnership Wealth Management we have a long history of working with the LGBT community. Among our many services, we offer financial planning for gay couples and lesbian couples as well as estate planning for gay couples and lesbian couples. Financial planning is an important part of preparing for the future, contact us today to get started: www.partnershipwm.com.