Review Your Finances This Spring
Plan Your Budget and Save Money!
The term "spring cleaning" evokes images of dusting, cleaning closets, and washing windows. But spring cleaning shouldn't be limited to just the home and garage. Spring cleaning should include a clean up of unfiled paperwork and unnecessary spending.
Review Budget and Financial Spending
Bank tools are invaluable. If available, access year end reports of credit card transactions or bank account debits through the bank’s online service. Microsoft Money and Quicken are excellent tools as well to track spending. Reviewing past spending will provide the budget-minded valuable information to create a new realistic budget.and eliminate wasteful spending.
Review Financial StatementsA review of all bills, line by line, should be done at least annually to look for services not being used. Service providers should be called to question unclear charges and to ensure bundled discounts are being applied. Comparision should be made of year to year energy consumption to determine if there are ways to reduce costs. Utility companies offer “time of day” pricing and if the plan doesn’t match the lifestyle, it should be revised. Cable and phone service add-ons should be reviewed, and car and home insurance coverage should be updated.
Clean Up Credit Report
Everyone is entitled to an annual free credit report. Take advantage of this offer to make sure there are no negative suprises, and if there are, clean them up!
Wipe out Unnecessary Spending and Look for Ways to Save
Why pay for nothing? Signing up for a gym membership is a good idea if used, but if not, why pay for it? If that online dating services hasn't resulted in love, or vice versa, why not cancel it? Life is too expensive as it is!
If you are a movie fanatic, look for ways to enjoy the cinema for less. Compare theater frequent movie watcher specials, discounts and summertime movie programs.
File, Trash and Shred Financial Documents
Divide that intimidating, accumulated stack of paper it into three stacks. The file stack should contain tax receipts, legal documents, and any paid statements not saved online. The trash pile should be catalogs, advertisement offers and miscellaneous printed information no longer deemed important. The shred pile will contain all documents containing personal information such as social security number, bank account numbers, cancelled checks, etc.
Sign up for Online Statements
Stop receiving all that paper and go green. Think of all the trees saved if everyone eliminated their printed monthly statements! Most companies offer online statements through their online banking service which can provide enhanced personal security while helping the environment.
Set up Automatic Bill Payments
Paying bills through the mail can result in late payments and resulting late fees. This can be corrected by setting up automatic payments either through the biller or through the bank’s bill pay service. Payment can be made to anyone via most banks bill pay service, including cleaning staff, lawn care service, etc. even if they can not accept an electronic payment. The bank will simply create an Official Bank Check, similar to a Cashier's Check, for that payment and mail it to the payee. Online records are easy to access, when necessary, and eliminate account information getting into the hands of someone intent on identity theft. Besides all that, why pay postage?
Improve Finance Control
Every self-admitted spendthrift can shorten their own leash. They can contact their bank to lower their daily ATM or debit card spending limits. They can remove credit cards from their purse or wallet and store in a secure place. They can set up automatic deposits into their savings accounts to provide an emergency fund.
Taking these steps will provide the same feeling of relief as cleaning out closets or garages and, in the process, save a few bucks!
Plan a Budget
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Clean up Your Wasteful Spending Habits
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Spring into Saving Money
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