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Financial Spring Cleaning Tips
It’ s that time of year again. Winter is slowly moving past, and spring will be upon us in no time! Soon we’ ll be busting open the windows and giving our homes a good cleaning. Spring is also a great time to make sure that you are in the best financial shape you can be. Here are a few tips to help you get started on the right foot this spring.
1. Pay Off Holiday Debt – If you didn’ t budget appropriately for holiday spending this past year, chances are you are carrying balances on your credit cards. If that’ s the case, take a good look at what you owe and see if you can afford to pay it off in full this year. If you can’ t, at least put yourself on a plan to pay as much as possible toward the balance each month and work to pay off as much as possible.
2. Organize and Shred Documents – Sort through all of your paperwork and only keep what is absolutely necessary. Normally I use a rule of seven years for tax paperwork since an audit can go back that far. Reducing paper clutter can ease stress and help you be more organized. Look around for a community shred event and take your unwanted papers there to shred them securely.
3. Create a Budget for 2017 – Take the time now to budget for 2017 holiday spending by putting away as much as you can afford each pay so that you have savings built up come fall. Also look at what you owe others and figure out what can be paid in full this year, and how much you can afford to pay on all of your debt payments. If you don’ t already have 3-6 months’ worth of living expenses saved, now is the time to start setting some money aside on a regular basis. After reviewing your budget and cutting out unnecessary expenses, set up an account specifically for this goal.
4. Review Your Credit Report – By law, you are entitled to order one free credit report per year from each of the three major credit bureaus. You can get yours at no cost by going to www. annualcreditreport. com. This is the only“ free” way to get your copy. Review each of your reports to ensure there are no mistakes. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, both the credit reporting agency and the information provider are responsible for correcting inaccurate or incomplete information in your report. If you find any errors, report them to the credit bureau as well as the information provider. Unfortunately, even though this is a free service, most Americans don’ t review their credit report annually.
5. Get Organized! – Are you overwhelmed every month with balancing your checkbook, paying bills, checking balances, etc.? There are so many great online tools that help organize everything. Check out your credit union or bank’ s online banking and bill pay service so you aren’ t going to multiple sites to pay your bills. Use a product such as Mint or Quicken to monitor your finances. Choosing electronic bill delivery is also a great option for reducing all that paperwork clutter in your home.
All of these financial spring cleaning tips are easy to do and will help keep your finances sparkly clean!
This Industry Insight was written by Wendy Kingsland. Wendy Kingsland is the CEO of Visionary FCU in Bridgeville. Prior to joining Visionary in 2011, she was employed by Clearview FCU from 1991-2011. Kingsland currently serves as Vice President of South West Communities Chamber of Commerce. She is active in the Pittsburgh Chapter of Credit Unions, serving as a board member since 1991 and currently serving as Treasurer. She also serves as a Director for the Pennsylvania Credit Union Association.
Chartiers Valley | Spring 2017 | icmags. com 13