I know you are eager to start your spring cleaning, but put that aside for this week and clean up your finances first. Even if you don’t think your finances are in a mess, take a look anyway. It’s always a good idea to look through them at least once a year and this is the perfect time with taxes right around the corner.
Here are a few pointers to help you jump start your spring cleaning and clean up your personal finances.
Start now. Don’t put it off another second. I don’t mean that you have to stop what your doing right this minute, but you do need to schedule a time to sit down and examine your finances. If you are in a relationship this should involve your partner as well.
Identify your goal. Why do you want to clean up your personal finances? I don’t care if you are a trust fund baby and don’t have to worry about budgeting, you should still know how much money you have and what you are doing with it. Otherwise you risk losing money. Setting a goal will help you hold onto your money and allow you to find a way to use your money to benefit you.
Compile all the right documents. This should be easy these days since everything is electronic. Make sure you have everything in front of you. It’s a great time to do this since taxes are coming up!
Make a budget and stick with it. Some people do well with fancy software and spreadsheets, others do fine with a weekly allowance. Experiment with a few options and don’t give up if one way to budget doesn’t work for you. Personally, I don’t like software and spreadsheets anymore. We used them for a few years to jumpstart our budgeting and now all we need is to check out account daily and pay off the credit card weekly. Do what works for you, not what works for someone else.
If your in debt, make getting out your #1 priority. Stop saving for other things you want to do. Your new purse and wardrobe can wait and so can that vacation. I’m a big fan of the Dave Ramsey snow ball approach where you pay off your smallest debt first while making minimum payments on all your other debts. Then move onto the next smallest debt and so on creating a snow ball effect where you have extra money to put towards your largest debts. The idea is that you create a small victory for yourself and your more likely to stick with the goal of becoming debt free.
Start saving now. Put the same percentage of your paycheck into savings every single month. You never know when you will need that extra cash. Ideally, you should have at least $1000 in savings at all times.
Once you are on your way out of debt, save for the big things like retirement. Meet with a financial advisor and plan for your future.
The main thing you need to do is confront your fears about your finances. Take action today and start cleaning up your personal finances.
I’m right on board with you here. We are working diligently to get out of debt with the snowball method. The tax return we got, yes we filed already, went straight into savings too! I am obsessed with my finances so I am regularly taking stock, and trying to figure it all out. These are great tips!
Putting your return into savings is awesome! Keep up the good financial decisions.
The tips seem great and pretty simple but in real life it is really a mess when it comes to finances, especially mine! Thanks for the post! Greets, Lampton Carpet Cleaners Ltd.
You’re right, real life finances can be a mess sometimes! If you ever need help, let me know. I do consulting and financial coaching as well. Consultation is free!
I just stumbled across your blog from The Frugal Girl — I’m a daily reader over there :) I am so excited that I found your blog and that you mentioned Dave Ramsey!! My fiance and I are in the middle of his Financial Peace University class and it HAS CHANGER OUR LIVES!
I look forward to following your blog!
I love The Frugal Girl! I’m so happy you were able to find me through her page.
Let me know if you are interested in guest blogging about how your relationship with money has changed since taking the class. I’m going to start a series about money relationships and would love to hear your story!
Hannah – I would love to guest blog! We have 4 weeks left in the class. Feel free to email me at svnh.bell@gmail.com to discuss further! It sounds so cheesy – but it really has changed our lives!