Spring is a great time to check in on any financial goals and fine tune your efforts. Whether you’ve gotten off track with budgeting or are just ready for a refresh, here are six ways you can spring clean your financial goals and set yourself up for success for the rest of the year:
1. Check in on debt
If one of your objectives this year was to pay down debt, check in on how that process is going—think about what is working well or could be improved. If you haven’t done as well as you’d planned, try not to focus on the lack of progress and simply reset your goal, starting now. Most importantly, take a look at what got in your way. Did you overshoot what you’d be able to tackle this year? Did an unexpected expense sneak up on you? Identifying why you fell off track on debt reduction can also point to other areas that you want to refresh in your financial picture.
If you’re looking for a place to start to tackle debt you might, read “5 Tricks to Pay Down Your Credit Card Debt, Once and for All”
2. Revamp your budget
Take a look at how your spending habits are progressing. Are your expenses lining up as expected or did you have an unplanned change in income? If you’ve gotten a bit off track with budgeting, you may consider trying a different budget methodology.
If you were lucky enough to get an unexpected raise this year (nice work!) ensure you’re putting that money to use wisely. See if you can painlessly bump up your retirement contribution by a percentage or two, or increase automatic payments toward paying down debt. Shortly after an annual increase can be one of the best times to revamp your budget because that money can be redistributed toward your financial goals—without you even missing it!
3. Prioritize savings
Likewise, savings plans go hand in hand with making sure your budget is on track. If you haven’t established an emergency fund with a few months of living expenses, that’s something to move to the front of the priority list.
Read 3 Types of Expenses it Helps to Have an Emergency Fund for
Now is also a great time to start thinking about creating a spending plan for the holidays or any special events or expenses happening later in the year. Direct depositing into a Plinqit savings account now for purchases (like holiday gifts, property taxes, insurance) is a great thing to do well in advance—you’re less likely to make impulse purchases and be more realistic with spending when removed from the holiday hustle and bustle!
Read 5 Plinqit Accounts Every Savings Novice-or-Not Should Open to Get Started
4. Review financial documents
Make it a goal this year to be sure you’re only hanging onto the financial records you need. Digital or otherwise, it’s a good idea to keep tax documents for seven years. It’s also valuable to do a quick clean up of any electronic statements. If you keep them in email or on a hard drive, take a few minutes to separate them into folders or delete copies you no longer need. If you still have stacks of paper documents, digitize them and place into the electronic financial folders you created. Clear out the clutter of unnecessary financial documents!
Read Financial Spring Cleaning: When Should You Shred Documents
5. Keep tabs on your credit
Reviewing your credit report thoroughly is a good idea (at least once per year) so you understand your overall debt and to be sure there are no errors—it can be one of the first indicators that you may have been victim of identity theft. Monitoring your credit score puts you in control of your credit and makes you more accountable for keeping the number at it’s best.
Read Why You Should Check Your Credit Score Often and How to Do It for Free
6. Tweak your taxes
While getting a big tax return can feel like a fun surprise “bonus,” it actually means you gave Uncle Sam an interest free loan last year! Instead of waiting until next year to get that money back, take a few minutes to tweak your deductions and withholdings to ensure you’re coming out at the end of the year as balanced as possible. Always be sure you’re including a tax professional in these conversations to understand how to make tax time easier, as everyone’s personal tax situations vary.
If you’re set on staying in “refund” territory, consider having a detailed action plan for that money as soon as you get it back—whether it’s applying the funds directly to student loan debt or immediately putting it into emergency savings. Having a goal in mind now will help you avoid fettering it away on smaller purchases or impulse buys down the line.
