5 Financial Spring-Cleaning Moves
Save money -- or make money -- by clearing out clutter and reviewing important documents and accounts.
Spring is officially here. As you clear away the cobwebs and start your seasonal spruce-up, take the time to get your financial house in order, too. Here are five tasks to tackle:
Ditch unnecessary documents. After you file your tax return, take some time to clean out your files. See How Long to Keep Tax Records to learn which documents you can toss and which you should keep. So the paper won't pile up again during the year, consider creating a digital archive of tax documents.
Freshen up your insurance coverage. While you're digging through old documents, pull out your insurance policies to review your coverage. See 10 Reasons Your Insurance May Need a Checkup to find out whether you need to update your policies. Also see Slash Your Insurance Costs for tactics that can help you lower your premiums.
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Tidy your credit report. If you haven't checked your credit history lately, find time to do it. Mistakes on your credit report may be hurting your ability to borrow money or get new credit. It's free and easy to request your report at AnnualCreditReport.com.
Clean out your portfolio. That asset allocation you worked so hard to achieve by picking the right percentage of stocks and bonds to reach your goals might have been thrown off over the past year. See How to Rebalance Your Portfolio to determine whether you need to buy and sell assets to maintain the right mix of investments or your needs.
Unclutter your home. By cleaning out the closets, attic or basement in your house, you might be able to improve your financial situation. See Downsize Me for a list of ways to sell, recycle or donate your unwanted items.
After you've made these moves, see Your Spring Maintenance Checklist for 11 steps you should take to save money on energy bills this summer and ward off big-ticket repairs.
