Financial Spring Cleaning – 6 Easy Steps

Spring is just around the corner (we hope!) and while many of you might have your mind on spring cleaning in your home, there is a type of financial spring cleaning that can be far more beneficial. Like all spring cleaning, you will have to get your hands a little dirty. The idea is to trim the fat, get organized and set yourself on track for a better financial year ahead. Are you ready jump in and do some financial spring cleaning? If so, here are six crucial steps!

1. Get your credit report

- You can grab your credit report for free at Borrowell.com.  Once you have access to your credit information, you will want to go over it with a fine-toothed comb. You might find some mistakes or negative items that are easy to clear up. Doing so will boost your credit score pretty quickly and potentially save you some money.

2. Go through last year's credit card statements

- It's always worth reviewing your previous statements to find any subscriptions or expenses you no longer need. If you're like the rest of us, you'll probably find a few things you can cancel and save money on going forward.

3. File your taxes

- Make sure that you file taxes on time to take advantage of any refunds right away. If you do get a refund, don't treat it as free money to spend. Instead, find a debt you can throw it on or toss the money in your emergency fund.

4. Make a new budget

- Sit down with your partner if applicable and go over the household budget. Restructure it to suit the present and find new ways to cut back on expenses. Focus your efforts on repaying debt and saving money and make sure you find a way to stick to your budget. Setting goals and rewards for reaching budget goals is a great way to keep motivating yourself!

5. Close any unused accounts

- If you have an old bank account you don't use get rid of it. You never know when these accounts might incur fees, so your best bet is to close them. The same does not apply for credit card accounts. Find out why here.

6. Transfer high-interest balances

- If you have a line of credit, transferring over your credit card balances to it can save you a ton of money on interest. You can also look into balance transfer credit card deal, but they can be risky. The promotional interest rate will expire and a much higher interest rate will take effect, so it's vital you don't carry a balance for too long. If you can manage to transfer your balances to lower interest credit products, you will save significant amounts of money.

Once you've completed all of these steps, the next part is maintaining your clean financial situation. Stick to your guns and practice self-discipline to keep yourself in check. Just like your home, if you put in a lot of work to clean it, it doesn't make much sense to turn around and mess it up again.

Do you struggle with a low credit score?  Refresh Financial’s Credit Builder Program helps build your credit with every payment you make.