“Transitions are a part of life, allowing for perpetual renewal. When you experience the end of one chapter, allow yourself to feel the emotions of loss and rebirth.”
When we think of spring cleaning, we often think of going through our homes and consolidating our belongings. Whether it’s going through our closets Marie Condo-style, or channeling our mothers’ habits of having a spotless and clutter-free home, amidst the cleaning frenzy we often neglect cleaning up our own finances. It’s not just about sorting out our lives physically, but financially. As we readjust over a lost hour of sleep and welcome sunnier days, it’s time to take our finances head on. Here are 12 ways you can spring clean your finances:
1) Clean out your Inbox - Unsubscribe Digitally
Clean up your inbox and unsubscribe from businesses that are constantly updating you about their new promotions. Sure, the deals might be great, but would you have spent that money if you didn’t know a promotion was going on? Get rid of all those updates and you’ll eliminate the temptation to spend. Unsubscribe from email blasts and text alerts and give yourself a digital detox cleanse.
If you still want to receive great deals without the hassle and clutter of sale emails and texts, use extensions like Honey, Rakuten and Capital One Shopping for your shopping needs. These have browser extensions that are non-intrusive which can help you find deals for brands and sites that you already shop at.
Join Honey and get 500 in Honey Gold towards a future gift card.
Join Rakuten and spend $20 and you’ll get $20 back.
2) Clean out your mailbox - Unsubscribe Physically
If you have already unsubscribed to unnecessary digital material, don’t forget to unsubscribe or change your settings to no longer receive physical mail. Mailers, catalogs, paper statements, and miscellaneous physical mail can pile up.
If you want an extra eye on your paper mail, you can use USPS Informed Delivery to “digitally preview your mail and manage your packages scheduled to arrive soon! Informed Delivery allows you to view greyscale images of the exterior, address side of letter-sized mail pieces and track packages in one convenient location.
*Signing up for Informed Delivery may not cut back on the amount of mail you receive, but may be helpful to you if you are reliant on paper mail and don’t know when your bills and whatnot will arrive.
To cut back on the mail that you receive, submit an opt-out request at OptOutPrescreen.com. This is the official Consumer Credit Reporting Industry website to accept and process requests from consumers to Opt-In or Opt-Out of firm offers of credit or insurance.
For catalogs, sign up to be removed at https://www.catalogchoice.org/ and https://dmachoice.thedma.org/
Find more tips here to reduce junk mail.
3) Eliminate a Paper Trail
It’s time to tackle that pile of mail that’s collecting in the corner. Clean up any paperwork you have lying around and if you didn’t unsubscribe, at least switch to paperless. Follow the tips above to be removed from mailers.
If you want to keep certain paperwork, develop a system to help file it away in an organized manner. Or you can scan documents and maintain proper file management digitally, as well. If you don’t need it, toss it. Be sure to shred all documents with any sensitive information. If you don’t want to deal with the mess of shredding, make sure to black out your name, address, and anything else you find pertinent before recycling. Identity theft is not a joke. Millions of families suffer every year!
We recommend this small and simple scanner. If you are an iPhone user, the Notes app natively supports scanning and signing. Find instructions here on how to do that.
4) Tackle your Taxes
Whether you got ahead of the game or you’re still in the process of filing your taxes, don’t forget to sort it all out. If you haven’t already, gather and collect all your necessary paperwork. It’s helpful to have digital and physical copies of all tax forms in one folder. A great way to do this is to just put up a 2021 Taxes folder and file all of your forms in there. It’s good to have both physical and digital copies in case you need to give something to your accountant. The recommendation is to keep tax returns and all related documentation for 7 years.
5) Use your Tax Refund Wisely
If you’ve already gotten your tax refund or anticipate a tax refund, plan accordingly on how you want to use it. How can you maximize the most out of this? If you’re anticipating a refund, remember that you paid more tax than is owed. This isn’t some spontaneous bonus, but money you could have had earlier in the year. Besides spending and treating yourself, there are other ways you can use that money.
Bulk up your emergency fund
Make an extra debt payment
Put towards retirement
Increase investments
Save for other expenses
6) Readjust Due Dates
Maybe you had bills and automatic payments go out on certain days of the month, but just because it worked in 2021 doesn’t mean it works for you in 2022. It’s never too late to review your calendar and readjust any due dates that no longer fit your schedule. Maybe you switched jobs. Perhaps your pay periods have changed. Review your calendar and readjust appropriately. I also like to add reminders to my calendar regarding due dates.
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7) Declutter your Accounts
Minimizing accounts can help you manage them better. Do you really need 8 credit cards? Perhaps it’s time to revisit if each account or credit card is serving your current needs. Many of us bank where we are because it’s what we’ve always done and maybe it’s time we figure out if our current bank is providing us the value that we need and want.
It’s also much more difficult to manage your finances if your money is in too many places and you can’t keep track. Take some time to review your cards, subscriptions, and accounts. Many people have opened up different cards for different things, all with different balances, minimum payments, interest rates, and reward programs. Are there any you don’t really need anymore and would like to prioritize paying off and cancelling? Just keep in mind that cancelling can ding your credit score so be wise about which one you close. You can always opt to downgrade a card to one that has no annual fee and keep the credit history attached to it.
8) Find Lost Money
In a literal and digital sense, take this time to find lost money. Sometimes when I clean I find random money all over my apartment -- in the couch cushions, in the pocket of an old jacket, on the bottom of my purse. If you’re anything like me, you may still have a small piggy bank lying around, slowly but surely collecting the loose change that appears in my home. It’s time to gather all that loose change. Better yet, it’s time to deposit if your piggy bank has been slowly collecting over the years.
In a digital sense, finding lost money can be looking over your banking statement and acknowledging charges and subscriptions that are no longer serving you. Forgot about that app you used with a free trial and forgot to cancel a subscription? Are you paying for streaming services, but find all the content boring? Are you paying a small, recurring fee for something that would go away if you just set up an automatic payment plan? Claim your money back.
9) Shop Around for Better Deals
Insurance. Internet. Phone Service. Most people don’t regularly review their policies, especially if everything is smooth sailing. Shop around and make sure you’re getting the best rates possible. Dust off those negotiation skills. Here’s a book we recommend on negotiation. While you’re at it, don’t forget to review their policies and adjust things as needed. Have you been going over your data package and need to change it? Did you do home renovations and need to up your insurance coverage? Is your internet service no longer sufficient for WFH? It’s time to re-evaluate.
10) Clean out your Closet
Everything you own was once money.
Take the time to sort out your clothes and belongings and see what you can either donate or sell. With Facebook Marketplace, Poshmark, Depop, eBay, and more at your fingertips, it can be easy making a quick buck.
We have a Stuff Inventory in The Money Journal to help you figure out what you own and what you can get rid of.
In order to have better things, you need to make space for new things and the only way to reclaim space is to get rid of old, unused items.
11) Take Inventory of your Belongings
Taking inventory of your belongings is an interesting activity. Not only can you use it as a way to document how you spend, but for insurance purposes as well. You never know when disaster will strike and having an inventory will help you in the long run. Luckily with smartphones, this is a much easier process nowadays. Grab your phone and snap away or take videos of your rooms and the belongings in them.
If you want to document your closet, you can use apps like Stylebook (iOS) or SmartCloset (iOS and Android).
The Stuff Inventory can be useful to also give you a sense of where your money went, but it gives you a snapshot of the things you like at that point of time. If you are up for it, do a bit of calculation to see how much certain things costs when purchased versus today. This can show you that a lot of things depreciate in value.
12) Plan for the Warmer Months
It’s time to budget and plan out what you will be doing in the Spring and Summer months. After months cooped up inside from the cold, you’re probably yearning to do something. You may anticipate spending more money due to a myriad of reasons -- vacationing, summer programs, new clothes, air conditioning costs, etc. We spend differently depending on the seasons, so it’s time to plan ahead and budget for the warmer months ahead.
Spring is always great to get a fresh start. We hope these tips have been helpful. Drop a comment below if you have a specific spring cleaning routine that helps you and your wallet.
Photo by Lucija Ros on Unsplash
