Spring cleaning is something that many of us like to do. We might do it with our home and car and maybe even our bodies by starting a new fitness plan. However, many of us do not think about spring cleaning our finances, but it is something that will really benefit us. Just by making a few tweaks to what we are spending and how we are managing our money, we could make a big difference to our future. With many people saving up towards a summer holiday, it could be really useful.
Check those Bank/Credit Card Statements
To start with it is a wise idea to check your bank and credit card statements. This will allow you to see what you have been spending lately. It can be easy to not notice how many things you have bought or how much they have cost you. When buying things on a card it can just be easy to pay and not really register how much you paid for it and this can mean that when you do look at your statements you can get a bit of a shock. The bank statement will also allow you to see how much money you have at the moment, which is a useful thing to be aware of.
Evaluate Debt
It is also worth taking time to evaluate your debt. Take a look at who you owe money to and how much you owe. It is always worth thinking about whether you want to try to pay any debt off early or whether it is fine as it is. Some debts may be very expensive and worth paying off or some may be stressing you so worth paying. However, some debts may be fairly cheap or being slowly paid off, so you may be happy with leaving them as they are.
Consider switching
It is worth regularly checking to see whether you can get better deals on those larger bills. Things such as gas, electric, telephone, broadband, mobile or television packages can often be reduced if you switch suppliers. You may be tied into contracts with some, so take a note of when those are up and then you can start looking at your options to see whether you will be better off swapping to a new supplier.
Consider Amount of Spending
It is worth thinking about how much you are spending generally. We tend to spend more around Christmas time on lots of things and so getting back out of this spending habit can be difficult. We get used to spending more on food as well as luxury items as we are buying gifts and entertaining and then there are sales and it is tempting to keep buying things. It is worth checking whether you are doing this or whether you have cut back spending now.
Compare Prices
It is worth reminding yourself that when you are shopping you should be comparing prices as much as you can. This means to compare prices between different shops as well as between different brands and items in the same shop. Even the smallest price differences can all add up if you compare everything that you buy.
Evaluate Savings
It is also worth taking a look at what savings you have. Look at your savings accounts and think about whether you are happy with the amount of savings that you have. Also think about whether you feel that you are saving enough money each month. If you want to improve the situation then you need to think about how you can free up some funds so that you can afford to save more money each month.
Set Some Goals
Once you have done all of this evaluating and consideration you may then want to consider some goals for the future. Think about it in terms of these checks that you have done. You may want to reduce your debt, spend less, switch when contracts come to end and save more, for example. Make a note of what you want to do and make sure that you keep checking out that goal so that it is easy for you to achieve. Remind yourself of why you want to achieve the goal and write that down too, to help motivate you.