It’s spring! You know what that means…cleaning! But your cabinets, shelves and drawers aren’t the only things that need to be organized and dusted off this season. Your personal finances also need to be cleaned.

Here are WalletPop.com’s 15 best tips for financial spring cleaning:

  1. Check your credit card interest rates. Even if you pay off your credit card bills each month, it’s a good idea to check your rates just in case you hit a rough financial patch and have to put off paying your cards in full for a couple of months.
  2. Set up autopay on your debts. If you’re not already paying your debts automatically, set this up right away. Even one late payment can hit your credit hard, and you could see interest rates that you have to pay on your debt skyrocket. While the new credit card law does put more controls on credit card companies, they can raise your rates for at least six months when you pay late.
  3. Check your reward cards. Credit card companies changed the rules on most cards before the new credit card bill took effect. Many reduced their reward benefits, but some have introduced cards with better rewards as they seek out the best customers. So if you do have excellent credit, compare your rewards with those of the new cards on the market.
  4. Review your cable deal. Cable companies run special deals all the time introducing new channels or Internet services. Go to your cable companies Web site and check out the deals currently available.
  5. Review your wireless bill. Review your wireless usage and make sure you have a plan that best meets your needs. For example, if you’re paying for unlimited usage and you only use 300 minutes a month or less, you may be able to lower your bill by $30 a month or more depending on your wireless company. If you find month after month you’re paying for extra minutes, you may need to increase your time. Those extra minutes can add up fast and cost you more than to upgrade your plan.
  6. Check the deal on your home phone. More and more telephone companies offer unlimited long distance. Also, many offer package deals that include your cable and wireless. Compare these deals with what you’re already paying and figure out which one is the best considering your use.
  7. Review your home and car insurance policies. With home prices dropping, you may be able to save money by lowering your insurance to match the current value of your home. You also may be able to lower your costs by increasing your deductibles. But be sure you can cover that deductible if you need to file a claim.
  8. Shop for new home and auto policies. After reviewing your policies, shop for new policies. You may find you can save money by changing insurers.
  9. Spend your gift cards. Don’t let your gift cards expire just because you stuck them in a drawer and forgot about them. Use them to buy needed items right away. You could even lose them just because you’ve been letting them hang around in your wallet waiting for just the right idea to pop into your head. 
  10. Check your credit reports. It’s much easier to fix a problem the closer you are to the date it happened. Also, you can be sure no one is using your credit cards or good name fraudulently.
  11. Fix any credit problems. If you find any questionable accounts or any errors in your credit report, work on the fix immediately. You’ll get instructions explaining how to question errors on your report when you receive your copy.
  12. Increase your retirement. Now that you’ve found a little extra cash, increase your automatic savings into your retirement account. You can do this as long as you haven’t maxed out the amount you’re allowed to save. If you increase your percentage by 1% per year, you’ll hardly notice the difference, and you’ll be much better prepared for retirement.
  13. Review your investments. You may find that hard to do after the crash, but if you haven’t checked your investments recently, take the time to do it now. See how they are doing and see how your investments stack up.
  14. Rebalance your investments. You may find your investments are out of whack. You could have more in stocks than you feel comfortable carrying. Or you could have moved much of your portfolio into safe investments that are growing at only 2% or less per year. When inflation returns, you risk the possibility of losing your money each year if it isn’t growing faster than inflation. Re-balance your investments so you have the right percentage invested in stocks or stock mutual funds, bonds or bond mutual funds and cash.
  15. Set up an appointment with a financial planner. It’s a good idea to sit down with a financial planner once a year to review what you are doing with your money, set goals and be sure you’ve got your money allocated appropriately so you have a chance of meeting those goals. No plan is set in stone, so meeting annually with a financial planner is a good idea.

Keep reading our blog for more saving you money for life tips! And don’t forget to check out AccuQuote.com for a free term life insurance quote. You may be able to save up to 70 percent on your term life coverage!

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