5 Genius Ways To Spring Clean Your Finances And Get Rid Of Overwhelm

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Spring has arrived. Now we’re left with the task of spring cleaning, because let’s face it, the organization and goals that we set in the new year have long since flown out the window as ‘real life’ has again taken its course. For sure, this has happened in my case.

 

If you’re like me, or most other people, you’d  much rather be spending your time outside enjoying the beautiful weather, but we have to do what has to be done. And, spring cleaning is one of those things that we do to help get our lives back in order.

 

I have a particular need to clean up my finances this year and so I wrote this post so that anyone who is in my situation can benefit from those awesome tips.

Since spring is the season of new beginnings, it is the optimal time to get your finances in tip-top shape for the rest of the year.

 

A project like spring cleaning can take up a huge chunk of time if not approached with a solid strategy. Therefore, it is a great idea to spend 30 minutes to an hour planning a great strategy of how you will approach spring cleaning your finances. A few ideas to consider include:

• Sorting through boxes of old financial papers/documents
• Creating files for different parts of your financial life
• Getting rid of old documents that are no longer useful

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclaimer for more information.

 

Below, you will find 5 genius tips to spring clean your finances and have a more organized financial outlook. The tips are as follows:

1.Revamp your budget

In January, your monthly budget may have looked awesome and I bet all figures were intact. However, a few months later, everything may not look so put together anymore. A great way to freshen up finances this spring is to have a look at your budgets. Analyze you and your family’s performance and make the necessary adjustments that you need to make to ensure that your family is sticking to the budget plan that you set earlier in the year. This could go a long way in helping you gain a better perspective on how money is being made and spent and help you get a better grasp of what needs to be done to ensure that you have a great financial year.

1. *If you’re one who did not start the year with a budget, Springtime is a great time to create one to organize your income and expenses. Here is an awesome post on creating a simple budget.

 

2. Know how long to keep paperwork

One hindrance to organizing financials is the dread of dealing with paper clutter. Let’s face it, most of us have tons of paperwork lying around in all corners of the house. It would be great to throw them all away, but we all fear getting rid of super important documents that we may need later on. This year, follow these guidelines to learn how long certain documents should be kept so that you can finally keep your paper clutter under control. Read what the IRS recommends here.

*P.S If you’re still worried about what you should keep, then buy a scanner and scan what you think is important before getting rid of anything.

Check out the Epson Perfection V19 Color Photo and Document Scanner with Scan-To-Cloud with 4800 x 4800 dpi

Also, another important thing to keep in mind is to make sure to shred your financial documents rather than tossing them. That way you’re protecting yourself from possible identity theft by never giving crazies a chance to access your financial documents.

Check out the AmazonBasics 6-Sheet Cross-Cut Paper and Credit Card Shredder

3. Organize all financial paperwork in files.

After you’ve gotten rid of useless paperwork, it’s time to create a system where you file away all your important financial paperwork such as receipts, bank statements, bills etc.
Here are a few files that you should consider creating.

Expenses

• Household bills
• Insurance
• Taxes
• Loans

 

Income

• Salary
• Side Income
• Side Business
• Rental Income *

An additional tip to keep your files organized is to keep them all filed away in a filing cabinet. If you’re lucky, you may already have one at home. In case you don’t, check out Amazon for some good quality and affordable filing cabinets.

Click to check out this Lorell 14341 18 Deep 2-Drawer File Cabinet, Black

4. Designate an area for working with all things ‘finance’

This will include things like all income, paychecks, expenses, debts, bill payments. This is designed to make ‘money matters’ as simple as possible. Do not use your finance area as a place to store unrelated books and magazines, the children’s toys etc. You will quickly destroy its effectiveness. Here are some awesome DIY examples to check out for inspiration.

 

5. Designate some time every week to go over finances. And Make it a habit!

This way you will always be on top of your financial planning. And most importantly, all your files will remain up to date throughout the year.

I hope those 5 great tips helped you to get an idea of some things you can do to get your finances sorted out. Remember, do not let the fact that you may have not been so good with your financial planning and organization as of late,  keep you from trying to get everything organized again.