Experts say just like you spring clean your home, you should also spring clean your finances.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Many people get into spring cleaning this time of year to get their homes better organized. That same logic can also be applied to your financial life, with experts say there’s no better time to “clean up” your finances.
Alloy Wealth founder Mark Henry says his family is doing some old-fashioned cleaning to get rid of some unwanted things around their house. He says it’s really the same thing when it comes to your finances.
“What you want to do is take stock,” Henry said. “First, where do we want to be? What are we not happy about? We don’t have an emergency fund, OK, that’s a big deal.”
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From there, Henry said you can look at setting short- and long-term goals. When it comes to identifying areas of concern, like not having an emergency fund or a facing high-interest credit card debit, you should focus on having an emergency cash reserve before spending your money on paying those debts.
“About the time you get one of them[credit cards] paid off, life happens and you don’t have money in the emergency fund,” Henry said. “So guess what you do? You got back to the credit card to take care of life.”
So where do you find the extra money to do that?
“Mark, I’m already working two jobs, Mark, I can’t even get my bills paid,” Henry said. “Where do we find it? Well, let’s take the easy wins. First, tell me about the subscription services that are paid for. Mark, it’s only $20. Every dollar matters when you’re in debt.”
Henry said take a look at what’s automatically coming out of your checking account.
“The little ones, that’s what they want you to do,” he explained. “You sign up for these little memberships, they don’t cost a lot. They add up to a lot of money, and a lot of times you’re not using them. And you never cancel.”
For those of you getting tax refunds, Henry said use it more wisely throughout the year.
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