With the arrival of spring comes the annual tradition of spring-cleaning. You clean out your home and organize your garage — at least, you try to. But with all the tidying up, are you also “spring-cleaning” your finances?
Cleaning up your finances every year is just as important as organizing your home. It’s an excellent way to assess your financial well-being and determine if you need to make any changes to your portfolio or to any accounts you may have. Here are a few steps you can take to clean up your finances.
Review Your Portfolio
Do you know what investments, stocks, or other funds are in your portfolio? While it’s not always productive to keep a constant eye on your portfolio, looking through it at least once or twice a year will help keep you informed of your current investment strategy. You may have stocks that aren’t serving any purpose, or you may want to bring in something new.
Address Unused Accounts
Do you have accounts you’re no longer using, old statements you don’t need anymore, or money you can consolidate into current accounts? If you are sitting on old, unused accounts, consider closing them. If you have old statements, shred them. And if it’s feasible, move money from older, lesser used, or unused accounts into more current ones.
Dust Off Old Annuities
Do you have an annuity you no longer want and aren’t sure what to do with? If you’ve had it for more than 10 years, you can choose to surrender it with no surrender fee. There are a number of options available, like cashing out or coming up with a new plan for an old annuity.
Ensure Your Estate Is Up to Date
Review wills, trusts, and other estate documents you may have. Check up on executors, heirs, and beneficiaries — anyone who may be listed in your estate documents — and make sure everything is up to date and to your satisfaction. As families change and grow, it’s important to update these documents to reflect your current situation.