I was recently interviewed for an article for Glamour magazine about “Cleaning Out Your Wallet” and for another magazine for “Financial Spring Cleaning”. I had put together some notes that I wanted to share with you.
1) Consolidate investment accounts. Many people have old 401(k)s, more than one IRA and more than one bank account. Consolidate them to as few places as possible. Your paperwork, filing and stress level will be reduced tremendously. Plus, it will be much easier to do a financial checkup on an ongoing basis. It might take a bit of time to do so, but in the long run, it will actually save you quite a bit of time. You will also find you are saving money on fees you may be paying.
2) You don’t need to keep every investment statement you get in the mail. You should keep all “buy and sell” statements, year end statements and any statement where there is a change or consolidation.
3) If you have had a life event (marriage, new child, divorce, death in family), it is essential you update your will, living will, power of attorney, trustee on accounts, beneficiaries for investment accounts, and children’s college savings plan. It should be part of your annual financial checkup as well.
4) Get in the habit of cleaning out your wallet every week. It gives you an opportunity to file your receipts, keep track of your ATM receipts and monitor your cash spending. Plus, an organized wallet leads to more control over your daily money which leads to more financial abundance.
5) I have mentioned this before, but I worked with a client that had a beautiful wallet and organized! I realized there and then that that was one of the first things you can do to start looking at your money in a more positive manner. I’m not telling you to go out and spend a lot on a new wallet, but take pride in how you deal with your money on a daily basis.
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