Spring has officially arrived and, along with warmer weather and brighter colors outside, it's also time to do some spring cleaning. Deep-cleaning your home and getting rid of items you don't need may be on your to-do list this time of year. As you move through your to-dos, you may want to consider applying the same concept to your finances.

Financial spring cleaning can include reviewing, organizing and optimizing your finances to ensure growth and prosperity for the future. Use these tips to dust off your finances:

  1. Rinse and refresh your budget. Take a good look at your budget and decide what needs to be updated. Examine all debts and expenses, as well as amounts allocated for food, entertainment and savings.
  2. Polish off your debts. Make a plan to eliminate one or more debts by the end of the year by increasing your monthly payments. Once those debts are paid off, you can allocate that money to another debt, which will get you closer to financial freedom.
  3. Send unnecessary expenses to the dump. When reviewing your budget, decide what you can do without. Choose at least one expense to cut from your budget. For example, review your online subscriptions to determine what you're using regularly, then cancel what you don't need.
  4. Sort out your savings. If you're not putting enough n savings each month, make it automatic. Have part of your paycheck deposited directly into a savings or retirement account or talk with your banker about setting up an auto transfer between your payroll account and your savings.
  5. Disinfect your credit. Visit www.annualcreditreport.com to order a free credit report from one or more of the three credit reporting agencies. Review your report to ensure that there ar eno mistakes in your credit history and to protect yourself from identity theft.

For more ideas on managing your checking and savings accounts, see one of our personal bankers at Iowa State Bank.

This message is brought to you in partnership with the Iowa Bankers Association and Iowa State Bank, April 2024.