Spring Clean Your Finances: A Checklist for Financial Optimization

Meaghan Morelli |

Spring is the perfect time to refresh and reorganize—not just your home, but your finances as well. Just like decluttering your living space, streamlining your financial life can reduce stress, improve cash flow, and help you forge a path to long-term success. Here’s a simple checklist to help you optimize your finances this season.

1. Review Your Budget

A solid budget is the foundation of financial health. Take time to:

  • Analyze your income vs. expenses. Get really granular so you have full clarity on what’s coming in and what’s going out.
  • Identify areas where you can cut unnecessary spending -- pack your lunch instead of buying it, make your coffee at home most days, cancel latent subscriptions, etc. You can wind up saving more than you’d think.
  • Adjust your budget to align with any new financial goals you have for the new year.

2. Automate & Optimize Bill Payments

  • Set up autopay for recurring bills to avoid late fees.
  • Review subscriptions and cancel services you no longer use. A 2022 study by C+R research found that “42% of consumers had forgotten they were still paying for a service they no longer used.”1
  • Negotiate lower rates on insurance, cable, cellular, or internet bills. Sometimes, switching to a new provider can lock in lower rates for an extended period of time. And if switching to a new provider feels onerous, you can take that offer to your current provider and use it to negotiate down your current rate based on your loyalty.

3. Check Your Credit Report & Score

Your credit score plays a crucial role in financial decisions and freedom. This spring:

  • Request a free credit report from major bureaus. Staying on top of these reports is key so that when you really need them – to buy a car or a house or apply for a loan – you’re not blindsided by something on the report you didn’t know was there.
  • Dispute any errors that could be dragging down your score. A 2021 Consumer Reports study found that more than one-third (34%) of Americans discovered at least one error on their credit report.2 Disputing errors takes time and effort, but it is crucial to address any damage they might be doing to your credit score.
  • Pay down outstanding debts to improve your credit utilization ratio. (More on that below.)

4. Tidy Up Your Debt

  • List all debts, including interest rates and payment terms. Some lenders will work with you on interest rates or terms. You don’t know until you ask.
  • Focus on paying down high-interest debt first. Paying down debt strategically can help you get debt free faster. If you attack the debt that’s costing you the most first (that’s the high interest debt), you can free up those funds to pay down lower interest debt or put it toward your savings.
  • Consider refinancing loans for better rates if possible.

5. Boost Your Savings

  • Your goal should be to have at least three to six months’ worth of expenses in an emergency fund. Make sure you’re setting aside some money every month toward this goal. Treat it like another bill – non-optional.
  • Automate savings contributions to make setting aside some extra money feel easier. Many banks offer you the ability to “round up” what you spend with your debit card and automatically transfer the difference into your savings account. Every little bit helps when you’re working to build that emergency fund.
  • Take advantage of high-yield savings accounts for better returns. There are many options out there. Just make sure you’re working with an FDIC insured institution.

6. Maximize Retirement Contributions

  • Review your 401(k) or IRA contributions and increase them if possible. Your financial advisor can help with this.
  • Make sure you’re taking full advantage of employer matching programs.
  • Adjust your investment allocations based on market trends and personal goals. Your financial advisor can help with this, too.

7. Review Investments & Portfolio Allocation

  • Rebalance your investment portfolio to match your risk tolerance and goals. Goals and markets both change over time. Make sure you’re working with your advisor to communicate any changes to your financial plans and gain an understanding of your allocations.
  • Diversify assets to reduce risk exposure. Diversification is important because it can mean you’re not overexposed to risk in a certain stock or sector. It’s the old adage “don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” Your financial advisor can discuss your diversification with you.
  • Consider tax-efficient investment strategies for better returns. This is something you want to discuss with your CPA.

8. Organize Financial Documents

  • Go paperless where possible and store digital copies securely.
  • Shred old documents that are no longer needed. You don’t want your personal information available for exploitation and shredding old paper documents that include your social security number or bank information is an effective way to ensure it doesn’t get into the wrong hands.
  • Keep important records, such as tax returns and insurance policies, easily accessible. If you have hard copies of these, consider keeping them in a home safe and backing up digital copies on a secure server.

9. Evaluate Insurance Coverage

  • Review your life, health, auto, and home insurance policies and shop around for better rates or bundle policies to potentially save money.

10. Plan for Taxes 

  • Review your tax withholdings and make adjustments to avoid surprises. Your CPA can give you guidance on this.
  • Look for deductions and credits to maximize your refund. This is also something your CPA can advise on.

Final Thoughts

Spring cleaning isn’t just about freshening up your home—it’s also the perfect time to refresh your finances. By following this checklist, you can work toward clearing financial “clutter,” optimize your spending and saving, setting yourself up for the year ahead. Start small, stay consistent, and work with professionals you trust.

Would you like assistance with creating a personalized financial optimization plan? Click here to schedule consultation.
 

1 “Subscriptions Are Hard to Cancel and Easy to Forget – by Design,” by Tommy Tindall, NerdWallet, January 27, 2025
2 “A third of Americans found errors on their credit reports. Here’s how to fix those mistakes,” by Michelle Fox, CNBC, June 11, 2021