By Steve Dinnen
Now that summer’s here, it’s a good time to finish up some financial spring cleaning. Feel free to put off sweeping out the garage another day (or week), set aside those screens and windows, and put some effort into your investments.
The folks at Gilbert & Cook, the financial planners in West Des Moines, put together a handy to-do list:
Review your tax return. Did you get a big refund? Or maybe you owed a lot more than you expected? You can easily adjust your paycheck withholding or estimated payments. Congress is not quite done debating the merits of its latest tax overhaul, the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” but it’s likely to become law this summer. And if it does, it will definitely influence your tax situation.
Organize and digitize your financial files. Everything is online nowadays. This might be a good time to change a password or two, for security’s sake. If you have paper documents, scan them, save them to the cloud and then shred them.
Clean up your accounts. If you’ve changed employers and have multiple retirement savings plans, you can consolidate them. You also don’t need more than a few credit cards, or bank accounts.
Check in on your budget. You surely have one. Does it still make sense? Food is not getting any cheaper these days, neither at the grocery store nor the restaurant. How has your budget worked year to date?
Revisit your financial goals. Are your savings on track? Maybe you need to boost or replenish your emergency fund. For instance, my house sports a large deck that recently required a surprisingly hefty bill for repairs.
Meet with your financial adviser. We’ve had a roller coaster ride through the stock market these past few months. There are signs that this volatility may continue, but an adviser can suggest ways to minimize the bumps and smooth things out.
Think forward. Has your child or grandchild gone off to college? This will change your money situation, which means your budget will change, possibly for a long time. You also might have some vacation expenses coming up. Gas prices are down and airfares seem pretty modest, but hotel prices are up.
If you’re decluttering your home, good for you. With a little time and effort you can declutter your financial life, too. The more you do now, the less you’ll have to do later.
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