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Spring clean your finances |
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Once you've consolidated the accounts, you may find
you've got more cash in your account, so you should check in with
your bank to see if you qualify for better deals. You may find that
you have better options for online bill payment services, monthly
fees or interest rates.
Move your banking life online to cut clutter. You can generally get monthly statements online, and many banks also offer
a service that allows you to see your canceled checks online as well. Toss old checks and old statements, because you can get copies of them
from your bank.
You'll benefit by paying as many bills as possible electronically. Not only will you save the price of a stamp, but you also
can have payments deducted automatically to ensure you never incur a late charge again.
Credit cards/debt
- What to do: Check your credit report, shop around for lower interest rates, and come up with a payment
strategy.
- Time involved: 30 minutes and up.
- Cost: None.
- Details: A 50- or 100-point change in your credit score can mean the difference between great loan terms
and terrible ones, and inaccuracies in your credit report can drag that score down at least that much. Do yourself a favor and double-check it,
says Liz Weston, author of "Easy Money." "You should pull your credit reports from the three credit bureaus, which you can do at
www.annualcreditreport.com," she says. See a problem? Dispute it, in writing,
and you should have a resolution in about a month.
Once you have an accurate credit report, check the interest rates you pay on balances and
compare the rates with other cards. You may be able to use that as leverage to
improve your credit card terms. Credit card companies are happy to use any opportunity to hike your rates, but that doesn't mean you should
just accept it. If you have a history of making your payments on time, give your credit card companies a call and ask if they can do better
with their rates. Many will drop them if you're just willing to take the time to ask.
Finally, develop
a plan to pay off any debt. Tackle high interest credit-card
debt first to guarantee the best bang for your buck, says Kim Lankford,
a contributing editor at Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine.
Any tax return you've got coming can help you make a big dent in
your debt, so consider paying it off before blowing it on the latest
gadget or a luxury vacation.
Estate planning
- What to do: Create or update
a will or trust; consider a living will and financial power of
attorney; toss old documents.
- Time involved: If you're starting
from scratch, plan for at least an hour.
- Cost: Do-it-yourself programs,
such as WillMaker or Will Creator, can help you create a simple
will for as little as $20. If you have a more complex situation,
a will drawn up by an attorney starts at about $300.
- Details: First things first,
says Mary Randolph, author of "The Executor's Guide." If you don't
yet have a will, it's time to buckle down and draw one up. "It
drops to the bottom of people's to-do list for obvious reasons,"
she says. "But the good news is not that hard to do." Step-by-step
software and online programs can guide you through the process
fairly easily and inexpensively.
If you've got any property at all -- a home, a car, a flat-screen TV, or jewelry with real or sentimental value -- a will can
help make sure it gets to the right person upon your passing, and it can help prevent a lengthy probate process.
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