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Spring clean your finances |
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If you can't stand the thought of going through your retirement investments annually, consider putting your money in a target
date fund, offered by most major mutual fund companies. The fund will rebalance automatically, giving you one less thing to worry about.
Also look at beneficiaries: If you put your parents as beneficiaries of a 401(k) plan you got from your first job, you may want
to change that if you've married or had a child. Similarly, if you've gotten divorced, you'll probably want to remove your ex as a beneficiary.
Finally, consider increasing your 401(k) savings:
At the minimum, be sure to save enough to earn the full match from
your company. If you increase your savings at the same time as your
annual raise, you probably won't even miss the extra cash.
Insurance
- What to do: Get new quotes
for car, home and life insurance policies; update beneficiaries.
- Cost: None, unless you upgrade your policies.
- Time involved: Plan to spend
a couple hours doing research.
- Details: Term life, car and
some homeowner insurance policies have gone down in price over
the past few years, says Lankford. If you haven't shopped around
for a new policy recently, you may find that a bit of research
can save you hundreds of dollars. Bankrate's insurance
channel is a good place to start.
As you're shopping around, be sure you're sufficiently
covered. "After the recent California wildfires, a lot of people
discovered they didn't have enough coverage," says Lankford. If
you've done significant renovations or additions to your house and
haven't revised the policy, be sure to take those upgrades into
account. "It doesn't cost that much to add, but it could add hundreds
of thousands of dollars in your payout," Lankford says. Web sites
such as www.Accucoverage.com
can help you determine the replacement cost of your home as you
update your information.
Give your life insurance policies a second look if
you've had a major life change. A new baby might warrant increased
coverage, for example, while a divorce or death might require a
beneficiary change.
If you renew or change any policies, shred your old documents, says DiQuollo. "Once you renew a policy, you can get rid of the
old one," he says. "I"ve never heard of anyone needing an old one."
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