Annual Financial Checklist: How to Give Yourself A Financial Checkup!

A BIG Thank You to CreditRepair.com for sponsoring today’s Annual Financial Checklist post!

Annual Financial Checklist

So are you ready for your checkup?

When it comes to annual checkups, there’s one important one you might be forgetting… your finances! Whether your finances could use an extreme makeover, or just a little fine tuning, this easy 11-step Annual Financial Checklist will help you give yourself a financial checkup this year!

A lot has changed over the past year and that means your financial strategies probably need some adjustments, too. You work hard for your money, so you owe it to yourself to spend a little time revamping your finances.

I know, I know… going through an annual financial checklist may not be the most glamorous thing you can think of to do, but it’s likely one of the most financially rewarding things you’ll do this year.

This checklist can help you optimize your finances, so you can give your savings a major boost! Now that’s a good thing!

So let’s get started with this annual financial checklist, shall we?

Here are my top tips for how to give your finances a frugal makeover…

Related: How To Save Money Fast! (20 Genius Tips To Save $2200 This Month)

#1: Give Your Budget a Tune-Up

Have you looked at your budget lately?

Oh I know you have, but have you really closely looked at it? To know how you’re really doing financially, you’ll want to make sure your monthly budget is up-to-date. Things change throughout the year, and our budgets need to reflect that.

So take a few minutes today to review your budget to make sure it includes all of your current income and expenses. You’ll also want to make sure it accurately reflects how much you’re spending on each item. Yes… even those weekly Starbucks splurges count.

Personally, when it comes to my budget, it’s my grocery bill that’s the biggest struggle. And let me tell you, the struggle is real!

With a hungry hubby and 2 hungry teenage boys, we can blow through a lot of food… FAST! That’s why this is one area of my budget that regularly needs to be adjusted to reflect what I’m really spending.

There’s what I wish I was spending, and then there’s reality. Are you with me?

So when I do start spending too much on groceries and find that category of my budget spiraling out of control, it’s time to get serious about finding new ways to cut food costs. Go check out my favorite tips for How To Cut Your Grocery Bill In Half to help you save more on your groceries, too.

In addition to groceries, it’s important to review the rest of your budget to make sure you’re not overspending in other categories as well.

Whether it’s electricity or internet service, bills can often go up throughout the year and we’re just too busy to do anything about it. So take some time this week to look for better rates and find new ways to save money.

Maybe this would be switching to a super-saver electricity plan, changing cell phone providers, or finding a less expensive internet plan. What I’m saying is, it’s time to tackle cost creep in the budget head-on.

After all, the best way to push back on rising prices is to shop around for better deals, right? We work hard for our money. So we should also work hard to keep as much of it as possible in our savings accounts!

#2: Look For Ways To Save On Insurance

When it comes to monthly budgets, insurance is such an important part. However, it’s pretty easy to overpay on insurance, too!

For example, you’re likely overpaying for some part of your health insurance, homeowner’s or rental insurance, car insurance, or life insurance. It’s easy to do!

I actually just got off the phone with my insurance agent and was able to review every line by line of insurance to make sure I was getting the best deal and not overpaying for anything I wouldn’t use. In fact, my agent can expect a call from me anytime I receive a premium increase.

Just because they want to raise rates, doesn’t mean you need to pay more. You may be able to finesse your policy with some minor adjustments and drop unnecessary coverages to prevent a rate increase. Who knows, your rates might even go down!

Now if I get to the point where I’m just unable to work with my insurance company to keep my rates down, I know it’s time to go shopping again.

Shopping around for less expensive insurance does take some time, but saving money every month is such a great reward! Last year I was no longer able to avoid rate increases, so I switched to another company and ended up saving around $350 per year!

Talk about an easy way to save BIG!

#3: Cut Out Your Unnecessary Expenses

Now that you’ve updated your budget and lowered your insurance costs, it’s time to cut out all of your unnecessary expenses.

Why pay for it if you don’t even care, right?

It’s so easy for expenses to creep into our monthly spending that really aren’t even necessary. You know, things like that cable tv bill (when you already have streaming), old subscription box, or gym membership you don’t even use anymore! Just like cleaning your home, it’s time to clean up your expenses. So analyze every expense and get rid of as many of your monthly bills as possible.

You’ll be surprised how exciting it is to cut your expenses! To start, you’ll get the satisfaction of knowing you’re not wasting your hard earned money anymore. That’s always a good feeling! But there’s also another really important perk. Cutting your unnecessary expenses is actually the easiest and least painful way to boost your monthly savings.

So are you wondering where to start? You can use these tips for How To Save Money Fast to help identify even more ways to cut your expenses. Remember, the more you save now, the faster your financial dreams will become a reality!

#4: Prepare For The Unexpected

Now I know this one isn’t exciting, but it’s so important. When you prepare for those unexpected expenses you’ll have such peace of mind knowing you’ve got a plan in place. So… do you have an emergency savings fund?

If the answer is “No”, then you’ll love the tips here: Why You Should Start An Emergency Fund. An emergency fund can really help keep you on track financially. Crazy bills can come out of nowhere, but when you’ve got money stashed away to cover them, you’ll sleep so much better at night!

#5: Update Your Savings Goals

So your budget is up-to-date, you’ve lowered your insurance, you’ve cut unnecessary expenses, and you’ve started an emergency fund. Way to go!! Now it’s a really good idea to sit down and review your savings goals. I like to do this at least once per year, and sometimes even more often.

Have you noticed how easy it is for some of your long term goals to get completely skipped over? Short term needs and wants have a way of grabbing all of our attention… and money! That’s why we need to regularly evaluate whether or not we are properly saving enough for both short and long term savings goals.

You can start by making a list of what you want to save for. This could include saving for your next car, annual vacations, a new home, college, and of course retirement. Then decide how much of your monthly savings should be given to each item.

I have an easy method that I personally use to make sure I’m saving enough towards each of my savings goals. For each item I want to save for, I simply allocate a percentage of my monthly savings.

Here’s an example of what that can look like:

• 50% – Retirement Savings
• 20% – College Savings
• 10% – Used Car Savings
• 10% – Home Repairs & Maintenance
• 5% – Medical & Dental Savings
• 5% – Vacation Savings

At the end of the month after all of your expenses have been paid, anything leftover can go to savings. Say you save an extra $1,000 this month… at the end of the month you’ll simply divide up your money using the percentages you’ve created (like the ones above), and start funding each category.

For example, $500 would go towards retirement, $200 would go towards college, $100 towards car, $100 towards home maintenance, $50 towards medical, and $50 towards vacations. Having a percentage system makes sure no savings categories that are important to you will ever get left out. Hey, I’m even adding a new one to my budget this year for a puppy!

You really will be surprised how fast your savings will start adding up!

Now does saving any money at all seem like a hefty challenge? Even if money is tight, you’d be surprised by how much money you can actually save. Take your savings to the next level this year with these 10 creative tips for How To Save On A Tight Budget!

#6: Supercharge Your Retirement Savings

When it comes to saving for retirement, more really is better! And starting now is WAY better than waiting!! The sooner you start saving for retirement, the sooner it will become a reality for you!

So if you haven’t started saving for retirement yet, get started today with the help of these easy tips for How To Start Saving For Retirement!

#7: Update Your Will

Now this is an easy one to put off, because honestly… who wants to think about the need for a will? However, it’s really important you take some time to work on this. In addition to saving for retirement, it is essential to have a current will in place.

Why risk letting the government decide how your assets will be distributed if you were to die unexpectedly? If you have minor children, the consequences of not having a will are even greater!!

The good news is… creating a will can be super easy. There are so many free and inexpensive tools available online. Just make sure you educate yourself about the specific will requirements for your state. For example, it’s common for a state to require that your will be notarized.

#8: Earn More Interest On Your Money

Another easy way to save more money is simply by earning more interest. It’s time to let your money work for you! Could you be earning more interest on the money you’ve saved? Interest rates have changed a lot over the past year and that means it’s a great time to shop around to make sure you’re earning as much as possible on your savings.

I personally have 2 similar accounts that are paying totally different rates. They were almost identical 6 months ago, but now one is paying .2% more than the other account. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but over a full year, that extra money I’ll be earning in the higher paying account will really add up.

So move your money to higher paying accounts when possible.

To know you’re getting the best rates, I recommend checking rates at a variety of different government insured financial institutions. These could include your current bank, credit unions, and online money market accounts. Also, don’t forget about short term CD’s. If you won’t need access to some of the money you’ve saved for up to 6 months or a year, these can be a smart choice, too!

#9: Balance Your Investment Portfolio

Is it time to rebalance your portfolio? It’s really common for your higher growth investments to outperform the rest of your investments, leaving you with too much risk in your investment portfolio. Or maybe you’re just less comfortable having riskier investments than you used to be.

I personally thought I would enjoy investing in a modest number of higher growth and higher risk stocks. However, my personal experience over the past several years changed my mind. The wild swings were so stressful! I realized I have a much lower risk tolerance than I thought.

So instead of just feeling stressed out all the time, I made some simple changes to my investments. I slowly and methodically transitioned to smarter, lower risk investments throughout the year, and I’m so glad I did. For me, it was just the right choice.

Only you can determine how much risk you feel comfortable with. If you are thinking about making some changes, I first recommend speaking with your financial planner.

#10: Clean Up Your Credit

Now no Annual Financial Checklist would be complete without a review of your credit. Did you know good credit may help you save money on your cell phone bill and car insurance? It may also help you score a better rate on your next car loan or home mortgage.

It’s actually really easy to get a copy of your credit report. You can request a free copy from AnnualCreditReport.com.  When reviewing your credit report, check for any errors in your credit history or personal information.  Also check to see if there are any negative items being reported.  Did you find any problems or incorrect information on your credit report?  Don’t worry, this is common and there are some really helpful tools available from CreditRepair.com to help clean up your credit score!

They will help make sure items in your credit report are substantiated, relevant, accurate and reported fairly.  If items in your credit history are incorrect, they will work hard with you to get them corrected and to defend your financial reputation!  To learn more, go check out CreditRepair.com.

#11: Tackle Your Debt

Now it’s time to tackle that hairy monster in the room… your debt! So have you added new debt over the last year? Or is your debt level too high? It’s so easy to get into debt, but debt literally works against every financial dream you have. You simply can’t afford to leave debt hanging around. It’s like keeping a hungry pet monster in your basement that devours all of your savings.

Make this the year you finally tackle your debt! You can use my 5 easy tips for How to Snowball Your Debt to get started today. Even if you can’t pay off all your debt right away, every step you take is one step closer to being debt free. And getting out of debt is such a powerful way to supercharge your savings! Soon you’ll have a snowball of savings!

Well, congratulations… you did it! You’ve officially made it through the annual financial checklist! So many of the tips I’ve shared in this annual financial checklist come from my own personal experiences, and I hope these ideas will help you take charge of your finances and keep you on track to achieving your financial dreams. If you still have questions about how to give your finances a makeover, it’s always a great idea to give your licensed financial advisor or your accountant a call.

It’s the perfect time to start taking steps to make this year your most financially rewarding ever! So let’s do this Annual Financial Checklist!

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