Your Personal Finance Checklist

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Oh money.

It comes, it goes. It’s something I often avoid thinking about, but since we’re into a new year, I thought it was time to take a look at my personal finances and get everything in order.

The biggest reason I avoid an in-depth look at my personal finances, is that it can all be so overwhelming. So I decided to break everything down into little steps to get a grip on what I need to take care of my financial goals this year. I created a checklist for myself and hope you might be able to find this helpful too:

 

1) Emergency Fund

How much do you have in your emergency fund? Ask yourself how much you want to put away this year toward that fund. I used to be intimidated by having to sock away a big dollar amount, but even $50-100 a month is helpful and better than saving nothing for that rainy day.

 

2) Retirement Fund

Better to start earlier rather than later. If your employer offers to match the contributions that you make to your 401(k) plan – take advantage of that free money ASAP and max out the full amount. You don’t want to leave that money sitting on the table.

If there’s a way to have the money for your retirement auto-deducted from your savings account every month to go into your retirement account, that’s even better because, that way,  you won’t even miss the money. Set a goal for how much you’d like to save per year, then divide that by 12 to figure out how much you’ll need to put away each month. (For example: To save $5,000 per year, you’d divide that by 12 months, for a total of $416 per month or $208 per paycheck.) Breaking it down into smaller, more digestible amounts can help you achieve your goal.

 

3) Debt

Do you have any outstanding debt? People have different approaches when it comes to debts. Chase recommends that you pay off the highest interest rate debts first.

Whatever your strategy, lay all your debt out on a spreadsheet so you can see with one glance who you owe money to and how much.

 

4) House Fund / Travel Fund / Dream Fund

I like to call this the ‘big ticket’ fund. If there’s a major financial goal you want to achieve like buying a house, going on a big trip, paying for a wedding, etc., this is the savings account you’ll want to open.

Paul and I are thinking of buying a condo again soon and we are budgeting for the down payment and closing costs. Figure out what that number is and see how much more you need to save to make your dream a reality.

 

5) Check Your Credit Score

Do you know what your current credit score is? Paul and I recently checked our credit scores because we were looking to pre-qualify for mortgage. Luckily, we are in good shape. If your credit score needs some work, talk to someone at your bank about what you can do to improve your score.

 

6) Taxes

Not so much fun are your taxes. Are your taxes up-to-date? Do you need to find and hire an accountant? Do you owe any money? Make sure you’re caught up on all your taxes and everything is filed properly to avoid paying any major penalties.

 

I have to say, taking care of these things in my personal finances checklist put my mind at ease. I know where my money is going and which goals I’m trying to achieve this year. It helps to write it all down or put it into a spreadsheet.

If you’re looking for more information or a few helpful posts to help you with your personal finances, visit Chase online for strategies on improving your Financial Fitness.

 

 

What are your financial goals for 2016 and how are you planning to achieve them?

 

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