Interested in Your Own Personally Branded Magazine? Click Here!

Want to customize this content for your business?

Learn More

Categories

  • Home
  • Decor
  • Real Estate
  • Life & Culture
  • Food & Recipes
  • Holiday & Entertaining

  • Printables
  • Videos


General

  • About the Magazine
  • Advertise
  • Copyright
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Careers


Editorial

  • Editorial Calendar
  • Issue Archive
  • Contact Us
  • Pitch an Idea

American Lifestyle Magazine Logo
  • Home
  • Decor
  • Real Estate
  • Life & Culture
  • Food & Recipes
  • Holiday & Entertaining
  • Search
  • Follow
  • 0 Heart
  • |
  • Food & Recipes Categories
    • All Recipes (761)
    • Appetizers (138)
    • Breakfast (62)
    • Cooking Tips (42)
    • Desserts (219)
    • Dinner (229)
    • Drinks (59)
    • Gluten Free (9)
    • Healthy (65)
    • Lunch (6)
    • Quick & Easy (60)
    • Vegan (32)
    • Vegetarian (48)
Desserts | Dec 22, 2022

Dark Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies

  • Holiday & Entertaining Categories
    • Celebrate (2)
    • Christmas (81)
    • Easter (14)
    • Entertaining (40)
    • Fall (9)
    • Father’s Day (6)
    • Halloween (29)
    • Hanukkah (17)
    • July 4th (34)
    • Mother’s Day (8)
    • New Year’s (22)
    • St. Patrick's Day (11)
    • Thanksgiving (36)
    • Valentine’s Day (5)
    • Winter (11)
Family & Pets | Dec 14, 2022

Customize Your New Year’s Eve Celebration

  • Decor Categories
    • Crafts & DIY Projects (273)
    • Curb Appeal (5)
    • Decorate (72)
    • Interior Design (84)
Decorate | Jan 19, 2023

Elegant Decor for Any Budget

Interior Design | Jan 12, 2023

Finding Art for Your Home

Decor | Nov 24, 2022

Curated Happiness

  • Real Estate Categories
    • Buying & Selling (203)
    • Home Trends (23)
    • Staging (20)
    • Your First House (34)
Decor | Nov 14, 2022

Design Trends to Follow in 2023

Real Estate | Sep 23, 2022

How to Shop for a Home Loan

Real Estate | Sep 21, 2022

Tips for Preventing Homeowner Identity Fraud

  • Life & Culture Categories
    • Editorial (310)
    • Family & Pets (202)
    • Finances (32)
    • Health (159)
    • Travel (249)
Travel | Jan 18, 2023

Winter Vacation Destinations

Finances | Dec 23, 2022

A Look Back at Inflation in 2022

Family & Pets | Dec 14, 2022

Customize Your New Year’s Eve Celebration

  • Home Categories
    • Cleaning (43)
    • Organizing (48)
    • Home Improvement (124)
    • Outdoors & Gardening (87)
Home Improvement | Jan 18, 2023

4-Week Home-Improvement Challenge

Home Improvement | Jan 6, 2023

Value-Adding Winter Home Improvements

Decor | Nov 14, 2022

Design Trends to Follow in 2023

Follow us on social media today!

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

A Refresh for Your Finances

Finances | By Alexa Bricker | 0 Likes
SHARE
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn More

When spring rolls around, your thoughts might turn to organizing your closets or giving your floors a good deep clean. But how much thought have you given to cleaning up your finances? If the answer is “not much,” you might want to reconsider.

Spring is a great in-between time of year to take stock of your financial health and to create goals for the rest of the year—or to plan for the years ahead.

But before you dive headfirst into any new financial plan, you need to take a look at the current state of your finances. Are they where you want them to be? Have you had trouble putting enough away to account for the unexpected? The steps below can help you get started.

Step 1: Write it all down.

A coffee here, a new pair of shoes there; when you go about your life as usual, you don’t typically think about how much you’re spending. But even small purchases on a frequent basis can add up. Take a month to jot down or create a digital spreadsheet of all your expenses, including mortgage or rent payments, utility bills, groceries, subscription services, and miscellaneous expenditures. When you are able to see a month’s worth of spending in front of you, it becomes easier to determine which are necessary and which areas you can cut back on.

two people looking at papers

Step 2: Establish a budget.

Once you have an estimate of how much you are spending each month, set up a budget that fits your lifestyle and goals. You can break your budget into areas such as housing and utilities, food and personal care items, childcare, memberships, and miscellaneous. If you’ve tried budgeting in the past to no avail, start small. You don’t have to create a budget for all areas of your life at one time. Try setting up a budget for just one or two areas. Perhaps you want to spend less on subscriptions and memberships that you don’t use. A $30 gym membership might not sound like a lot of money to shell out each month, but that adds up to $360 a year! Be realistic about how much you are willing to spend on nonessentials, and consider looking for less expensive alternatives.

person using credit card at computer

Step 3: Evaluate and pay down.

Credit is a necessary evil, but it doesn’t have to be nearly as big a headache as it is made out to be. Of course, some credit is good. Showcasing your ability to make timely payments to creditors is imperative for everything from buying a house to starting a business, but it’s easy to get in over your head. If you have multiple lines of credit, look carefully at the interest rates and amount borrowed on each. Start by paying down the cards with the highest amount of interest, which can quickly accrue and leave you even more in the hole.

Be realistic with your time frame for paying off debt. If you attempt to bite off more than you can chew, you can end up in worse shape than when you began. Do some research into your credit companies’ policies and see if they will work with you toward a lower interest rate or a reasonable payment plan. Once you’ve made progress in paying off any outstanding balances, make sure you remain in the black by setting up limits for yourself. Compare your credit limit, which is oftentimes far higher than what you can reasonably afford to pay off each month, with your monthly income and make sure you do not break the threshold you establish. If this sounds easier said than done, try to leave your credit cards at home unless you absolutely need them, or use them for smaller purchases that you can pay off more easily.

woman using her phone finance app

Take Advantage of Apps

There truly is an app for everything these days, including managing your finances. While apps cannot replace the expertise of a professional, they are a great way to plan, budget, and keep track of your savings on daily, weekly, and monthly bases.

Mint

If you’re tired of having to look through multiple accounts to keep track of your spending, the Mint app is perfect for you. The app logs everything: the total amount of money you have across all your accounts, your credit score, and debt. Its calendar function can show you when your bills are due and how much you owe, and lets you check off payments once they’re made. The best part? Mint is totally free.

Spendee

Visual learners, look no further than Spendee for your financial-planning needs. This app provides a visual breakdown of your spending, allowing you to more easily see the areas you might want to cut back on. It connects to your bank account to provide a list view of your payments, and it can even show the average of your expenses as well as the day of the week you tend to spend the most.

Whether you want to save a few extra dollars each month or plan for a life-changing purchase like a new home, a little cleanup of your finances can go a long way. Just be sure to consult a professional for your specific financial needs.

3689 Views

This article is tagged in:

FinanceFinance TipsMoneyMoney-Saving TipsOrganizationSpring Cleaning

Related Posts

Home | Jan 18, 2023

4-Week Home-Improvement Challenge

Home | Jan 6, 2023

Value-Adding Winter Home Improvements

Life & Culture | Dec 23, 2022

A Look Back at Inflation in 2022

Life & Culture | Dec 13, 2022

How to Prepare for Retirement

Life & Culture | Dec 7, 2022

Getting Your Finances on Track after the Holidays

Popular Posts

can-planters-card
Decor | Mar 25, 2020

Make Your Own Can Planters

Home | Jul 8, 2021

Tips for Redesigning Your Patio Space

Life & Culture | Feb 17, 2020

Trash vs. Recycle: Do You Know When to Trash it?

spring-cleaning-countdown
Home | Mar 23, 2021

Spring-Cleaning Countdown

Real Estate | Dec 14, 2017

House Selling Checklist


You may also like:

can-planters-card
Crafts & DIY Projects | Mar 25, 2020

Make Your Own Can Planters

Outdoors & Gardening | Jul 8, 2021

Tips for Redesigning Your Patio Space

Health | Feb 17, 2020

Trash vs. Recycle: Do You Know When to Trash it?

spring-cleaning-countdown
Cleaning | Mar 23, 2021

Spring-Cleaning Countdown

Buying & Selling | Dec 14, 2017

House Selling Checklist

home office with white furniture
Health | Mar 30, 2020

Everyone Is Working From Home—Here’s How to Do It Effectively

decorating-basics
Interior Design | Jun 9, 2020

These Tips Are Your North Star For Home Decorating

Share on Social Media

Our mission is to deliver entertainment that inspires and motivates our readers, encouraging them to follow their passions as they explore new horizons.

© 2023 American Lifestyle Magazine

General
  • About the Magazine
  • Advertise
  • Copyright
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Careers
Editorial
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Issue Archive
  • Contact Us
  • Pitch an Idea
Categories
  • Home
  • Decor
  • Real Estate
  • Life & Culture
  • Food & Recipes
  • Holiday & Entertaining
Follow Us
Facebook Pinterest Instagram Youtube

Customize this content for your business!

Learn More

,