The sunnier days are here, birds are chirping their delight at the climate, the cherry blossom is out, and the skies are a brighter shade of blue. As Spring emerges, our mentality shifts from holing up and making things cosy to a full on cleanathon. This tends to be inside our humble abodes, getting the marigold gloves on, whipping out the dusters, cleaning solutions and mops and having a deep clean. While our homes benefit from this clean, we need to consider other areas of our life that could also do with a Spring overhaul. The number one area tends to be our finances. By giving your finances a quick dust down and clean annually, you can be certain of better financial health. Take a look at how and why you should spring clean your finances.

Debt

Many people don’t tend to look at their bank accounts too often which is worrying. Many slip into debt and use their overdraft each month without even realizing. They end up spending more money each month than what they earn. This means the cycle of debt gets deeper and it can become ever more difficult to find your way out. Good financial health isn’t about being totally debt free; it’s about understanding how to manage your debt effectively. You can transfer your credit card debt onto a more suitable card with zero percent on balance transfers. This means you can pay back your debt each month without paying any interest. This will allow you to clear your debt so much faster.

Savings

Many people look at their levels of debt and think that they simply cannot save anything. Every spare penny goes towards paying back a loan, credit card debt or store card. However, it is possible to save at the same time. If you organize your debt into one monthly repayment through a loan, you may end up with some disposable cash at the end of the month. You may be tempted to spend this, but the wiser choice will be to increase your debt repayment or place it into a savings account. Doing the latter each month means you will see a nest egg slowly accruing spurring you on to continue with your new money management plan.

Mortgage

If you don’t own a house yet, but want to at some point in the future, you need a clean bill of financial health. Being a responsible borrower means showing the mortgage company that you want to apply to that you don’t venture into your overdraft each month, you live within your means and you don’t just pay back the minimum payment on your credit cards. You need to show that you earn more than you spend, that you don’t miss payments and that you can manage any credit or debt that you have effectively.

Spring is the ideal season to take a look at all areas of our life to then give them an overhaul. The next time you whip out the vacuum to shampoo your carpets, think about taking a look at your personal budget to make your finances sparkly clean too.