Yearly tracking tips for your finances

Annually there are some specific tasks you should be doing when it comes to your finances. You can break your basic financial tasks down into easy monthly chunks.

Monthly: (Note – I actually do many of these tasks on a daily or weekly basis, depending on the task, however, at the very least do the following once a month).

• You should balance your checkbook at least once.
• Check your bank statements for errors.
• Sort bills and pay them. Then decide which bills to keep (see below).
• Sort your bills to keep into a folder, file cabinet, or other sort of safe-keeping system.

Every 3-6 months:

• Restock your bill paying supplies at your bill paying station. If you pay bills online yay, you can skip this step. If not restock stamps, envelopes, pens, and so on.
• Shred any old financial paperwork you no longer need. If you do this every 6 months, you should have some papers that can be purged.
• Check to see if you’re on track with your money goals. For example, once a year you should set financial goals, but you’ll be more likely to stick with them if you check up on them and update them as needed.

Annually: (if you do the annual tasks around the new year it’s helpful as you can sort your tax info then).

• Set new money goals for the year and revamp your money systems if you’re not happy. For example, if you’ve been trying to save using an envelope system and it’s not working consider switching to a writing all your spending down system.
• If you keep an ongoing budget on paper or on your computer – update any changes.
• Locate any paper work you need for taxes.
• Check your credit report. You can do this more often though, but once a year at least is wise. Make sure to deal with any mistakes you see asap.
• Shred any old financial papers you really don’t need – old paid off loan paperwork, closed credit accounts, and so on.

WHAT TO KEEP VS. SHRED:

Unless you specifically need one of the following for tax purposes there’s no reason to hang on to these items for more than a few days… ATM receipts, store receipts, credit card statements, or basic bill stubs (cable, phone, etc). If you need a receipt for a big purchase keep it with your warranty items. Check your credit card statements for mistakes then shred.

• Insurance policies – keep current ones and shred the old.
• Medical bills – keep for three years or for as long as an ongoing condition exisits.
• Records of sold property – i.e. a car, house, and so on big ticket items. Save forever pretty much. These items should take up too much room in your file cabinet and it’s better to have proof of sale than not.
• Social security statements – I keep all my annual reports filed away but I know some folks only keep their most current one. I’ve also heard both sides mentioned by experts in the money field so I’m gonna say stick with what you’re comfortable with here.
• Taxes and tax records – keep for seven years.
• Mortgage and automobile records and bills – keep for as long as you own the item.
• If you have items like mutual fund statements keep the annual reports and shred the rest.

[image via stock.xchng]