With the festival bells ringing, you and your family are just planning to spend the coming days on clearing and cleaning your house. What about a Diwali cleaning of your financial affairs too? Don’t know where to start? Here’s a check list:
Make an inventory of your financial assets: All your savings accounts, fixed deposits, mutual funds, life insurance policies, health policies, public provident fund accounts, house papers… get them all together and make an inventory.
While at it, get your debit cards, credit cards, etc, as well. Now make an inventory of what you have.
Exhausted? Then you have too much! If you do not know where to start, start with your NSDL statement which you receive regularly. You may find investments that you had forgotten long ago!
Review all your accounts: Why do you have many savings accounts, why fixed deposits at all? Can you not just move it into a liquid fund or short-term income fund? Too many mutual fund schemes? Do you have adequate life and health insurance?
Open your budget for expenses and challenge yourself to save more. Or spend less. Any regrets on expenses? Is your family happy with the numbers? Do you invest first and then spend the money? Any expense that needs a review?
Make an inventory of expenses you can reduce, if you aren’t happy with the expenses. See if the expenses are optimised.
See if you can break some deposits or use cash in the bank to prepay some loans. See whether your assets and liabilities are optimised.
It is an awesome feeling to have small manageable debt instead of a big debt scaring you into keeping that job!
If you have multiple debts, see if you can consolidate them into a single lower rate.
Refinance your mortgage? May be it is a good time to be looking for a new vendor.
Renegotiate your cable connection, net connection, rents. These days, everything is negotiable.
Check your nominations. Make sure that the nomination and the will are in concurrence. Do they need any modification? If yes, do it NOW.
Any recent change in the family – marriage, death or a kid turning 18? All need documentation changes, do it.
Meet your investment adviser to increase your SIP (Systematic Investment Plan).
Meet your chartered accountant to reduce your taxes.
Plan your vacation. Booking now for Christmas vacation may be better than doing it on December 22!
Take all the money lying in savings accounts and put it in a mutual fund. That sleeping money is delaying your retirement!