Now that we’ve put winter behind us, at least on the calendar, it’s time to think about sprucing up our homes, inside and out. But it may also be time to do some financial spring cleaning.
Some of the same ideas related to organizing your home can also be used to help get your financial house in order. Here are a few suggestions:
Dust off your investment strategy. When you look around your home, you may find that many items—tables, desks, bookshelves, and computer and television screens—could benefit from a good dusting. And once you’ve achieved that, you’ll have a clearer view of all these objects. Likewise, your investment strategy needs to be “dusted off” from time to time, so you can see if it’s still working to help you move toward your financial goals, such as a comfortable retirement. Over time, your personal circumstances and risk tolerance may change, and these changes may cause you to re-examine your future financial and investment decisions.
Declutter your wallet. If you survey your home, you will find duplicates or even triplicates of some things: brooms, vacuum cleaners, toasters, etc. If so, it might be time to declutter a little. And the same could be true of your portfolio: you may have several identical or substantially identical investments taking up space. If so, you may want to replace those layoffs with investments that can improve your diversification. While diversification cannot guarantee profits or protect against losses in a declining market, it can help reduce the impact of market volatility on your holdings.
get organized If your closets are packed to the brim with clothes and miscellaneous items piled on shelves and on the floor, you may have trouble finding what you’re looking for, but with a little tidying up, your searches will be much easier. And when you’re trying to locate financial documents like investment statements or insurance policies, you’ll also benefit from having everything organized in one central location. Even if you have most of these documents online, you can save what you need and save them to a file on your desktop, laptop or tablet. (And it’s also a good idea to tell your spouse, adult child, or other close relative how to access these documents, just in case something happens to you.)
Protect yourself from dangers. If you look in your garage, shed or other storage area, you may find some items such as gardening tools, paint thinners, engine fluids and ladders that could be dangerous if not stored properly. As part of your spring cleaning, you’ll want to remove these hazards to protect yourself and your family. But have you addressed the various financial risks that could threaten your loved ones? For example, if something were to happen to you, would your family members be able to maintain their lifestyle? Could your kids still go to college? To protect yourself from this risk, you may want to discuss protection strategies with a financial professional.
Spring cleaning can pay off – in a cleaner, safer home environment and to ensure your financial strategy continues to work hard for you.
Jennifer Barrett (AAMS) is a local financial advisor at Edward Jones.
225-612-0413 | jennifer.barrett@edwardjones.com
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Edward Jones, its employees and financial advisors are not estate planners and cannot provide tax or legal advice. You should consult your estate planning attorney or qualified tax advisor regarding your situation.
This article was written by Edward Jones for your local Edward Jones Financial Advisor.
