You are living under a rock if you haven’t heard of the decluttering fever that has taken over Netflix viewers. Okay, maybe I am judging, but am I really? Even if you don’t have Netflix, I am sure you have come across some way, shape or form of KonMarie’ng your personal life, your diet, and everything else there is. So why not your finances? Exactly my point. Most people don’t like to ‘balance check books’. Who does that anymore? No one. It’s an expression. So, when something is a mess and you are itching to ride the decluttering band wagon, get on board the finance train to spark joy in your personal finances.
Here are 3 easy fixes. Remember, to instantly feel these changes you will need to sort through your finlife possessions with an eye toward lightening your load. Start slow and go easy on yourself.
Credit cards – how many do you have? What is the balance you are carrying and what is the interest rate that you are paying? Every credit card is part of your FICO score and if you are saving for a bigger purchase like a car or a home, not having a good credit history is going to matter.
Subscriptions – same introspection as above but with a slight twist. How many subscriptions do you have? What does it cost per year? And how much have you used it in the last 6 months? Don’t forget to check all the credit cards and paper/magazine subscriptions.
Investment portfolio – When was the last time you looked at it? Are those stocks in your portfolio even trading anymore? (Panera is no longer a public company and Dell is once again trading on the stock exchange) How much dividend are they paying? Or are they paying anything at all? Experts recommend re balancing your portfolio to look at stocks, bonds and overall diversification strategy every quarter or at least once every six months.
Trust me, it doesn’t take long, and the results are long lasting. You will quietly shed old patterns of behavior.
Accumulation is easy; letting go is hard. Take Marie Kondo's advice, and only keep what sparks joy. Transformation doesn’t happen overnight. Happy decluttering!