How to Spring Clean Your Finances

Key Takeaways

• Review your budget from the last 3 months and adjust for inflation increases in groceries, gas, rent, and travel expenses using a budgeting app
• Analyze your monthly cash flow (income minus expenses) and either cut back on the three largest expense categories (food, housing, transportation) or increase income through a side hustle or raise negotiation
• Cancel unused subscriptions from the pandemic era and automate your finances by setting up automatic transfers to savings, 401k contributions, and bill payments
• Check your free credit report at annualcreditreport.com and freeze your credit at the 3 major credit bureaus to prevent fraud (save your freeze usernames and passwords for future unfreezing)