One of the greatest challenges in life is to keep your financial house in order. It requires attention to detail and focus – both encumbering a large amount of time that you believe might be better spent making money, not ‘handling’ it. Unfortunately, this misconception keeps people working a lot longer and harder than they should. In this entry we will provide a list of simple ‘to-do’ items that you can incorporate into your life one month at a time. This month our focus will be from January to June. Next month we will offer advice for the second half of the year.

January – Make a commitment to improving your financial health this year. Yes, January has passed and that is the traditional time for making resolutions but when you are really interested in making a change, you don’t have to wait until January!

February – Order your credit report. Set aside a weekend to go through it and look for errors or refresh your memory on what bills came from where!

March – Gather all your financial paperwork. Find a place in your home where you can commit to storing all of your paper documents. Despite the fact that most information is now made available online, you should have both an online presence and paper backup statements available.

April – Now that everything has been gathered into one area, set aside a weekend to get things organized. At this point you may need the support of a financial planner or tax expert. The goal is to have your return submitted by April 15th, tax day.

May – With tax day behind you, it is time to sift through the paperwork that may be ancillary to your bills. This month focus on your car, health and life insurance. Compare insurance companies and premiums. Maybe set up appointments to meet with several insurance agents to get their input. This will help you decide if you need to make changes to your current insurance status.

June – Do you have a will? If not, sit down with an attorney who specializes in this area. They will be able to provide guidance and advice to ensure the needs of your loved ones are met after you are gone.

If you need assessment of your financial health, contact the experts at ORT Consulting. We want to be your financial planning partners.