Just like I clean up my house in the spring, I like to clean up my finances in the fall.  The reason I pick the fall is because the kids are back in school and the pace of my life slows down from the summer.  Also, it gets a little chilly outside, so I seem to spend more and more time indoors, and I can get bored.

So, my financial housekeeping involves a few tasks I will share with you here.  First off I checkup on my investment portfolio.  If I find some poor performing products (such as mutual funds, stocks, bonds, etc.) I find other more suitable investments.  This way I can keep tabs on how my investments are doing.  One note I should make here is that I do my major adjustments at this time of year, though I do keep an eye on my portfolio each month.

The second thing I do is take a look at my savings accounts.  I usually go online to compare the savings accounts to the best savings accounts that are currently available.  If I find that I can get a better interest rate somewhere else I usually take it.  Some people may call this step a waste of time, but I see it as necessary - the reason being that I need to minimize the devaluation of my money due to inflation.

I also tally up my sources of credit.  This includes my mortgage, credit cards, lines of credit and any outstanding loans I have at that time.  I make sure that I have appropriate products for my situation and that the interest rates I am paying are reasonable.  I compare credit cards: mine to the best of the rest - and if mine doesn’t stack up, I change it as well.

Lastly I take a quick look at my car insurance.  You see so many car insurance comparison commercials on the television, that you can’t help but wonder if you can save a buck or two.  Usually, I can save at least a few dollars each year.

I can usually expect my financial housekeeping to take up my free time for the better part of the week.  But for the money that I save, it is definitely worth it.