I’ve got some more ideas to get you thinking about getting your financial house in order (or tweaking it if you’ve done some stuff).   If you missed my first installment, scroll down and see Tuesday’s posting.   So, what about:

   *  Keep your important documents where you can access them.  While I keep my tax preparation records for seven years, I do keep every income tax return I’ve ever filed in my life (yes….there are a lot of them).  In case there’s a question about my Social Security contributions, I’ll have the answer.   My life, disability and long term care insurance policies are all in the portable safe.  The will is there, too.   It’ll be the first thing I grab if there’s a fire

   *  Reduce your debt.  The credit bureau Experian says the average American carried about $17,000 in debt, other than a mortgage.  Much of it is from credit cards.   List your credit cards with the highest interest rate on top and make a consistent effort to pay extra toward the balance.  This kind of debt can choke you, especially if you have an emergency or lose your job

   *  Check your credit score.   You should be entitled to one free credit report a year from each of the major credit bureaus (at least that’s the law in Massachusetts).   Take advantage of this and make sure there’s nothing there that doesn’t belong to you.   It happens all the time

One Response to “More For Your Financial To-Do List”

1. Cheri Lieberman says:

   February 5, 2010 at 2:15 pm

   Great advice — thanks.