Spring is a good time for cleaning, decluttering, and general decluttering. This also extends to financial issues, especially if you do a lot of job hopping or take advantage of internet shopping specials.
Besides simplifying your life, you can save money by cleaning out or consolidating little-used or redundant accounts. Many charge ongoing subscription or account maintenance fees, and these can add up.
Consider consolidating retirement accounts
Americans, especially young people, can change jobs dozens of times in their lifetime. Opening her 401(k) or similar account with each employer can add to the post-retirement confusion. This can pose a problem when there are separate charges for each, not to mention the documents to track and the associated passwords.
In a recent report, Savant Wealth Management said fees and ease of monitoring are among the reasons for considering consolidating retirement accounts. With fewer accounts, “you get a clearer picture of your investments and can more easily adjust your portfolio,” the company says.
Jeff Young, Senior Wealth Advisor at Kierland Financial Group in Scottsdale, suggests evaluating your account at least once a year. “Find out where your money goes to see if you’re being nickel and dimed to death,” he said.
You can also more easily manage your recipient designations with fewer accounts. A personal retirement account, 401(k), etc. lets you designate a beneficiary (the person you want your money to go to when you die). These must be renewed annually or when a birth, death, marriage, or other life change occurs. Make sure the designations do not conflict with those listed in other estate planning documents, such as revocable living trusts.
“Beneficiaries listed in the IRA take precedence over those listed in the trust,” Young said.
Can I cancel my subscription, membership made easy?
Consumers can spend hundreds of dollars or more annually on subscriptions, memberships, and ongoing product delivery. That’s why the Federal Trade Commission has proposed a “click-to-cancel” rule that requires businesses to make exiting registrations as easy as registering them.
The new rules, if adopted, could help people shut down gym memberships, magazine subscriptions, computer virus and credit monitoring services, continuous bottled water and food deliveries, and other purchases. there is.
FTC Chairman Lina M. Kern said in a statement, “Some companies are too willing to trick consumers into paying for subscriptions they no longer need or didn’t sign up for in the first place. There are many,” he said. “This proposal will save consumers time and money, and companies that continue to use subscription tricks and traps will face severe penalties.”
Marketers sometimes ask customers to cancel directly or have to wait for a long phone call before being connected to a service representative, according to the FTC.
This proposal calls for a simple cancellation mechanism and prohibits misrepresentation. If you sign up for a service online, you should be able to cancel online using the same procedure. Also, before pitching a new product or service to a consumer who is about to cancel, a business must first ask for permission. That means sellers have to say “no” and if they say “no,” they have to go through the cancellation process as soon as possible, he said.
A public comment period follows after the proposal is published in the Official Gazette. FTC senior public affairs specialist Jay Mayfield said the committee will decide whether to adopt the rule when it’s done. For more information, visit ftc.gov.
Check your credit report for errors
It’s also a good time to monitor the information on your credit report. If this information isn’t accurate, it can make it harder to get a loan such as a credit card, increase interest rates and rent, or put you off buying a home.
Credit reports are available free of charge at annualcreditreport.com. What to look for: What information in the report doesn’t apply to you?
Lawyers at FCRA, a law firm that specializes in credit report corrections and inaccurate background checks, say they have analyzed about 198,000 credit report complaints in the last two years. About two-thirds of these complaint reports contained information attributed to the wrong person.
When faced with a low credit score based on credit report information, consumers often think they must change their financial habits. But sometimes it’s just a matter of correcting the content of your credit report.
FCRA.com lists the following common credit report mistakes: Inaccurate personally identifiable information, cleared accounts still showing balances, credit files mixed with others, debts older than 7 years that should have been deleted, etc. is.
Please contact the writer at russ.wiles@arizonarepublic.com.
