You, and your family just spent the previous 2 weeks cleaning your house, right?

What about a Diwali cleaning of your financial stuff too? Do not know where to start?

1. Make an inventory of your financial assets: all your savings accounts, fixed deposits, mutual funds, life insurance policies, health policies, public provident fund accounts, house papers, …get them all together and make an inventory. While at it get your debit cards, credit cards, etc too. Now make an inventory of what you have. Exhausted? you have too much!!
2. Review all your accounts: why do you have 4 savings accounts, why fixed deposits at all – can you not just move it into a liquid fund or short term income fund?, too many mutual fund schemes? adequate life and health insurance, etc. etc.
3. Open your budget for expenses and challenge yourself to save more. Or spend less. Any regrets on expenses?
4. Make an inventory of expenses that you can reduce – if you are not happy with the expenses.
5. See if you can break some deposits or use cash in the bank to prepay some loans.
6. It is an awesome feeling to have small manageable debt instead of a big debt scaring you into keeping that job!
7. Refinance your mortgage? this is a good time to be looking for a new vendor!
8. Renegotiate your cable connection, net connection, rents….these days everything is negotiable
9. Check your nominations, will, bank locker – do they need any modification?
10. Any change in the family – marriage, death or a kid turning 18? all need documentation changes, do it.
11. Meet your investment adviser to increase your SIP
12. Meet your CA to reduce your taxes!
13. Plan your vacation – booking now for Christmas vacation may be better than doing it on 22nd December
14. Take all the money lying in savings accounts and put it in a mutual fund – that sleeping money is delaying your retirement!