Financial Spring Cleaning: Your Annual Money Check-Up Checklist

Most financial problems are problems of neglect. Old accounts accumulating fees, insurance policies with coverage gaps, investments drifting out of alignment, automatic charges on services you forgot about — these issues compound quietly until they become expensive.

A once-a-year financial check-up takes 2-3 hours and consistently surfaces hundreds of dollars in savings, gaps in protection, and opportunities you'd otherwise miss. Here's the complete checklist.

Section 1: Review All Your Accounts

Inventory every account you have. List every bank account, investment account, retirement account, credit card, loan account, and any other financial account. For each one, note: account name, institution, balance/limit, and whether you've logged in during the past year.

Close or consolidate dormant accounts. Old bank accounts with minimum balance fees, credit cards you never use, small 401(k)s from previous jobs sitting in expensive default funds — these deserve action. Roll old 401(k)s into your current employer plan or a rollover IRA to consolidate and often improve investment options.

Update account information. Check that your address, phone, email, and beneficiaries are current at every institution. An outdated beneficiary on a life insurance policy or retirement account can cause serious problems for your family.

Verify interest rates on savings accounts. High-yield savings account rates change. The account offering 4.5% APY last year might offer 3.8% today, while a competitor offers 5.1%. Rates take 10 minutes to compare at sites like Bankrate or NerdWallet. Moving $20,000 from 3.5% to 4.8% is an extra $260/year for no additional work.

Section 2: Insurance Coverage Review

Insurance is one of the most expensive things most households pay for, and most people never review whether they have the right coverage.

Health insurance: Is your plan still the best option for your health situation? If your employer has changed offerings or your health needs have changed, different plan tiers (HMO vs. PPO, different deductibles) may serve you better. Review this during open enrollment — but at least note it annually.

Auto insurance: Have you shopped your auto insurance in the past 2 years? Rates vary enormously between companies for identical coverage. Use a comparison site (The Zebra, Gabi, or direct quotes from 3 companies) to benchmark your current rate. Many people save $200-$500/year simply by switching.

Also review your coverage levels: if your car has depreciated significantly, you may be over-insured on comprehensive and collision relative to the car's actual value.

Homeowner's or renter's insurance: Has your property value changed significantly? Have you made major purchases (electronics, jewelry, musical equipment) that exceed basic coverage limits? Review your coverage limit and consider a rider for high-value items.

Life insurance: If you have dependents, do you have sufficient life insurance? A common rule of thumb is 10-12× your annual income. Review whether your current policy amount still reflects your family's needs given income changes, new dependents, or paid-off debts.

Umbrella insurance: If your net worth has grown substantially, review whether a personal umbrella policy (typically $150-$300/year for $1M in additional liability coverage) makes sense.

Section 3: Investment Portfolio Review

Check your asset allocation. If you set a target of 80% stocks / 20% bonds, has market movement drifted that to 88%/12%? Rebalancing once a year (or when allocation drifts more than 5-10% from target) keeps your risk level where you want it.

Consolidate holdings. If you're investing in 40 different funds across 6 accounts, simplification improves clarity and often reduces expense ratios. Three funds (total US stock market, total international, total bond market) beat most complex portfolios over time.

Review expense ratios. Fund expense ratios directly reduce your returns. If you hold actively managed funds with expense ratios of 0.7-1.2%, compare them to index fund alternatives at 0.03-0.10%. The difference compounds significantly over decades.

Check investment account fees. Some brokerage accounts charge inactivity fees, custodial fees, or annual maintenance fees. The major discount brokers (Fidelity, Vanguard, Schwab) charge nothing for basic accounts. If you're paying fees, switch.

Section 4: Debt Review

List every debt with balance, interest rate, and monthly payment. This gives you a complete picture of your liability side.

Is your debt payoff strategy still optimal? If you're using the avalanche method (highest interest rate first), verify you're still targeting the correct account. Interest rates and balances change.

Refinancing opportunity check: Mortgage rates, auto loan rates, and student loan rates fluctuate. If rates have dropped significantly since you took on a loan, run the refinancing math. For a $300,000 mortgage, moving from 7.5% to 6.8% saves roughly $140/month — $1,680/year.

Credit card rate review: If you're carrying any credit card balance, call each card and ask for a rate reduction. This works about 30% of the time for customers in good standing and can save significant interest.

Section 5: Subscription and Bill Audit

Do a full subscription audit (covered in detail in our subscription audit guide). Additionally:

Negotiate your existing bills. Internet, cable, phone, and insurance bills are often negotiable, especially if you've been a customer for a year or more. Calling and threatening to switch (or actually switching) frequently yields retention discounts.

Review automatic renewals. Annual subscriptions often renew without notice. Check credit card statements for annual charges that renewed in the past year.

Employer benefits you're not using. Many employers offer benefits beyond health insurance: commuter benefits, FSAs, employee assistance programs, gym discounts, tuition reimbursement, legal services, and more. Review your full benefits package to ensure you're capturing everything available.

Section 6: Tax Planning Review

Review last year's return. Did you get a large refund? Adjust your W-4 withholding to stop giving the IRS an interest-free loan. Did you owe a large amount? Increase withholding or estimated payments to avoid underpayment penalties.

Confirm retirement contribution maximums. IRS limits adjust annually. Are you contributing the maximum to your 401(k), IRA, or HSA? Even increasing a 401(k) contribution by 1% per year compounds dramatically over a career.

Document deductible expenses. If you itemize or have self-employment income, verify you have records for all deductible expenses: charitable donations (receipts required over $250), business expenses, home office, education, and medical expenses.

Section 7: Update Your Goals

Finally, review and update your financial goals for the coming year:

• Is your emergency fund still sized appropriately? (3-6 months of current expenses)
• What is your savings rate, and is it on track?
• Do your financial goals still match your life priorities?
• What is your current net worth, and how has it changed year-over-year?

Track net worth annually at minimum. Calculate total assets minus total liabilities and record it. Watching net worth grow (or identifying why it isn't) is the most honest measure of financial progress.

Schedule this check-up the same time each year — tax filing season, birthday, or January 1 all work. Two to three hours of focused attention can easily surface $500-$2,000 in annual improvements.