Cortburg Speaks Retirement

Spring Clean Your Finances

• Miguel Gonzalez, MBA, AIF®, CPFA®, CRC® • Season 2024 • Episode 183

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In this week's episode, Miguel Gonzalez discusses the importance of financial spring cleaning. From budget reassessment to debt reduction strategies, tune in for expert tips to rejuvenate your finances and secure your financial future. Don't miss out on essential advice for every stage of life, from your first job through retirement.

Cortburg Speaks Retirement - episode #183: Spring Clean Your Finances

About Cortburg Retirement Advisors, Inc. 

Cortburg Retirement Advisors is a full-service, boutique financial planning firm - helping guide clients through turbulent and calm economies. Their goal is to help grow, protect, and preserve their assets from their first job through retirement. Cortburg’s “all in one house” capabilities mean that their experienced team can help with all financial needs - wealth management, estate and tax planning, group retirement, employee benefits, insurance, and retirement planning.    

Welcome to Cortburg Speaks Retirement Podcast
with Miguel Gonzalez, MBA, AIF®, CPFA®, CRC®

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INTRODUCTION

Welcome to Cortburg Speaks Retirement

An audio podcast about investing in the stock market, financial planning, money management and retirement planning.  Each Wednesday, we help investors at all stages of life learn how to potentially grow and preserve their money from first job through retirement.

Now here is your host, Miguel Gonzalez.

 HOST

Good morning and welcome to the CORTBURG SPEAKS RETIREMENT audio podcast.   

It’s time for some spring cleaning! Let’s talk about how you can apply that age-old refresh to your finances.

As temperatures warm up, trees begin budding, and the days get longer, you probably throw open your windows and think about spring cleaning your home. As you tackle washing windows, cleaning carpets, and sorting out the garage, don’t forget to consider your finances. Check out these tips to successfully spring clean your finances.

1. Reassess Your Budget

Take some time to go over your budget and make a plan for the upcoming year. Look for areas where you can cut costs or reallocate your resources to make your life feel more comfortable. For example, you may want to take the time to get new insurance quotes to see if you can save some money, or you may want to cut the cord and replace cable with a low price streaming app.

If you need help sticking to a budget, consider looking into an app that can alert you when you are about to reach your spending limit in certain categories. Alternatively, a lot of people enjoy the envelope system. With this budgeting technique, you put cash for groceries, coffee, gas, or other categories into envelopes. You spend out of the envelopes, and when they’re empty, your budget is depleted and you can refill on your next payday.

2. Update Your Tax Withholding

For many people, spring means tax return time, and for others, spring brings a tax bill. A tax bill can put unnecessary strain onto your budget, and while a refund can feel nice, it indicates that you’ve been giving Uncle Sam an interest-free loan for the duration of the year.

To ensure you’re paying the right amount throughout the year, you should update your withholding. Ask your employer for a W-4 form, look at your current information, and make changes as needed. If you received a refund, you can decrease the amount of tax withheld from every paycheck by increasing your deductions, and if you owed tax, you may want to decrease your deductions so that your employer withholds more from each check.

3. Inventory Your Home’s Contents

If disaster strikes, could you easily make a claim for your home’s contents? For many people, the answer is no. To be proactive, you may want to inventory your home’s contents by simply taking photos and making lists of the valuable items in your home. Put these documents in a fire and flood-proof box, or save them in the cloud so that you can access them at any time. Then, every following spring, update your inventory with the new items you purchased throughout the year.

4. Make a Plan to Reduce Debt

Spring is a great time to start thinking about reducing debt, and you may want to explore the snowball technique. With this debt reduction plan, you pay the minimum payment on all your debts, but you send any extra funds to the debt with the highest interest rate. Once that debt has been eliminated, you send extra money to the debt with the next highest interest rate, and you continue this pattern until you have eliminated your debt.

5. Consult With a Financial Professional

To ensure you’re on track with your current and long-term financial goals, you may want to consult with a financial professional. Reach out at spring time to set up an appointment.

Make sure to visit our website, www.CortburgRetirement.com. Our site is filled with educational videos, eBooks, publications, and financial calculators designed to help you learn more about your finances.  As you search our site, send us a note regarding any questions you may have about any particular investment concepts or products. We will get back to you quickly with a thoughtful answer.

This is Miguel Gonzalez, Certified Retirement Counselor (CRC) and Managing Partner, with Cortburg Retirement Advisors signing off for this week’s educational podcast.  

 DISCLOSURES  

Opinions expressed are subject to change without notice and are not intended as investment advice or a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any security. Please consult your financial professional before making any investment decision. 

All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and may not be invested into directly.

This information is not intended to be a substitute for specific individualized tax advice. We suggest that you discuss your specific tax issues with a qualified tax advisor.

CRC conferred by The International Foundation for Retirement Education.

Securities offered through LPL Financial. Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advice offered through Private Advisor Group, LLC, a registered investment advisor.  

Private Advisor Group, LLC and Cortburg Retirement Advisors, Inc. are separate entities from LPL Financial.

Investing involves risk including possible loss of principal.

 

The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.

There is no guarantee that a diversified portfolio will enhance overall returns or outperform a non-diversified portfolio. Diversification does not protect against market risk.

All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however, LPL Financial makes no representation as to its completeness or accuracy.

To determine which investment(s) may be appropriate for you, consult your financial professional prior to investing. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly.

The information provided is not intended to be a substitute for specific individualized tax planning or legal advice. We suggest that you consult with a qualified tax or legal advisor.

LPL Financial Representatives offer access to Trust Services through The Private Trust Company N.A., an affiliate of LPL Financial.

 

 

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Miguel Gonzalez, MBA, AIF®, CPFA®, PPC®, CRC®

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