Spring Cleaning Your Personal Finances

The tradition of spring cleaning is much more relevant in cold weather climates. That would explain why we Californians don’t have a rich tradition of Spring cleaning. However, the concept is not lost on Californians, Spring cleaning is a great metafore for revitalization. It’s also a great way to think of reviewing your personal finances.

The origins of spring cleaning anyway?

Some believe the idea of Spring Cleaning is associated with the ancient Jewish practice of cleaning the home in anticipation of the spring-time memorial and feasts associated with Passover. Others think it comes from the Persian new year, which falls on the first day of spring. Even today many Iranians practice “khooneh tekouni” which literally means “shaking the house.” In this tradition, everything in the home is thoroughly cleaned, from top to bottom.

There are similar traditions in Scotland, Ireland, and New Zealand. Regardless of where we get your Spring Cleaning tradition, we can all agree, it’s a good practice to frequently take an inventory, reorganize, and clean our space. It’s a very rewarding practice.

Good for more than the home

The idea of Spring Cleaning works great for revitalizing the home base. It’s also a great time to make sure the A/C is ready for summer, get updates on popular home safety tips, or even get the home ready for that Summer vacation. But it doesn’t have to end with your home, we can apply a similar concept to our personal finances.

Below is an infographic with the basic structure for conducting an annual spring cleaning of your personal finances.

Conclusion

Anytime you review your personal finances, and make even the most simple adjustments to correct the things that are costing you money, it’s a good thing. But if you think of the concept of spring cleaning, and apply this to your personal finances, you can setup a regular time to review your personal finances that will help you stay on track.