The Kitchen Table

When it comes to spring cleaning, you are most likely thinking about clearing out your garage, scrubbing the carpets, and washing windows. But just after tax season is the perfect time to reexamine your budget, set financial goals, and eliminate debt.

Debt: When it comes to debt there are two schools of thought. The first says to start paying off the debt with the highest interest rate. The other is to pay off the accounts with smaller balances. While it makes more mathematical sense to work on the account with the higher interest rates, it also feels good to eliminate a debt and get some reduction momentum going. Maybe a personal debt consolidation loan is an option for you? Whichever road you choose the important point is that you’ve taken the first step to rid yourself of debt.

Budget: If you haven’t set a budget before, now is the perfect time to do so. If you have a budget you might want to revisit it and make any necessary adjustments. Have you undergone any major changes, switched jobs, had a child? Take this next month and track your spending. At the end of the month you can see where the majority of your income is going. Look for areas where you can afford to cut back and where you need to make spending changes. There are a lot of budgeting tools out there that make tracking your spending easy, such as mint.com. Mint.com has smart phone friendly apps that make budgeting effortless.

You’ve tackled your taxes and you may have even fished a few of those dreaded household projects, but I have one more task for you. Review your credit report! Annualcreditreport.com lets you get a free copy of your credit bureau every 12 months. It’s important to make sure that the information on your credit bureau is accurate and up to date. If you find a mistake on your credit report, you need to contact the consumer reporting agency directly. (The three major credit bureaus are listed below.) Take charge of your finances this year, and before long your money troubles will be gone for good!

Equifax
Report Order: 1.800.685.1111 Fraud Hotline: 1.888.766.0008 www.equifax.com

Experian
Report Order: 1.888.397.3742 Fraud Hotline: 1.888.397.3742 www.experian.com

Trans Union

Report Order: 1.877.322.8228 Fraud Hotline: 1.800.680.7289 www.tuc.com

*Employees of LPI Loans and our affiliates are not attorneys and LPI Loans DOES NOT provide any legal advice and users of this web site should consult with their own attorney for legal advice.