Spring is here, and if you're like most people, you're thinking about cleaning out closets, organizing the garage, or finally tackling that overgrown flower bed.
But when was the last time you gave your finances the same attention?
Just like your home, your financial life accumulates clutter over time. Beneficiaries get outdated. Savings strategies drift off course. Expenses you meant to review six months ago never get addressed. And before you know it, you're heading into summer - vacation season, camp registrations, back-to-school shopping - without a clear picture of where you stand.
Spring is the perfect time to hit reset. Not a complete financial overhaul, just a thoughtful review of the things that matter most. Think of it as spring cleaning, but for your money.
Let's walk through six areas worth your attention before summer gets busy.
- Review Your Beneficiaries (And Make Sure Your Family Knows Your Wishes)
This one's not exciting, but it's critical. And it's something most people set up once and never think about again.
When was the last time you reviewed your beneficiaries?
Life changes. You get married. You have kids. You get divorced. A parent passes away. Your brother, whom you listed 15 years ago, might not be the right choice anymore.
But here's what most people don't realize: beneficiary designations override your will.
You could have the most carefully crafted estate plan in the world, but if your beneficiary forms say something different, the beneficiary forms win. Every time.
That means if you got remarried but never updated your 401(k) beneficiary from your first marriage, guess who's getting that money? Not your current spouse.
What to Review:
- Retirement accounts: 401(k), IRA, Roth IRA
- Life insurance policies
- Annuities
- Bank accounts and brokerage accounts (if they have transfer-on-death or payable-on-death designations)
Questions to Ask Yourself:
- Are the people I listed still the right people?
- Are they still alive?
- If I have contingent beneficiaries (backups), are those still accurate?
- Do my beneficiaries know they're listed? Do they know where to find these accounts?
That last one is important. You might have everything set up perfectly, but if your beneficiaries don't know the accounts exist, they won't know to claim them.
Have the Conversation
This part feels awkward, but it matters. Sit down with your spouse, your adult kids, or whoever you've designated and let them know:
- What accounts exist
- Where the paperwork is (or how to access it online)
- Who your financial advisor is
- What your wishes are
You don't have to give them dollar amounts or every detail. Just make sure they're not scrambling to figure things out later.
Spring cleaning your beneficiaries might take an hour, but it could save your family months of stress and confusion down the road.
- Take a Fresh Look at Your College Savings
If you have kids, college is always in the back of your mind. And if they're getting close to college age, it's probably on the front of your mind.
Spring is a good time to check in: Are you on track? Are you saving in the right accounts? And are you balancing college savings with your other financial goals?
How Much Should You Have Saved?
There's no magic number, but here's a general guideline. If your child is:
- Born this year: Aim for around $5,000-$10,000 saved
- 5 years old: Around $20,000-$30,000
- 10 years old: Around $50,000-$70,000
- 15 years old: Around $80,000-$100,000
These are rough benchmarks assuming you're trying to cover a significant portion of four years at an in-state public university. If you're aiming for a private school or full funding, those numbers go up. If you're planning to cover only part of the cost, they go down.
The point isn't to hit a specific target; it's to know where you stand and whether you need to adjust.
Are You Using the Right Accounts?
Most people save for college in a 529 plan, and for good reason:
- Contributions grow tax-free
- Withdrawals for qualified education expenses are tax-free
- Many states (though not all) offer a state tax deduction for contributions
But there are other options too - Roth IRAs, taxable brokerage accounts, even UGMA/UTMA custodial accounts. Each has pros and cons.
The key question: Are you saving in a way that's tax-efficient and flexible?
Don't Sacrifice Your Retirement for College
Here's the hard truth: you can borrow for college, but you can't borrow for retirement.
If you're contributing heavily to a 529 but not maxing out your 401(k) or IRA, you might be doing it backward. Your retirement security comes first. Once that's on track, then you can focus on college savings.
Spring is a good time to make sure you're balancing both.
- Look Ahead at Major Summer Expenses
Summer sneaks up on you. And so do summer expenses.
Vacations. Summer camps. Family reunions. Home improvement projects you've been putting off. Maybe a new car because the old one finally gave out.
If you wait until June to think about these, you'll end up scrambling or worse, putting everything on a credit card and hoping you'll pay it off later.
Make a List
Sit down and write out what's coming:
- Vacations: Where are you going? What will it realistically cost (flights, hotels, meals, activities)?
- Summer camps or childcare: If school's out and you're still working, what's the plan?
- Home projects: Are you finally fixing the deck? Repainting the house? Landscaping?
- Weddings, graduations, travel for family events
- Car expenses: Do you need new tires? Is it time to replace a vehicle?
Once you see it all written out, you can plan for it.
Can You Pay Cash, or Do You Need to Adjust?
Look at what's coming and ask:
- Can we cover this with our current cash flow?
- Do we need to pull from savings?
- Should we delay or scale back anything?
The goal isn't to cancel your summer plans. It's to go into summer knowing what you're spending and feeling good about it, not stressed and reactionary.
- Evaluate Your Savings Rate (Are You Saving Enough for Retirement?)
Let's talk about the number that matters most: how much are you actually saving?
Not how much you think you're saving. Not how much you plan to save someday. How much is actually going into retirement accounts right now?
The 15% Rule
A common guideline is to save 15% of your gross income for retirement. That includes your contributions plus any employer match.
So if you make $100,000 and you're putting $10,000 into your 401(k), and your employer is kicking in another $5,000, you're at 15%. That's solid.
If you're saving less than that, you're not necessarily doomed, but you might need to work longer, save more later, or adjust your retirement expectations.
Are You Getting Your Full Employer Match?
If your company matches 50% of your contributions up to 6% of your salary, and you're only contributing 3%, you're leaving free money on the table.
That match is part of your compensation. Not taking it is like turning down a raise.
Should You Be Saving More?
If you're in your 40s or 50s and you're not on track for retirement, spring is a good time to increase your contributions.
Even bumping your 401(k) contribution by 1% or 2% makes a difference. Most people don't even notice the difference in their paycheck, but over 10 or 20 years, it adds up significantly.
What If You Can't Save 15%?
If 15% feels impossible right now, don't let that stop you from saving something. Start with 5%. Then increase it 1% every six months or every time you get a raise.
The key is to build the habit and increase over time.
- Check In on Your Emergency Fund
Life happens. Cars break down. Roofs leak. Jobs change. Medical bills pop up.
An emergency fund is what keeps those surprises from derailing your finances. The key question is “How much should you have?”
The standard advice is 3-6 months of essential expenses. If your household expenses are $5,000 a month, you'd want $15,000-$30,000 set aside in a savings account.
But the right amount depends on your situation:
- Dual income, stable jobs, no kids: 3 months is probably fine
- Single income, kids, variable income: 6 months or more makes sense
- Self-employed or commission-based: You might want even more
Where Should It Be?
Your emergency fund should be:
- Easily accessible (savings account, money market account)
- Not invested in the stock market (you don't want it dropping 20% right when you need it)
- Separate from your everyday checking account (so you're not tempted to dip into it)
High-yield savings accounts are great for this; they're liquid, safe, and earn a bit of interest.
What If You Don't Have One?
Start small. Set a goal to save $1,000, then build from there. Automate it by setting up a direct deposit or automatic transfer so the money goes into savings before you see it.
Spring is a great time to build (or rebuild) this cushion before summer expenses hit.
- Review Your Insurance Coverage
Insurance isn't fun to think about, but it's one of those things that matters a lot when you actually need it.
Spring cleaning your finances means making sure you're adequately covered and not overpaying for coverage you don't need.
Life Insurance
Do you have enough? The general rule: if someone depends on your income, you need life insurance.
A common guideline is 10-12 times your annual income. So if you make $80,000, you'd want $800,000-$1,000,000 in coverage.
Questions to ask:
- If something happened to me, could my family maintain their lifestyle?
- Could they pay off the mortgage, cover college costs, and handle day-to-day expenses?
- Do I have coverage through work, and is it enough? (Spoiler: it's usually not.)
If you have coverage through your employer, that's great, but it usually disappears if you leave your job. Consider a personal term life policy that you control.
Disability Insurance
Most people insure their car and their house, but not their income. Yet your ability to earn income is probably your most valuable asset.
If you couldn't work for six months, could you cover your bills? Disability insurance replaces a portion of your income if you're unable to work due to illness or injury.
Check what you have through work, and consider supplementing it with a personal policy if needed.
Umbrella Insurance
If you have significant assets - home equity, retirement savings, investment accounts - an umbrella policy adds an extra layer of liability protection beyond your home and auto insurance.
It's relatively inexpensive (often $200-$400/year for $1-2 million in coverage) and can protect you from major financial loss if you're ever sued.
Bringing It All Together: Make a Spring Financial Checklist
Here's your spring cleaning checklist. You don't have to do everything in one weekend, but aim to tackle these over the next few weeks:
- Review beneficiaries on all accounts—update if needed
- Talk to your family about where accounts are and what your wishes are
- Check college savings progress and adjust contributions if necessary
- List out summer expenses and make a plan to cover them
- Evaluate your retirement savings rate—are you at 15%?
- Review your emergency fund—do you have 3-6 months saved?
- Check your insurance coverage—life, disability, umbrella
Why This Matters
Financial spring cleaning isn't glamorous. You're not going to get an immediate dopamine hit from updating your beneficiaries or reviewing your 401(k) contributions.
But here's what you will get:
- Clarity. You'll know where you stand instead of vaguely hoping everything's fine.
- Confidence. You'll go into summer knowing your finances are in order.
- Control. You'll sleep better knowing your family is protected and your goals are on track.
And honestly? Once you do this, you don't have to think about it again for a while. Just check in once or twice a year - spring and fall - and make adjustments as needed.
Need Help With Your Financial Spring Cleaning?
If you're looking at this list and feeling overwhelmed, you're not alone. A lot of this stuff isn't complicated, but it's easy to let it slide when life gets busy.
That's where a financial advisor comes in. We help you:
- Review your beneficiaries and make sure everything's up to date
- Build a retirement savings strategy that actually works for your life
- Plan for college without sacrificing your own financial security
- Make sure you're adequately insured and not overpaying
- Create a comprehensive financial plan that ties it all together
If you've been putting off a financial review, now's the time. Let's make sure you're heading into summer—and the rest of the year—with confidence.
Ready to get started? Schedule a conversation today!