What to include in your financial health check-ups

Find out a few things that you should check frequently to ensure financial success.

08:11 22 September 2013

Being financially successful is quite the job. Not only does it require a fairly good grasp of cash management, but it also requires foresight, planning, and a certain amount of risk.

 

One of the best ways you can keep up with your finances is by committing to a frequent review. We receive medical health check-ups, but these are financial health check-ups.  They serve the same purpose as the medical ones:  assessing overall health, opportunities for improvement, and pointing out situations that could be disastrous.

Here are just a few of the things that you should review on a fairly regular basis to ensure that your finances are on track:

• Expenses—these are best reviewed on a monthly basis. Many types of bills can fluctuate leaving questionably amounts, and due dates can sometimes vary slightly depending upon the company involved. Do not forget to include automatically-recurring expenses as well since those are easy to leave out.

 

• Investments—it is a good idea to check on your investments at least twice per year. You will have an idea of the general direction of your investments so that any changes can be made if necessary.

 

• Retirement pensions—you should review the amount in your pension at least once per year so you know how things are going. If you need to set up an additional account or step up your investments you can be sure to make those changes, and after a change you may want to check such accounts a little more frequently to make sure that you’re getting the desired results.

 

• Savings accounts—these are usually for short-term goals involving such things as avoiding financial crisis, upkeep and maintenance on homes and vehicles, holiday trip savings, and initial payments for new purchases like homes and vehicles. These accounts can be reviewed monthly as well to ensure no mistakes have been made in the general accounting.