The beginning of a new year is often a time to spring clean your finances for the year ahead. Whether your finances include a budget, savings, loans, insurance, super or shares the new year is often a good time to dust off  the cobwebs and see if they need a freshen up. Here are our tips on how to spring clean your finances for 2018.

1. Re-assess your budget and track it. A budget helps you keep track of your personal finances. There are a number of online tools you can use to create your budget, like Trackmyspend. If  you're trying to get your finances under control, Trackmyspend is an easy-to-use app produced by the Money Smart government website, set up and administered by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
2. Freashen up your savings strategy  The old 10 to 90 rule is a sound one when it comes to savings, so make a pact to invest at least 10% of your net income. It is also a good idea to review your savings accounts - is yout term deposit still paying a good rate of interest? Are there other investment options you should be considering?
3. Avoid taking on more debt.  Apologies if this sounds too obvious but try and avoid taking out loans to purchase unnecessary items like clothing, a holiday away or a new phone. All these things lose their value over time and bring you no long-term financial returns. Rather, invest in things that will increase in value over time like your home or your children’s education.
4. Restructure your existing debt. Re-examine your existing debt like credit cards and your mortgage. Many people  don’t realise that they could be enjoying a better deal on their home loans – especially if they have had the same mortgage for a few years. Plus refinancing could enable you to consolidate any credit card debt into your home loan and thereby reducing the fees and interest paid. A home loans comparison calculator can help you compare offers based on loan terms, interest rates and additional fees.
5. And finally...set your financial goals for the year ahead. Setting your financial goals is the next step to financial security. It is important to be specific, realistic, and to write your goals down.  Financial goals are often divided into short term goals (like paying off credit card debt) and long term goals, like paying off your home loan or buying an investment property. So it is also important that you prioritize each goal in terms of importance.