Hey there! Today, I want to share 6 important to dos to start off your year – some take 1-minute, others take 5. In all, it will take 20-minutes or less to put money in your pocket, protect your finances and simplify your life.
Here we go.
1. Activate Your HELOC: 1 Minute
- Many of us have a home equity line of credit as a financial back-up. This is solid financial planning. The problem is that we can leave it untouched for months or even years and it can become deactivated without a heads up or call. This can put you into a financial crunch. If you have an empty line of credit go on-line and put $5 on it today and pay it off tomorrow. This will keep it active.
2. Be Proactive About Your Taxes: 1 Minute
- We all think about taxes when it is tax time. By then, unfortunately we’ve lost the opportunity to make any advantageous tax moves for that calendar year. So, this year, book an end of November or December meeting with your accountant or advisor to make sure you can make some proactive decisions.
3. Purge Unnecessary Expenses: 5 Minutes
- Go through one month of bank and credit card statements to see what can be cancelled, reduced or changed. Let’s be honest it is easy for a $5, $10 or 15 app, membership or streaming services to infect your credit card.
4. Update your Financial Inventory: 5 Minutes
- I often speak about inventorying your financial affairs in one spot. This gives your spouse, kids, power of attorney or executor a financial map of your key contacts and details in case you aren’t there to guide them. Take a few minutes to review your current version and see if you’ve changed or added any financial relationships, credit cards, mortgages – things like that. If you have not done a financial inventory before, get in touch and we’ll send you a template and checklist to get started.
5. Get Financial Involved: 1 Minute
- We all divide the labour in our households. In my household, Val does the laundry, and I handle the food – not sure what the kids do. If you don’t hold the finance chair – get a little exposure this year. See how the on-line banking works or attend a financial advisory or accounting meeting.
6. Implement Call Control: 5 Minutes
- Do you have friends in Nigeria, Nicaragua, Nebraska and North Macedonia? Probably no. Then, why do we get calls from these regions all the time. These automated calls are attempting to connect you with a fraudster. One way to stop them, head on, is to add a “call control” feature to your phone plan. Here the caller is prompted to press a designated digit to get through. Humans can pass the screening while robots can’t. I’m part of Telus and I found this service offered for free.
These simple 6 actions don’t take much time but can save you hassles down the road. Your future self will thank you. If you have any questions, please get in touch.
The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of Assante Capital Management Ltd. This material is provided for general information and the opinions expressed and information provided herein are subject to change without notice. Every effort has been made to compile this material from reliable sources however no warranty can be made as to its accuracy or completeness. Before acting on the information presented, please seek professional financial advice based on your personal circumstances. Assante Capital Management Ltd. is a Member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund and the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization
