2. 1.Check your bank account statements. It’s very
easy to set subscription services and bill payments
up for automatic deduction from our chequing
accounts, then just forget them entirely – hence the
phrase, “set it and forget it!” That’s actually the
point, you might think. Financial Health Day is the
day to take a half hour and just review your
chequing account statements from the last couple
of months, line by line, looking for any subscriptions
you no longer want or need. Then cancel them!
Common ones include cable, app and magazine
subscriptions.
3. 2.Check your mortgage interest rate. Just
because today’s interest rates are lower doesn’t
necessarily mean that every homeowner with a
mortgage rate over 4 percent should
refinance! Refinancing your home loan can cost
money, and it definitely extends the life of your
mortgage (unless you make an intentional, strict
plan to pay it off early). Talk with your financial
planner and mortgage professional to do the
math and see whether you should consider
refinancing your home loan.
4. 3.Check your PMI. If you put less than a 20
percent down payment into your home when
you bought it, you were likely required by your
lender to have Mortgage Insurance (PMI)
policy. PMI insurance that protects your lender
in the event you default on your mortgage – is
not cheap. It can add hundreds of dollars to your
monthly mortgage payment. Maybe consider a
larger down payment if possible.
5. 4.Check your insurance. Gather up your
homeowner’s and other insurance statements, or
call your agent(s) up and ask for a review. What you
want to do is make sure that (a) you’re appropriately
insured for your exposure, and (b) you aren’t paying
more than you need to. Talk with your insurance
agent and your financial planner, if you have one, to
sort these matters out, and don’t be afraid to shop
around.
7. 6.Check your savings. Do you have an automatic
savings plan in place? If not, Financial Health
Day is a great day to set that up with your
bank. If you do, it’s the right time to do a gut
check: would it hurt you to save an extra $50,
$100 or $200 a month? If you can afford to,
tweak your savings on Financial Health Day.
8. 7.Check your credit. Pull your own credit reports
from all the credit bureaus. Scan the reports for any
inaccuracies and any delinquencies that should
have aged off your report but have not (7 years for
most, 10 years for bankruptcies). Then, initiate
disputes for any of these things you find. This can
take some time, but Financial Health Day is the
perfect opportunity to assertively manage your
credit before you’re in refinance or home buying
crunch-time.
9. 8.Check your debt. Monitor all of your debt – from your
mortgage, to your consumer debt to your student and
auto loans – and put a plan in place for getting rid of as
much of it as you can, as soon as you can. Can you afford
to make an extra payment toward your mortgage? Can
you pay that credit card off? As you’ve worked through
the rest of your finances, you have likely ‘found’ money,
which you’ll now be saving and can redirect toward the
very worthy aim of debt elimination. But if all you can do
is make a modest extra payment toward these things on
your actual Financial Health Day itself, you’ll still end the
day a little further ahead than you were when you got
started.
10. What are tips can you add to this list? Tell us
below.
11. Randy Bett
Investment Realtor/Author/Investor
Real Estate Professionals Inc.
Better Group Real Estate
202-5403 Crowchild Trail NW
Calgary, AB T3B 4Z1
Phone:403-774-7464 Ext:1
Fax:403-208-0082
Toll Free fax:888-711-6801
