Spring is just around the corner — and with it, the perfect opportunity not only to get your apartment in good shape, but also to clean up your finances. A clear financial overview helps you discover savings potential, optimize your costs and build up wealth over the long term. But how do you organize your finances step by step and strengthen your financial foundation?

Take time to reflect

Before it comes to figures, data, facts, take a moment to look at your attitude, feelings about money and financial behavior. What do money and finances currently trigger for you? Stress or wellbeing? Are you worried about money? Why? Or is there no acute cause, but do your beliefs and emotions stem from previous experiences? What does that mean for your financial present and future?

Reflecting on your money mindset in this way can help you clear up existing beliefs or behaviours that are blocking you — or at least be aware of them.

But you should also look at your goals, both your financial goals and those that may be influenced indirectly by money. Continuing education may not be a classic financial goal like retirement provision, but it comes with costs.

To do this, collect all of your goals and write them down before you prioritize them based on urgency and importance. This gives you a clear order of which goals are in focus — especially if your budget isn't enough for everyone.

The big cash fall: Where are you currently?

But so that you even know what your budget is doing and before you make any optimizations, you should first know exactly where you stand financially. That means: Make a cash register drop.

Here's how you go about it:

• Record income and expenditure: Record all monthly income and fixed expenses, on a piece of paper, in an Excel spreadsheet, a budget book or an app.
• Check current costs: What contracts and subscriptions do you have? Are they still necessary or are there cheaper alternatives?
• Determine the savings rate: How much money is left over at the end of the month? Do you already have a fixed budget for saving and investing? Is the money left over enough for your goals?

Account and contract check: Where can you optimize?

Now it's time to clear out and improve your financial structures.

That means taking a close look at contracts and subscriptions.

• Check your mobile and Internet contract: Are there cheaper rates?
• Compare electricity providers: A change can often save several hundred euros per year.
• Check insurance: Which are really necessary? Can policies be optimised or cancelled?
• Improve credit conditions: Are debt restructuring or better interest rates possible?
• Reduce account and deposit fees: Is your current account free? If not, it's worth switching.

• Close unnecessary accounts: Do you really need multiple current or call money accounts?

Set budgets and increase savings potential

If you have reduced existing contracts and costs, you can set additional budgets to increase your savings rate.

Budgets are nothing more than limits for spending categories that you define. Categories can include groceries, restaurant visits, or shopping.

When using budgets, however, make sure that they are individual and fit your life. There are many rules of thumb, such as the 50-30-20 rule, that can give you guidance but shouldn't be considered set in stone.

Tip: Use tools such as a budget book app or a simple Excel sheet to track your budgets.

Investing and optimising financial planning over the long term

Are day-to-day finances overseen and structured? Then it is time to take care of your assets and investments as well.

List all your assets for an overview — from money in the current account and call money account to assets in the custody account or in real estate and other assets such as precious metals, cryptocurrencies or art.

No fortune yet?

If you haven't accumulated a fortune yet, start by building up a financial cushion. Your so-called nest egg ensures that in the event of unexpected events (e.g. a car repair, a job loss), you do not have to access your actual assets, which may have a negative impact on your return (profits) or even mean losses.

As a rule of thumb, the amount of your nest egg should include three to six months of your fixed costs and be available to you quickly.

If your nest egg is there, you can either start saving or investing or optimize your investments.

Start saving and investing

If you want to start saving or investing, look at the time horizon of your goals. The longer term they are, the more likely you are to take a risk and invest your money in stocks, ETFs, etc.

It is important that you get enough information. Because knowledge helps you make decisions with confidence. For example, you can use our app, exchange ideas with friends or do some research yourself. Make sure the sources are reputable and don't make a hasty decision.

And very important: Trick yourself out. We can well imagine wanting to save money in the future, but actually doing so is another story. So use automatisms such as standing orders or saving cents to automatically set money aside.

Already invested money? Review your investments

If you have already invested, check: Does your portfolio weighting still match your risk profile? Are your investments sensibly diversified? Or are you investing more heavily in certain investments as a result of market developments than your investment strategy intends? If so, is it necessary to rebalance your portfolio?

Rebalancing means selling existing positions in your portfolio and buying new ones to maintain your investment strategy and associated risk appetite. In other words, you bring balance back to your portfolio if individual asset classes are too heavily weighted.

You can also check whether you can use tax optimization: Check allowances and potential tax savings on your investments.

Conclusion: Your spring cleaning for your finances pays off!

Systematic financial spring cleaning helps you save money in the long term and better plan your financial future. Set clear goals, optimize your contracts, and structure your finances so that they support your long-term wishes and goals. The first step starts today!

Which areas of your finances are you going to clear out first?

Do you need help with that? Then get to know our financial app

If you want to take steps towards financial independence, build up more financial knowledge, keep track of your finances, save a nest egg or make provisions, then check out our app. In the Moneten app, we enable users to approach their finances step by step at their own pace, based on their current life situation, goals and interests.

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