Spring Cleaning Your 403(b) Plan and Personal Finances
April 8, 2025
By Barbara O'Neill, CFP®, AFC®
April is not only a good time for house and yard cleaning, it is also a great time for financial spring cleaning; i.e., thoroughly reviewing personal finances and completing occasional financial management tasks. Why springtime? Financial records are readily available and finances are top of mind from income tax season and weather is still cold in much of the U.S. Financial spring cleaning is a perfect indoor activity for cold and/or snowy days.
This post describes 25 financial spring cleaning strategies, listed in alphabetical order, to refresh your finances and organize financial records. Some are related directly to 403(b) plans and some to financial management in general. Also included is a summary of research about the frequency of performance of financial management tasks. It concludes with three “need to know” facts, and six take-away action steps.
Financial Spring Cleaning Activities
#1- Asset Allocation Review
Complete a net worth statement (assets minus debts). See below. Then dive into the assets section and group savings and investments into asset classes including “ownership” (equity); e.g., stocks, “loanership” (fixed-income); e.g., bonds, and cash equivalent assets; e.g., money market funds. Similarly, an asset allocation analysis can be done just for investments in a 403(b) account, if this data is not provided by the vendor. Use this Excel worksheet to perform an asset allocation review. A sample analysis is shown below.
#2 - Automatic Payments Inventory
Create a table that lists recurring household expenses that are paid automatically. Group payments according to where they are charged (e.g., credit card or checking account) and include the name of the vendor, the account number, the amount of payment (a fixed amount or “varies”), the approximate due date (e.g., the 5th of each month), and a phone number and/or e-mail address for the vendor.
#3 - Beneficiary Designations Review
Review financial documents with beneficiary designations including 403(b) and 457(b) plans, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), and life insurance policies. Make sure beneficiary information is current, including the designation of contingent beneficiaries, and make changes as needed. Next, take the time to complete the Beneficiary an Personal Representative Designations worksheet so that information derived from multiple documents is recorded in one place.
#4 - Charitable Gifting Plan
Develop a plan and set a budget for charitable gifting in 2025 using this worksheet. Prioritize charities into three categories (A, B, and C) and list the name of the charity and planned donation amount. Also consider charitable gifting as part of a “bunching” strategy to aggregate sufficient itemized deductions to exceed the standard deduction ($15,000 for singles and $30,000 for couples filing jointly in 2025).
#5 - Credit Card Inventory
Create a table that includes the following five columns: name of credit card and issuer, account number, expiration date, 3-digit CVV (security) number, and the toll-free number for customer service. If a credit card is ever lost or stolen, this information will be invaluable.
#6 - Credit Report and Score Check
Request a free credit report (as frequently as weekly) from each of the “big Three” credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Reports can be viewed online (the easiest option) or sent via U.S. mail. Next, make the time to carefully review the report, looking for closed credit accounts, errors, and evidence of identity theft. Credit scores are not mandated by federal law like credit reports are but they are often available for free via banks, credit unions, and credit card issuers.
#7 - Debt Repayment Acceleration Plan
Develop a plan to repay debt faster using the avalanche method (apply extra money toward highest interest rate debt first) or snowball method (apply extra money toward smallest balance debt first). The Utah State University PowerPay website is a great tool to create a free personalized debt repayment calendar.
#8 - Digital Assets Inventory
Make a list of digital assets including electronic devices, e-mail accounts, financial accounts, merchant (retailer) accounts, publication accounts, rewards programs (e.g., airline miles), and social media. Next, record the user name and password or PIN for each account. Use this worksheet or create a customized list.
#9 - Financial Accounts Consolidation
Identify financial accounts with multiples (e.g., five growth funds, four bank accounts, and three IRAs). Then close accounts with high expense ratios and low returns (e.g., 0.25% annual percentage yield (APY) savings account). The objective is to reduce the number of account custodians and custodial fees, streamline financial record-keeping, and simplify required minimum distributions (RMDs) on retirement savings accounts.
#10 - Financial Goals Progress Update
Start with a “bucket” list and then convert bucket list items into specific financial goals that include a dollar amount and a time deadline. Use this worksheet to calculate how much to save monthly and review progress annually. Example: If you want to save $10,000 in four years, you should have saved $2,500 after year #1.
#11 - Financial Inventory Form
Search the phrase “financial inventory template” to retrieve a form to list important financial data (e.g., bank/credit union accounts, debts, insurance policies, investment accounts, names of financial advisors, and retirement savings accounts). There are dozens of free downloadable forms like this one. Completing an inventory allows you or a trusted person to quickly retrieve important information from a one-stop source.
#12 - Home Improvement Inventory
Create a spreadsheet that lists the date and cost of improvements to your current home (e.g., deck, inground pool, kitchen or bath remodeling). Attach saved receipts or reconstructed records (e.g., from a checkbook or credit card receipts). Why? Home values have increased significantly in recent years and the $250,000 (single)/$500,000 (married couple) capital gains exemption is not indexed for inflation and has been eroding.
#13 - Income Tax Review
Complete your 2024 income taxes and then “learn from your tax return.” Pay attention to changes in income (2024 vs. projected income in 2025), tax withholding adequacy, and retirement savings account contributions and distributions (if age 73+). Also consider tax-saving strategies such as tax loss harvesting and itemized deduction “bunching” via state and local taxes, elective medical procedures, and/or charitable contributions.
#14 - Insurance Review
Schedule an annual review with an insurance agent to discuss policy updates and coverage options. Ask about coverage gaps and ways to lower premiums without sacrificing coverage. Shop around if premium quotes rise significantly. There may be less expensive coverage options. Also consider an umbrella liability policy if you have significant wealth to protect (excluding assets that are judgment free under state law).
#15 - Net Worth Calculation
Add up the value of everything you own (assets) and the value of everything you owe (debts). Then subtract debts from assets to calculate net worth. Ideally, the result will be a positive number that will grow over time. This calculation could take several hours to look up the value of financial accounts and personal property.
#16 - Organize Financial Documents
Set up a “one stop” home financial center to store all your financial documents using a lockable file cabinet, safe, or desk drawers along with accordion files, hanging files, or file folders. Other key components of a financial center are a scanner to create digital copies of documents, an external hard drive or cloud server for digital back-ups, a crosscut shredder, and a safe deposit box inventory.
#17 - Personal Property Inventory
Search the phrase “personal property inventory form” to locate dozens of forms such as this one to list major items of value (e.g., furniture, electronics, fine art) and other personal effects, their original cost, and current value. A list can also be supplemented with digital photos and/or videos. A personal property inventory can help expedite and simplify the insurance claims process if property is damaged or stolen in a covered event.
#18 - Purge and Shred
Close accounts with high fees (e.g., 12b-1 fees) and low returns (e.g., 0.05% APYs), consolidate “like” accounts (e.g., multiple IRAs), and cancel subscriptions for unused recurring expenses (e.g., streaming plans). Shred annual tax returns after 6-7 years, excluding records for capital assets and non-deductible IRAs.
#19 - Retirement Accumulation and Decumulation Planning
Search the phrase “retirement planning calculator” to locate dozens of online calculators like this one to calculate what you need to save to have a comfortable retirement. Try at least three calculators because their data inputs and assumptions vary. Key variables include retirement living expenses, current age, retirement age, and assumed annual return on investments. If you are already retired, use the search term “retirement withdrawal calculator” and try at least three calculators like this one to inform a savings withdrawal strategy.
#20 - Reward and Gift Card Review
Review credit card statements for available cash to spend or frequent traveler rewards (e.g., airlines and trains). Also check for expiration dates (e.g., airline miles) or inactivity fees on gift cards and place gift cards together in one place so they are less likely to get lost or forgotten.
#21 - RMD Withdrawal Plan
Develop a plan for RMDs taken from 403(b) plans and traditional IRAs. After setting money aside for income taxes (often 20% of the withdrawal), remaining proceeds can be spent on living expenses or lifestyle enhancements (e.g., travel and home improvements), gifted to individuals or charities, or re-saved in a taxable bank or brokerage account or Roth IRA (if someone has earned income and does not exceed income limits).
#22 - Rule of Three Comparisons
Determine products (e.g., insurance policies and appliances) and/or services (e.g., landscapers and plumbers) to compare and key search criteria (e.g., price, convenience, positive feedback). Then compare three vendors via phone calls, office visits, and online searching. Expect to take several hours to do this “legwork.” Put the information into a table and make a side-by-side comparison of competing vendors. See sample below.
#23 - Spending Plan (Budget)
Track income and expenses for 1-2 months using an app or paper and pencil list. Include the annual cost of occasional expenses (e.g., insurance premiums and tuition) and divide it by 12 for a monthly amount. Use the tracking information to create a spending plan (budget). Include savings for financial goals as a fixed expense.
#24 - Test Driving: Apps and Websites
Make some time to play…with financial apps and websites. Test them out with personal data. Try various online financial calculators for analyses related to budgeting, saving and investing, vehicle loans and leasing, mortgages, debt reduction, income taxes, and more. Search the phrase “financial calculators” for dozens of resources. Like retirement planning calculators, try at least three because inputs and assumptions vary.
#25 - Two-Factor Authentication
Take the time to increase security protocols for sensitive online accounts with financial data (e.g., 403(b) plan) in conjunction with a digital assets inventory. Add two-factor authentication (2FA), typically by clicking on “settings” and “privacy” and following commands. 2FA is where people provide an additional authentication factor beyond a username and password. Examples of 2FA factors include a PIN number, answers to security questions, one-time codes provided by text messages or e-mail, and biometric data (e.g., facial recognition).
Research Results
Research has found that financial management tasks that require an investment of time (e.g., net worth statement, spending plan, and written financial goals) are not performed regularly vs. critical tasks such as paying household expenses and credit card bills. Understandably, people have busy lives. These findings underscore the need to proactively set aside time for occasional financial management tasks; i.e., financial spring cleaning. Another study of household financial activities took a job analysis approach. It, too, found that paying bills on time and living below one’s means were viewed as critical tasks vs. time-intensive financial management activities that involved planning, researching, negotiating, and working with others.
Three (More) Things
- Financial spring cleaning can be done many ways; e.g., devoting an entire day or several hours per month on multiple days to time-intensive financial management tasks.
- While “spring cleaning” is a catchy phrase, it can be done at any time of the year. For example, 403(b) plan participants with 10-month contracts may decide to focus on their finances during the summer.
- Just like traditional spring cleaning, people often feel a sense of joy, relief, and/or control when financial spring cleaning results in organized records and informed decisions.
Six Additional Spring Cleaning Tasks
No. 1: Check FSA Balances — Review flexible spending account balances and projected expenses for health care and/or dependent care and make plans to use up any expiring funds.
No. 2: Prioritize Financial Education —Make specific plans to get educated about personal finance. Examples: books and blogs, podcasts such as Teach and Retire Rich, live or recorded webinars, and face-to-face classes and workplace seminars.
No. 3: Automate Bill Payments — Take the time to set up automatic payments for recurring payments such as utility payments and tuition. Add these vendors to your automatic payments inventory and set up confirmation messages via texts or e-mail.
No. 4: Negotiate and Research — Call your credit card company to negotiate a lower APR (interest rate), price check items you want to buy and ask vendors to price match, and inquire about discounts for military veterans, older adults, and other groups.
No. 5: Check for Unclaimed Money — Use websites like https://missingmoney.com/ and https://unclaimed.org/ to see if you and your family members have unclaimed funds such as bank accounts, security deposits, and insurance payments.
No. 6: Protect Against Identity Theft — Freeze your credit with the “Big Three” credit bureaus so new credit lines cannot be opened in your name. Also set up alerts for large bank and brokerage firm transactions.
In Summary
Spring cleaning is more than deep cleaning and decluttering. It is a great time to neaten up your finances. Consider the tasks described above and act on those that are most relevant to your life.
Financial spring cleaning can seem overwhelming. Start by listing tasks you want accomplish and tackle them one at a time. You do not have to do everything yourself. An experienced fiduciary financial advisor, as well as legal and tax professionals, can assist. Bottom line: give your financial situation the attention it needs.
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Dr. O'Neill is the owner/CEO of Money Talk: Financial Planning Seminars and Publications where she writes, speaks, and reviews content about personal finance. She is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Rutgers University and a long-time 403(b) plan participant.