Financial essentials
Spring clean your personal finances.
Refresh, reorganize and regain control of your money. Simple steps today for a more secure tomorrow.
Spruce up your financial plan with these spring cleaning tips.
Spring cleaning isn’t just for your home. It's also a great time to reevaluate your budget, streamline your accounts, and check in on your retirement savings. A little financial organization now can set you up for a more secure future. Get started with these three simple tips today!
Dust off the budget
Spring is the perfect opportunity to reassess and update your budget. Changes in income, expenses, or financial goals can shift throughout the year, making a seasonal check-in essential. A budget helps guide you down the path towards financial health, providing a clear roadmap for spending, saving, and investing.
- Here’s a tip: Jot down where you’re spending money so you can easily track and categorize your expenses.
- Set realistic goals: Define clear objectives—paying off debt, building an emergency fund, or saving for a vacation.
- Consider the 50/30/20 Rule: Allocate 50% to necessities, 30% to wants, and 20% to savings and debt repayment.
Consolidate your finances
Are multiple payments, high interest rates, or credit card balances keeping you stuck? If managing your money feels overwhelming and keeps you up at night, consolidation could be the game-changer you need. Imagine the relief of having just one payment, a lower interest rate, and less stress weighing you down. It’s time to lighten the load and take back control.
Consolidating your accounts can help you stay organized, reduce fees, and give you a clearer picture of your overall financial health. Here are some ideas to consider:
Cut costs and streamline your finances
- Eliminate unused subscriptions: Take a look at your bank statements. Are there recurring charges for services you forgot about or no longer use? Cancel them and put that money back in your pocket.
- Close forgotten accounts: You may want to consider closing outdated accounts or merge them to streamline your financial management.
- Watch for hidden fees: Look out for unnecessary bank fees or service charges that could be eating into your savings.
Taking these small steps today can lead to big financial wins down the road.
Review your retirement savings
Many people set up retirement accounts but rarely check their progress. Take a moment to
With people living longer than ever, will your savings last as long as you need them to? Adjust your contributions if necessary and remember—
Even the most financially savvy individuals benefit from professional guidance. A financial professional can help optimize your retirement strategy, maximize tax advantages, and ensure you’re on the right path.
Did you know?
TIAA retirement plan participants have free access to our team of financial consultants as well as our digital planning experience. We call meetings with a financial consultant an advice session and our digital experience, Retirement Journey Planner, is one of our key retirement planning tools.
Spring into action. Schedule an advice session.
Let’s work together. We can help you to clean up your financial plan.
Get the financial essentials.
Start building your budget and savings plan
In this financial essentials experience, we’ll help you understand budgets so you can stay in control of your money.
Take control of your financial life: 5 steps to save money and manage debt
Uncover how to set goals, balance your budget and use debt wisely.
Discover Retirement Journey Planner
Available as part of your plan benefit, Retirement Journey Planner is available online 24x7 at no additional cost and will help you:
- Get a personalized retirement plan. Answer a few questions to get a personalized strategy on how much you should be saving, your retirement age and your investment mix.
- Easily rebalance your portfolio with a simple click of a button* to help ensure you stay aligned with your retirement goals.
Learn more about the enhancements we are making to Retirement Journey Planner
As part of our commitment to continuous improvement, we are updating the experience to:
- Remove financial jargon and simplify the questions and explanations to make it easier for you to go from start to finish in the experience.
- Offer a more tailored journey that takes into account your specific needs and circumstances when it comes to determining, recommending, and implementing your ideal retirement strategy.
- Add greater flexibility when it comes to implementing sizeable savings recommendations because we know that not everyone can make financial changes right now or all at once.*
Make planning decisions with confidence.
When reviewing your retirement plan, you may want to talk through ideas. TIAA retirement plan participants can schedule a free session with a financial professional.
Talk with a professional
Schedule a free call to discuss what makes sense for you.
Do it yourself
Get your personalized plan at no additional cost with Retirement Journey Planner.
*Service available if authorized by your plan.
This material is for informational or educational purposes only and is not fiduciary investment advice, or a securities, investment strategy, or insurance product recommendation. This material does not consider an individual’s own objectives or circumstances which should be the basis of any investment decision.
The advice provided by TIAA Financial Consultants is obtained using an advice methodology from an independent third-party.
The TIAA Retirement Journey Planner is a brokerage service provided by TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC, a registered broker-dealer, Member FINRA, SIPC.
IMPORTANT: The projections or other information generated by Retirement Journey Planner regarding the likelihood of various investment outcomes are hypothetical in nature, do not reflect actual investment results and are not guarantees of future results. Results may vary with each use and over time.