The winter chill can easily make you lose focus of your finances. Having to spend double on almost everything: food, electricity, clothes – you can easily veer from your spending plan. However, you could use this season to reflect on your finances.

“Just like a garden in winter, your financial stability needs to be nurtured and pruned so that it can flourish when you need it most,” says Boitumelo Mothoagae, financial adviser at Liberty.

Therefore it is important to use the winter months to clean up your finances, cut back on spending and cultivate your money.

Clear out the clutter and cash in

Mothoagae says the first place to look when cultivating your money is your closet and garage. Sell the clothes and exercise equipment that you don’t need. Your old jewellery, those summer shorts and even old tools can make you some money.  Take clear pictures and put them online and you’ll be smiling all the way to the bank. This gives you money to spend on the extra expenses that come with the cold season.

Make space in your wallet for the new money 

Once you’ve cleared out your cupboards, give your wallet or handbag the same treatment. Throw away all your old till slips, cancelled bank cards and bits of paper that you collected during the year. Keep the important slips, but get rid of the rest. Make space for new money and opportunities to fill your wallet as the year continues.

Review your financial goals for the year

Winter comes just in the middle of the year. This is the perfect time to check how far you’ve come in achieving your financial goals. You might find that you need to restructure your plans or move the goal posts. However, if you have been disciplined and stuck to your financial strategy, you may find that you are well on track to achieve your personal and financial targets by the end of the year.

Update your insurance covers

A lot can happen in just six months. Your salary may have increased. Your lifestyle may have changed. You might have bought a new car, new appliances or even a house. Therefore it is important to check in with your short-term insurer to update your insurance cover.

The same goes for your medical aid and life cover. Maybe you stopped smoking or went to the gym for the first six months of the year and started living a healthier lifestyle. Your life insurer or medical aid provider are not aware of these new developments and you will still be paying higher premiums because you are a higher risk.

Mothoagae says it is important to call your financial adviser or broker to ensure that you have the right level of risk cover in place for you and your loved ones.

Update your filing system

An updated filing system with all your policies and documents must be in place. Some of the important things you need to file include:

  • Your bank statements and tax records
  • Retirement documentation
  • All your short-term insurance policies
  • Risk policies and short-term insurance policies

As important as updating your filing system is letting your loved ones know where those documents are in case something happens to you.