Guest Blogger: Jim on Five Quick Financial Fixes Anyone Can Do

Look out, readers! Jim from Bargaineering.com is here to give us some quick advice on cleaning and simplifying our finances. Jim writes about personal finance and other money issues at personal finance blog Bargaineering.com. piggy-bank

There are two things that make our nation great - we're resourceful and we're impatient. You'd think that the second feature would be a detriment, but it's not because it pushes to do things faster and better than the next person. Well, today I invite you to tap your inner resourcefulness and impatience to tackle your financial situation with five financial fixes anyone can do right now. With the economy weak but recovering, it's the perfect time to play a little defense while you pick what you want to do next.

Start An Emergency Fund
If you don't have an emergency fund yet, now's as good a time as any to get one. Interest rates aren't fantastic - the Federal Reserve reaffirming their near 0% target rate range ensures that - but an emergency fund will protect you in the event of an emergency. When you don't have an emergency fund and have to deal with an emergency, like a car malfunction or job loss, you may be tempted to turn to more unscrupulous sources of money. Anything from credit cards to payday loans will charge you out the nose to get money. It's better to save it now than to panic when something bad happens.

Check Your Credit Score & Report
The three credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, are required by federal law to give you a copy of your credit report once every twelve months. It's important that you review your credit report for errors on a regular basis. An error could indicate a case of identity theft or a simple mistake in data entry. The impact of inaccurate information can be tremendous. More and more employers, companies, and landlords are using your credit report and credit score to decide whether or not to hire you or rent an apartment to you. Credit scores aren't just about loans. Always go to AnnualCreditReport.com, a website set up by the government, to get your score.

The score itself may not be quite as important to check but if you do, take advantage of free FICO credit score trial services. Or, you can use a free service like Credit Karma for a free non-FICO TransUnion score (no credit card required).

Start A Roth IRA
A Roth IRA account is one of the best retirement accounts out there because the appreciation grows tax-free. You pay income taxes on the money you contribute but its growth is tax-free. There's a reason why the government limits your contribution to a few thousand dollars a year.

Do a Financial Check-In
When was the last time you looked at all of your financial accounts? Check your credit card and bank statements for errors or inaccuracies. Check your brokerage account to make sure everything looks OK. If you have a spouse or partner, check in with him or her to discuss the state of your finances. It's always important to do a check-in to make sure everything is OK. You don't want to be telling a story about how you didn't check your credit card statement and missed a case of fraud because you simply forgot.

Simplify Your Finances
If you did a financial check-in, you might be amazed at all the accounts you have. I know I was. I realized I had about a dozen bank accounts, mostly high-yield savings accounts I opened over the course of the last five years. So, my recommendation is that you take the time to close out accounts you don't use. Just recently I closed two bank accounts I haven't used in over a year. The fewer accounts you have, the better. It's all too easy to forget.

The only caveat to this simplification rule has to do with credit cards. One factor in credit scoring is credit utilization, or the percentage of your credit limit you are currently using. Closing a card impacts that calculation so you might see your score fall after you cancel a card. Is that reason enough to stop your simplification efforts? That's up to you, but I wanted to warn you ahead of time. You can close bank and broker accounts without being concerned it'll affect your credit.