Spring cleaning: Time to declutter your financial cobwebs this Diwali

Tidy up your portfolio, loans and insurance, ensuring coverage is comprehensive for a stronger financial base

- Shefali Anand

The Diwali tradition calls for cleaning and refreshing your home, so why not take the opportunity to clean up your financial house as well? Use this festive season to carefully review your investments, liabilities, and insurance, remove unnecessary items, and fill in any gaps in your financial planning. While you're at it, take proactive steps to cut back on avoidable expenses, streamline your finances, and set yourself up for long-term financial health.

“Every rupee that you're not investing, youre losing out on that compounding effect” for your long-term returns, said Priya Sunder, co-founder of Bengaluru-based financial advisory firm PeakAlpha Investments.

Hereare the areas in your financial closet that need attention:

Investment portfolio

Long-term investors shouldn't be tinkering with their investments often, but it's important to review your portfolio at least once a year.

Check your asset allocation—the percentage of your portfolio invested in various assets, such as stocks, bonds, and precious metals.

Does this allocation fit your risk tolerance level? Ifstocks, for instance, have become a much larger portion than you're comfortable with, consider adding bonds and trimming stocks, but be mindful of tax implications. Otherwise, you can rebalance by way of future allocationsto bonds.

One common problem that financial advisers encounter is that investment portfolios often contain too many mutual funds, stocks, orbonds. Sunder said people often buy investments because someone told them or because they're trendy, without consideringif they are needed to achieve their financial goals.

“It's like literally making a khichdi out of things that don’t make sense for you,” she added.