(NC) Spring has sprung and you know what that means—time for some spring cleaning. Year after year we all take the time to make our homes neat and tidy, finding a place for everything. Why not take this time to tidy your finances too? Organizing your finances can help you better plan for the future and bring peace of mind.

Get organized.
Just like when you clean your closet, it’s always good to start by taking stock. Consider where you are now financially, where you want to be and how much you will need to get there. Then you can determine how best to store your assets, organizing them into different accounts for specific purposes. For example, if you’ve decided it’s time to consider a retirement fund to prepare for life after your career, there’s the tax-deferred Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP). Or if you want to open an account to save for post-secondary education, then a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) may work best for you. In any case, organize your assets in a way that suits your needs.

Polish up on how your money is protected.
Now you’ve done the work, and everything is just where you want it—how do you keep it that way? More importantly, how do you make sure your money is safe? You can find out how your deposits are protected through online tools like the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (CDIC) online calculator. This organization protects eligible deposits in the event of bank failure. There are several categories of protection including RRSPs and RESPs and each category is protected up to $100,000.

Set up automatic transfers.
To help organize future funds, try setting up automatic transfers for bills and savings. Like a personal assistant for your accounts, these can be arranged to automatically transfer specified amounts of money from one account to another.

Find more information on deposit protection or calculate your coverage at CDIC.ca.