While you spring clean your home, consider getting your finances in order, too.

As you spring clean your household this season, take a moment to tidy up your finances and get your personal spending in order.

Read on to learn more about our Spring Clean Sweepstakes.

Whether you just want a little cushion in your savings account for a rainy day or you’re holding out for a new car or house, organizing your finances is a great way to get started. Here are some of our to-dos to spring clean your budget.

Take a Step Back
To start spring cleaning your budget, take a step back and review your finances. Take a look at your current budget and view what you spend your money on: rent/mortgage, bills, food, children, etc. If you’re currently using a shoebox to manage your money, this is the perfect opportunity to upgrade your fiscal strategy.

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Pay off Your Debts
A part of getting your budget back on track is to pay off your debts. When you spring clean your home, you typically start off with smaller tasks first. With your credit card payments, start with the smallest amount. Once you pay off your small debts, you’ll be motivated to finish off the rest.

More Apartment Guide Budgeting Resources
Top Budgeting Resources for 20-somethings
When to Spend: Infographic
Grow Your Credit Score

Set a Target
If you’re budgeting for a new car or house, or if you’re saving money for the future, have a target number in mind. Remember to set a number that feels attainable. You’ll be more successful when you set a goal that is moderately challenging but also reachable. An emergency fund should have a minimum of three months’ worth of your salary.

Organize Everything
Create a basic filing system for all of your documents. Folders should include monthly bills, credit card statements and investment account statements. As the IRS’s audit window is six years, keep all tax returns, canceled checks and returns for that length of time. Anything outside of that timeframe should be shredded.

Track Your Progress
Use a free site like LearnVest, which helps you plan your budget. You can set reasonable limits on how much you spend per month on shopping, food and other miscellaneous costs. You’ll also be able to track your progress on your savings goals. It’s also an app, which makes it easy to track your progress on-the-go. Set this up so you can get a weekly report on how you’re doing on your goal.

This spring, we want to help you tidy up your apartment — on a budget! That’s why we’ve partnered with LearnVest, an advice-driven financial planning program, to help you organize your apartment and take control of your money. Enter the Spring Clean Sweepstakes for a chance to win a LearnVest Planning 5-Year Planner subscription and $300 you can use toward sprucing up your place!

Photo credit: iStockphoto/JoKMedia

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Try these tips to make your apartment search more efficient and affordable.

An apartment search can cost you some cash, even before you’ve started paying rent!

Test out these six tips to save money, making your apartment search more efficient and affordable.

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Save on gas
One of the easiest ways to curb costs when you are hunting for apartments is to map out efficient routes, saving gas on your in-person apartment visits. Pick one or two days to devote to your search and schedule appointments in concentrated areas. The Apartment Guide mobile app, for instance, features easy search tools to help you find rentals in specific zip codes and neighborhoods so you don’t waste time or fuel driving willy-nilly all over town.

Shop online
You can take your savings even further by doing the bulk of your research before you even get in the car. Most apartment listings include photos and online tours so you can check out an apartment community and see whether it’s worth a trip. The Apartment Guide website serves up amenities, floor plans, rent prices and availability so you can accomplish much of your research online, and then pick your top three or four apartments for an in-person visit.

Pay attention to saving opportunities
One way to watch your budget bottom line is to pay attention to special offers. Available online deals which waive certain deposits or fees are sometimes offered as incentives to move quickly. Another point to remember is that paying cash over credit for certain transactions may include a discount, reflecting a savings in fees and handling. Consider all your opportunities to reduce your initial moving costs.

Skip the brokers
Unless you live in a huge city with a high demand for apartments like New York, Boston or San Francisco, don’t bother using an apartment broker. They typically charge a commission that is a percentage of the first year’s rent. With so many great apartment search tools available, try first to navigate the waters on your own and find your apartment match. (You can apply the money you save to your security deposit!)

Ask about energy usage
Sometimes the expense of an apartment search can be a hidden one that sneaks up on you later, like the cost of utilities. Don’t forget to ask landlords about average utility costs, which may be a statistic they keep up with. You can also call local utility companies and ask for the average energy usage costs for the address you are interested in.

Minimize moving costs
Once you’ve saved money with a smart search and found the best deal on your dream apartment, put in a little extra effort to cut costs by moving less stuff into the space. If you reduce clutter before you move, you can shave some money off of your moving expenses by renting a smaller truck, packing and moving fewer boxes, and allocating fewer hours to move the reduced load. All of this means more money to buy new stuff for your new home, of course!

Photo credit: Shutterstock / Bevan Goldswain

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With smartphones, paying for everything under the sun is getting faster, easier and more secure.

These days you can use your smartphone to pay for your morning coffee, your Friday night movie ticket or any number of other on-the-go purchases.

So when the first of the month rolls around, put your wallet or checkbook away — and pay the rent from your smartphone.

And while you’re at it, stop stressing over whether you or your roommate pays which apartment bills. You guessed it: there’s an app for that, too.

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Phone in your rent payment
For apartment dwellers, paying the rent is a given. But have you considered how you might use technology to make the experience more convenient for you?

Why not pay the rent with your smartphone? This practice is becoming commonplace in apartment communities.

Not only is this a simple and straightforward way to take care of this monthly responsibility, it is also typically secure.

Payment apps work by capturing and encrypting your bank account or credit card information. Then, when you want to make a payment, all you have to do is initiate it through the app. It’s as simple as that: secure, fast and convenient.

Banking apps also typically include a variety of convenient functions that let you check balances, find ATMs, make deposits (just snap a photo of the check), and transfer money between accounts – besides paying bills. Using these services, you might set up a recurring, automated payment through online banking so your rent’s never late — as long as the money’s in your account, of course.

Check in with your apartment community management – it may offer its own online app to process rent payments for you.

With the advantages of technology, these days, you don’t even have to leave your apartment to pay the rent!

Split rent between roommates fairly
Roommates looking for some high-tech help to manage their apartment living expenses are also in luck.

Splitwise offers tools to calculate who owes what between roommates in terms of monthly rent as well as typical shared expenses.

These online and mobile apps make it easy to break down and track expenses from utility bills to cable TV to food costs.

Photo credit: Shutterstock / Slavoljub Pantelic

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Save money on produce by purchasing it in season, and read the fine print when you see grocery store deals.

Plan around sales. Scour your local grocery stores’ sale papers on their websites, paying attention to their dates, and plan meals around what’s on sale. For instance, if you were planning on making a baked chicken dish, utilize on-sale chicken thighs instead of more expensive chicken breasts, and look up recipes for budget-friendly flank steak instead of ribeye. While you’re on those grocery store sites, look for printable coupons.

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Purchase produce in season. Asparagus is always more expensive in the fall and at its cheapest in the spring, and blueberries are cheapest in the late spring and early summer. Get to know what’s at its peak when by reading up on seasonal produce, and freeze what you can or go without

Make a list. Arrange your list of meal ingredients in order of where items are in the grocery store so you’re not wandering around, making impulse purchases. Try to stay on the perimeter of the store, where the less processed foods are.

Read the fine print. When most stores advertise “buy one, get one free” deals, it typically means the item is really 50 percent off. In other words, if you just need one, only purchase one, which means the store brand isn’t necessarily the cheapest version of something. Also, compare toilet paper and paper towel savings by noting the total square feet of the product in the fine print on the front of the package, toward the bottom. More square feet equals a better deal.

Shop at multiple stores. Visiting three grocery stores may seem like a hassle but is worth it if you save money in the long run. Shop at your local farmers market or an Asian grocery store for produce, fish and meat and visit a bulk goods store for pantry staples like canned tomatoes, rice and dry beans. Over time, you may learn the store’s sale patterns, which means if you need a certain item often, you can wait until it’s on sale and stock up. Shop for home staples like detergent, cleaning supplies and baby needs at discount department stores, dollar stores or through Amazon.com’s Subscribe and Save subscription program for the household items you buy all the time.

Buy foods in their whole, uncut form. Skip convenient, yet marked-up pre-cut, pre-cooked meats, cheeses and produce, purchase foods whole and cut or prep them yourself at home. Don’t purchase processed foods and meals, such as frozen lasagna, pizza and lunch entrees, as they’re typically priced higher than when you make the exact same meal yourself, and they’re loaded with salt, fillers and sometimes sugar. Even quick-cooking rice and oats are more expensive than their whole, less processed counterparts.

Prep foods on the weekends and portion them yourself. For example, make an entire bag of dry beans in the slow cooker on the weekend and individually bag can-sized (14-ounce) portions. Steam brown rice once a week and store it in the refrigerator to use throughout the week. Peel, seed and chop fresh tomatoes, simmer them for five minutes on the stove and freeze them in 14-ounce portions for homemade canned, diced tomatoes.

Photo credit:iStockphoto/matthewleesdixon

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Nurture your credit score with responsible spending and payment habits. Follow these tips to work toward improvement of your score over time.

Has your credit score taken a few dings in recent months? Unfortunately, you can’t magically fix your credit in one easy step, but you can gradually improve your credit score with careful money management.

Follow these tips to stoke your credit and, in time, hopefully see real improvement.

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Check your credit score
Your credit score is constantly in flux. It changes whenever your creditors report new information (when they report on your balance, credit limit or the opening of a new credit account, for instance). Depending on how many credit cards and loans you have open in your name, this means there’s potentially a lot of information being recorded.

The information gets recorded in your credit report with the three major bureaus, Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. Together, these agencies issue over 3 billion consumer credit reports a year and maintain files on over 200 million Americans. That’s a lot of data, and a lot of potential to record information incorrectly.

One of the best things you can do to maintain or raise your credit score is to check your credit report at least once annually, looking for errors. Make sure the balances, limits and types of accounts listed are accurate. If they’re not, you’ll need to write to the bureaus and get the information corrected. Keep in mind that even a small error can affect credit scores negatively.

Thanks to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, everyone is entitled to one free copy of their credit report each year. (You can get it by visiting annualcreditreport.com.) Keep in mind that there are other credit monitoring services that bill monthly for anytime-access to credit reports. Unless you’re actively shopping for a home loan, you likely don’t need up-to-the-minute access to your reports, however. Checking once or twice a year is enough, generally-speaking.

Pay your bills on time
Besides correcting errors in your credit report, another great way to maintain your scores is to pay your bills within the grace period. Lenders report late payments once you’re thirty days past due, and just one late payment can ding your credit score by 100 points. It’s important to set up payment alerts and automatic debits to help eliminate missed payments.

Pay off credit cards first
Not all debt is created equal in the eyes of the credit bureaus. Revolving accounts, or credit card accounts, affect your credit score more than installment accounts like auto loans or mortgages. If you’re in debt and want to raise your scores, consider paying down your credit card balances first. Knocking down this high interest debt by even a few thousand dollars over the course of a year can raise your score by 100 points, whereas wiping out the same amount on a mortgage might only raise your score by 10 points.

Don’t use too much credit
Another way to raise your credit score is to use less than the maximum amount of the credit you have available to you. In fact, experts suggest using just 10 percent of the credit you have available. For example, if you have a card with a $10,000 limit, that would mean charging no more than $2,000 at a time.

It can also be to your benefit to maintain a “favorite” credit card, one that you use for the bulk of your spending. Making all of your charges to just one card and then either paying it off every month or keeping the balance as low as possible can work in your favor. You do not necessarily want to completely close credit accounts, however, as this reflects negatively on the total amount of credit available to you.

Spend smart
By following these tips, you should see an improvement in your credit score over time. Remember that the key to seeing your credit score rise is to nurture your credit with responsible spending and payment habits.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock / SCOTTCHAN

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A chef’s knife and a sturdy cutting board are two essential kitchen items you can buy on a budget.

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• Cookware sets can be a waste of money if you’re not planning on using every single item in the set. Instead, purchase solid, decent quality pieces as you can afford them, since they’ll last longer. Before getting started, ask yourself questions like: What do you cook, what’s your cooking style and how often do you cook? This will help you determine which pieces you actually need.
• Check your local discount store for deals, like T.J. Maxx, Marshall’s and Ross. In addition to offering already discounted merchandise, these stores will often offer additional deep discounts on items that have minor scratches or dings and dents, so keep an eye out.
• You can find uncommon cooking accessories, like bamboo steamers, spider strainers, tortilla presses and rice cookers, for rock bottom prices at your local Asian or Hispanic market.
• One of the best places to find kitchen items for lower-than-retail prices is at restaurant supply stores. While they mainly cater to restaurants, some locations are open to the public. Find one in your area and call ahead to make sure you can browse their selection.
• Sometimes you can pick up great pieces at garage or estate sales if you know what to look for. You might have to sift through a few duds, but the patience will pay off when you find that near mint condition Le Crueset Dutch oven for cheap.
• Deal-of-the-day sites like Woot! or 1 Sale A Day offer some amazing discounts on choice items. If you’re not sure where to start, Google “deal of the day” along with “cooking” and sort through the results.

More about Kitchens:
6 Best Kitchen Gadgets for Small Kitchens
The Only 16 Kitchen Gadgets You Need

Now that you’ve got the basics, here are our picks for the five pieces of cookware that will have you covered in the kitchen, without breaking the bank.

• Chef’s knife: A good, high-quality chef’s knife can chop things quickly and more efficiently, making your life easier in the kitchen. Pick up one that’s at least seven inches long with a stainless steel blade and a textured, slip resistant handle, like the Victorinox 10” Chef’s Knife ($26.65 from Amazon).
• Dutch oven: This hefty workhorse of a kitchen gadget is one of the most versatile around. It can be used for any cooking technique as well as marinating, refrigerating and freezing. The Lodge Color 6-Quart Dutch Oven is one of the more budget-friendly offerings, and comes in several bright colors to coordinate with your kitchen décor ($49.97 from Wal-Mart).
• Large, heavy skillet: If you’re cooking in a small kitchen, you may think the idea of a 14-inch skillet is too much, but having a large skillet will ultimately save time because it evenly cooks food, meaning you won’t have to cook in batches. The Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Stainless Open Skillet features steel riveted handles that stay cool on the stovetop ($28.24 from Amazon).
• Bamboo cutting board: A sturdy, large cutting board is a must in any kitchen because it can be used to cut vegetables or fruit or carve meats. The OXO Large Bamboo Cutting Board features handles and nonslip edges as well as a juice canal to keep your counter clean ($22.49 from Target).
• Measuring cups: We love this OXO 3-Piece Angled Measuring Cup Set. Perfect for wet or dry ingredients, the cups feature soft, nonslip handles, and the angled surface makes reading the markings from the side or the top easier ($20.00 from Williams-Sonoma).

Photo credit: iStockphoto/hudiemm

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Save time during the week by preparing your meals on a day when you don’t have as much going on, like Saturday or Sunday.

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A Crock Pot is a Busy Cook’s Best Friend. Most people only use their crock pots for an occasional roast or an annual dish for some special occasion, but crock pots can be a terrific time-saver in the kitchen. Throw in a chicken or roast and some veggies the night before or before you leave for work, and when you get home you’ll have a piping hot meal ready to serve. It’s not just for roasts and soups either. Crock pots are great for cooking chili and even spaghetti sauce.

Let Double & Freeze be Your Mantra. Make this your new rule in the kitchen. Get yourself in the habit of doubling recipes. Make one for tonight, and freeze the rest for later. Then, when you’re too busy to cook one night, just grab it from the freezer and heat it up.

Switch it Up. Try breakfast for dinner or some other mindless meal, like sandwiches, one night.

One Meat, Many Dishes. You don’t have to eat the same meal over and over again throughout the week. Throw a chicken in the crock pot and make some barbecue chicken and chicken salad to take to work the next week or to put in your kids’ lunches.

Go Canned or Frozen. Canned and frozen vegetables can be stored for longer periods and are easy to prepare or add to your favorite recipes.

Cook Several Meals at Once. Save time during the week by preparing your meals on a day when you don’t have as much going on, like Saturday or Sunday. You can easily knock out those nights’ meals plus get a jump start on the rest of the week. Put them in the freezer or fridge, and then all you have to do during the week is take them out and reheat.

These simple shortcuts will help you save time and money and have more time to do the things you enjoy, such as spending time with your family.

Photo credit: iStockphoto/fatihhoca

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Need help managing your money? LearnVest’s free Money Center will help you create a budget, and our premium financial plans—managed by LearnVest Certified Financial Planners—can help you chart a course for the future you want.

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Don’t let cable break the bank. Keep up with your favorite shows with these budget-friendly alternatives.

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For Old Favorites: Netflix Streaming
Back in the olden days, we used to get one or two discs in the mail periodically from Netflix, but no longer. While that option is still available, who wants to wait few days in between catching up on episodes of True Blood? Netflix streaming is the best way to get caught up on old shows. You can even stream movies, and the best part is it’s only $7.99 per month. Watch instantly on your computer, or connect devices like the Wii, PS3 or Xbox 360 to watch your favorite shows right on your TV. Unfortunately, not every series is available for streaming, especially new ones, so be prepared.

For New Series: Hulu Plus
Just as Netflix is perfect for getting caught up on old TV shows, Hulu Plus is great for getting addicted to new ones, as they generally have the most current shows available. At just $7.99 a month with no commitment, you’ll have access to all current season episodes of many hit shows, hundreds of popular classic shows and thousands of award-winning movies.

For Reliability: Roku
The great thing about Roku is that you can stream various channels right to your TV without purchasing a gaming system that can cost hundreds of dollars. The box itself isn’t too expensive (from $49.99) and there are no monthly fees, so once you make the initial purchase, it’s all yours! It’s one of the most reliable streaming devices on the market, and there’s something for everyone. You’ll find movies and games as well as larger networks like HBO, CNBC and Showtime, and even inspiration and fitness channels.

For DVR Capabilities: Channel Master
Channel Master uses antenna technology to transmit many TV channel options for free, so it’s like having cable, only without the pesky monthly charges. The only downside is the set up and installation fees, which could cost you several hundred dollars, but after a few months, this system will more than pay for itself. One of the advantages of the Channel Master is its built in recording capability, so you’ll never miss your favorite shows again. You can pause live television, record up to two channels at once and fast forward through commercials.

For Fringe Benefits: Amazon Instant Viewer
If you’re a member of Amazon Prime, then you instantly have access to a number of great TV shows and movies, right at your fingertips. While not all of them are free, the ones that do cost money are available for only a nominal fee, so double check the prices before you click anything. And if you’re an avid online shopper, you’ll enjoy other benefits like free two-day shipping and no minimum order size in addition to unlimited instant streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows for just $79 a year.

For the Newest of the New: Google TV
The newest product to hit the streaming television market, Google has teamed up with Hisense to release a low-cost Google TV box, known as the Pulse. This box really does it all: customers can stream television shows and movies as well as access web content through the Wi-Fi connection, all for under $99. And, it will ship with a double-sided remote, complete with full QWERTY keyboard on one side and a touchpad and dedicated Netflix button on the other.

Photo credit: iStockphoto/mgkaya

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Start planning now to make your contribution to a Roth IRA. (It’s never too early to start!)

Worried you won’t have enough retirement savings? Consider opening a Roth IRA, a type of retirement account that offers flexibility and financial advantages to middle-class Americans.

What is a Roth IRA?
IRA stands for “individual retirement account.” These savings instruments were born in the 1970s when the United States government realized that middle-class Americans needed additional vehicles beyond employer-sponsored pension plans and Social Security in order to plan long-term saving for major life expenses. Though there are several different types of IRAs designed for different purposes, including funding a child’s education or a developing a small business, the Roth IRA was developed specifically to help Americans save for a comfortable retirement. It is a lot like a savings account that you plan to invest in long-term for greater profit.

Roth IRA specifics
Roth IRAs are popular savings vehicles because they offer flexibility. Whereas contributions to a traditional IRA are taxed upon withdrawal, the money invested in a Roth IRA has already been taxed, so any return you earn won’t be taxed again as long as you wait until age 59 and a half to withdraw it. (Note that, after five years invested, you can choose to withdraw original Roth IRA contributions earlier than age 59 without penalty, though you cannot withdraw any additional profits made at that time.)

The other reason a Roth IRA is flexible is because it allows you to invest your retirement money in a number of common investments like stocks, bonds, mutual funds and certificates of deposit. You can choose how you wish to invest your money based on the methods you believe will be most profitable.

And, unlike a traditional IRA which typically requires that you take out your money starting at age 70, Roth IRAs don’t force you to make withdrawals. So if you don’t want to touch your funds until, say, age 80, then you’re free to make that decision. You can also leave a Roth IRA alone entirely and pass it on to an heir without penalty.

Roth limits
There are some limits to retirement savings with Roth IRAs. Here are the qualifications for this type of account:

• You must not make more than $110K annually if you’re single or more than $160K annually if you’re married.

• You must earn a minimum annual income equal to your Roth contributions. For example, if you earn only $5K a year, you can only contribute $5K to a Roth IRA.

• Roth IRAs are usually viewed as secondary retirement savings accounts, so there are limits to how much you can contribute at certain ages. In 2007, for example, a person under the age of 50 could contribute $4K annually to a Roth, and a person at least 50 years of age could contribute $5K. (The limit is higher for older people because they are closer to retirement and presumably need to start saving more aggressively, though limits change all the time. In 2012, a 35-year-old could contribute $6,500, for instance.) Check tax laws to determine current limits.

Important things to remember
You can select the financial institution, such as a bank or credit union, or the mutual fund company that will handle the money you contribute to a Roth IRA account. The deadline for contributing funds to a Roth IRA account is the tax deadline, April 15, of the following year. If you contribute more than IRA limits allow, you will have to withdraw excess funds prior to filing your taxes for the year. If you fail to do so, you’ll face a penalty.

Another thing to remember is that IRA contributions aren’t tax deductible. For some people, this is a drawback. However, there are no taxes taken on the earnings upon withdrawal later, as long as the Roth IRA — and its holder — are mature. This fact is a major advantage because, typically, the Roth IRA account’s value grows exponentially by the time the funds are needed for retirement.

Now that you know the advantages of the Roth IRA, start planning now to make your contributions this year! The earlier you start saving, the better off you’ll be financially later in life.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock / Cheryl Casey

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