Here in Minnesota we are used to pretty rough winters, so you can imagine how ecstatic we all are to now being able to see grass and feel the sun on our face without the bitterly cold wind slapping us at the same time. Morning glory and hallelujah it's springtime!

Everyone knows the term "spring cleaning" and that it refers to thoroughly cleaning our homes now that we can open the doors and windows and shove out all that dust, dirt, and stale air. But why stop at just the house? Our finances are probably in need of a spring cleaning as well. Here are five steps you should take to clean up your finances.

1. The Tax Clean-Up
I am assuming many of you have already submitted your taxes and maybe were even fortunate enough to be able to get a refund. Do you feel that you got what you were expecting? Or maybe you had to pay in. Now is the time to double-check your withholding allowance on your paychecks. Did your marital status change in the past year at all or dependents to claim? Make sure you are claiming the right amount for your lifestyle. Update your W-4 form for your employer if necessary to ensure your tax filings next year are correct. Take a look at the

IRS Tax-Withholding webpage if you are unsure what you should be claiming.

2. The Auto-Pay Clean-Up
Are you still getting paper bills in the mail and sending out checks to pay for them? Why? Maybe now is the time to get all your payments on auto-pay so you never have to worry about forgetting to pay a bill or a check getting lost in the mail. If you do automate all your bill pay, check your bank statements regularly to ensure the right amount is being taken out.

3. The All-the-Extras Clean-Up
The sun is shining and the birds are chirping - are you really inside enough to justify that $100 cable bill? Maybe you want to consider dropping cable altogether. I offer up some cable-cutting tips in a previous blog if this is the route you want to go. Now is the time to go through all the extra indulgences and determine if they really are a value to you. Is that gym membership going to get any use when you can now go run through the iceless neighborhood? Go through all your typical monthly expenses and eliminate what you don't need to be wasting money on.

4. The Banking Clean-Up
What has your bank done for you lately? What is your interest rate? You didn't get hit with any unnecessary fees last year did you? Take a look at all your credit card, checking, savings, and investment accounts. It's time-consuming, but switch banks if your current one is not matching your needs. Maybe a credit union is a better option for you? Take a look at this informative article from MoneyCrashers.com that compares banks and credit unions.

Also, move your banking life online to reduce risk of identity theft and save a tree. Do you really need to be mailed a paper statement every month? However, if you do prefer it, be sure to destroy the documents when you're through with them versus just throwing them in the trash. Better safe than sorry!

5. The Life Goals Clean-Up
Are you still on track with your New Year's Resolution? Yeah, me either... but I recently went through my bank statements and consolidated a couple accounts and paid off my car loan. Small victories! Since I no longer have a monthly payment dedicated to my car, I put that amount into my savings account each month instead. I also am working on determining the right long-term investment for me. This is my Spring goal. What is your goal? Maybe you have been tossing around the idea of getting life insurance. What better life goal is there than to protect your family? Take a minute and use the quoting tool on Quotacy's website to see how little it may cost you to get term life insurance. Keep your phone number and e-mail address to yourself - it's not necessary to run a quote at that site!
I know how much you want to protect your loved ones, but also know how busy you are and that you want ensure your personal life stays private. Getting life insurance online in your own way and in your own terms is the easiest way to do it!

Thanks for stopping by, now go enjoy that spring air!

This is a story of two young girls who were best friends and did everything together until tragedy struck, changing their lives forever.

In a quiet neighborhood lived two girls named Cinderella, called Ella for short, and Snow White, called Snow. Their families lived next door to each other. The girls bonded instantly...

On a cool fall day in October, Snow and Ella were interrupted from exploring the forest (one of their favorite activities) by their fathers calling them to come home. They raced back finding their families outside. Their fathers wanted to say goodbye before heading out for their annual hunting weekend. After quick hugs and kisses, their fathers left together in Snow's dad's Jeep and the girls raced back to the forest, their stepmothers quickly retreating back into their respective houses away from the chill in the air.

The weekend passed quickly and Ella was sitting at the dining room table Sunday night doing her homework when she heard a knock at the door. Her stepmother came from the kitchen and answered it. Ella leaned back on her chair to try and catch a glimpse of the late night visitor. She was surprised to see a policeman. Then she witnessed something more shocking. Her stepmother fell to her knees in tears. Ella quickly got up and ran over to her asking what was wrong. Her stepmother was crying too hard to answer. As the policeman walked away, she noticed another policeman outside leaving Snow's house. In that moment, Snow suddenly ran in, also in tears.

"What's happened?" Ella asked.

Snow hugged Ella without answering.

Snow's stepmother then came in and said, "Ella, I'm so sorry. But there has been a car accident."

Ella knew then what happened and began crying as well.

Snow and her stepmother stayed for about an hour before finally going back to their house.

"What am I going to do?" Ella's stepmother asked herself aloud. "Your father... he must have planned for something like this. I'll call the lawyer tomorrow."

As it turned out, Ella's father had not planned for this. They had to sell her father's car to pay for his funeral. Ella had to drop out of school and began cleaning houses to help her stepmother pay the mortgage to keep living in their house. She had to work long days and was too exhausted each evening to spend time with Snow. Their friendship slowly ended.

Snow's father had planned for the unexpected. He purchased a life insurance policy a few years after his beloved daughter was born. And even though Snow took a leave of absence from school for a while to grieve, she was able to graduate and go to college. While in college Snow met a nice young man named Charming and after a year they were engaged. Snow's stepmother offered to pay for the wedding since she had put away some of her late husband's life insurance policy payout for this exact occasion. The wedding was the best day of Snow's life.

Ella also met someone. They took out a loan to help pay for their wedding. After a couple years though, they divorced. They fought too much about their finances. Cleaning houses did not bring home much income, and her husband was tired of trying to pay off all the bills, and Ella's debt she brought into the marriage, on mainly his income.

Through the years, Ella slowly paid off her debt, but in her forties she had to move back into her childhood home to take care of her aging stepmother. They eventually downsized into an apartment because of the high cost of her healthcare.

One day at the grocery store, Ella ran into Snow and her family. They were thrilled to see each other. Snow introduced Ella to her husband and three adult children who were home for the holidays. After going separate ways Ella couldn't help but think about how differently their lives turned out when they had been so similar as children. She wondered where she went wrong. It had been so many years since her father passed, and she had been so young, she did not remember that his lack of life insurance was the start of her difficult life.

Even though the unexpected can happen, it doesn't need to destroy lives. Don't let your loved ones risk having to live a life like Ella's. Get a

life insurance quote today. You won't regret it.

HBO recently announced that they will be offering a streaming service starting in April. Do you hear that? That's the sound of millions of cable subscribers jotting the note "cancel cable" into their 2015 planners. To follow this up, here's a tip: go get an antenna. No, not those contraptions with the bunny ears and tinfoil, but one of the new streamlined antennas that you can hide behind your TV. Unless you're living in an extremely remote area, you'll be able to pick up local HD channels like FOX, NBC, CBS, etc. for a one-time fee of about $40. This way when you cut the cable cord, you'll still be able to watch the news, sports, and your favorites like Modern Family and The Blacklist. It's a great way to save a few bucks every month.

Another way to save a few bucks is to shop with apps.

Target's Cartwheel app and Cub's Rewards app are my two favorites to grocery shop with. I basically take a few minutes before heading to the store to look at their featured coupons. I then plan my meals around the deals. (Not to mention the Holiday Station gas savings with Cub rewards points!) I know Costco and Sam's Club are also two places to save money when grocery shopping, but I'm a single woman with no children. I don't need to bulk grocery shop.

Amazon Prime. Do I need to say more? Okay, I will. Amazon Prime is a great tool to save money. An annual fee of $99 gets you a streaming TV/movie service, free (or discounted) Kindle books, free two-day shipping, and a free music streaming service (with no commercials!). Find a pair of jeans you like at the store, but they are just a little too expensive to justify buying? Look those up on Amazon - 90% of the time they are cheaper. Need a present for little Timmy this weekend, but don't have enough time to go to the store? Boom. Amazon will have it at your front steps in two days. Recently canceled your gym membership to save money and now want to buy a treadmill? Amazon will give you a deal and deliver it for free! Need to buy kitty litter but don't feel like straining your back trying to lift the 40 pounds into the trunk of your car? Amazon. Okay, that may make me sound lazy, but time is money. Also, I look like an idiot trying to lift those massive bags into my trunk. But think of it this way, you now can take the time to go for a walk around the block enjoying the spring weather instead of going to the store.

Summer is coming! As exciting as this is, summer can take a toll on the electric bill. Save some money and buy a programmable thermostat. You can easily program when you want your AC to kick in. Set it to 72 when you're home and 78 when you're at work. Your wallet will thank you!

The last money-saving tip I'll pontificate on is being a do-it-yourselfer. I'm the daughter of a plumber. He's been preaching to me since I could crawl on the importance of learning to fix things yourself, or at least try before calling a professional. A few weeks ago my vacuum stopped working. I started Googling the prices of vacuums and looked on Amazon at different reviews. I almost bought one, until I thought "You know what, let me first see if I can fix this thing before dropping 100 bucks." I Googled the make and model of my vacuum and watched a YouTube video on how to take it a part. In 20 minutes I had that thing working like it was brand-spankin' new. I immediately called my dad and told him all about it. So, not only did I save about $100, I also felt great about myself. You can find a video on how to fix pretty much anything on YouTube. And you can find a video on how to make pretty much anything on Pinterest. Last month I made a personalized jewelry box for my niece's third birthday. Had I bought it in the store, it probably would have cost over $40. And just let me say, I'm the last person you'd pick to be in a crafting club, so if I can do it anyone can.

All these dollars you save each month now can be put towards getting life insurance. As I said before, I am single and don’t have children; however, what I do have is a mortgage and student loans. If something should happen unexpectedly to me, the last thing I'd want for my grieving parents to deal with is all my debt. A simple term life insurance policy would take care of all that, along with the costs of my funeral. It's a grim topic, I'm not denying that, but it's an important one.

Let's quickly review.

Five Easy Ways to Save Money Each Month:

Cancel Cable, Get an Antenna

Use Grocery Apps

Amazon Prime

Programmable Thermostat

Be a Do-It-Yourselfer

Best of luck to you and your wallets!