IF your finances have stagnated over the winter, try a little spring-cleaning. After dusting away the debts and straightening the balance sheets you will find your financial house is in much better order than when you started.

Financial advisers who spoke to Family Money suggested that readers conduct a thorough review of all incoming and outgoing monthly payments while keeping a close eye on credit use and the creation of debt. Simple changes may mean more pounds in your pocket. Some specific areas to examine include:

Credit cards: Use a strong, debt-reduction, scented disinfectant in the most expensive room in your personal finances - the credit and store-card room. This is an area with a notoriously high, and therefore financially damaging, interest rate so aggressive cleaning measures are needed.

On average, credit and store card interest rates range from 15 to 27 per cent interest so, any spare cash should be used to pay off the balance immediately.

Afterwards, put aside or throw away all your credit cards for at least six months. The inconvenience of obtaining cash or carrying a chequebook may eliminate or reduce impulsive, unnecessary purchases.

Loans: "You should certainly rethink the areas where you've made borrowing and relook at that in terms of the way interest rates have fallen," said Mr John Crowe, investment director with KPMG personal financial services.

Prioritise the payment of loans by interest rate. First to be paid off, are those loans costing the most. After credit cards, car loans and personal loans are often the next most expensive.

Mortgage repayments: Cleaning the smallest room in the house often takes the most elbow grease. In the same way, mortgage repayments incur the lowest interest rate but are usually the biggest household expense.

Examining your monthly needs against the flexibility of the low interest rate environment may vastly improve your financial outlook. Depending on the type of loan you hold, your monthly mortgage payments may have decreased in line with lower rates.

As a homeowner, you have two payment options. First, you may continue paying the higher amount and thereby reduce the loan's term and amount of interest paid overall. Some advisers think this is a good way for homeowners to protect themselves against an economic downturn and the dreaded "negative equity". This phenomenon may occur during a recession when the mortgage being paid off is higher than the property's market price.

Second, you can take the money and run. Homeowners may choose to pay the lower mortgage amount and maintain the original term of the loan. Since mortgages are relatively inexpensive loans those looking for more cash per month may find this a sensible solution.

Some advisers believe accelerating mortgage repayments is a good idea while others are hesitant to offer blanket statements on the practice.

"It really depends on the risk profile that people have," says Mr Richard Eberle, managing director of REA mortgage services. "Many people are very anxious to get their mortgage paid off, so for them we'd recommend keeping the repayments higher in the falling interest rate environment. This reduces the interest paid over time and the term of the mortgage," he said.

If they have other debts such as car payments or credit cards sometimes that impinges on the decision, he said.

Debt consolidation: Banks and building societies usually allow homeowners to take out "top-up" loans in addition to their existing mortgage. Some people use this loan to pay off high interest debts like credit cards, car loans and personal loans and then pay the newly consolidated amount off at a greatly reduced rate.

This trend in personal financial planning follows the same logic that it is better to buy one cleaning product that has three uses rather than three products with single uses. The consumer saves money and has only one bill to pay.

"You could take the view that the equity in your house has increased and the cheapest loans are home loans," said Mr Crowe of KPMG. He does not advocate consolidation but believes people who are looking at cash flow difficulties may consider it.

"The downside is that you're paying for your car for over 20 years but the upside is that you can probably knock a few hundred pounds off your monthly outgoings," said Mr Crowe. "Car loans are £25 per thousand per month while a home loan is costing £7 pounds per month per thousand so you can see the advantages."

Mr Eberle thinks consolidation is often a risky proposition for the undisciplined. His firm takes a fairly negative view of the trend although it does bring borrowers lower interest rates initially, he says.

"If people have the fiscal discipline to consolidate their debt and then stay within their budget after that fine, but human nature means many people often go back to running up their debts in the same way. It's a very personal thing but people have to be honest with themselves." said Mr Eberle.

Savings and investments: Savings strategies should be reconsidered as low interest rates have eaten away at gains usually provided by traditional vehicles like post office savings accounts. In the short term, the return on these accounts is negligible so the cash is best used paying down the most expensive debts.

The majority of your savings strategies should focus on the long term. "Think about planning ahead for life events like your children's education, even your own early retirement. Some people pay lip service to early retirement but don't plan for it," said Mr Crowe.

Pensions: Many pension holders think once the policy is set up, it takes care of itself. On the contrary, this is one investment policy that should be monitored closely because it is available when an individual may no longer be able to help themselves.

A pension has to change as you change over time. The self-employed in particular should be reviewing it every three years, said Mr Crowe.

"Questions you should be asking are: `How much is my pension worth, and what will that buy me in today's money?' If you don't know those answers, then you haven't done a proper review. If you don't know where you're going with the thing in pounds, shillings and pence, it's pointless," he said.

Insurance policies: It is pointless to look at investment possibilities for your spare cash unless, in addition to a pension, you have already taken out life, health and home insurance policies. These safety nets are essential to ensure quality of life for you and your family in the long term.

If you already hold these policies, take a fresh look at them. "It's always worthwhile to talk to your insurance broker. Ask them if they've looked at the market for you or if they're just sending out a renewal notice," said Mr Eberle.

Even small details may provide savings. "You should examine your various bits and pieces, like insurance policies. Do you have separate direct debits for each one or is it possible for them to go all in one?" says Mr Crowe.

Home insurance needs to be re-examined since the equity in your home has most certainly increased in the booming property market. This may mean you are under-insured. Call the company with which you placed your policy for a review of your insurance coverage level.

Wills: One item often omitted, inexplicably, from a personal financial review is the making, or adjusting of a will. A straightforward will should cost no more than £100 and may remove a great deal of pain in the future.

"Everyone should look at their will. Older people in particular because sometimes a husband makes a will but the wife hasn't and this can cause awful problems," said Mr Crowe.

Seek professional advice: Before making any major changes to your financial planning strategy, consult qualified professional advisers to discuss your particular circumstances.