5 End-of-Year Money Moves
As another year winds down, you might pause to look back on personal challenges, areas of growth, and fond memories you’ve amassed in the prior months. But rather than merely waxing nostalgic, take action by implementing impactful financial plans that can help set you up for better success in the upcoming year. Here are five tips for managing your money before the calendar flips over.
Know your net worth
While reviewing your budget may be best reserved for January following holiday spending, an important step to take now is calculating your net worth, which is the difference between your total assets (cash, investments, real estate, etc.) and liabilities (loans, credit card debt, and other negatives). To find your figure, list all your assets and estimate their current values, referring to documents like your mortgage statement for accuracy. Then compile your liabilities and subtract them from the assets total. Once you have this calculation, you can better assess your overall financial health, identifying challenges like excessive debts and establishing strategies for overcoming them as well as general objectives to strive for. In turn, you can proceed into January with more confidence about building future wealth.
Consider your options
If reviewing your net worth inspires you to set bigger financial goals, you may want to explore different strategies for managing your money. Options such as certificates of deposit, money market accounts, stock portfolios, real estate, or peer-to-peer lending each come with their own potential risks and benefits. Since everyone’s financial situation is unique, it’s important to consult with a qualified financial professional, who can help you determine what approach best aligns with your goals. (For more details, see below.)
Utilize your health benefits
Health care may represent a major portion of your spending, but perhaps one of the greatest ways to stifle hefty fees is to leverage any cost caps at the end of the year. If you’ve met your deductible or out-of-pocket maximum, your insurer may pay up to 100 percent of your remaining health services through December. (An exception would be if you’ve also hit your annual maximum benefit, or the limit on how much your insurer will pay for covered care in a year.) So confirm your progress toward health, dental, and vision caps, and if you can swing it, squeeze in any services you may need while they’re practically free. And if you opted into a flexible spending account, you’ll definitely want to put any remaining funds to use since you may not be allowed to carry them over into next year.
Reach the retirement cap
Contributing the full amount permitted to your retirement fund each year could help better secure your future. Many such accounts, like 401(k)s, offer tax advantages—including decreasing your taxable income—to help reduce your burden for next year. Additionally, investing the maximum amount ensures that you take full advantage of employer matching, if available, which is essentially free money for retirement. See what extra contributions you may be able to make before the end of this year, then factor it into your future budgeting to help ensure that you don’t miss out on potentially significant breaks in the next one.
Talk to a pro
When it comes to your finances, you have a dizzying array of moves available to you, so be sure to meet with a financial professional, who can help you tend to your current needs while also making plans to grow your savings. In fact, taking such a step ahead of the new year can be one of the wisest ways to weigh your options and enact fiscally sound strategies that can get it off to a healthy start.