Year-End Money Mindfulness

With Thanksgiving coming tomorrow, Christmas and New Year on the horizon, we are inevitably spending more and more mindshare on the upcoming holidays. As my way of saying Thank You, I would like to put in a few reminders so that you can finish out the year with a greater sense of peace of mind, knowing that you have put your financial house in order.

Fully fund your retirement accounts – whether it’s your 401k, IRA, or SEP IRA, be sure to maximize your contribution to take full advantage of the tax benefits.

Drain your FSA (Flexible Spending Account) – if you have put money into a FSA to pay for medical expenses using pre-tax dollars, be sure to spend all the money left in the account because remaining funds do not typically carry over to next year.

Make an appointment and see your CPA & Financial Advisor – it’s always a good idea to meet with your financial team for year end tax planning. Perhaps you are still able to write off your charitable giving, or maybe it’s time to either take profit on some of your investments or take loss on others for taxation purposes. It pays to be intentional with your investments.

Pack in your self care – if you are like me who have high medical deductibles, then it’s a good time to do more self-care or take care of medical needs now IF you have reached the deductible limits. For me, most of my medical needs are covered 90%-100% by my insurance.

Divorce and legal status – if you or someone you know are in the process of a divorce, it is important to note that if you are divorced on Dec 31, you will be considered divorced for the entire year. However, if you are divorced on Jan 1, then you would be considered married the entire prior year. This creates opportunities for financial planning.

Holiday shopping – set a budget for the holiday shopping, and the budget should be from money you already in the bank, not from credit cards that will be paid off throughout next year. If the bank account balances are low, get creative and see how your loving thoughts can be delivered in different ways.

Lastly, Giving thanks to what we already have! I am grateful for everything I have, and I’m grateful for having you in my life!

Happy Holidays!