8 Money Makes to before the year ends
Completing these financial tasks before year-end can help set you up for financial success in the New Year.
1. Perform a cash flow checkup
Compare your monthly spending amounts with the amount you expected to spend. Did you spend more, less, or about the same?
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2. Shore up your emergency fund
Maintaining an emergency fund is one of the most important steps you can take to protect the health of your finances.
Why? Something is going to happen; the car will break down or the pet will get sick and without an adequate emergency fund, you might be forced to turn to credit cards or other forms of high-interest debt to pay for that unplanned expense.
To prevent this from happening, experts typically recommend having enough liquid funds to cover at least 3 to 6 months’ worth of living expenses. But if you are self-employed or have an unpredictable income, you may need more.
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3. Audit your subscriptions and cancel the ones you don’t use
According to C&R Research, the average consumer spends about $219 per month on subscriptions. However, the same consumers estimated they only spent $86 per month. This subscription creep could be costing you over $2,500 per year without even realizing it.
Do yourself a favor and review your bank and credit card statements to spot subscriptions you rarely use (or even forgot you had) and cancel them.
4. Make health appointments before your deductible resets
Your deductible on an insurance plan is the amount you must pay out of pocket before your insurance provider starts to pay. These deductibles generally reset on Jan. 1.
If you have already reached your deductible for the year, take advantage of reduced health costs and make any outstanding medical appointments by the end of the year.
5. Max out tax-advantaged accounts
Accounts that offer tax advantages, such as 401(k)s, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), and health savings accounts (HSAs), are powerful ways to save and invest. Contributions to these accounts reduce your taxable income, helping you get a bigger refund — or at least, a lower tax bill — when you file.
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6. Re-evaluate taxable investment accounts
While often not as critical as tax-advantaged accounts, taxable brokerage accounts have benefits. Two of the biggest is the ability to make penalty-free withdrawals at any time and depending on how much you earn you may pay $0 in capital gains tax. Additionally, you often have more freedom in investment selection than you would with a 401(k).
If you invest using taxable accounts through an online brokerage or elsewhere, there are some basic tasks you should do at least once a year. Perhaps the most important is rebalancing, which involves selling investments above your target allocation and buying ones below your target allocation.
7. Pay down high-interest debt
High-interest debt can significantly strain your finances, so reducing or eliminating it can help you start off 2025 on better financial footing.
Fortunately, debt reduction is not all or nothing.
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8. Consider refinancing
If you are currently making monthly payments on a large loan, such as a car loan or mortgage, check your current interest rate against today’s rates. While the recent rate cuts by The Fed have lowered the prime rate, it may or may not influence your rates, but it’s worth a look. Refinancing could save you a lot of money if rates have dropped since your purchase.
