Look back at last year to set yourself up for an amazing future and new year.
Here’s a year-end personal finance checklist with three must-do tasks.
1. Do a retirement plan check-in
As the year is coming to an end, now is a good time to check-in on your retirement plans. How much did you contribute to your IRA or 401(k) plan? What’s the total value of your account right now? Refamiliarize yourself with the maximum amount to contribute into your IRA and 401(k) plan. The amount changes every year. Get the current limits from the IRS here.
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- Have you Started Investing Yet?
- How Much Should You Save for Retirement?
- Should You Stop Investing for Retirement Until You’re Debt-Free?
2. Fill in a year-end personal balance sheet
Your balance sheet is a financial statement. I freakin’ love financial statements, here’s why! A balance sheet the best ever snapshot of where you stand right now. You can see your hard work paying off (#progress). Fill in the current value of your assets (everything you own) including your retirement accounts, other investment accounts, emergency savings, car value, and home value.
Your Balance Sheet also shows your current liabilities (everything that you owe). Check-in on the total value of what you owe on any credit cards, student loans, car loans, home loan, or other loans. Here’s more on how exactly to fill in your personal balance sheet.
3. Review your variable expenses last year, to plan for this year
Do you hate budgeting? Money can seem completely out of control, but most everything is already known, literally fixed, and 100% in your control! Most of your expenses like rent, insurance, cell phone, etc. is the same each month. Variable expenses are one-offs and vary from month to month like birthdays, trips, DIY projects, etc. See what variable expenses you had last year to plan for those expenses this year.
Use this year-end personal finance checklist to get ready for the upcoming year!
P.S. Want more? Get a one on one money coaching session to help you get focused and organized with your money and life. Here’s the details.
