End of Year Financial Tips

2017 is coming to a close, and the month of December often flies by in a whirlwind of gift buying, cookie baking, and snow shoveling. But the final month of the year is also a good time to get your finances in order, and prepare for the New Year. With that in mind, here's a look at end-of-year financial tasks to tackle:

Savings

Take a look over the past year, and see how well you’ve met your savings goals. If you haven’t, then now is the time to readjust, and look at what can be improved. The number of Americans who have no cash in the bank to fall back on is staggering. Approximately 26% of adults have no savings set aside for emergencies, while another 36% have yet to start putting away money for retirement.

If you fall into either of those categories, then now is the time. Start small if you need to, but START. Even if you can only afford a small amount every month, it adds up over time.

And while we’re on the subject, retirement planning falls into the category of saving. If you have a retirement account, now would be the time to max out your contributions before the end of the calendar year.

Taxes

Dec. 31 is the deadline for charitable contributions you plan to deduct from your tax return. Instead of donating cash, some people donate appreciated securities such as low-basis stocks or mutual funds to avoid capital gains tax.

Emergency Fund

This is one of the more important funds to have at your disposal, because if you ever need it, you could avoid plunging yourself into debt while dealing with an expensive emergency.

Meet with Your Financial Advisor

The most direct way to say it is this — if you don’t have one, get one! A financial advisor can help someone segment and prioritize goals and build an overall strategy for financial well-being. Setting aside different “buckets” or investments of money for specific goals will help to achieve your goals and will make it easier to track your success. For example, you could have a separate account just for a vacation goal and a separate account just for your retirement travels, etc.

Budget

Developing healthy and disciplined habits with regards to budget is really important. Implement the philosophy of “pay yourself first.” In other words, put your monthly savings goal in your account before you allocate any income toward any other bills.

When making a budget, tailor it to your needs so you feel comfortable sticking to your own rules. This will also give you an idea of where you can trim some fat with regards to spending.

IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES

Material contained in this article is provided for information purposes only and is not intended to be used in connection with the evaluation of any investments offered by David Lerner Associates, Inc. This material does not constitute an offer or recommendation to buy or sell securities and should not be considered in connection with the purchase or sale of securities.

To the extent that this material concerns tax matters, it is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by a taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed by law.

Each taxpayer should seek independent advice from a tax professional based on his or her individual circumstances.

These materials are provided for general information and educational purposes based upon publicly available information from sources believed to be reliable– we cannot assure the accuracy or completeness of these materials. The information in these materials may change at any time and without notice.

David Lerner Associates does not provide tax or legal advice. The information presented here is not specific to any individual's personal circumstances. Member FINRA & SIPC