If you’re like me the fact that the “holidays” are next week is making you sweat a little. So, before you get swept into 2018 with manic bouts of cooking and cleaning and sugar coma’s here are a few things to keep in mind as the end of the year approaches that can help you feel productive in the chaos.
- Kick some extra money into the work retirement plan
- This is a good time to lay out a quick budget for the last month of the year and see if you can squeeze a little more into your company retirement plan, especially if you get a bonus this time of year and still have room to fill out the company match. This can help extra dollars not accidentally fly away during Black Friday Cyber Season week, or whatever the heck it’s called now, and you’ll be patting yourself on the back come tax time for the extra deductions.
- Check on your Medicare Coverage
- Open Enrollment ends December 7th so if you haven’t looked into a new plan for 2018 get online or set up an appointment to do so. It’ll be Christmas before you know it and plans can change dramatically from year to year.
- Take a peek at this year’s spending.
- Whether you’re retired or not, knowing what you spend makes any financial planning you do a million times easier. With 11 months soon to be in the books, early December is a great time to get an idea of what your outlay will look like for the year. It doesn’t have to be to the penny, just get comfy with the general number. Whether or not this makes you change anything, getting acquainted with your actual spending habits can take a lot of the nervousness out of planning for retirement and being retired!
- Make sure you’ve taken your Required Minimum Distribution from your IRA accounts if you’re 70 ½ or older.
- If you’re a client of ours, we check this for you, but if you aren’t sure if you’ve taken yours or are required to we’re glad to review it with you.
- Make lots of fires, drink tea and hot chocolate, and enjoy your family
- At least that’s what I’ll be doing