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The Best Year-End Money Moves to Make
As 2024 draws to a close, it’s time to get our financial lives ready for the New Year so we can kick-start 2025 with as little financial stress as possible — and set some money goals that we can actually reach!
Annual financial check-ins allow us to review our progress in the previous 12 months and check in on where we’re headed for the next 12. Although every year will look different, many of our money patterns (both good and bad) follow us from year to year.
For example, when you look back at 2024, did you save as much money as you wanted? Did you spend more than budgeted? Did you pay down the debt you were hoping to eliminate? Now is the time to check in and see where there may be room for improvement in 2025. Here’s a checklist to help you do just that.
Look at Your Savings — Including Retirement and Emergency Funds
Will Brennan, certified financial planner at Park Hill Financial Planning & Investment, suggests that the first step is to make sure you’re steadily making progress toward maxing out your contributions to a retirement plan. Look first at employer-sponsored plans, like a 401(k) or 403(b), as those tend to come with matching dollars. If you don’t have one, consider opening an IRA at your local credit union and contributing as much as possible. For 2025, the annual 401(k) and 403(b) contribution limits are $23,000 for people under 50 and $30,500 for people 50 and over. For IRAs, you can contribute $7,000 if you’re under 50 or $8,000 if you’re 50 or older.
Don’t let those maximum contribution amounts discourage you — let them inspire you to shoot for saving as much as your budget allows during the year. The goal is that every year — as you receive raises or earn more money — you’ll increase the percentage of your income that you contribute to save as much as possible. The same holds true for emergency funds. While the general rule of thumb is to keep three to six months’ worth of living expenses in reserve, if you’re not able to get close to that yet, don’t panic. Research from the JP Morgan Chase Institute suggests that when people need to tap into their emergency funds, they usually only need access to around six weeks’ worth of take-home income at once. In terms of where to keep your emergency fund money, unlike with your retirement assets, your emergency fund should be stashed in a separate high-yield savings account at your credit union. This is because having that money close by (but not too close) helps prevent you from reaching for it in your everyday life. That way, it’ll be there for you when you need it!
Figure Out a Realistic Budget for 2025
If you haven’t set a 2025 budget, make a New Year’s resolution to create one and stick to it. Thankfully, budgeting doesn’t have to mean creating a three-page spreadsheet and itemizing down to the last pack of gum. But it does mean having a realistic picture of how much money is coming in and going out every month and knowing where it’s going. Countless budgeting methods can work for you — such as the backward, zero-sum, or 50/30/30 budget. The goal is for you to choose the one that works best for you!
Put Some Thought into Next Year’s Benefits
The end of the year is a great time to make thoughtful decisions about the employee benefits you want for next year. The last thing you want to do is let the open enrollment deadline creep up on you and then be forced to make a split-second decision on the benefits you need. Even if you’ve been happy with your health insurance copays and the overall experience of your current plan, you’ll want to revisit your plan options as prices change. Also, consider your family’s expected medical expenses, medications for the year, and the doctors included in your plan’s network.
Likewise, if you have a partner eligible for health insurance via an employer, you'll want to run the numbers to see which policy will give your family more for less. You may also want to consider the benefits of choosing a high-deductible health insurance policy that could make you eligible to contribute to a Health Savings Account or HSA — especially if your employer also contributes to the account.
Additionally, you should take a comprehensive look at all the benefits your employer offers and ensure you’re not leaving anything on the table. There may be benefits you didn’t even know about, including disability insurance, gym memberships, healthy living programs, commuting benefits, or a financial wellness program. Your HR department can share details on everything available.
Consider HSA Benefits
Did you contribute to an HSA in 2024? If you have an insurance policy with a deductible of at least $1,600 for self-only coverage or $3,200 for family coverage, you’ll want to consider it for 2025. It’s easier if you have an HSA through your employer (that allows for direct-from-paycheck contributions typically). Still, you can also open an HSA on your own as long as your health insurance policy qualifies.
The limits on how much you can contribute to your HSA in 2025 are $4,300 for individual coverage and $8,550 for family coverage. HSAs are amazing savings vehicles for several reasons. First, all contributions you make to an HSA are either pre-tax (if you make them through your employer) or tax-deductible (if you make the contributions on your own). Also, the money you save grows tax-deferred, and it can be used tax-free for eligible medical expenses at any time. In other words, money in an HSA equals big tax savings!
Unlike a Flexible Spending Account (FSA), you don’t have to use the money in an HSA by a particular deadline — the money is yours to use forever. Your HSA contributions can be used for health insurance deductibles, copayments, dental or vision care, prescription drugs, and over-the-counter medications throughout your life. Or, if you so choose, you can hang onto the money in your HSA until retirement. After you turn 65, you can withdraw HSA money for any reason, penalty-free. However, for HSA withdrawals to come out tax-free, they must be used for a qualified medical expense. (Withdrawals made for any other reason get taxed at your ordinary income tax rate.)
Lastly, Gather Documents You’ll Need Come Tax Time
Start gathering the essential documents you’ll need for the New Year, explains certified financial planner Mike Hunsberger at Next Mission Financial Planning. First, don’t get overwhelmed by the prospect: there are just three primary categories of documents you need to file your taxes next year successfully.
Hunsberger says the first is personal information, such as Social Security numbers or tax ID numbers and birthdates for you and any dependents on your tax forms. You likely already have your numbers on hand, but if you’ve had a new baby, adopted a child, or gotten married, this is a great time to locate everyone's Social Security cards and confirm their details.
The second category — some of which may not arrive at your door until early January 2025 — is income documents. This will be a W-2 for individuals classified as employees, but for contractors or freelancers, you’ll be keeping an eye out for 1099s. Both W-2s and 1099s reflect how much you’ve earned over the year. Also, depending on what your earning and employment situation has been throughout the year, you may also have a 1099-INT for interest income, a 1099-G for unemployment benefits, a 1099-R for retirement, IRA, and annuity income, or 1099-misc for miscellaneous items. It’s good to review a month-by-month mental checklist for everything you earned during 2024 to ensure you haven’t forgotten anything that’s due to come in the mail — or that you might need to print out yourself.
Lastly, the third category of information you’ll need to gather is anything related to tax deductions that you plan to take, Hunsberger explains. “Since the standard deduction has been raised, itemizing your taxes is less common. But if you do itemize, here are the types of things you need: Home ownership records, such as a 1098 for mortgage interest, property tax, and insurance statements; charitable deductions like receipts for cash or donated items, childcare and education expenses, and medical insurance and medical expenses. This list isn’t exhaustive, but it will give you the types of information you need to file,” he says.
- CATEGORIES: Financial Education

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