Be Good To Your Money Bulletin http://ezezine.com
ARE YOU ON THE ROAD TO FINANCIAL FREEDOM?
You may have had your annual physical exam and taken your car in for
scheduled service this year, but what about your annual financial
checkup?
A good time to do your annual financial checkup is before the end of
the year so you can take advantage of any tax-saving strategies, but if
you can't fit it in during the busy holiday season, plan on doing it as
soon after the new year as possible.
IDENTIFY YOUR GOALS
The first step in your financial checkup is evaluating your financial
goals.
Have you made progress on them this year? If not, where have you fallen
short? Can you figure out why? Have your goals changed during the year?
If so, revise them and write them down.
EVALUATE CHANGES IN YOUR PERSONAL SITUATION
Have changes in your personal situation taken place in the last year or
do you anticipate any major changes in the near future? A job change,
divorce, adding a baby to your family, retiring, buying a house,
getting married, or moving can alter your income and your lifestyle
significantly. You may need to adapt your budget, your spending, your
savings, and your investments. Having time to plan for these changes in
advance will make the transition much smoother.
PROTECT YOUR ASSETS
Next, evaluate your protection of your assets. Review your homeowner's
or renter's insurance, health insurance, auto insurance. Don't forget
to protect the greatest asset of all - your income earning ability -
with long-term disability insurance.
PREPARE FOR THE UNEXPECTED
Review your will and your estate plan. Have any changes taken place
that require updating?
EVALUATE YOUR INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE
Check the return on each of your stocks, bonds, or mutual funds. Are
you satisfied with their performance compared to the rest of the
market? If you don't believe the investment will recover its losses, it
may be time to sell or change your plan.
EVALUATE YOUR DEBTS
How are you doing on controlling and paying down debt? Has your credit
card debt decreased this year? If not, it's time to figure out where
the leaks are taking place and try to plug them. It's difficult to get
ahead and invest when too much of your income is going to interest
payments on credit cards.
How's the interest rate on your mortgage? How's your credit score? If
you haven't ordered your free copies of your credit repot, now's a good
time to do it. Go to AnnualCreditReport.com.
REDUCE YOUR INCOME TAXES
This is a good time to plan for next year's taxes. What can you do to
minimize them? Add up all your allowable deductions and see if you can
itemize. Review the list of allowable deductions and make sure you take
advantage of any you're eligible for. Consider accelerating deductions
by paying tax-deductible items early to help you reach the threshold
for deducting. For instance, medical expenses can only be deducted if
they exceed 7.5% of your income. If you're close, pre-paying an
orthodontia bill or scheduling that elective surgery before the end of
the year could save you some money on taxes.
REVIEW YOUR RETIREMENT PLANS
How are you doing on your retirement funds? Are you contributing the
maximum to your 401(k) plan? This is one of the best tax-reducing
strategies available. If your employer doesn't have a 401(k), does it
offer any other kind of plan? If not, set up an IRA on your own.
Yes, it takes some time to do your annual checkup, but it is time well
spent!
www.LisaFrye.com
Lisa Frye
631 N. Stephanie Street
Suite 311
Henderson, NV 89011
(866) 750-0188