Your Financial Wellbeing in the New Year Checklist

As we head into the New Year, it’s a great idea to make sure that your financial affairs are in order. Just like stepping on a scale to get a baseline number for your current weight, which helps you define your goal weight, it’s better to examine your finances fully and see what your starting point is so you can figure out where you want to go. Here, we discuss three areas to examine your financial wellbeing in the new year.

Check on your taxes.

By year-end, you may have thought you’d done all you needed to do in terms of income, such as putting more money toward your 401(k) or donating to your preferred 501(c)(3) organizations.

But the beginning of the year is the perfect time to get organized.

Find all the documentation you’ll need to complete your tax return.
Gather together your W-2s (or your 1099s if you’re an independent contractor).
If you’re a small business owner, make sure you have receipts and documentation all in one place.

Update your estate planning documents.

Most people wouldn’t relish going over complicated legalese, nor thinking about such a difficult topic, but it’s worth it to review these important documents every year to make sure that everything is up-to- date. After all, a lot can change in a year. Make sure to notify your estate planning professional if there are changes in the following areas:

You’ve gotten married or divorced.
You’ve had a child.
You want to update your will and/or trust.
You want to review the beneficiaries in your will and/or trust, as well as your insurance and retirement plans.

Reassess your investments.

Over the course of a year, you’ve probably gotten a lot of mail regarding your investment portfolio. Like most people, you mean to look at it, but unfortunately, the documents get lost in the shuffle. The beginning of the year is the perfect time to look at your accounts, rebalance your portfolio and make sure that your assets are diversified to your liking.

As you examine your financial wellbeing in the new year, make sure to look at these three key areas to see if there’s anything that needs to be changed or updated. If you’ve procrastinated on financial matters and are a little scared to look at the numbers, don’t be!

Whether you are planning for the future or need help now, Chatterton & Associates are here to help you make your financial lives easier. Our advisors have years of experience planning and helping navigate the ins-and- outs of financial, estate, and retirement planning. Contact us today and learn how we can be of assistance.

Sincerely,

Chatterton & Associates, The Wealth Management Team, Inc.