There’s nothing like the first of the year with all its promise and the incredible feeling of having a blank slate. It’s a time for reflection on ways we can improve our lives, be more productive, get healthy, and obtain the sometimes-elusive sense of happiness. However, now that we’re approaching the end of the year, it’s a good time to assess where you’re at financially—and take steps to improve your current standing. Need some guidance in this pursuit? Read on for tips on getting your finances in shape by the end of the year.

spending

Curb Your Spending Before the Holidays

Unless you have decided on a family-wide greeting card holiday season, you know that you’re going to be spending money soon—and a lot of it. In order to avoid heading into the New Year with a bunch of debt, it’s best to start searching out the deals now. Also, spreading out the spending is a much better idea than spending it on last-minute, full-priced gifts. In addition to strategic spending for the holidays, it’s a good time to cut big and small costs where we can. Make coffee at home instead of going on your daily Starbucks run. Contact your cell phone company to make sure you’re on the most cost-efficient plan. Call credit cards and negotiate lower interest rates. Perhaps you could even take a break on outsourcing things like cleaning your home for the time being. You can use this money for investments such as gold and silver through a leading coin and bullion dealer. Tightening the belt at this time of year can pay off in those first few months of the next year.

Pump Up Your FICO Score

This is also a good time to take advantage of getting your free credit report, especially after the recent and highly publicized data breach. This is when you want to make sure you’re not delinquent on any accounts opened during the past year, check balances on revolving credit that might be nearing limits, and ensure that you’re paying all your bills on time. If you plan on making any big purchases in the next year, you’ll want to make sure your credit score is in great shape.

Create a Budget Based on Analysis

Hopefully you’ve used some sort of financial application like Mint to keep track of your finances over the year. If not, it’s time to a look at your accounts and/or receipts and create a spreadsheet of your spending for the year. Using this and your projected salary for the following year, you can create a budget. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of having your finances organized.

Analyze Investments and Your Retirement Fund

As this Forbes article notes, it’s crucial to make additional contributions to your retirement accounts before the end of the tax year. This is because you’re limited on the annual amount you can give—you can’t make it up in another year. Along this same vein, this is a good time to make an extra contribution to your children’s 529 Plan. Each parent or grandparent is able to gift up to $14,000 to a child tax free. Director of Advanced Planning at Northwestern Mutual Jessica Lubar says via the aforementioned Forbes article, “Selling stocks that have lost money at year-end allows you to capture losses.” These can offset capital gains taxes. Lastly, make sure you’ve withdrawn the minimum required distribution from your IRA, SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA, or any other retirement plan account you might have. Check out the american ira review to know more!

As a homeowner, you have a valuable asset which you can tap into if you require quick cash. A home equity conversion mortgage, also called a reverse mortgage, can help you to do so. Under the terms of such a loan you will receive portions of your home’s equity in the form of spendable money each month without immediate repayment requirements. However, all of the reverse loan’s pros and cons should be examined before you sign a contract with a lender. For example, you must understand that you will be required to permanently reside in the home for the duration of the loan. You should also know that, although their own assets cannot be touched, your heirs may not inherit your home at the time of your passing unless they choose to pay the mortgage balance.

You also want to get a jump on taxes for next year, especially if you have unusual circumstances, like tax levies or IRS backup withholding. Even those of us who are diligent about our taxes and hire professionals can make mistakes when it comes to filing. Find a way to estimate your taxes before the year end so you can do things like prepaying tax deductible expenses such as property taxes and donations.

Follow these tips for getting your finances in order and enjoy going into the New Year with a clean slate and a wonderful sense of optimism. If you need financial planning or wealth management planning services, then you may consider consulting with a financial planner.