It’s Summertime – Time for a Midyear Financial Checkup
June 26, 2009
The weather’s great, so staying inside with your finances probably doesn’t sound like a very entertaining option. But a midyear review of your taxes, retirement and spending issues can be far more valuable than the rushed attempt most people make at the end of the year-or when it’s too late at tax time.
Summer’s actually a good time to do this task because there’s still enough time to correct lapses in savings, spending or tax planning. Here’s what most people should cover:
Retirement savings:
Given the state of the economy, it’s not a bad time to review your retirement funds and your current investment allocation. If you are on schedule to max out your contributions to your company retirement plan this year, great. But don’t forget to check your existing IRAs and other retirement accounts to see if you’ll have enough cash on hand to contribute the maximum in each account by their respective deadlines next year.