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MONEY matters

Mark Zaifman's thoughts on money, global economic trends and politics

Important Dates for Your 2011 Financial Calendar

Mark Zaifman   |    Tue, Feb 01, 2011 @ 05:42 PM

financial calendar

This task list is taken from the Financial Planning Association (FPA) website. I've divided the list into four posts, one for each calendar quarter starting with Jan-Feb-March 2011. There is much to do in January, but Feb and March are much lighter task months.

If you’ve made a New Year’s resolution to get control of your finances in 2011, here’s a list of important planning and execution tasks that should be on your money calendar for the year:

JANUARY:

  • Set your credit report dates: You are entitled to one free credit report a year from each of the three credit reporting agencies: TransUnion, Experian and Equifax. Each year, you should check each of your credit reports from www.annualcreditreport.com. It’s wise to stagger the dates you check each report because irregularities might surface at different times of the year — just split them over the course of the year.
  • Think about college aid: In the next month, high school seniors will start hearing about early admissions to the schools of their choice. Start reading up on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the upcoming school year (2011/12).
  • Start or review your emergency fund: Experts believe you should have three to six months worth of living expenses set aside. Set a fixed amount you’ll save each month toward that goal.
  • Check your investment accounts on your brokerage firm’s or mutual fund companies’ websites and print off the Dec. 31 statements for the previous year: Review the earnings paid out to your account from interest, dividends, and both short-term and long-term capital gains. Use this information to begin organizing your 2010 taxes.
  • Review your checking account statements and credit card statements for the previous year and tally your spending/expenses into categories: Compare your cash outflow to your cash inflow for each month of the previous year, and set target goals for spending in each category for the New Year based on your financial goals and values. If you want to make this process easier, consider buying a personal finance program for your computer.
  • If possible, fund your Individual Retirement Account (IRA) contributions as soon as possible in the New Year: Theoretically, this allows you to compound your returns and the benefits of tax deferral over the longest period possible.
  • If you have a health savings account or a flexible spending plan through your employer before the end of the plan year, total the amount of expenses filed during the previous year and compare them to the total amount you contributed: Make sure you aren’t contributing more than you are being reimbursed, because these are “use it or lose it plans.”

FEBRUARY:

  • Start pulling your tax information together: Your W2s and 1099s should be arriving — get your records ready to start your return.

MARCH:

  • Get ready to fund your IRAs: April 18 will be 2011’s tax deadline, and that’s the last date to make a 2010 tax-deductible contribution to your traditional and Roth IRAs. Plan to make the biggest affordable contribution you’re allowed.

Get in touch if you need assistance with any of these tasks - I'm here to help.