HIMPower Magazine October 2015 | Page 26

Financial Wellness

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Ten Tips for Your Financial Checkup
by Rosalyn H. Glenn

Can you believe it? We are in the fall of the year. Before you know
it, we’ll be at the end of the year gearing up for the start of the
New Year. Fall is usually a time of reflection and refocusing and
is a good time to take a financial checkup. We have to be intentional about our financial stability. Being intentional means we
are paying attention and making specific efforts to sure up our
financial well-being. I thought I’d help us with several areas of
consideration as we reflect and refocus.
26  HimPower October 2015

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Assuming you have a budget, now is a
good time to review and make any necessary adjustments to ensure you meet
your financial goals. If you don’t have a
budget, now is a good time to consider
developing one. It will be very difficult to
reach financial stability without one.
If you have a flexible spending account,
you should start using those funds so
you don’t lose them. Many of these plans
require you to use the funds prior to
December 31st.
October and November are usually open
enrollment for many companies. Review
your benefits to ensure you select the
right healthcare plan and other options
for you and your family. You want to take
full advantage of all the benefits your
company offers.
The Healthcare Market Place will begin
open enrollment on November 1, 2015
and run through January 31, 2016.
Encourage your family members who may
not currently have access to healthcare to
enroll during that time. Healthcare costs
can have a very significant impact on a
budget.
Review your 401K statements to ensure
your contributions are properly allocated.
You want to make sure your retirement
account is performing in a manner that
will meet your retirement needs. You may
even want to consider increasing your
contribution at this time.
Open up a Christmas Club Account.
Persons who already have one are happy
they made the savings sacrifice during

the year and are looking forward to starting their shopping early. Unlike those
who didn’t properly plan for Christmas
(which, by the way, comes at the same
time every year), those who did are prepared for the holiday and they are resting
easy.
7. Review your W4 withhold status. While
I generally discourage the practice, many
people increase their exemptions during
the year so that they bring home more
money. The challenge is, they forget to
change it back which then causes an
unfavorable tax event for them at tax
time.
8. Speaking of tax time, it’s not a bad idea
to start preparing for that. Start pulling
together all the documents you will need
to help your tax preparer. Most of them
will be made available to you by January
31, 2016 but you can start your list of
what you need and get organized. Your
tax preparer will appreciate you for that.
9. Consider making a charitable donation.
Donate to Good Will or a 501©3 organization. The tax deduction will come in
handy at tax time.
10. Meet with a financial advisor. Most people think that because they don’t have
a lot of money, they don’t need to work
with a financial advisor. I beg to differ.
It is in the best interest of every person
seeking to attain and maintain a level of
financial stability to talk with a licensed
financial advisor. And, it’s a good idea to
do that BEFORE, you make that life altering financial decision. 
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