Tip # 9 – Remember Your Children’ s Welfare
― Plan out a way, no matter how small, to make 2017 a launching pad for your children’ s financial benefit 10 to 12 years henceforth. For example, open a fund in a 529 account for a college education or the new 529 ABLE accounts for disabled children. Or, it could be a trust or a funding for a small investment account to serve as a security fund when they finish college. Such seemingly insignificant acts in the present can turn out to be lifesavers for your children once they reach adulthood. It sure beats having to keep them under your roof when they reach 30.‖
Tip # 10 – Re-Financing Education
― Some people end up in a situation where they are still amortizing their college loans while trying to set aside some savings for their children. It might be the opportune time to consolidate or refinance your educational loans. Expect interest rates to rise even more this 2017 and for direct loans to vary wildly. Look for a much lower interest rate today. Consolidated loans can be accepted by repayment plans such as PAYE and REPAYE. Such plans can be appropriate for your income and, thus, help you manage payments in your early-career years. Moreover, consider your future and begin saving in 529 plans; but make sure that you become selective when it comes to 529 plans as not all of them offer the same benefits. Those plans offered in Nevada and Ohio are quite popular; but carefully check your own state’ s version of the plan to find out your eligibility to avail of some special income-tax refunds or rebates.‖
Tip # 11 – Make Full Use of Flexible Spending Accounts
― Maximize the use of flexible spending accounts( FSAs) offered by your company for out-of-pocket medical expenses and dependent medical expenses. The maximum FSA contribution for this year is $ 5,000 for dependent care FSA and $ 2,600 for healthcare FSA. You can get significant tax savings because monies deferred into FSAs are tax-free— whether federal, state, local or FICA. Under the proper conditions, any person may save several hundreds of dollars yearly in tax savings by contributing to FSA at maximum levels. But do not forget that there is a use-it-or-lose-it proviso in FSAs. Whatever monies you have that remain unused at yearend will be forfeited. It is crucial for you to carefully compute the yearly contributions.‖
Tip # 12 – Formulate A Retirement Risk Management Plan
― Determining retirement income is not the same as saving and building up wealth for your future retirement. Firstly, the risks vary. Retirees must have a plan to address market fluctuations, their undetermined longevity and other various spending variable, for instance, a prolonged health care. Using only investments or insurance for planning is not the best method to build a plan to address various risks. Take time to begin educating yourself about retirement income to formulate a comprehensive and financially efficient strategy for handling all possible retirement risks.‖
There are several crucial principles you need to know to achieve a successful financial year. Planning gives you enabling power; so, start planning. Set your savings and investment strategy on autopilot as much as possible. Regularly review your vision for your financial future. Evaluate your emergency fund, insurance coverages and your investments in 2017, to keep them consistent with your objectives.