Episode•December 5, 2023•11 min

Start 2024 Right - Take Control of Your Finances With Tiffany's Year End Financial Checklist | Ep. 284

Have you achieved your financial goals this year? Join Tiffany Grant in her discussion of a year-end financial checklist to help you get a better understanding of your finances and plan for the future. In this episode, Tiffany will offer helpful advice on budgeting, taxes, debt management, employee benefits, and much more. Get proactive now and start making your own year-end financial checklist! Listen now to take control of your finances with Tiffany's expert tips! Every Tuesday, Tiffany answers one of your submitted questions. To submit a question for an upcoming episode, visit here: https://www.moneytalkwitht.com/asktiffany If you need help with your debt payoff plan, schedule a 15-minute consultation to see how Tiffany can help you! Connect with Tiffany Visit our website: https://moneytalkwitht.com Facebook: Money Talk With Tiff Twitter: @moneytalkwitht Instagram: @moneytalkwitht LinkedIn: Tiffany Grant Additional Links & Resources Goals Resources Budgeting Resources This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

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Key Takeaways

1
Review and assess your financial goals from the beginning of the year
Compare actual results to the goals you set in January
Celebrate achievements and analyze shortfalls to learn from them
Use this evaluation to inform goal-setting for the next year
2
Revisit your budgets and spending patterns to identify adjustments
Analyze top expenditures outside of essentials
Identify areas of overspending (e.g., fast food, technology)
Use bank spending reports to track where money went
Adjust budget allocations for the new year accordingly
3
Evaluate employee benefits and maximize year-end opportunities
Review 401k contributions, health insurance, and FSAs
Spend remaining FSA funds before they expire (use it or lose it)
Determine if current benefit elections match actual usage
4
Conduct a debt review and celebrate progress
Track how much debt was paid off during the year
Celebrate even small wins like paying off $1,000
Use progress as motivation for next year's debt payoff plan
5
Review taxes and net worth before year-end
Check if you've contributed enough to income taxes
Consider business deductions and spending before December 31
Update net worth calculations to see if it increased or decreased

Intro

In this year-end episode, Tiffany Grant shares her comprehensive financial checklist to help listeners evaluate their financial health and prepare for the new year.
Tiffany Grant is a financial coach and host of the Money Talk with Tiff podcast who specializes in helping people create debt payoff plans.

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– Introduction to Year-End Financial Review

Tiffany explains that at the end of each year she reviews her business and personal budgets, books, and net worth to wrap up the year and plan for the next.

She references her January 2023 series on setting financial goals and encourages listeners to assess whether they hit those goals.

– Review Your Financial Goals

Go back and look at the financial goals you set for the year to assess progress.

Make sure that if you did meet any of your goals or you made significant progress towards them, celebrate your achievements and learn from the areas where you fell short.

– Revisit Your Budgets

Analyze your spending for the year and identify top expenditures outside of essentials.

Most of the time I'm like, oh, I spent way too much in fast food. That's one that always gets me. It's either fast food or technology for my business.

Use bank spending reports to see where you overspent or underspent and adjust accordingly for the new year.

– Evaluate Market Trends and Conditions

Consider any market trends or external factors that made the year favorable or unfavorable financially.

Use this information to determine if you need to adjust your financial strategy moving forward.

– Review Employee Benefits

Examine your 401k contributions, health insurance, and flexible spending accounts to ensure they're working for your situation.

Look at if you used all that health insurance that you paid for, or if you can go to a lower plan with your company.

Spend remaining FSA funds before year-end since they expire (unlike HSAs).

– Assess Your Taxes

Review your tax situation to see if you've contributed enough and identify any year-end actions that could improve your outcome.

What I see sometimes is people in their business will spend a little more because they realize, ooh, it's a little too much profit for my taxes.

Always consult a tax professional for personalized advice.

– Conduct a Debt Review

Look at your outstanding debts and how much you've paid off this year.

Even if, let's say you paid off $1,000 for the year, celebrate that small win because it'll motivate you to do even more next year.

Tiffany offers debt payoff consultations and has helped clients pay off $10,000-$15,000 in credit card debt.

– Update Your Net Worth

If you track net worth, now is the time to update those numbers and analyze what contributed to any changes.

This information helps inform your financial planning for the coming year.

Resources

Topics

year-end financial reviewbudgetingfinancial goalsdebt payoffemployee benefitstax planningnet worth trackingFSA spending401k contributionsfinancial planning