A Fabulous Sunday!

It's been a good Sunday...

• I took an early morning walk before it got hot outside--and I was surprised to see that there were A LOT of people walking at 7am!
• I got my haircut at an actual salon for the first time in more than three months.
• Then I colored my own hair (it costs $6 to do this instead of the $100+ cost at a salon).
• We did a Facebook messenger video chat with the family.
• Finally, it sounds like I will be eligible for unemployment through the CARES/PUA program since my temp summer job was cancelled.  This would be a nice chunk of change!

I hope you are all having a very nice weekend!

10 Financial Moves to Make by the End of the Year

I'm on a "10 things" kick this week so bear with me.  Here are ten financial moves you should make by the end of the year:

1. Make any tax deductible donations that you can so you can claim this on your upcoming taxes (be sure to get receipts!).
2. Organize all of the stuff that you will need to do your taxes in a couple of months (while I keep my business income and expenses on a spreadsheet on my computer, I put a big envelope on my desk to collect W2 forms and 1099 forms that will be sent to me over the next couple of months).
3. Fully fund your IRA, Roth IRA, employer-match retirement plan, etc. by the end of the year.
4. Make sure your emergency fund is fully funded as well.
5. If you have any "use or lose" vacation time or HSA (health savings account) funds, etc., be sure to take full advantage and use up these things by the end of the year.
6. Buy in advance.  After Thanksgiving there is usually a lot of holiday food on clearance which I stock up on the use for Christmas.  Ditto for after Christmas sales of clothes and other items which I stock up on to use for birthdays and other occasions that will be coming up after the beginning of the year.
7. Make it a goal to pay off a small debt by the end of the year.  It may be difficult, what with Christmas coming up, but it will be great to start the new year off with one less debt.
8. Look back at any major changes that have occurred over the past year and update accordingly (if you had a baby consider starting a college saving plan; if you got divorced, change your insurance beneficiary; if you got married, update your Will, etc).
9. Review everything: your financial goals for the upcoming year, your credit reports (http://www.annualcreditreport.com/), your insurance coverages, your monthly bills (try to reduce or eliminate them if possible), your Will and Power of Attorney, etc.
10. Set financial goals for next year.  Which debts do you want to pay off?  Do you want to start a side business?  Do you want to switch jobs or ask for a raise?  Ten solid financial goals that will help you increase your income or eliminate debt will go a long way towards making you debt free in the future.