As if it never isn’t?
The need to vigilant never goes out of style.
The end of the year approaches. Always a good time to gather one’s thoughts and plans.
And what to wake up about?
That depends on wherever one is. But is is always a time to wake up.
There are endless things one could be more attentive to: financial, personal, political, emotional. And so on. The option to ignore some aspects of life and only focus on a few has its temptations, but living half a life is not really living at all.
Since this blog primarily focuses on financial options, let’s look at a few.
To a person starting out on their working life, waking up means several things.
Set some frugal habits, such as living below one’s means and beginning automating savings, so one is saving enough to begin to invest.
What to do: be sure one is signed up for available workplace deductions, such as health insurance, disability insurance, 401k, etc.
To a person in their working years, waking up means several things.
What to do: it means maintaining a save and invest plan. Be sure one is adjusting deductions as life circumstances change. Do you have insurance? Automatic contributions to savings and investments?
To a senior, it means taking care of several things.
What to do: take stock of your RMDs. Have you taken your RMD during 2024, based on December 31, 2023 balances? The penalty for missing it is onerous. The edadline to take it is December 31, 2024. Get help immediately if you need it.
It also means assessing one’s income vs. expenses. If expenses outstrip income, is it possible to adjust (lower) one’s expenses? If truth be said, regardless of circumstances life is just a series of adjusted expectations.
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The illustration is an old woodblock print of he Iberian peninsula. Courtesy Plantin-Maretus Musem, Antwerp, Belgium.
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