Your January Financial Housekeeping

This week, we’re talking about how to prepare financially for January 2023.

The end of the year is coming, and it’s time for some financial housekeeping!

We’ll be talking about what questions you should be asking yourself while planning for any expenses, planning for any increase or decrease in the money coming into your home, planning for any upcoming projects or trips you want to take in 2023 and making sure you’re not panicking in the new year.

We’ll also be covering:

– The importance of planning ahead and getting ready now.

– How to make sure that you don’t have any surprises come next January.

– What steps you can take today to make sure you’re ready for the new year.

Listen to more here

Show Notes:

Welcome back to the Heart of Your Money podcast.

It’s that time of the year to start thinking about what’s going on for 2023.

Today I’m gonna share a few quick things to add to your financial housekeeping for January.

Why is January the time for a quick review and check-in on the financial plan?

So why are we talking about this today? It’s the start of a new year.

We’re on counting down, and that means the start of a new fiscal year for taxes. I know dreaded taxes! Already thinking about it. But we’re already getting our head in the game, and as a financial planner, I think it’s a great time to get in front of things. Look ahead. Thinking and planning for 2023 money scenarios and getting in front of this.

So starting the new year, this is a great time because I’m gonna give you a couple of things to think about to get in front of for the rest of the year, plan ahead. But then you can put it on the shelf for the rest of the year.

That means you’ve taken care of it, check it off your list because there are some of those lingering things that another month goes by, then another month, and maybe we’ll start looking at things next time and life gets crazy. So by doing this now, I’m giving you a jumpstart. You’re gonna be able to tackle it.

A few things to think about.

Number one on your list is: are there going to be any income changes? Meaning, is there a different amount in 2023 that’s going to be coming in for income? That’s important to know. You’re going to have to get ahead of it. Is it gonna be more or is it gonna be less? That’s number one.

The next one is, are there any big known expenses? So this is where you pre-plan. I’ll be honest I know ahead of time if I’ve got some projects, example, Our back door was shifting. Our house is a hundred years old. The back door wasn’t working. I needed to replace it. That usually isn’t a one-off thing, last minute decision.

That’s something that takes some planning. I have to order it. Get quotes, so I know what the cost is going in 2023 to replace that. Do you have any of those things going on? Do you have any big expenses pre-planned? Generally, especially if it’s vehicle shopping, and then also now you can take that down to even the small things.

I know that I’m jumping. Fall is behind us, But for people with children or activities or tuition, children in university, you know the strategic times of the year when those expenses are gonna happen, this is the time to write them down, get in front of it. Another one of those things-so you’ve already done your income, and you have a sense there is gonna be a change in income fluctuation.

That was your first one (income changes).

The next one is expenses, but I want you to also include in there, do you have a mortgage renewal coming up? We’ve got to talk about rate increases and new prices. And so you need to get in front of that and do a little bit of homework and know, okay, if our mortgage is up for renewal, what does that payment increase look like? Because there will be a pay increase with new rates. So you’ve got that jotted.

Then the next one is, if you’re retired, this kind of ties into income changes, but if you’re retired and you’re taking and drawing out of your RIF, which is your retirement income fund, and you’ve turned on the tap to your playcheck, you’re paying yourself.

What are the new RIF minimums? That is the minimum amount that you’re required to take and does that affect you? Has it increased or decreased? So this is part of that income change as well. But if you’re retired, this is important. Sit down and note: Am I gonna be taking out any more or less from my investments?

The last one is reviewing the taxes. Is your tax bill gonna be the same as last year? Are there any big surprises? And this is where we’re looping back to the income change. So this is important to get in front of these things, meet with your financial planner and go through this list. This is why January isn’t the time to put off – the time is now.

My parting words leaving you with as well, is I really want you to be aware that you have enough cash on hand. Do you have your emergency bucket in place, and are you aware of the extra expenses that may creep up?

I want you to put that into your planning for 2023. So for example, the reason why I’m being a Debbie Downer, is we know that utilities are going to cost more. We know that your property taxes are most likely going to go up, so I want you to just account for that and keep that in the back of your brain, that groceries are costing a little bit more.

So just keep that as your takeaway.

Make sure that there are no big surprises and that you’ve mitigated those expenses. That’s it.

Don’t forget, if you need to check out the website: astrafinancial.ca for show notes or send me a note with any questions or comments, I’d love to hear from you.

Until next time I’m Zena.