10 Smart Financial Moves to Make Before the Year Ends (Full Year-End Personal Finance Checklist for 2026)

As the year quickly comes to an end, it becomes the perfect moment to pause and take a strategic look at personal finances. Year-end financial planning gives individuals a chance to get organized, optimize savings, and enter the new year with clarity and confidence. The following guide outlines ten essential financial moves anyone can make before December 31st to strengthen their financial foundation and start the new year on a strong note.

These steps include evaluating cash positions, optimizing employer benefits, organizing assets and liabilities, checking major spending categories, taking advantage of tax strategies, reducing monthly bills, maximizing tax-advantaged accounts, calculating savings rates, and setting intentional financial goals for the upcoming year.

Evaluate Liquid Cash: Know Your Cash Position Before the New Year

One of the most important year-end financial tasks is taking stock of liquid assets. Liquid assets are funds that can be accessed and converted to cash quickly—typically within one to three business days. These include:

• Checking accounts
• High-yield savings accounts
• Money market funds
• Physical cash stored at home

Understanding how much cash is readily available is essential for preparing for emergencies or unexpected expenses. Year-end is an ideal time to reassess whether current cash reserves match personal financial needs.

A recommended approach is to calculate the appropriate amount of liquid assets based on:

• Emergency fund (commonly 3–6 months of living expenses)
• Short-term savings goals (e.g., travel funds, home down payment, upcoming purchases)

For example, someone who requires $25,000 for a six-month emergency fund and is also saving $20,000 for a down payment would ideally want $45,000 in total liquid savings.

To stay organized, creating separate bank accounts for each savings category—such as “Emergency Fund” and “Down Payment Fund”—helps maintain clarity and prevents accidental overspending. By the end of the year, individuals should know exactly how much accessible cash they have heading into the new year.

Maximize Employer Benefits: Claim All Available Free Money Before Year-End

A key year-end financial move is making sure all employer benefits are fully utilized—especially any free money offered in the form of a 401(k) match. Many workers miss out on thousands of dollars each year simply by not contributing enough to receive their employer’s full match.

For example, if someone earns $100,000 and their employer offers a 100% match up to 4%, contributing at least $4,000 ensures they receive the full $4,000 match. This match must typically be completed before December 31st, making year-end review essential.

Surprisingly, research shows that about one-third of employees do not take advantage of the full employer match—leaving free money on the table.

If an employer does not offer a match, employees may still benefit from an Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP), if available. ESPPs allow workers to buy company stock at a discount—often between 5% to 15%. For example, an employee at Adobe may receive a 15% discount on company stock through their ESPP program. While restrictions such as holding periods and tax considerations apply, an ESPP discount still represents a form of guaranteed savings.

• Whether they reached the needed contribution level for a full match
• If they are enrolled in their company’s ESPP
• Whether contribution adjustments are needed for next year

Review Liabilities: Understand Total Debt Obligations

Knowing how much debt is owed is just as important as knowing how much money is available. Before the new year, individuals should list all liabilities, including:

• Credit card balances
• Car loans
• Student loans
• Personal loans
• Mortgage balances
• Any other outstanding debt

After listing them, debts should be organized by interest rate. High-interest debt—such as credit card balances—should be prioritized in future repayment plans, as these debts grow quickly and can severely impact long-term financial health.

Organizing liabilities also helps create a realistic financial roadmap for the upcoming year, especially for those focused on becoming debt-free.

Assess Total Assets: Calculate Net Worth Before the Year Ends

Once liabilities are listed, the next step is calculating total assets. Assets may include:

• Savings accounts
• Checking accounts
• Investment accounts (brokerages, Roth IRAs, 401(k)s)
• Real estate
• Vehicles
• Business equity or ownership stakes

Subtracting total liabilities from total assets provides a clear picture of net worth.

Many financially focused individuals track their net worth regularly. However, checking it too frequently—especially monthly—can be emotionally exhausting due to market fluctuations. A quarterly or annual check-in often provides a healthier balance, especially as investment accounts grow and become a larger percentage of total net worth.

Regardless of frequency, consistently tracking net worth is one of the most effective long-term financial habits.

Review the Big Three Expenses: Housing, Transportation, and Food

Housing, transportation, and food typically make up 60–70% of a person’s total expenses. This means they offer the most opportunity for meaningful savings.

At year-end, individuals should review how much of their spending goes toward:

• Rent or mortgage payments
• Car payments, insurance, fuel, repairs, ride-sharing
• Groceries and dining out

Making adjustments in any of these categories can lead to substantial savings. For example:

• Moving to a slightly less expensive area could reduce rent by $500–$1,000 per month.
• Reducing car expenses—perhaps switching to public transit, refinancing an auto loan, or eliminating a car altogether—can dramatically cut costs.
• Cooking at home instead of eating out can reduce food spending by hundreds of dollars monthly.

Rather than focusing on small expenses like coffee or entertainment, optimizing these major spending categories has the biggest impact on long-term financial stability

Use Tax-Loss Harvesting to Reduce Taxes

Tax-loss harvesting is a powerful year-end tax strategy. It allows investors to sell losing investments to offset gains from winning investments. This reduces taxable capital gains for the year.

For example:

• An investor who earns a $7,000 gain on an investment
• But has a $5,000 loss on another
• Can sell the losing investment and reduce their taxable gain to $2,000

However, the wash sale rule prevents investors from selling a security at a loss and rebuying the same one within 30 days. Doing so invalidates the loss for tax purposes.

Tax-loss harvesting becomes especially valuable in years with significant market volatility. Large losses can even be carried forward into future years. Although only $3,000 per year can be applied against ordinary income, unused losses can be banked indefinitely until they are fully used.

This strategy must be completed before December 31st, making year-end planning essential for investors.

Renegotiate Recurring Bills: Reduce Fixed Expenses Before the New Year

Year-end is a great time to review and renegotiate bills to reduce monthly expenses. Many service providers offer discounts, loyalty benefits, or limited-time promotions, especially when asked directly.

Examples of bills to renegotiate include:

• Cable and internet service
• Health insurance
• Auto insurance
• Home insurance
• Cell phone plans

A simple phone call asking whether any promotional rates or discounts are available can lead to meaningful savings. Some providers offer lower rates if customers agree to an extended contract period.

Credit card companies can also be contacted to request:

• Lower interest rates
• Fee waivers
• Promotional balance transfer offers

Even saving $50–$100 per month can lead to hundreds or thousands in annual savings.

Maximize Tax-Free Accounts: Contribute to HSAs and Roth IRAs

Tax-advantaged accounts like Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and Roth IRAs are some of the most powerful tools for long-term wealth building.

Health Savings Account (HSA): Triple Tax Advantage

HSAs offer:

• Tax-deductible contributions
• Tax-free growth
• Tax-free withdrawals for qualified medical expenses

To benefit fully, individuals must invest the funds inside the HSA. Many people mistakenly leave their HSA contributions in cash, missing out on potential investment growth.

Roth IRA: Tax-Free Growth and Withdrawals

Roth IRAs allow after-tax contributions but offer tax-free investment growth and tax-free withdrawals in retirement. Individuals under 50 can contribute approximately $7,000 per year, while those 50 and older may contribute around $8,000.

Those whose income exceeds eligibility limits can still contribute through a Backdoor Roth IRA, a legal method involving contributing to a Traditional IRA and then converting it.

However, the pro rata rule can create complications for those who already have pre-tax funds in a Traditional IRA, so individuals should understand the rule before initiating a backdoor conversion.

Calculate Your Savings Rate: Understand How Much You Save Each Month

One of the simplest yet most powerful year-end financial steps is calculating your savings rate.

A savings rate measures how much of your income is saved versus spent. The calculation is:

(Income – Expenses) ÷ Income = Savings Rate

A target savings rate of 15%–20% is healthy for many individuals, though higher is even better. Savings can include:

• Retirement contributions
• Brokerage account investments
• ESPP contributions
• Saving for short-term goals

Knowing one’s savings rate helps guide budgeting decisions and identifies opportunities to increase savings in the new year.

Set Clear Financial Goals for 2026

To end the year with financial clarity, individuals should set one or two major financial goals for 2026. Choosing too many goals can dilute focus.

Examples of meaningful financial goals include:

• Paying off a specific debt (e.g., $14,000 car loan)
• Building or increasing an emergency fund
• Maxing out retirement accounts
• Investing regularly in index funds
• Starting a 529 plan or custodial Roth IRA for a child
• Meeting with a financial advisor
• Improving credit scores

Each goal should be specific and measurable. For example, instead of “save more money,” the goal could be “save $10,000 by December 2026.”

Working backward from the goal helps create a realistic plan and increases the likelihood of success.

Final Thoughts

Making these ten financial moves before the year ends empowers individuals to start the new year organized, financially prepared, and focused. By reviewing cash reserves, maximizing employer benefits, organizing assets and liabilities, optimizing spending, leveraging tax strategies, renegotiating bills, maximizing retirement and health accounts, monitoring savings rates, and setting intentional financial goals, anyone can significantly improve their financial health.

Taking these steps now sets the stage for a stronger, more financially confident year ahead.