Time to take inventory

With 2026 approaching faster than you probably realized, now's the moment to pause and ask yourself a simple question: Where did my money actually go this year?

Did your dollars follow your values and priorities, or did they scatter like leaves in the wind? Maybe you tackled a home renovation, booked an unforgettable family vacation, or made progress on college savings. But were those decisions intentional, or did life just throw something shiny in your path and you grabbed it?

Life has a way of reshuffling the deck. A new job, a new baby, kids moving out, retirement beginning—any of these shifts can fundamentally change your financial landscape and demand a fresh approach.

If you don't have a financial plan yet, don't beat yourself up. The best time to start was years ago, but the second-best time is today. Whether you're stretching every dollar or sitting on a comfortable surplus, a clear plan gives you direction. It helps you spend with purpose instead of falling victim to impulse purchases that seem great in the moment but questionable three weeks later.

Here's what most people don't want to hear: financial freedom isn't about accumulating as much as humanly possible. It's about figuring out what "enough" actually means for you. And that's nearly impossible to define without specific goals and a roadmap to reach them.

Think of this as your invitation to finish 2025 with intention and start 2026 with clarity. Just get started.

Investment checkup time

Rebuild your emergency fund

If your emergency fund took a beating this year, refill it. If you don't have one at all, now's the time to build it. This is your financial shock absorber—the thing that prevents a blown transmission or surprise medical bill from forcing you to liquidate long-term investments at the worst possible moment.

Cash yields have cooled off from their 2023-2024 peaks, but many money market funds and short-term CDs are still paying around 4%. That's not going to make you rich, but it's infinitely better than letting cash sit in a checking account earning nothing.

Max out retirement contributions

Increasing your retirement contributions remains one of the most boring, unsexy, and effective wealth-building moves available.

Here are the 2025 retirement contribution limits:

• 401(k), 403(b), and 457 plans: employee contribution limit is $23,500
• Catch-up (age 50+): $7,500, bringing the total to $31,000. Starting in 2025, those aged 60-63 can contribute an enhanced catch-up of $11,250 instead of $7,500, for a total of $34,750
• Traditional and Roth IRA: $7,000 (plus $1,000 catch-up)
• HSA contributions: $4,300 for individuals, $8,550 for families (plus $1,000 catch-up)

If you have an HSA, remember it's the holy trinity of tax advantages: deduction on the way in, tax-free growth, and tax-free withdrawals for qualified medical expenses. Many HSAs allow you to invest the money beyond just holding cash, but research shows only 12% of account holders actually invest in anything other than cash. That's leaving money on the table.

Pro-tip: If December budgets are tight because of holiday spending, use the IRA extension. You can make contributions up to April 15, 2026, that still count toward your 2025 limit.

Tax strategies for high earners

Mega-backdoor Roth (or the regular version)

If your workplace retirement plan allows it, the mega-backdoor Roth is a powerful strategy. First, max out your regular 401(k) contributions. Then contribute after-tax dollars up to the 2025 overall account limit of $70,000 ($77,500 if you're 50 or older, including employer matches). The key is rolling over those after-tax funds via an "in-service distribution" to either a Roth 401(k) or Roth IRA as quickly as possible to minimize taxes on investment returns.

If your plan doesn't support after-tax contributions and in-service rollovers, the regular backdoor Roth still works well: contribute after-tax dollars (up to $7,000) to a traditional IRA, then convert it to a Roth. Just watch out for the pro-rata rule. If you have other pre-tax IRA balances sitting around, the conversion can trigger an unexpected tax bill.

And if you can't execute either strategy for 2025, why not get it set up for 2026?

Tax-loss harvesting

Every December, the financial media runs the same story: "Investors are tax-loss harvesting." But with markets hitting new highs again, most harvestable losses are probably coming from one specific source: individual stock picks that didn't work out.

Harvesting losses lets you offset realized gains and up to $3,000 of ordinary income. Just remember the wash-sale rule: you can't repurchase the same (or "substantially identical") investment within 30 days before or after the sale.

And here's the uncomfortable but necessary question: How is it that I'm sitting on losing positions in a rising market? A friendly reminder that picking individual stock winners is difficult even for professionals, and usually humbling for everyone else.

Strategic charitable giving

Bunch your donations

Clustering multiple years' worth of charitable contributions into a single tax year can help you clear the itemization threshold and significantly boost your deduction. This strategy is particularly valuable in 2025, since stricter limitations kick in for 2026.

Donate appreciated assets

If you're charitably inclined and holding investments with large embedded gains, donating stocks or ETFs directly is one of the most tax-efficient moves in the playbook. You completely avoid the capital gains tax and can deduct the full fair market value if you itemize.

Pro-tip: Donor-advised funds let you make the contribution and claim the deduction now, but spread the actual charitable gifts across multiple years.

Gifting to family members

The giving season isn't just about nonprofits. Sometimes the most meaningful gifts go to the people you care about most. And if you're planning to support family financially, consider gifting appreciated assets instead of cash.

Why? Because it can create a tax win for everyone involved.

When you gift ETFs or stocks that have increased in value, you don't owe capital gains tax on the appreciation. The recipient inherits your original cost basis and holding period—they step into your tax shoes. If they're in a lower tax bracket, especially the 0% long-term capital gains bracket, they can sell those shares and pay far less in taxes than you would have.

That keeps real money working inside your family without triggering unnecessary tax bills.

A few guardrails to keep in mind:

• Annual gift exclusion: You can give up to $19,000 per recipient in 2025 without filing a gift tax return. Married couples can effectively double that amount.
• Watch the kiddie tax: If you're gifting to minors, unearned income above certain thresholds gets taxed at the parents' rate. It's not a dealbreaker, just something to factor into your timing and amounts.

Thoughtful gifting isn't just generosity—it's strategy. It's another way to align your money with your values while keeping more of it working for the people you love.

Ignore the noise

It's that time of year when "Best Stocks of 2026!" lists start flooding your inbox. These lists are to investors what dessert carts are to dieters—tempting, flashy, and usually a trap.

Chasing last year's winners is like buying a house because you like the color of the shutters. It might look nice, but it's not a smart investment strategy.

Markets rotate. Yesterday's leaders become tomorrow's laggards, and vice versa. Twelve months of past performance tells you almost nothing about who wins over the long haul.

Change your investments when they no longer fit your plan or investment thesis, not because a headline caught your eye.

Some of these strategies can get complicated, so don't hesitate to consult a financial professional if you need help navigating them.

And remember, no one has ever found true happiness inside a spreadsheet. Review your plan (or create one if you haven't), make smart adjustments, then get back to actually living your life.

As always, invest often and wisely.