While mid-year is always a good time to reassess our finances, it is especially essential this year amid the pandemic. At Hawekotte Financial Group, we have been working remotely with our clients to help them stay on track with their financial goals. While social distancing is important for our physical health, it is important to focus on our financial well-being as well.
- Monitor Your Budget
- Review what you have actually spent over the last six months vs. what you budgeted – where do you need to start making some adjustments in order to meet your annual goals? With many of us working from home and limiting out entertainment spending, this is a great opportunity to get back to basics and assess what spending we might be able to eliminate or reduce going forward.
- Review Your Retirement Contributions
- Do what you can to make the maximum contribution to your retirement account. For 2020, the maximum you can contribute to a 401(k) plan is $19,500 plus an additional $6,500 catch-up if you are over 50. Planning Tip: If you are over age 72 (the new age for required minimum distributions), as a part of the CARES Act, you will not be required to make a withdrawal from your retirement account for 2020.
- Assess Your Tax Situation
- As a part of the CARES Act, you may be able to deduct 100% of your charitable contributions for 2020. Evaluate whether tax-loss harvesting (selling an investment that is currently in a loss position to “book” the loss for tax purposes) could make sense for you in your taxable investment accounts. Are you utilizing the annual gift tax exclusion amount ($15,000) to your advantage?