New Year Financial Reset: Tax Planning, Investing, and Goal Setting Tips
The beginning of the new year can be an ideal time for a financial “reset,” offering a clean slate to review tax planning, cash flow, and investments. On this edition of the ClearPath Financial Partners Podcast, President and Advisor, Ryan Kittredge discusses key financial strategies for the end of one year and the beginning of the next. Ryan emphasized the importance of proactive tax planning, including engaging with tax preparers early and understanding new tax code changes like the increased SALT cap. He also advised on the strategic rebalancing of investment portfolios after a strong market year, the value of conducting a personal financial audit to improve savings habits, and the effectiveness of focusing on a few specific financial goals for the year. The podcast serves as a practical guide for listeners to organize their finances and take advantage of new opportunities in the coming year.
After several years of strong market performance, this can be a good time to rebalance investment portfolios, which may involve strategically realizing some taxable gains in the new tax year. New tax law changes, including an increased State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction cap and a new senior bonus deduction, offer significant planning opportunities.
Ryan advises it is more effective to focus on accomplishing one or two major financial goals for the year rather than trying to tackle a long list of resolutions. “If you set out to do, I don’t know, if you’ve got 10 big goals for this year, you’ll probably accomplish maybe around none of them, right? But if you have two big goals for this year and you write it down and you share it with a trusted advocate…you make that intention known.”