Skip the financial hangover and knock these off your end-of-year checklist

This is your checklist to end the year financially empowered and ready to take on 2025. The good news is these to-dos don’t take a lot of time. So pour yourself an eggnog and get rolling.

Tweak your budget (or make one)

Costs have changed for nearly everything this past year — hydro, rent, internet, how much you’re spending at the grocery store, and what you’re capable of saving or paying toward debt. Your income might have changed, too. This money move is about updating your budget with your current cost and income realities, changing the numbers to ensure they are accurate.

Open up your online banking for your bank accounts and credit cards, and check the pre-authorized payments you’ve had going through regularly. Have they gone up? Stayed the same? Has a Christmas miracle happened, and perhaps a few have gone down? In your review did you discover a duplicate charge or a subscription you’re paying for that you’re not really using (go ahead and cancel that!). What’s your average spending for core essentials like food and child care?

Once your budget template is updated, you can see opportunities to make changes. Could you start saving more toward TFSAs, RRSPs or next year’s sinking fund? Or start putting a bit extra on your line of credit balance? Can you cancel a membership, get a better rate on your auto insurance or switch to a lower-cost grocery store? Sometimes it can help to think about your goals when you’re trimming costs. For example, if taking a vacation is a top priority in 2025, that vacation motivation makes it easier to stop Ubering to work and to hop on the bus instead.

Mark your calendar with any renewal dates in 2025

What’s coming up for renewal that you need to plan for (and probably negotiate)? Annual fees for the gym or a one-year subscription, insurance policies, mortgages, rent agreements, cellphone and internet deals, grocery delivery packages, employment contract, etc. By marking these on your calendar in advance, you give yourself enough time to review before you decide to renew (or not). Especially with bigger-ticket renewals like mortgages, be sure to give yourself a number of months in advance to work with your mortgage broker, or to do ample research on the best options available to you.

Review benefits (and file the claims you’ve been sitting on), insurance and wills

Are the benefits you have enrolled for the ones you still need? Have any significant changes happened in your life whereby you’d need to make changes to coverage, your life or critical illness policy, even your will? Life events like marriage, divorce, having a child, losing a spouse, illness or receiving an inheritance can all impact what you need in this arena. As an example, say you lost a family member, your well-being and therapy benefits might need to increase, and potentially your will or health directive might need to be altered to exclude this person now that they are gone.

If you’re behind in submitting your benefits claims, now would be a great time to upload your receipts and complete the appropriate forms. Compile your out-of-pocket eligible medical expense receipts, as you may be able to claim them for the medical tax credit during tax time.

If you don’t have a will, make it a priority to get one written asap. These days you can create one online for less than $100. An online will might also make a good gift for someone in your life that really needs one.

Make your donations and RESP contributions before year’s end

For the donation receipt to be applicable to your 2024 tax filing, you’ll need to get this money to the registered charity you choose before the year closes. There is an incredible need for charitable giving right now — especially for charities providing essential services — so if you’ve got the flexibility in your budget see if you can give. If you don’t have excess cash, volunteering is a great option.

Ensure you make your RESP plan contributions before Dec. 31. RESP contributions are eligible for the Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG). To get that annual grant, you need to make your contributions before the end of the year. The maximum amount of the grant every year is 20 per cent of your contributions up to $500 per year, and a lifetime grant maximum of $7,200. If relatives don’t know what to give your kids this season, an RESP contribution is a great option.

Have a quick meeting with your financial planner, money coach or accountant

They’ll know your situation, and if there are any time-sensitive (often tax related) money moves you should make before Dec. 31. They can also advise on things like TFSA withdrawals, top-ups to retirement savings, debt consolidation efforts, if you should take a loss or a gain on selling assets and so on. Get in touch with your financial pros, and do a financial health checkup with them in the coming few weeks.

I like to wrap up the year with some goal-setting. I find that clearly articulating two to three things I want to work on next year drastically increases the likelihood of them happening. I write them down into my “Mom Time” bullet journal. That way I see them regularly as I come back to this journal activity every few days.

This article was originally published in The Star. Lesley-Anne Scorgie is a Toronto-based personal finance columnist and a freelance contributing columnist for the Star.