Mana’s 2023 End of Year Wrap Up
2023 was filled with many ups and downs, but here at Mana we are hoping things will look merry and bright heading into 2024. No year is without its financial stress, but 2023 certainly didn’t let us take it easy. Together, we weathered large-scale tech layoffs, inflation and rising interest rates, scary headlines about a looming recession, geopolitical crises, and humanitarian tragedy worldwide. In light of these events, we hope that the holiday season brings comfort, celebration and peace to all of our readers.
Of course, the year wasn’t all bad news either - we also saw market resilience, GDP growth, and early signs of a potential soft landing. No one can predict the future for certain, but this is giving us some tempered hope for the upcoming months. What we’re most proud of here at Mana is the incredible discipline and success we’ve seen in our clients who have stayed their course through this volatility. It’s not always easy to trust the process (or shift out of old habits), but our hats go off to everyone who accomplished that this year!
Each year, we like to remind our clients and readers that December is a month to pause, breathe deeply, and re-evaluate. There are several key items to check in about in the final two weeks of the year, to ensure that you ring in January 1st with confidence. Here’s our list of considerations:
Do you have extra cash?
Make sure you’ve covered the basics:
Did you contribute enough to your 401k to get your company match?
Is your emergency fund topped up?
Did you have after-tax 401k contribution goals?
Did you meet your goals for Roth IRA contributions?
Are all of your credit cards paid down (and do you have funds prepared to cover your holiday shopping and travel expenses)?
Consider donating to charity. Take advantage of standard or itemized deductions moving into tax season.
Contribute to a 529 plan to help a loved one cover their college tuition in the future. You can contribute up to $17,000 individually ($34,000 as a couple) tax free this year.
Don’t leave too much excess cash just laying around in a checking account. Talk to your financial advisor about bonds or high yield savings options.
Be sure to research your options before you commit. We’ve linked to some of our past blogs below, which highlight some of these options:
Check in on your financial values and benefits bookkeeping
Check over your budget and spending patterns from the past year. Reflect and update your expectations for 2024 accordingly.
Take a look at your investment portfolio, or schedule time with your financial advisor to discuss your risk tolerance, ethical values, and financial goals. Make sure you are still working to achieve all of these.
Check on your insurance policies and estate plan (or make a plan to create one if you haven’t!), and make sure your coverage and beneficiaries are all up to date.
Do some tax planning and preparation:
Talk to your financial advisor about offsetting losses or gains
Minimize liability on end of year capital gain distributions
If you are on the threshold of a tax bracket, look at deferring income or accelerating deductions to keep you in the lower bracket
Check in on capital losses and carryforwards from previous years that may help offset taxes from this year
Note: tax planning and tax loss harvesting can be complex, unique strategies. We always recommend talking to your financial advisor or CPA to build a personalized plan.
Or…just relax and reflect
If your finances are in good shape and you’ve planned carefully, you may not need to do anything before 2024. In this case, we still recommend setting aside some time to reflect and celebrate what you’ve been able to accomplish. It’s important to stay mindful no matter how meticulously executed your plans may be.
No matter what actions you feel called to take this December, we hope that you find a reason to end the year feeling both joyous and stress-free. Whether you are tying up loose ends, or making proactive plans, we encourage you to share or write down your priorities and dreams. May we all set beautiful intentions moving forward, and reap a healthy and prosperous new year!
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Madison Elliott is a UX Researcher at Google. Madison consults on data engineering and usability at Mana Financial Life Design (FLD). Mana FLD provides comprehensive financial planning and investment management services to help clients grow and protect their wealth throughout life’s journey. Mana FLD specializes in advising ambitious professionals who seek financial knowledge and want to implement creative budgeting, savings, proactive planning and powerful investment strategies. Madison brings her combined background in cognitive science, computer science and clinical psychology with her professional UX design and engineering experience to optimize workflows at Mana FLD and improve people’s lives.