Kolkata, December 1: As 2019 is drawing to a close, you are probably thinking of 2020. Your plan includes what you want to buy, where you want to travel and also things like how you will plan your career. But your year-end plans should also focus on your finances. We tell you 5 financial steps that you should take to prepare for 2020.
1. Have a look at your emergency funds: This is a good time to review your emergency funds. If you have spent money out of your emergency fund over the course of the year, now is the time to replenish it again. Getting your emergency fund back in place should be your first priority before you start the new year.
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2. Review your budget: Now is a good time to review your budget and see how you have fared in the last 12 months. The idea is to see in which months you overshot your budget and why. Also, it is time to give yourself a pat on the back for those months you stuck your budget. Ask yourself if you could create the required surplus every month or if there were months you felt short. Looking back at your budget is a great way to see what you did right, where you went wrong and learn from your experiences so that you do not make the same mistake twice.
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3. Look at your debt: Take a close look at your debt situation. Look at all the outstanding you have. Focus specially on bad debt like credit card debt and personal loans that requires to be paid off. Look at the high interest loans you have been paying off and think of ways you can close those loans early. Also be sure that you stay away from debt as much as possible. If paying off credit card dues has been a problem, you need to reign in your credit card spends.
4. Review your insurance needs: The end of the year is also a good time to see where you stand when it comes to your health and life insurance. You may want to port your insurance to another plan which offers better features, better service or lower premiums. Or you may want to increase your life insurance cover. If you have any such plans, this is the time to put them into place
5. Plan your tax saving investments: If you have not planned your tax saving investments for 2019-20, yet , now is the time to do it. Leaving it for the last moment is not a good idea as you might end up making tax saving investments just for the sake of it and fall for some last moment sales pitches.
6. Take stock of your investments: Finally, this is also a time to take stock of your investments and how they have been faring. While, you should not stop your SIP investments, it might make sense to stop some investments which not have been performing well and invest the money elsewhere. It might also be a time to change your asset allocation or move some money from equities to safer investments as you would need it in the immediate future.
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