5 Things To Do With Your Dinero Before 2021

The end of the year is approaching and you’re looking forward to taking some time off, maybe visiting friends, familia (on Zoom?) and eating whatever, binging every tv show imaginable… Before you do that, have you closed the books on 2020 so you can hit 2021 running financially debt-free? 🏃🏽 Here are some New Year’s Resolutions tasks to absolve you of any financial sins! 😇 Smash each one and get one step closer to that avalanche of financial candy spilling out of the piñata. ¡Suerte!

Keep track of your credit report 👀

Checking the health of your score should be as important as getting your annual physical! 🏥 You are allowed one free copy of your credit report from each credit bureau (Equifax, Transunion, Experian) every year! Request these and make sure there isn’t any funny business on your account bringing your score down. Set up alarm notifications with each that will alert you if someone tries to open a fraudulent account in your name! 🤭 Doing this will keep your records clean. 🧹 

Freeze your credit report  ❄️

If you find out there was a security breach in a website you might have personal information on–like your social security # (¡Ay no!) then it’s a good idea to ask the credit bureaus to freeze your credit so no one can open any accounts in your name. Consumer Reports offers an easy guide on how to do this but you can also contact Equifax, Transunion, and Experian directly.

Find your unclaimed funds 🕵️ 

Believe it or not, you may have a refund waiting for you. Or a check from funds left in an old savings account or even a rent deposit that was mailed to you but never made it to you or your cuenta! Each state has an unclaimed funds account but finding it is easier through this national registry. If you’ve lived in multiple states, look in all of them. You never know what money of yours is out there hoping to find it’s way to you. 💸

Make pre-tax contributions 💵 

Make sure you’re contributing enough to your 401(k) herman@ so you can get your matching contribution! It’s like free money! 💰 There isn’t much you can change for this year’s contributions, but you can set it up for 2021 and find yourself having less money taken out from your check because your total amount taxed will be less!! 🏆 If you don’t have a 401(k), consider contributing to an IRA or fund your HSA.

Review your withholding 🧐

Consider your financial status and change your tax withholding if necessary. If you have the right amount of withholdings to cover taxes you will owe, great. But if you look at it like savings you get back at the end of the year, remember they are not paying you interest! If you have the discipline, change your withholding so you can have that additional money from each paycheck go to a savings or retirement account.

For more tips, visit Consumer Reports and absolve your financial sins, ya pues!