Fall financial moves you should make now to save you money, time and headaches next year

PITTSBURGH — Financial experts say the fall cleanup you should be thinking about before the end of the year approaches goes beyond your yard.

Money managers say now is ideal for decluttering your finances. You’ll thank yourself come tax time in April.

First, you should account for charitable contributions before December 31st. Also, review nonprofitable investments for a strategy known as “tax-loss harvesting” for a lower tax bill.

Financial and estate planner Kathleen Sablone says that means taking things that are at a loss and selling them, so you can net it again your capital gains for the year.

Sablone also suggests looking at your insurance coverage, especially if you have a homeowner’s policy.

“Your excess liability or umbrella insurance may need to be increased over time. Many people have lower and lower amount in place than they really should before 2024 comes to a close,” she said.

For families with kids off to college: think about taking care of important legal documents including something called FERPA, which stands for Family, Education, Rights and Privacy Act.

FERPA gives the parent the right to access the child’s grades and educational information.

“If you’re paying the tuition, you want to be able to see what you’re getting for that investment. unless your child signs off on that, you have no access to that information,” said Alisa Kim O’Neil, financial and estate planner.

“Even though they’re your child, they are an adult. And they’re an adult in the eyes of the law,” she said.

For retirees there’s another important step to think about before the end of the year.

What’s known as required minimum distributions, which is the amount you must withdraw from your retirement accounts annually starting at age 73.

“If you missed that distribution, there is a 25% excise tax penalty that you need to pay,” says Sablone.

“A lot of the custodians have some processing time, so you don’t want to wait until the last minute to get that started.”

Finally, fall is also a good time of the year to keep tabs on your credit. You can request a free credit report from each of the major three credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian and Transunion) once a year--- for free.

You can request that report online at www.annualcreditreport.com , by calling 1-877-322-8228, or by mail.

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