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It’s the giving season, but you could also call it the saving season. According to financial advisor Kathryn McCall, who spoke with KCRA 3 Thursday, right now is the perfect time to start making sure you step into the new year on the right financial foot.When it comes to year-end decisions that could help people during tax time, McCall shared the following information:“You’ve got two more months between now and year end, so max out that 401k contribution. You can put up to $22,500 this year, if you’re under the age of 50, or $30,000 for this year. That’s a direct removal of income from your tax bracket, so make sure you max that out. Thirty thousand only if you’re over the age of 50. The other thing if you’re gonna be in a high-income tax bracket this year, I would consider a donor-advised fund. That’s gonna be basically where you’re gonna be making a lump sum contribution to a donor-advised fund.”You basically are creating a pool of money for future contributions to charity and getting an upfront deduction in a year that maybe you need it more. A lot of people do that when they’re going into retirement. Maybe those last couple years before when you’re in your high-earning years and you need that deduction. And then use that money over the course of retirement to do your annual gifting.”As far as budgeting goes, McCall offered a reminder for people as they start doing holiday shopping:“I am a huge fan of budgeting. I am a huge fan of starting early when it comes to your holiday spending… make sure you’ve started writing down all the gifts you’re planning to make to various people or organizations and start building that into your budget. I’ve noticed already, you’re starting to see Black Friday sales. I know we’re not there yet, but here we are! “Start searching for deals over those desperation purchases at the end of December that tend to be the ones that blow up our budget at year-end. So anticipate and start planning and if you know you’re gonna have a gap I would start figuring out ways to mitigate costs now rather than surprise yourself later in December.”To watch McCall’s appearance on KCRA 3, click on the video in the player above.
It’s the giving season, but you could also call it the saving season.
According to financial advisor Kathryn McCall, who spoke with KCRA 3 Thursday, right now is the perfect time to start making sure you step into the new year on the right financial foot.
When it comes to year-end decisions that could help people during tax time, McCall shared the following information:
“You’ve got two more months between now and year end, so max out that 401k contribution. You can put up to $22,500 this year, if you’re under the age of 50, or $30,000 for this year. That’s a direct removal of income from your tax bracket, so make sure you max that out. Thirty thousand only if you’re over the age of 50. The other thing if you’re gonna be in a high-income tax bracket this year, I would consider a donor-advised fund. That’s gonna be basically where you’re gonna be making a lump sum contribution to a donor-advised fund.
“You basically are creating a pool of money for future contributions to charity and getting an upfront deduction in a year that maybe you need it more. A lot of people do that when they’re going into retirement. Maybe those last couple years before when you’re in your high-earning years and you need that deduction. And then use that money over the course of retirement to do your annual gifting.”
As far as budgeting goes, McCall offered a reminder for people as they start doing holiday shopping:
“I am a huge fan of budgeting. I am a huge fan of starting early when it comes to your holiday spending… make sure you’ve started writing down all the gifts you’re planning to make to various people or organizations and start building that into your budget. I’ve noticed already, you’re starting to see Black Friday sales. I know we’re not there yet, but here we are!
“Start searching for deals over those desperation purchases at the end of December that tend to be the ones that blow up our budget at year-end. So anticipate and start planning and if you know you’re gonna have a gap I would start figuring out ways to mitigate costs now rather than surprise yourself later in December.”
To watch McCall’s appearance on KCRA 3, click on the video in the player above.
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