{"id":31916,"date":"2018-03-09T12:52:13","date_gmt":"2018-03-09T17:52:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/?p=31916"},"modified":"2018-03-09T14:18:07","modified_gmt":"2018-03-09T19:18:07","slug":"business-report-year-finances","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2018\/03\/business-report-year-finances\/","title":{"rendered":"Business Report: The Year In Finances"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_31917\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31917\" style=\"width: 200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-31917\" src=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2018\/03\/adirondack-trust-col-conroe-c-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2018\/03\/adirondack-trust-col-conroe-c-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2018\/03\/adirondack-trust-col-conroe-c.jpg 494w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31917\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">John Conroe, vice president, financial planner, investment officer with Adirondack Trust Co. Courtesy Adirondack Trust Co.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>By John Conroe<\/p>\n<p>Do you wait for May to take down your holiday decorations? Coast up to the gas pumps with your tank on empty? Put off grocery shopping until the only food in the fridge is leftover meatloaf? Then chances are you\u2019re a procrastinator.<\/p>\n<p>When it comes to managing your finances, procrastination can put you at risk financially and keep you from reaching your goals. If your financial checklist seems overwhelming, remember that you don\u2019t have to do everything at once. Performing tasks throughout the year can make managing your finances easier.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><b>The Winter Months.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Reviewing and updating your spending plan in January can get the year off to a good start. Track last year\u2019s income and expenses and adjust your plan accordingly. Determining your net worth\u2014your assets minus your liabilities\u2014at the same time each year provides a snapshot of your finances.<\/p>\n<p>By February, you should have your W-2 from your employer(s). Gather the rest of your tax documents\u2014property tax receipts, mortgage interest, donation receipts, etc.\u2014so you\u2019re ready to meet with your tax advisor as soon as you have all your information. If you\u2019re getting money back, filing in advance of the April deadline can mean an earlier refund.<\/p>\n<p>March might be a good time to check your retirement and other investment portfolios and compare their performance with a benchmark index. And if your asset allocation has changed, rebalancing can bring it back to its original mix. Note that rebalancing a portfolio may create a taxable event even if done outside of a retirement account.<\/p>\n<p><b>Spring Ahead.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Federal income tax returns are due on or around April 15. You have until the tax filing deadline to contribute to an individual retirement account (IRA) for the prior year. You have until April 1 to take the required minimum distribution (RMD) from your retirement plan account if you turned age 70\u00bd last year and didn\u2019t take your RMD by Dec. 31 of the prior year.<\/p>\n<p>Consider designating May as \u201ccheck your credit report\u201d month. You\u2019re entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting agencies: TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. Check each report at different times of the year at www.annualcreditreport.com to stay on top of changes or suspicious activity.<\/p>\n<p>In June, review your estate plan, beneficiary designations, and the individuals you\u2019ve named as executor and guardian for your minor children. Changes in your family situation might require adjustments to your plan.<\/p>\n<p><b>The Good Old Summertime.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>July is a good time to schedule an appointment with your financial professional to check that you\u2019re on track with pursuing your goals.<\/p>\n<p>Make sure your summer fun didn\u2019t upend your budget with a review of your credit card accounts and personal loans in August. If you\u2019re not making progress with reducing your debt, come up with a plan to pay down your balances faster.<\/p>\n<p>September is Life Insurance Awareness Month, so review your coverage to make sure it\u2019s adequate for your family\u2019s needs. Check your disability coverage as well, and consider buying an individual policy to supplement employer-provided coverage.<\/p>\n<p><b>Fall Into Good Year-End Habits.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>October is generally the time for reviewing employee benefits and making choices for the coming year. Contributing to a flexible spending account for health and\/or dependent care can lower your tax bill.<\/p>\n<p>Begin year-end tax planning by November to take advantage of strategies that may help minimize your income tax obligation. Waiting too long can deprive you of opportunities.<\/p>\n<p>Consider donating to charitable organizations before year-end. Contributions charged to a credit card or paid by check by December 31 may be deductible on this year\u2019s tax return.<\/p>\n<p><i>Conroe, CFP, AFIM, is a vice president, financial planner and investment officer with Adirondack Trust Co.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By John Conroe Do you wait for May to take down your holiday decorations? Coast up to the gas pumps with your tank on empty? Put off grocery shopping until the only food in the fridge is leftover meatloaf? Then chances are you\u2019re a procrastinator. When it comes to managing your finances, procrastination can put [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":196,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business-reports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>Business Report: The Year In Finances - Saratoga Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2018\/03\/business-report-year-finances\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Business Report: The Year In Finances - Saratoga Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By John Conroe Do you wait for May to take down your holiday decorations? Coast up to the gas pumps with your tank on empty? Put off grocery shopping until the only food in the fridge is leftover meatloaf? Then chances are you\u2019re a procrastinator. When it comes to managing your finances, procrastination can put [&hellip;]\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2018\/03\/business-report-year-finances\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Saratoga Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-03-09T17:52:13+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-03-09T19:18:07+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2018\/03\/adirondack-trust-col-conroe-c-200x300.jpg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"jessewinters\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"jessewinters\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2018\/03\/business-report-year-finances\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2018\/03\/business-report-year-finances\/\",\"name\":\"Business Report: The Year In Finances - Saratoga Business Journal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2018\/03\/business-report-year-finances\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2018\/03\/business-report-year-finances\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2018\/03\/adirondack-trust-col-conroe-c-200x300.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-03-09T17:52:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-03-09T19:18:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/b937a48daf87d7a8bd713a73b5d6a1ae\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2018\/03\/business-report-year-finances\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2018\/03\/business-report-year-finances\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2018\/03\/business-report-year-finances\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2018\/03\/adirondack-trust-col-conroe-c.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2018\/03\/adirondack-trust-col-conroe-c.jpg\",\"width\":494,\"height\":742,\"caption\":\"John Conroe, vice president, financial planner, investment officer with Adirondack Trust Co. Courtesy Adirondack Trust Co.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2018\/03\/business-report-year-finances\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Business Report: The Year In Finances\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/\",\"name\":\"Saratoga Business Journal\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/b937a48daf87d7a8bd713a73b5d6a1ae\",\"name\":\"jessewinters\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b496e0843f9d888b12500994b6a8562b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b496e0843f9d888b12500994b6a8562b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"jessewinters\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/author\/jessewinters\/\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Business Report: The Year In Finances - Saratoga Business Journal","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2018\/03\/business-report-year-finances\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Business Report: The Year In Finances - Saratoga Business Journal","og_description":"By John Conroe Do you wait for May to take down your holiday decorations? Coast up to the gas pumps with your tank on empty? Put off grocery shopping until the only food in the fridge is leftover meatloaf? Then chances are you\u2019re a procrastinator. When it comes to managing your finances, procrastination can put [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2018\/03\/business-report-year-finances\/","og_site_name":"Saratoga Business Journal","article_published_time":"2018-03-09T17:52:13+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-03-09T19:18:07+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2018\/03\/adirondack-trust-col-conroe-c-200x300.jpg"}],"author":"jessewinters","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"jessewinters","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2018\/03\/business-report-year-finances\/","url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2018\/03\/business-report-year-finances\/","name":"Business Report: The Year In Finances - Saratoga Business Journal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2018\/03\/business-report-year-finances\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2018\/03\/business-report-year-finances\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2018\/03\/adirondack-trust-col-conroe-c-200x300.jpg","datePublished":"2018-03-09T17:52:13+00:00","dateModified":"2018-03-09T19:18:07+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/b937a48daf87d7a8bd713a73b5d6a1ae"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2018\/03\/business-report-year-finances\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2018\/03\/business-report-year-finances\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2018\/03\/business-report-year-finances\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2018\/03\/adirondack-trust-col-conroe-c.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2018\/03\/adirondack-trust-col-conroe-c.jpg","width":494,"height":742,"caption":"John Conroe, vice president, financial planner, investment officer with Adirondack Trust Co. Courtesy Adirondack Trust Co."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2018\/03\/business-report-year-finances\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Business Report: The Year In Finances"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/","name":"Saratoga Business Journal","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/b937a48daf87d7a8bd713a73b5d6a1ae","name":"jessewinters","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b496e0843f9d888b12500994b6a8562b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b496e0843f9d888b12500994b6a8562b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"jessewinters"},"url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/author\/jessewinters\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31916"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/196"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31916"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31916\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31918,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31916\/revisions\/31918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}