Manage your investments for potential tax savings
Review your portfolio, evaluate gains and losses and decide whether to take action. Consider tax-loss harvesting or gifting strategies before December 31 to help offset capital gains and reduce taxes.
Give your portfolio a checkup
Assess your portfolio and make sure it’s positioned to meet your goals.
Maximize retirement plan contributions
Check your year-to-date contributions to retirement plans to determine if you’ve made your maximum pre-tax contributions to your IRA or company-sponsored retirement plan, such as a 401(k), 403(b) or 457. Remember you have until April 15 2009 to make contributions to your Roth IRA for year 2008. The max contribution is now $5,000.
Take a tax-smart approach to charitable giving
Consider donating appreciated securities you’ve held for more than one year to charities by December 31 for a full fair-market-value deduction and no capital gains tax.
Invest your year-end bonus
If you’re getting a year-end bonus, put it to work for you by contributing to your IRA or investing in a mutual fund. Remember that even during the most unpredictable and volatile markets it’s important to have—and stick with—a long-term investment plan.
Spend your flexible spending accounts
If you’ve set aside pre-tax money in flexible spending accounts, now is the time to check your remaining balances in these accounts. Plan to spend any remaining balances on out-of-pocket health-care and child-care costs, because any money not spent at the end of the year will be forfeited.
source: Charles Schwab
December 9th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
OK I’m bullish now
I like infrastructure plays like MTW, I like short term bounce plays like URE, and I love commodity plays like GLD and currency plays like FXE. I’m going to drill further down for individual stocks, but I think we’ve weathered the worst of the storm for now. I think we’ll have a relief rally through Inauguration at least.
December 9th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
No more buying gold? hehe
December 9th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
In my 401k I am indexing my way out of this pull back.
I changed my contributions to more index funds.
December 9th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
uhhhhh, I believe it says in my statement above that I love gold (GLD). Indexing is for the lazy.
December 9th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Sorry, missed that.
Im generally hand off on my 401k. I am not going to try and time the market, with aggressive funds right now.
May 6th, 2010 at 3:56 pm
Nice blog you’ve got here. Will keep coming reading these good articles you are going to write. Maybe you want to check out the commodity brokerage website.