It's the time of the year where I do some year end record keeping.
As you may have seen from previous posts, I recorded year end retirement balances and our final Pot of Possibilities contributions. 2020 was a great year financially. I know it wasn't for everyone, which is very, very unfortunate particularly if caused by government overreach in response to the virus.
I also make a point to download any of my husband's monthly pay stubs I may have missed for the year and the year end statements of all of our investment accounts. As of today, I have been able to do all but one account, my husband's Thrift Savings Account statement.
I did some college financial planning a couple months ago for our daughter. We needed to make a determination on when to start using her Post 911/GI Bill benefits. She has four semesters left. We will pay out of pocket for Spring 2021. We will use the benefits for Fall 2021 and Spring 2022. The final semester, Fall 2022, will be cash out of pocket and a small amount from her the Post 911/GI Bill benefits. I have my plan all mapped out and just need to work the plan at this point.
The spring 2021 tuition and housing are due January 20. A few months ago I moved her ESA money out of a mutual fund and into a cash account. Today, I transferred the money we needed to our bank account so we have it ready to pay next week. Another semester student loan free for our youngest daughter! (Our older daughter did five years of college for two degrees and only ended up with $5,500 in loans)
The planning continues with figuring out my husband's new paycheck. He was promoted in December, and we are waiting for the pay to show up. It's one thing to have a new pay to adjust to and work with, but it feels much more complicated when you know there is back pay coming. Overall, more cash is coming our way!
I have decided to lower our tax liability further this year by increasing my husband's deferred retirement contributions from 11% to 17% of his basic pay. For now, I am putting his Roth contributions on hold until the pay situation corrects itself. I expect we will ultimately max out both of our Roth IRAs again in 2021.
What record keeping are you competing for 2020? Are you making adjustments with your finances for 2021?
I love the new year because I like to do final tallies and compare to prior years. It's the geeky side of me. 2021 will be a different year for us as we are contemplating moving. I do feel a bit guilty that we had such a good year in 2020 and so many either lost their jobs or were prohibited to work.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your move! We expect the military to move us again in late 2021.
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