9 Must-Do Money Moves Before December 31st

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Welcome to the One of a Kind Financial Show with your host, Mike Milligan. Well, it's December 1st and we're down to the wire. December 31st isn't just the end of the year, it's the hard stop for dozens of money moves that could potentially help protect your wealth, help minimize taxes, and help keep the IRS off your back. Recently on the One of a Kind Financial Show, Gary Nolan and I talked about the financial to-do list that Must be done by the end of the year because the countdown starts now.

Enjoy this segment from the show, and as always, be one of a kind.

The holidays are full of distractions, as you know— shopping, travel, grandkids, gravy. While many are busy with that, Uncle Sam is quietly waiting to see how much of your money he gets to keep. The good news: you still have time to make smart strategic moves that can potentially save thousands, but the window's closing fast. Today we're going through some rapid-fire must-do items for retirees and pre-retirees before December 31st. Here's the first one, Mike. Did you take your RMD? You're about to get slapped, slapped with a 25% penalty. Don't do that.

Yeah, of course. According to the latest IRS rules on the website, if you miss taking your RMD, you face a 25% penalty. So if you're 73 or older now, the government requires, requires you to take money out of those retirement accounts. If you miss that deadline, you could lose a quarter of that amount to penalty. The good news is you still have time. A lot of people make this mistake because they get busy this time of the year, Gary. If you are listening today and you're over 73 and you haven't taken your RMDs and you don't know how to do them, you need to reach out to us.

Yeah, absolutely. I'm going to give that phone number in just a couple of minutes. And that's something Mike and his team will keep track of. So you don't have to worry about that when you sign up with Mike. Okay. Have you used your QCD to kill 2 birds with one check?

Many people like to give gifts to their church or charities, food banks, or whoever at this time of year. If you've never— if you don't know what a qualified charitable distribution is, we need to also talk too, because that QCD can fulfill your RMD and reduce your taxable income without needing to itemize on your taxes. It's the IRS's version of a get-out-of-taxes-free card for generous retirees. Clients, uh, clients just need to be smart here, right, about if they're going to give. So instead of maybe giving money from your checking account where that money has already been taxed, give it from your IRA because it's the same amount of money, but you just don't pay tax on the QCD and it satisfies your RMD.

Yep, absolutely. Sounds like a good deal for everybody involved. All right, if you're still sitting on losing stocks, you could be throwing away some, uh, tax relief, Mike. Get rid of those, those stocks.

Well, with the recent talk and what's been happening in the stock market over the last several weeks with the AI bubble and Google executive this and Michael Burry coming back out and talking about things, the market has come back down a little bit from its all-time highs. And so tax loss harvesting now lets you dump some losers, lock in the loss, and use it to offset gains. This can reduce— if you don't have gains to offset, it can help you reduce your regular income by up to $3,000. And you could turn right around and reinvest in something similar within a month.

All right?

So don't leave money on the table here by holding something that has a benefit to it. If you don't know what tax loss harvesting is or know how to capture that, or your advisor is not talking to you, again, it's another, it's another reason to pick up the phone and call us.

Yeah. In fact, let's give that number right now. 800-748-1838. 800-748-1838. 1838, or text the word ideas to 600-700. Get yourself all set up with that one-of-a-kind financial plan that Mike talks about. And again, the number is 800-748-1838, or text the word ideas to 600-700. All right, Roth conversions. Have you maxed out your bracket yet?

All right, with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act tax brackets extended now because of the one big beautiful bill, you've still got breathing room, but not forever. The idea is to convert just enough traditional IRA dollars to Roth without jumping to the next tax bracket. Guys, this isn't guesswork, it's math. We can help you calculate that sweet spot so that ultimately through these Roth conversions, they ultimately reduce the total amount of RMDs and help you with tax diversification.

Gifting, use your $19,000 per recipient or lose it. $19K.

So, you know, maybe there's some listeners here who have $2, $3, $4, $5, or more million dollars of net worth. Um, according to the IRS, those type of folks can give $19,000 to as many people as they want to tax-free. A couple can give $38,000 per person. It's zero paperwork. It's a way to lower your estate, and you can help your kids or grandkids today.

Now, what would your kids do with that?

They can do things like fund a Roth IRA. Pay a private school tuition, pay off debt, get them into the home that they want. If you're a high net worth retiree and you're not giving this money away and you're just letting it accumulate, you're really missing a key benefit that is free to give. And you can see while you're alive how your kids will use your money. It helps you create a better estate plan.

Absolutely. All part of your estate plan. Couple of minutes left. If you're still working, make sure you max out that 401 before the year ends, Mike.

Yeah, for people over 50, the limit is a hefty $31,000 in 2025, and every dollar lowers your taxable income. So even if retirement's around the corner, that last push for compound— compounding that will still happen in your retirement years is now. So, um, just make sure that your retirement plan is running on cylinders, like the allocation is correct, and that you're feeding that engine with enough fuel to get you through retirement.

Right. All right. Absolutely. Forget your FSA. The IRS would like to thank you for your donation. Don't forget that because it's use it or lose it, isn't it?

That's right.

A flexible spending account is an employer-sponsored healthcare benefit that allows an employee to set aside up to $3,300 in 2025 to cover the cost of qualified medical expenses. It's a lot like a savings account, but used for qualified health-related costs. FSAs are different than health savings accounts. Because FSAs work on an annual plan basis and are funded through regular payroll deductions on a pretax basis. Guys, millions of dollars are lost every year because people forget to use this benefit. So unless your plan offers a grace period, unspent dollars vanish at midnight on December 31st. So if you have this account, use it.

All right. Up against the clock, Mike. Final thoughts on segment 1 and what you do for listeners when you meet with them.

We talked about 8. I want to offer all 9 to you as year-end strategy. If you text in, Gary's going to give you the number in a second, or call in and just request these, I'll put these in a Word document for you and give 'em to you. But we do more than just that, right? Ultimately, what I'd like to do is meet with you to help you create a one-of-a-kind financial plan around taxes, retirement income, investments, long-term care, and legacy. Our firm located over on Colley Avenue in Norfolk and in Midland, Texas, we're here to help you, right? Realize value, not lose benefit, and ultimately keep more of your hard-earned money while you're working and retiring. So, Gary, I'd love for you to give them the number so you guys can call us to either get this report or get, get a one-of-a-kind financial plan built for you, because I believe you live a one-of-a-kind life.

Get that one-of-a-kind financial plan. Starts by picking up the phone and dialing this number, 800-748-1838, 800-748-1838, or text IDEAS to 600-700.

Thank you again for listening to the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily.

I've been your host, Mike Milligan. If you enjoyed the segment that you just listened to, I invite you to connect with us on Amazon. Google The One of a Kind Financial Plan. It's a bestselling book in the personal tax category, and I invite you to do that. Number 2, if you feel like you need more education when it comes to your own personal financial planning, we have a course that's offered through Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. It's offered virtually, and it's a self-paced course called Personal Financial Planning that I helped develop and I teach.

It is 6 sessions.

It's a great course.

90 minutes each, and full of recordings for you that you can start and stop based on what you need. It goes through the psychology and philosophy of money, the cash management, budgeting, and debt management. We talk about insurance, whether it's property and casualty, like your homeowners, autos, renters, to the type of insurances you work on at, or you need to replace the biggest asset you have, which is your income. Then we move over and talk about— do a real big investment dive into the difference between mutual funds and ETFs. We go all the way from crypto down to individual stocks and bonds from an academic standpoint. Then we look at retirement planning, tax planning, long-term care, and legacy, ultimately with the idea that you can build a one-of-a-kind financial plan for yourself. Ultimately, though, what it does is it equips you with knowledge that if you're ever in a conversation with a financial advisor or a financial planner, you know the questions to ask. So I invite you to reach out to us. You can go to mikemilligan.com under the Educate tab and see how to register for that. We also We'll put some resources behind that on school.com in our private closed group where you can ask questions and learn more. As always, just remember that I am an investment advisory rep, not only with One Oak Financial, but also Advisory Alpha LLC. Ideas by Mike doing business as One Oak Financial, Mike Milligan LLC, and Advisory Alpha LLC are unaffiliated entities. And thus, all opinions expressed by me and Gary on the One of a Kind Financial Show and me on the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily are purely my opinions and does not reflect investment advice. Consult with a licensed financial professional before making any decisions. Till next time, this has been Mike Milligan.

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