Make a fresh start in 2026: Your financial checklist for the New Year

With 2025 coming to a close, a new year is an opportunity to refocus on financial goals. We’ve made it convenient by organizing actions into a monthly guide. Start by prioritizing what you’d like to accomplish, breaking these items into smaller steps, and writing them down or plugging them into a spreadsheet. Then take a holistic view of your income and expenses to help align your intentions with what’s realistic given your current situation.

Planning is key to success

Our monthly planning guide gives you tips and ideas that can help as you’re putting together and monitoring your plan throughout 2026. Having a road map in place will make it easier for you to track your progress and make adjustments. The most successful plans aren’t just written and filed away—they’re revisited regularly. Since things will change throughout the year, starting with the basics can help you stay focused and not feel overwhelmed.

1 JANUARY

Set your intentions

• Draft a budget based on your goals.
  Prioritize what is most urgent, what’s important, and what can wait. Then, draft a budget for the year. Remember to keep inflation in mind when capturing these values. Our T. Rowe Price Budget Worksheet can help you get organized and stay on track. troweprice.com/budgetworksheet
• Think about ways to reduce your expenses.
  A new year presents a great opportunity to reassess your spending. Review your outflows and consider making adjustments, such as ordering less carryout or canceling unwanted subscriptions.
• Make your 2026 IRA contribution.
  You have the potential to earn thousands more over the long term by making contributions earlier in the year. troweprice.com/contribute

2 FEBRUARY

Simplify your investments

• Don’t forget your old 401(k).
  You have a few options.¹ Consider factors like tax benefits, investment choices, and costs to determine what’s right for you. troweprice.com/rollover
• Streamline your holdings.
  Asset allocation options can provide a diversified portfolio in a single investment and are rebalanced regularly. troweprice.com/assetallocationfunds
• Automate investing.
  Set up a recurring contribution amount to a tax-advantaged or taxable investment account. troweprice.com/automaticbuy

3 MARCH

Prepare for tax time

• Get organized.
  Gather last year’s tax forms and records. Make sure you have access to all documents needed. irs.gov
• File your taxes.
  Submit your return as soon as you’re ready but no later than April 15, 2026.
• Invest your tax refund.
  If you get a refund, use that money to replenish your emergency fund (typically three to six months of expenses for most households), make your 2025 or 2026 IRA contribution, pay down any high-interest debt, or invest in a taxable account.

4 APRIL

Improve your financial standing

• Check your credit report.
  You can access one free report from each major credit bureau per year. Request yours and resolve any issues. AnnualCreditReport.com
• Review your debt.
  Consider targeting your debt repayments (e.g., credit card, mortgage, car loan) toward high-interest debt first. consumer.gov/debt
• Make your 2025 IRA contribution.
  You have until April 15, 2026, to make your 2025 IRA contribution (and to file your taxes if you haven’t done so already). troweprice.com/contribute

“Take a holistic view of your income and expenses to help align your intentions with what’s realistic in your current situation.”
Roger Young, CFP^®, Thought Leadership Director

5 MAY

Focus on education

• Open a 529 account for your child or grandchild.
  Saving for college, graduate school, or vocation training can be more attainable with a 529 plan. troweprice.com/college
• Help children succeed financially.
  Engage the children in your life in money conversations to help them become regular savers and conscientious spenders. moneyconfidentkids.com
• Educate yourself.
  Find a book, podcast, or blog to learn more about financial topics that interest you. troweprice.com/insights

6 JUNE

Do a midyear checkup

• Check your budget.
  Are you sticking to your targets? If priorities have shifted, adjust accordingly. troweprice.com/budgetworksheet
• Review your asset allocation.
  The appropriate mix of stocks and bonds in your portfolio depends on your risk tolerance and investment time horizon. troweprice.com/allocationplanning
• Assess your investment portfolio as a household.
  Doing so can help reveal unintended overlap and ensure that you’re on track. troweprice.com/householddiversification

7 JULY

Invest in yourself

• Secure your financial outlook.
  You may be thinking about your career prospects and ways to increase your income. Consider opportunities for career development, update your résumé, and reconnect with individuals in your network.
• Practice mindful spending.
  Pause before you purchase anything deemed as a “want.” Waiting a self-assigned period, such as 30 days, before you buy will help make sure you’re purchasing with purpose.

8 AUGUST

Reassess your choices

• Evaluate your insurance coverage.
  Review your coverage levels, including life, health, disability, liability, auto, property, and long-term care (LTC). Research and pursue any discounts that you might qualify for.
• Review your subscriptions.
  Are you using the subscriptions and memberships you have to their full advantage (e.g., subscription and streaming services, gym membership)? If not, reevaluate if you really need them.

9 SEPTEMBER

Give back

• Make charitable contributions and donations.
  Consider different ways to make charitable contributions, such as through a donor-advised fund. Additionally, consider decluttering by donating gently used items to local charities.
  
• Be tax smart about giving.
  Consider combining two years of contributions into one tax year to potentially increase your itemized deduction beyond the standard deduction. You can also donate long-term appreciated securities, which allows you to avoid significant capital gains on the sale of those assets while fulfilling your charitable goals and reducing your taxable income.

10 OCTOBER

Be vigilant with cybersecurity

• Protect your passwords.
  Use strong, unique passwords and enable multifactor authentication. Also, access your accounts through official apps or by typing the URL directly into your browser (instead of using search engine results). troweprice.com/security
• Protect yourself from fraudsters.
  Don’t reply to unsolicited, urgent, or unusual messages, and watch for red flags such as poor grammar or requests to bypass normal procedures. Verify any suspicious contact by reaching out to the company directly using a trusted phone number or website. If you become a victim of cybercrime, immediately file a report with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. ic3.gov

11 NOVEMBER

Focus on family matters

• Talk with adult children about money.
  As you prepare for the later years of your life, you may want to involve your grown children in the conversation. Your plans can impact their futures, too. troweprice.com/familyconversations
  
• Update your estate plan.
  Take into consideration the tax consequences on your estate and your heirs’ income situations. Review and update beneficiary designations on your various policies and accounts. troweprice.com/estateplanning
• Get yourself organized.
  Gather important documents in one place, including tax returns, legal and estate planning documents, statements, passwords, and bills of sale, and store them as appropriate—electronically, as hard copies, or both. troweprice.com/familyrecordsworksheet

12 DECEMBER

Prioritize your retirement

• Prepare for your retirement.
  Aim to save at least 15% of your salary (including any employer plan contributions) across your retirement accounts. troweprice.com/contribute
• Take required minimum distributions (RMDs).
  Whether you’re working or retired, if you turned age 73 in 2025 or earlier, you must take withdrawals from your Traditional, Rollover, SEP, and SIMPLE IRAs. Pay special attention to the provisions of any Inherited IRAs. troweprice.com/rmd

“The most successful plans aren’t just written and filed away; they’re revisited regularly.”
Lindsay Theodore, CFP^®, Thought Leadership, Senior Manager