Plan for financial success in 2026

It’s that time of the year again. While you’re caught up in last-minute runs to the store and mapping out the family dinner menu for the holidays, an annual financial review is unlikely to cross your mind. The timing of financial reviews often competes with holiday fun as the end of the year nears when it’s harder to set aside a few hours and go through money matters.

Experts say you don’t have to rush the analysis during the peak holiday season. Instead, you can split the task into smaller chunks and prioritize based on deadlines. First, think about the major changes in your life this year, said Brian Quinlan, a chartered professional accountant with Allay LLP. “What has happened to your life in terms of marriage, babies, finishing school—and what’s happened with your finances?” Quinlan said.

Key tax moves before year-end

The Canada Revenue Agency runs the personal tax year in line with the calendar year. That means the deadline to reduce your tax bill and contribute to most registered accounts is Dec. 31, though a notable exception is the RRSP contribution deadline, which is typically the beginning of March in the following year.

“What do you need by year end to make sure you’ve got the best tax break or take advantage of tax incentives that you can?” Quinlan said. “You would hate to find out something in early January (that) you’ve missed something.” Medical bills, charitable donations, childcare expenses or settling investment management fees are examples that can save you a few dollars during the tax season come April if the payments have a 2025 date stamp. The higher the cumulative donations in a given calendar year, the more you benefit during tax season, for instance.

Another popular tax strategy that is timed to the end of the calendar year is tax-loss selling, which is when money-losing investments in non-registered accounts can be sold to realize a loss which can then be used to offset capital gains, thus reducing the investor’s taxes owing.

The deadline to contribute to your first home savings account, which allows contributions of $8,000 a year, is also aligned with the calendar year—and allows tax deductions, said Shannon Lee Simmons, a certified financial planner and founder of the New School of Finance.The contribution room, however, carries over to next year. “Anything that has a hard deadline, you should be talking to whoever the professional is in your life (before Dec. 31),” Simmons said. “Everything else can probably wait until the new year.”

But it’s all right if you can’t make time before the year ends, said certified financial planner Jessica Moorhouse. “Don’t sweat the small stuff if there are a few tax credits that you could have got and you didn’t,” she said. “Let’s try again for next year.”

Take stock of your finances in January

Once the holiday madness is over and the new year is rung in, you can take the time to review your finances—including your budget, goals and net worth. “Once you’ve done all the transactions that need to happen, then we’re going into future-forward mode,” Simmons said.

She suggested thinking about what your income for the year is likely to look like. For example, do you expect your income to be stable or is there uncertainty? “If you feel like your economic future this year is looking a little uncertain or you’re nervous about income, then I would beef up the emergency accounts,” Simmons suggested.

If there’s any money left over after your basic bills and living costs are covered, then think of your broader priorities. If you have consumer debt, prioritize paying it off. Or start funding an emergency account if you don’t have one, she said.

Focus on sustainable, long-term financial planning

If you already have a decent emergency fund and no debt, that money can then go into other long-term plans, such as retirement, paying off a mortgage or saving up a down payment, Simmons said. “But it’s the third priority,” she said. “We want to make sure that we have no consumer debt and that our emergency stuff is intact before we move on to those more exciting financial goals.”

Then, set micro-timelines to track progress toward your goals and stay realistic. Often, people set unreasonable expectations, such as never going out for lunch or planning to contribute an exorbitant amount to their tax-free savings account every month.

“They inevitably fail because life is expensive and then they give up on the whole plan,” she said. “If we were realistic and made a plan that is sustainable from the get-go, then the likelihood of failing is much less and sticking to it is way better,” Simmons said.

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