Your 2024 Financial Cheat Sheet

With every year comes a new opportunity to better manage your money. But with all of the various financial deadlines that may or may not impact you, there's a lot that can get lost if you aren't careful.

Here's a quick list of financial dates you should know as we continue through 2024, and extra steps you can take to be even more prepared.

Important financial dates for 2024

Here are the upcoming dates you should note in your calendar:

• Jan. 31st: Last day for companies to distribute W-2s
• Feb. 1st: Last day for companies to provide 1099s (including the 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC)
• Feb. 19th: Federal banking holiday (Presidents' Day); New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) holiday
• March 29th: NYSE holiday (Good Friday)
• April 15th: Tax filing/payment deadline; last day to make 2023 retirement/HSA contributions; first quarterly tax deadline (self-employed)
• May 27th: Federal banking holiday (Memorial Day); NYSE holiday
• June 15th: Second quarterly tax deadline (self-employed)
• June 19th: Federal banking holiday (Juneteenth National Independence Day); NYSE holiday
• July 4th: Federal banking holiday (Independence Day); NYSE holiday
• Sept. 2nd: Federal banking holiday (Labor Day); NYSE holiday
• Sept. 15th: Third quarterly tax deadline (self-employed)
• Oct. 14th: Federal banking holiday (Columbus Day)
• Nov. 11th: Federal banking holiday (Veterans Day)
• Nov. 28th: Federal banking holiday (Thanksgiving Day); NYSE holiday
• Dec. 25th: Federal banking holiday (Christmas Day); NYSE holiday

Extra steps to take to upgrade your finances

There are other important steps you should also keep on your radar -- though they may not have a specific deadline. Here are six more things to add to your personal financial calendar.

1. ASAP

If you've moved to a new address since last year, you should notify either your former employer or current one about your new address to ensure that any physical tax forms are sent to the correct address.

2. When your insurance policies are coming up for renewal

Review your various coverages and rates and shop around for new policies. That way, you can make sure you aren't overpaying for coverage. For context, auto insurance premiums went up a whopping 17.4% from 2022 to 2023, so it pays to take a bit of time to consider your options.

3. Weekly

It's a good idea to review your general finances every week (or at least every month) to make sure you're making sufficient progress on your goals. This check-in should review everything from your spending and account balances to large upcoming expenses you may need to prioritize and the progress you're making on your various financial goals.

4. Quarterly

Review your credit cards to ensure they're meeting your needs. If you aren't using all of the benefits associated with a card that charges an annual fee, for example, it may make sense to close that account. Just be aware that this decision can negatively impact your credit score if, for example, it shortens your credit history.

5. Annually

You get a free opportunity to check your credit history and score via AnnualCreditReport.com every week, so it's a good idea to take advantage of it at least once a year. It will give you a breakdown of each of your accounts, as well as any dings to your score, which can help you take more targeted steps toward improving your credit.

6. If you receive a raise

Review your retirement contributions so that you ensure you're putting enough money away for retirement. As a general rule, you should aim to save 10% to 15% of your income per year for retirement. So if you earn $50,000 per year before taxes, you should try to contribute up to $625 per month. But if you were to get a raise to $65,000 per year, that would increase to a maximum of $813 per month. And if you aren't already maxing out your employer contribution match, you may want to consider periodically increasing your contribution amount until you reach that limit. That way, you won't be missing out on free retirement money.

It can be difficult to keep track of all of the things you need to do for your finances each year. But having a financial cheat sheet like this one can be a useful tool to ensure you aren't missing out on the most important steps throughout 2024.