As the year comes to a close, these money moves can help you protect what you’ve built, reduce risk, and walk into 2026 with confidence.
As 2025 winds down, it’s the perfect moment to pause, take stock, and make a few intentional money moves that can put you on stronger footing for the year ahead.
Even if this has been a good year financially, maybe especially if it has, there’s almost always a tweak or adjustment that can help protect what you’ve built and position you for long-term success. Think of this as your financial checklist for closing out the year.
Here are three smart moves you can make right now. Jean Chatzky’s complete list of 10 end-of-year money moves is available on Patreon.
1. Rebalance Your Portfolio (Yes, Even In A Strong Market)
After a strong market year, many portfolios quietly drift out of alignment, usually becoming more stock-heavy than intended. That’s not because you did anything wrong. It’s just what happens when equities outperform.
Rebalancing means taking a look at your asset allocation and adjusting it back to your target mix. In practice, that often means selling a bit of what’s done really well and reinvesting in areas that haven’t — which doesn’t always feel great in the moment, but is one of the most proven ways to manage risk over time.
Think of it as taking some chips off the table. You’re not timing the market. You’re protecting your gains so that when (not if) the market dips, your portfolio doesn’t take more risk than you signed up for.
2. Make Sure Your Cash Is Actually Working for You
Cash is safety, but it shouldn’t be dead weight.
With interest rates expected to continue to shift in 2026, now is an important time to check where your savings are sitting. Many traditional banks are still paying next to nothing, while high-yield savings accounts and short-term CDs are offering meaningfully higher rates.
If you need flexibility, consider laddering CDs — spreading money across different maturity dates so you’re not locking everything up at once. This lets you keep cash accessible while still earning more than you would in checking.
Bottom line: even a few extra percentage points on your cash can add up to thousands of dollars over time — and this is one of the easiest wins on the list.
3. Max Out Your Tax-Advantaged Accounts (If You Can)
For 2025, contribution limits for retirement accounts have increased, which means you may be able to shelter more money from taxes than you realize.
If you have access to a workplace plan like a 401(k), 403(b), or 457, this is the time to check whether you can increase contributions before year-end. The same goes for IRAs and Health Savings Accounts, which remain one of the most powerful (and underused) tools for long-term planning.
You don’t need to do everything at once; even small increases now can make a meaningful difference later.
Want the Rest of the Checklist?
These are just the first three of my 10 Money Moves to Make Before the End of 2025.
In the full episode, I also walk through:
- How to think about Roth conversions
- Reviewing insurance and beneficiaries
- Estate-planning checkups
- Gifting strategies
- 529 plans
- Tax-loss harvesting
- And more smart, practical steps to help you enter 2026 feeling confident and in control
🎧 The full list is available exclusively on the HerMoney Patreon.
If you want:
- Bonus episodes like this one
- Ad-free listening
- Deep-dive AMAs and mailbags
- A lively private community
- Access to special events we’re hosting in the New Year
👉 Join us at patreon.com/cw/hermoneypodcast
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