New Year Financial Planning Checklist
For high-net-worth individuals, the new year isn’t just a symbolic reset, it’s a strategic planning window. Reviewing your financial picture early in the year allows you to align tax planning, investment strategy, cash flow, and legacy goals before decisions become reactive or deadline-driven. A disciplined annual review helps preserve wealth, improve efficiency, and create flexibility as opportunities and risks emerge throughout the year.
Use this checklist as a structured way to assess where you stand and identify planning priorities for the year ahead.
Reviewing Your Current Financial Situation
- Analyze prior-year cash flow and spending trends
Even at higher income levels, understanding how money moves in and out of your household is important. Review fixed expenses, discretionary spending, and large one-time items to confirm your cash flow supports both lifestyle and long-term goals. - Evaluate progress toward multi-year objectives
Look beyond short-term results and assess how last year’s decisions impacted retirement readiness, taxable income, liquidity, and overall net worth.
Updating Your Budget and Liquidity Strategy
- Adjust spending and savings assumptions
Changes in income, bonuses, equity compensation, or business cash flow may warrant updates to how much you retain for lifestyle versus deploy toward investing or planning strategies. - Review liquidity and emergency reserves
Confirm that your cash position is appropriate given income variability, upcoming capital needs, and market conditions, without holding excessive idle cash.
Investment & Retirement Account Check-In
- Review portfolio allocation and risk exposure
Market movements can meaningfully shift asset allocation over time. Confirm your investment strategy still aligns with your goals, time horizon, tax profile, and need for income or growth. - Confirm retirement and deferred savings strategies
Review contribution levels, backdoor or mega-backdoor strategies (where applicable), and coordination between taxable, tax-deferred, and tax-free accounts to support long-term tax efficiency.
Reviewing Insurance & Risk Management
- Reassess coverage in the context of net worth growth
As assets increase, insurance needs often change. Review life, disability, umbrella liability, and property coverage to ensure protection keeps pace with your financial profile. - Identify concentration or exposure risks
Evaluate reliance on employer compensation, equity positions, or business interests that could benefit from additional risk mitigation.
Debt Assessment and Capital Optimization
- Review outstanding liabilities and interest costs
Even for HNWIs, debt structure matters. Assess interest rates, terms, and tax deductibility to ensure liabilities are working strategically within your broader plan. - Evaluate leverage opportunities carefully
Determine whether maintaining, restructuring, or reducing debt supports long-term objectives such as investment flexibility, tax planning, or liquidity management.
Tax Planning for the Year Ahead
- Organize tax information early
Consolidate investment statements, prior-year returns, and income projections to support proactive planning, not just compliance. - Review expected income and withholding strategy
Anticipate changes from bonuses, equity compensation, business income, or retirement distributions and adjust estimated payments or withholdings accordingly.
Estate Planning & Wealth Transfer Review
- Confirm beneficiary designations and ownership structures
Beneficiaries, account titling, and trust alignment should be reviewed regularly, especially as assets grow or family dynamics change. - Review estate planning documents and strategies
Ensure wills, trusts, and powers of attorney still reflect your intent and remain aligned with current tax laws and long-term legacy goals.
Setting Strategic Financial Goals for the Year
- Define priority planning initiatives
Rather than broad resolutions, identify specific focus areas—such as tax efficiency, retirement income planning, charitable strategies, or wealth transfer. - Establish timelines and review checkpoints
Intentional planning benefits from regular review. Set milestones throughout the year to evaluate progress and make adjustments as needed.
Conclusion
A thoughtful start-of-year review helps create clarity and control across all areas of your financial life. This checklist is designed to help you identify opportunities, manage complexity, and stay aligned with long-term objectives, before the year accelerates.
Working with a financial advisor can help ensure these decisions are coordinated, tax-aware, and tailored to your unique circumstances, allowing your plan to evolve alongside your goals.
Reviewed by,
Chad Seegers, CRPC®
Chad began his career with Sagemark Consulting in 2005 and then became a Select member of Sagemark’s Private Wealth Services which operated as a national resource for financial planners focusing on Advanced Strategies in the High Net Worth marketplace. Chad then began his partnership with Insight Wealth Strategies in 2013 focused on retirement planning primarily with Oil and Gas employees and executives. His primary areas of expertise are retirement, estate, and investment strategies as he serves as Investment Strategist for the financial planning team.
Insight Wealth Strategies, LLC is a Registered Investment Adviser. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where Insight Wealth Strategies, LLC and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns. Investing involves risk and possible loss of principal capital. No advice may be rendered by Insight Wealth Strategies, LLC unless a client service agreement is in place.
Insight Wealth Strategies, LLC (IWS) and its affiliates do not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal and accounting advisors before engaging in any transaction.
