Summary: Yeah, there are lots of articles this time of year talking about year-end tasks to complete, but mine are Super Simple ones. Okay…maybe it’s just my way of trying to sound different. Still, these ARE 7 relatively simple tasks that could make a big difference in your financial life (so indulge me).<br> <br> Invest Wisely – When Should I Rebalance My Portfolio?<br> Today I read an article on market watch titled “<a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-hidden-truth-about-rebalancing-your-portfolio-2014-12-09" target="_blank">The Hidden Truth About Rebalancing Your Portfolio.</a>” The article discusses a recent study that argues that rebalancing can actually increase the risk in your portfolio. In this episode, I discuss my observation on their conclusions and my “best practices” for rebalancing a portfolio.<br> Plan Well – 7 Super Simple Tasks to Complete Before You Rock in the New Year<br> <br> * Pay your real estate tax bill, before year-end if you want to deduct it on your 2014 taxes.<br> * Get your RMD done. If you are over 70 1/2 or have inherited an IRA you need to do this before year-end to avoid a huge IRS penalty. <a href="http://www.rogerwhitney.com/rmd/" target="_blank">Click here</a> to learn more.<br> * Identify opportunities to harvest tax losses. If you have realized gains for the year, look for current positions with losses that you can use to offset your gains. I discuss a few strategies for doing this.<br> * Conduct an annual beneficiary review. Even if you know the primary beneficiary is correct, you still need to make sure you have contingent beneficiaries. There is a worksheet to do this in the Retirement Toolbox.<br> * Consider year-end giving. You can give $14,000 to any individual without tax consequence. If you have charitable intent, consider making charitable gifts before year-end.<br> * Change your important passwords. Changing your passwords is like locking your door at night. It’s just common sense. This is so important and almost no one does it. The holidays are a perfect time to do this. I use a password manager, 1Password (<a href="http://www.rogerwhitney.com/1password-how-i-use-a-password-manager-to-simplify-my-digital-life/" target="_blank">see my review here</a>) to create and track complex passwords.<br> * Consider diversifying your tax liabilities. The pressure to save on taxes each year can cause you to save too much in tax-deferred accounts. It’s important that you have assets in taxable, tax-deferred and tax-free accounts. When you retire, you’ll have more flexibility to manage your cash flow and tax bracket. If all you do is save in tax-deferred accounts (like most people), you could end up staying in a high tax bracket during retirement<br> <br> [spoiler]<br> The Retirement Answer Man Episode #42<br> Do you know what just happened? My son is driving home from college, from Texas Tech University, no doubt very anxious to see his family, and he got a speeding ticket. His second speeding ticket! “But, Dad, you don’t understand! I had to get around that truck! I had to get around that truck!” “Well, how fast were you going, son? What was the speed limit?” “The speed limit was 75.” “Well, how fast were you going?” “90!” I’m like, “Dude, you don’t have to get around the truck at 90 mph!”<br> Holy cow! No doubt, he was anxious to see his family – not! So, we’ll have to see if he’s on the naughty or nice list after that. Holy cow! Send me an email or a tweet if you have any suggestions to what I should do to teach my son responsibility. He’s an awesome boy but, like most 18-year-olds, he’s very overconfident.<br> Anyway, thank you so much for joining me today. My name is Roger Whitney. I am the Retirement Answer Man. Today, we have two great topics.<br> In our Invest Wisely segment, we’re going to talk about, “Should you rebalance your portfolio?
