Your 2025 Financial Checklist for Smart Investing

Download The Getting Ahead of The New Year Checklist

These next few months will fly by before you know it. With more than ten red letter dates between late October and early January—including the US Presidential Election—the end of the year can be chaotic. But, with a little preparation, you can glide into 2025 ready to take control of your finances.

Stuck at square one? You’re not alone.

A whopping 70% of Millennial investors don’t know how to begin investing. Yet enthusiasm remains high: 57% of people born between 1981 and 2012 are making personal finance their top goal for 2025. 

Even if you’re one of those ambitious Type A personalities who has “perfected” their end-of-year routine, it can’t hurt to fine-tune your methods, especially with so much lost time on the horizon. So grab a few friends who are also new to investing, and download our Getting Ahead of The New Year Checklist to start getting in the mindset of financial growth.

Reflect On Your Past Year And Adjust Accordingly

To plan for the future, you need to reflect on the past. What financial challenges did you face in 2024, and how could they inform your goals for the coming year? What would you like to accomplish in 2025 that you didn’t get to in 2024? Are there any spending habits that did not serve you well? Be mindful of how often you were overspending on things you did not build into your budget. 

If You Haven’t Already, Create A Comprehensive Budget

A 2023 poll reports that 9 out of 10 people who created a budget stuck to it. Thousands of budgeting apps and free downloadable templates are available online to help you get the ball rolling. But, before you choose a place to track your budget, think about the following:

  •  Personalize the template by adding and removing categories. Too much clutter can cause you to waste time finding where to input data, potentially leading to a loss of interest. 
  • Select a budget system that complements your learning style. Use visual tools like pie charts and line graphs to help track progress.
    • Tip: Check your online banking portal for budgeting tools. 
  • Consider using the 50/30/20 budget rule. This means dividing your income into 50% for needs, 30% for wants, and 20% for savings and debt repayment—when assigning money allocation.
  • Consider linking bank accounts to your budget for simple and accurate categorizing. Look for easy features like drag-and-drop for convenience.
  • Optimize functionality. Does the budget have functions that automatically carry over monthly balances and account for the entire year? If not, can you add them yourself?

Dedicate Time to Educate Yourself on Investing 

Are you someone who, year after year, has let investing fall by the wayside? Not in 2025. This is your year to reclaim what is rightfully yours—learning how to start investing, opening accounts, and taking your money to a landing spot that potentially yields higher returns.

Devoting just a few hours a week to familiarizing yourself with investing narrows the gap between where you currently stand and financial literacy. And remember, before consulting with a specialist, browse Shelton’s/NASDX’s repository of financial insight so you know the right questions to ask. 

Start an Emergency Fund 

The last few months of natural disasters serve as a reminder to be prepared. If something unpredictable happens—getting laid off, expensive surgery, property damage—an emergency fund might be the difference between living the good life and a complete financial reset. 

Generally speaking, consider saving between 3 and 6 months of living expenses that are immediately available or easily liquified. Set up auto-transfers into your savings account until you’ve reached your goal for a rainy day. 

Add Important Dates to Your Calendar

Get your multi-colored pens out; you’ll want to remember these dates:

  • April 15, 2025, Deadline to Max Out Your Retirement Contributions for 2024 Includes:
    • IRA/Roth IRA
    • HSA
  • December 31, 2025, Deadline to Max Out Retirement Contributions for 2025 Includes:
    • 401(k), 403(b), 457
    • FSA

You can find contribution limits here 

Automate EVERYTHING

The history of payment systems can be traced back to the late 1800s, when electronic fund transfers eventually evolved into the term “autopay,” first recorded in the early 1980s. Soon after, infomercial pioneer Ron Popeil coined the term “Set it, and forget it!” officially making its mark on American families.

Fast forward to the 21st century, automatic payments have become integral to our daily lives. By entering your accounts to set up automated investment plans and fund transfers, as well as auto-pay, you avoid late fees, forgetting to transfer money into your savings account, failing to fund retirement contributions, and missing out on yet another month of investing. 

Revisiting your accounts that already have automation set up is just as salient (you wouldn’t be the first to forget to update your credit card after receiving a new permanent account number).

Plan for Tax Season 

There’s no denying that taxes are a hassle, making them easy to procrastinate. Do yourself a favor this year and preemptively organize all your 2024 financial documents instead of rushing to the finish line come April 15, 2025. Here are some general suggestions for year-end tax organization: 

  • Gather your income documents. Locate all your W-2s, 1099s, and any other income statements from 2024. 
  • Track your deductions. Collect records of deductible expenses like medical bills, charitable donations, and mortgage interest. Keeping these receipts handy will help you claim eligible deductions.
  • Review and organize your investment statements. Gather year-end summaries from brokerage accounts, IRAs, and other investment portfolios to report gains, losses, or dividends.

Get Ahead by Staying IN the Market

Swings will happen throughout the year, but once you complete the checklist, you can sit back and let your money work for you. As Shelton Capital’s portfolio manager Peter Higgins reminds us, “Markets don’t move in a straight line. Volatility creates opportunities. And, with those opportunities, strong portfolio management teams like ours can potentially lock in additional gains.”

As you embark on this journey towards financial empowerment, remember that each small step you take today could pay dividends in the long run. Don’t forget to download the comprehensive checklist, which condenses all the information above into an easy-to-follow list, ensuring you’re well-prepared for the year ahead.

Getting Ahead of The New Year Checklist

  • Reflect on the Past Year
    • Identify financial challenges from 2024 and how they inform your goals for 2025.
    • Determine accomplishments you want to achieve in 2025.
    • Assess spending habits that didn’t serve you well and track overspending.
  • Dedicate Time to Educate Yourself on Investing
    • Commit a few hours weekly to learning about investing and familiarizing yourself with investment basics.
    • Consider consulting a financial planner or advisor for personalized guidance.
    • Explore Shelton’s/NASDX’s repository of financial insights for questions to ask.
    • Subsequently, set aside time to open your accounts,
  • Create a Comprehensive Budget
    • Choose a budgeting app or template that allows personalization.
    • Ensure the app offers visual tools like graphs for tracking accuracy.
    • Verify if the app/template can link your bank accounts for easy categorization.
    • Look for features that automatically carry over monthly balances.
    • Use the 50/30/20 budget rule—allocating 50% for needs, 30% for wants, and 20% for savings and debt repayment.
  • Start an Emergency Fund
    • Aim to save 3-6 months of living expenses in a liquid account.
    • Set up automatic transfers to your savings until you reach your goal.
  • Add Important Dates to Your Calendar
    • April 15, 2025: Deadline to Max Out Your Retirement Contributions for 2024 (IRA/Roth IRA, HSA).
    • December 31, 2025: Deadline to Max Out Retirement Contributions for 2025 (401(k), 403(b), 457, FSA).  
    • Reference additional contribution limits.
  • Automate Everything
    • Set up automated investment plans (AIPs) for all investment accounts you want to contribute to on a recurring basis (monthly, quarterly, yearly) 
    • Set up auto-pay on all credit cards.
    • Automate transfers into savings and investment accounts to avoid missed contributions and late fees.
    • Regularly review automated accounts to ensure card information is current.
  • Plan for Tax Season
    • Gather all income documents (W-2s, 1099s, etc.) from 2024.
    • Track and collect records of deductible expenses (medical bills, donations).
    • Organize year-end summaries from brokerage and retirement accounts to report gains, losses, or 
    • dividends for tax filing.
Download our Financial Checklist

Important Information

This checklist is built on trusted insights and guidance from reputable sources, including  Investopedia. By leveraging expert recommendations, we’ve crafted a checklist to help you get ahead in the new year.

Investors should consider a fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses carefully before investing. The prospectus contains this and other information about the fund. To obtain a prospectus, visit www.sheltonfunds.com or call (800) 955-9988. A prospectus should be read carefully before investing.

An investment in the Fund involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Fund information is not intended to represent future portfolio composition. Portfolio holdings are subject to change and should not be considered a recommendation to buy individual securities.

The Fund invests in the largest non-financial companies that are traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market. They are currently concentrated in the technology sector which has been among the volatile sectors of the U.S. stock market. During a declining stock market, this fund would lose money. It would potentially lose more money than other large cap funds.

Important Information for Morningstar® Rating

Nasdaq®, Nasdaq-100® and Nasdaq-100 Index® are trade or service marks of The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. which with its affiliates are the “Corporations”) and are licensed for use by the Fund. The Fund has not been passed on by the Corporations as to their legality or suitability. The Fund is not issued, endorsed, sold, or promoted by the Corporations. The Corporations make no warranties and bear no liability with respect to the Fund. Diversification does not assure a profit or protect against lost in a declining market.

It is not possible for individuals to invest directly in an index. Performance figures for an index do not reflect deductions for sales charges, commissions, expenses or taxes.

Shelton Funds are distributed by RFS Partners, a member of FINRA and affiliate of Shelton Capital Management.

Investors should consider a fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses carefully before investing. The prospectus contains this and other information about the fund. To obtain a prospectus, visit www.sheltonfunds.com or call (800) 955-9988. A prospectus should be read carefully before investing.

INVESTMENTS ARE NOT FDIC INSURED OR BANK GUARANTEED AND MAY LOSE VALUE.

The reader should not assume that investment decisions identified and discussed were or will be profitable.  Specific investment advice references provided herein are for illustrative purposes only and are not necessarily representative of investments that will be made in the future.

By clicking the above link, you’ll leave this site and go to a third-party website. Shelton Capital Management does not control the content or privacy practices of the other website and does not endorse or accept responsibility for the content, policies, activities, products or services offered on the site. It should not be considered investment advice. The information provided does not provide information reasonably sufficient upon which to base an investment decision and should not be considered a recommendation to purchase or sell any particular security.