Life moves quickly. It’s easy to get distracted. But that can be costly.
Miss an important financial date or deadline, and you could be on the hook for a penalty or lose out on a limited-time opportunity to save money.
Enter our “Money Calendar” series.
In this edition, we’ve rounded up the noteworthy money dates in December 2022. Take a look and mark your calendar with any dates that apply to you.
Dec. 7 — Open enrollment ends for Medicare
The fall open enrollment period for Medicare — the federal health insurance program for seniors and people with certain disabilities — started Oct. 15 and ends Dec. 7.
Medicare recipients who have yet to do their open enrollment homework should round up the following resources ASAP:
Dec. 9-23 — Holiday mailing deadlines
If you plan to mail packages that you want to arrive by Dec. 25, take note of the U.S. Postal Service’s 2022 holiday shipping deadlines.
While the first such deadline — for retail ground service to overseas military or diplomatic addresses — was in early November, all the others fall on Dec. 9 through Dec. 23, depending on the service and location.
Dec. 12 — Green Monday
If you managed to miss both Black Friday and Cyber Monday, know that you will likely have another chance to snag a deal on the second Monday of December, aka Green Monday.
This retail holiday was started by eBay in 2007 because the second Monday of December was historically one of the company’s best days of the year for sales.
Last year, big names like Macy’s and Target were among the retailers that “celebrated” Green Monday with sales. To learn what to expect from this year’s Green Monday sales, check out our article on the best things to buy in December.
Dec. 14-15 — FOMC meeting
The Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) generally meets eight times a year, and we usually exclude those meetings from our Money Calendar series. But they are a hot topic this year, given continued inflation.
The FOMC is expected to vote on Dec. 15 to raise its target range for the federal funds rate, which can affect everything from your savings account yield to your credit card interest. It would be the seventh hike this year.
To learn more about what this means for you, check out “What Is ‘the Fed’ — and Why Should You Care?”
Dec. 15 — Open enrollment deadline for ACA insurance plans to start in January
The annual open enrollment period for Affordable Care Act health insurance policies started Nov. 1 and ends Jan. 15. But if you want your new plan coverage to start on Jan. 1, you must enroll by Dec. 15. (If you enroll in a plan between Dec. 16 and Jan. 15, your coverage will start Feb. 1 instead.)
If you buy coverage through one of the health insurance marketplaces created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010, this period is your opportunity to enroll or re-enroll in a plan for 2023.
For more information, or to apply for coverage or view plans, visit the federal government’s HealthCare.gov website.
Dec. 26 — Day after Christmas
We’ve seen the day after Christmas become a retail holiday of its own in recent years, generating sales on more than just holiday decorations.
So, keep an eye out. And again, check out our article on the best things to buy in December to find out what types of purchases to postpone until after Christmas.
Dec. 31 — 7 tax deadlines
April 15 might be the most notorious tax deadline, but Dec. 31 brings us more federal income tax deadlines than perhaps any other day of the year.
For example, Dec. 31 is the deadline to do the following for the 2022 tax year:
- Contribute to most employer-sponsored retirement accounts.
- Contribute to 529 education savings plans. While this deadline varies from state to state, it’s most commonly Dec. 31.
- Make charitable contributions. Granted, charitable donations are an itemized deduction, meaning you can’t claim them unless you itemize your deductions rather than take the standard deduction — and about 88% of people now do the latter.
- Make Roth IRA conversions. This deadline is for converting traditional IRA money or pre-tax 401(k) money to a Roth IRA. You can learn more about Roth conversions in “7 Ways Retirees Can Lower Their Income Taxes.”
- Withdraw your annual RMD: This deadline applies to anyone who turned 73 or older in 2022. (Those who turned 72 in 2022 have until April 1, 2023, to make their first RMD.)
- Make qualified charitable distributions. This deadline is an option for taxpayers who are at least 70½ years old and have certain types of retirement accounts. To learn more, check out “How to Save on Taxes With Qualified Charitable Distributions.”
- Spend funds in flexible spending accounts. Typically, people with an FSA have until the end of the plan year (which is often Dec. 31) to spend any money still in the account or else forfeit it. Employers may — but are not required to — offer a grace period or carryover.