‘Tis the season! The financial year, or FY 22-23 as we like to dearly call it, is coming to an end next week. Want to plan some kickass stuff for your money for the next financial year? You bet! We love fresh starts.

Here are our top seven things to do, starting April 1st.

1. 🎸 Do a retro: take a look at your budgets, spend patterns, savings and  investments over the past 12 months. How did you do? Review the good, the bad and the ugly - and plan out how you want this upcoming year to go. Were there areas where you overspent or could have saved more? Use this information to create a new money plan for the coming year.
   
   

2. 🎯 Set financial goals for the year. As theoretical as this may sound, the beginning of the financial year is the best time to decide what you want to do with your money during the year. Things like travel, making a large-ish purchase, or even paying off debt can factor into your goals. Ideally for the large purchases, you’ve set up savings / investments already :) Additionally, look at setting savings goals for the year as well. Every month, put away savings before the month’s expenses kick in. Stash before you splash.
   
   

3. 💰 Plan tax-saving investments for the year early. Do NOT wait until the last minute to make your tax-saving investments for FY 23-24. While you have time till March 31st 2024 for this, making the investments earlier in the year (target June through December) will ensure you don’t make rash or knee-jerk decisions for these. What are tax-saving investments, you ask? Check out our Knowledge Boosters for more. TLDR: you can save up to ₹46,800 in taxes by investing up to ₹1.5 lakhs in things such as ELSS, PPF etc (under section 80C of the Income Tax Act). But, if you opt for the new regime, you could look at investing the ₹1.5 lakhs elsewhere, and not have to deal with the lock-in period that comes with 80C.
   
   

4. 🐷 Build your emergency fund. The way the world is going these days, having some extra moolah to give you a cushion in a potential crunch situation doesn’t sound like a terrible idea! We recommend 9-12 months’ worth of fixed expenses. So if you spend ₹30,000 a month on rent, utilities, food and other things you can’t live without, make sure you have around ₹3.6 lakhs in a place you can access easily. Like in your savings account, or in liquid mutual funds.
   
   

5. 👀 Eyes on that raise. If you have your eyes on a raise at work, plan on how you will get to that. Are there certain projects you want to be a part of? Are there certain people in your org that you should be networking with? How about signing up for “extra-curriculars” at work? Whatever is on the path to that promo, get on it. Keep your manager up to date on your career goals, and that promotion and raise will be in your hands soon! Being proactive here is key.
   
   

6. ☔ Are you adequately protected? Review all your insurance plans - health, life, vehicle. Wherever you feel there may be less than adequate coverage, top up that insurance plan. Set reminders on when policies are set to expire, and make sure you renew on time. There are consequences to procrastinating on this!
   
   

7. 👵 Automate your retirement savings. We all completed another trip around the sun, which means we are another year closer to our retirement years. If you haven’t already, set up your retirement fund. Ladies, keep in mind that you need to plan for slightly longer than the men in your life. The best way to ensure your retirement fund is growing is to automate your savings towards retirement. This way, it’s a one-time effort for recurring savings.