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15+ Important Financial Dates to Mark on Your Calendar

Damian Davila — Mon, 29 Jan 2018 10:00:06 +0000

Improving your finances is not a sprint, it's a marathon. To help you succeed in 2018, here is an at-a-glance finance calendar with key dates to effectively plan your money moves this year. You got this!

January 1

This is the very first day to fund traditional and Roth IRAs and Simplified Employee Pension Plan (SEP) IRAs for the current year.
If you don't enroll in Medicare during the initial enrollment period around your 65th birthday, you can sign up starting today through March 31 to start coverage on July 1. A late enrollment fee may apply.

January 16

This is the due date for quarterly estimated taxes for the fourth quarter of 2017 (Sept. 1–Dec. 31). Use the 2017 IRS Form 1040 ES to pay your estimated tax.

January 29

The IRS starts accepting tax returns. (See also: 8 Reasons You Should File Your Taxes as Soon as Possible)

March 31

Many flexible spending account (FSA) plans with a use-it-or-lose-it rollover rule set today as the deadline to submit claims for eligible medical expenses completed by December 31 of the previous year.
Last day to enroll in Medicare to start coverage on July 1. A late enrollment fee may apply.

April 1

Following the calendar year in which you turn 70½, this is the date you must start taking required minimum distributions (RMDs) from your traditional IRA, 401(k), 403(b), or other applicable retirement savings plans. (See also: What Every Retirement Saver Should Know About Required Minimum Distributions)

April 15

Deadline to contribute to a Coverdell Education Savings Account (ESA).

April 17

Tax Day 2018 falls two days later than usual because April 15 falls on a Sunday, and Emancipation Day falls on April 16, giving IRS workers a holiday.
Deadline to file for an extension on you tax return. (Note: There is an automatic two-month extension for taxpayers living abroad).
Last day to fund last year's traditional or Roth IRAs.
Deadline to fund a health savings account (HSA) for the prior year. (See also: How an HSA Could Help Your Retirement)

April 18

Deadline to submit an estimated tax payment for next year's taxes using first payment voucher from 2018's Form 1040-ES.

June 15

Make an estimated tax payment for tax year 2018 using second payment voucher from Form 1040-ES.
Two-month filing extension deadline for federal taxes. (See also: Filed an Extension? Here's What You Need to Know)

June 30

To receive federal student aid for the 2017–2018 school year, submit your FAFSA application by June 30, 2018.

September 15

Make an estimated tax payment for tax year 2018 using third payment voucher from Form 1040-ES.

Sometime between October 1 and November 1

Your employer will start announcing the upcoming open enrollment period to choose your workplace benefits for the next year.

October 1

To receive federal student aid for the 2019–2020 school year, you can start filing your FAFSA application today, making sure it's submitted by June 30, 2019.

October 15

Six-month filing extension deadline for federal taxes.
Last day to undo a 2017 Roth IRA conversion (if you converted a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA during 2017 and paid applicable tax on the conversion with your 2016 return).

November 1

Start of enrollment for health insurance through Healthcare.gov.

December 31

Deadline to take RMDs from your IRA, 401(k), and inherited IRAs.
Deadline to set up most types of retirement accounts so that eligible contributions count toward the current year.

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This article is from Damian Davila of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Hurray! Annual Freebie Calendar

Carrie Kirby — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 10:36:41 +0000

Don't you hate it when you find out today was free ice cream day by seeing photos on Facebook of your friends chowing down? Print out this calendar of the freebies that tend to come up year after year, and you'll never be caught unawares. (See also: How to Watch Movies in the Theater for Free)

January

New Year's Day freebies on Jan. 1 have included free coffee at Sheetz (seriously, this is the name of a store chain), and in a few areas, a whole box of Dunkin' Donuts for the first few customers of the morning.

February/March

IHOP usually gives away short stacks of pancakes once a year, on or near "Pancake Day," or Shrove Tuesday. In 2012, this was Feb. 28.

Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day comes between late March and early May.

April

Every year a number of businesses offer something free on Tax Day, on or around April 15. Past Tax Day offers have included coffee at Starbucks and food at Panda Express, Cinnabon, and Arby's. Also watch for local Tax Day promotions, like special happy hours.

In the past, Baskin Robbins has offered its cones for 31 cents apiece in April — not free but almost. In 2012 they didn't host this event.

May

The first Saturday in May is Free Comic Book Day — check to see if your local shop is participating.

Haagen-Dazs usually chooses a day in May to give out free cones.

May 8 is Teacher Appreciation Day, and Buca di Beppo, OfficeMax, and others have offered teachers goodies around then. Homeschooling parents can sometimes collect those freebies as well.

National Nurse's Week falls in May, and certain chains such as Cinnabon and Buca di Beppo like to treat healthcare workers to a little sumpin-sumpin.

For the Mommas has a nice list of Mother's Day freebies that were offered this year, including a free cone at TCBY and some buy one, get one free offers.

June

The first Friday in June is National Donut Day. Krispy Kreme, Dunkin' Donuts, and other shops have offered a free donut on this day in recent years, sometimes requiring a purchase.

A lesser-known freebie day, Free Roll-Playing Game Day, was celebrated on June 16 in 2012.

Free Fishing Days (PDF), when you can fish without a license, are locally scheduled by individual states, but most of them fall in June.

Dads can usually snag some freebies on Father's Day, such as free breakfast at Ikea and buy one, get one free coffee at Caribou.

July

Convenience store chain 7-Eleven has been known to give out free Slurpees to celebrate its "birthday" on July 11.

August

Whether you have kids in school or not, you should pay attention to the ads at office supply stores as summer winds down. As they compete to bring in back-to-school shoppers, OfficeMax, Office Depot, and Staples often offer a few items for free. Sometimes the goods are free upfront — usually smaller things like a pack of crayons or pencils. More expensive items, like backpacks, may be offered free or for a penny after rebate.

September

In honor of Make-a-Wish Month, Cold Stone Creamery usually holds The World's Largest Ice Cream Social during September, where you get a free creation and are invited to donate to Make-a-Wish. Last year, this happened on Sept. 27.

October

Walgreens often offers free photo collages around Halloween.

Chipotle used to give away a free burrito to kids who dressed like one on Halloween, but in recent years they've charged $2 for it — still a frightfully good deal.

November

On Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving), you can often find department store coupons for $10 off any purchase, which can lead to a free $10 item. Sometimes restaurants offer free coffee and other treats to tired shoppers.

Your Birthday

This is the best freebie day of the year! You can sign up for everything from free ice cream to free meals — and many, many local bars will give you a free drink as well. You can also check out our Big List of Birthday Freebies.

What did we miss? Leave your own favorite annual freebie in the comments.

This article is from Carrie Kirby of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

How to Get Rid of and Avoid Late Fees

Matt Bell — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 11:24:18 +0000

Here’s a quiz — other than a catastrophic financial event, like a bankruptcy or foreclosure, what financial activity is most damaging to your credit score?

If you chose, “Paying your bills late,” you’re right. Of the five main factors that impact your credit score, your on-time payment record carries the most weight. Of course, paying late doesn’t just dent your credit score, it dents your wallet in the form of late fees.

The best way to get rid of late fees is to never incur them in the first place. Here’s your guide to building an impenetrable late fee avoidance system. (See also: 6 Tips to Shrink Your Bills Every Year)

Pay Right Away

Do you have a stack of bills sitting on your desk or kitchen counter? Are they at least stacked with the one that needs to be paid the soonest on top? Even so, to avoid late fees, get in the habit of paying your bills the day they arrive. Sure, you’ll lose “the float,” the time between the arrival of the bill and the due date when your money could be sitting in your interest-bearing checking account racking up all that .01% interest. But getting slammed with a late fee, typically $25-$39, will wipe out about 13 lifetimes of earnings at that rate.

Pay Online

If you’re still paying bills by check, consider switching to electronic payments, which arrive faster and never get lost in the mail.

The most sure-fire way to avoid late fees is to automate your bill payments. Just about any monthly bill can be paid automatically. Whether you should do so is partly a matter of whether you trust that the right amount will be billed each month.

We pay our mortgage, health insurance, and some of our utilities automatically. However, we take a manual approach to paying our phone and credit card bills online, preferring to check those bills more closely for accuracy before clicking the “pay” button.

Ask for Reminders

No matter how you pay, sign up for e-mail and/or text reminders about upcoming bills. Most companies that you spend money with on a regular basis offer electronic reminders. Since we use Mint.com, which also sends notifications of upcoming bill due dates, we get two electronic reminders for most of our bills.

Remind Yourself

One of the reasons why air travel is so safe these days is because of redundant systems. If one flight control computer system fails, there’s another one to automatically take its place.

You can build redundancy into your on-time bill-pay system as well by putting reminders in your calendar. Most electronic calendars allow you to set up recurring events.

If one of your credit card bills is due on the 11^th of every month, you can set a reminder one time and have it show up on your calendar every month on the same day. Of course, set the reminder for at least a few days before the due date to make sure the bill gets paid on time.

I use iCal on my Mac. To set a recurring reminder, just choose New Event from the File menu and where it says, “repeat,” choose “monthly.” If you use Google Calendar, hit “Create,” add an “Event,” click the “Repeat” box, and fill in the details.

I also use different colors for different activities in my electronic calendar, which makes the bill due dates really stand out.

And remember, it isn’t just credit card companies that dole out late fees. Insurance companies, libraries, video rental companies, and many others will slap you with a fee if you pay your bill late or return their stuff late. So, put all of your due dates in your calendar.

If a Late Fee Happens to You

If somehow a bill slips through your impenetrable late fee avoidance system and you incur a late fee, call the company that hit you with the penalty and plead for forgiveness. If you’ve been a customer for a while and have had a clean record up to now, you stand a good chance of getting the fee wiped off your bill. However, if at first you don’t succeed, ask to speak to a customer service supervisor. Be super kind, accept responsibility, and let them know what steps you’ve taken to avoid paying late ever again (see above steps).

What other steps do you take to avoid late fees?

This article is from Matt Bell of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

How to Ensure You Use Your Groupons and Other Daily Deals

Meg Favreau — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 10:36:19 +0000

I have an embarrassing admission — when I moved across the country six month ago, I left a small wave of unused daily deals vouchers in my wake.

I felt awful about it — I hate wasting money! But as my life got busy preparing for a cross-country move, I found myself forgetting expiration dates, meeting friends for goodbyes at non-coupon restaurants because they were more convenient, and in the end, leaving some vouchers because I simply ran out of time and couldn't find anyone else who wanted to use them.

Granted, I did have a lot going on at the time. That said, no matter how calm or busy your life is, it can be easy to buy a Groupon, Living Social, or other daily deal coupon on impulse and forget about it. If you're the sort of person who loves purchasing daily deals, but isn't always great at using them, follow these techniques to make sure you get the most out of your coupons. (See also: Do Daily Deals Make Good Gifts?)

1. Put Deadlines on Your Calendar — More Than Once

For months I put the expiration dates of my daily deals on my Google calendar, thinking that would be enough to remind me to use them. And sure, I'd remember...two days before they expired. This left me scrambling to use the coupons. Now I also put a two-week warning on my calendar as well so I have plenty of time to plan.

2. Get Deals With a Buddy

My friend Chantal is my exercise buddy. When I see an interesting deal for dancing, spinning, or another type of exercise, I'll forward it to her. If we both decide to get it, we're able to keep on each other to make sure we use the deal. This technique works for just about any deal, too — before you buy, find an interested friend to check out a restaurant with you, do a spa day, or take a tour.

3. Use the Voucher Immediately

Why procrastinate? If you're a strike-while-the-iron-is-sizzling type (or a forget-that-the-iron-is-on type), use your deal as soon as you get it.

4. Keep an Entertainment Folder

If you don't want to use your voucher immediately, you can at least print it immediately. Keep your unused vouchers in a folder somewhere prominent in your home, and when you're trying to think of where you want to eat or what you want to do, flip through your entertainment folder, grab a voucher, and go. You can also keep vouchers in your bag or wallet if you want to impulsively use one when you're out and about — just make sure it's not one that requires a reservation.

5. Remember — You Can Use Your Vouchers After Their Expiration Dates

Even if you pass the deadline of the "promotional value" of your deal, you can still redeem the purchase value of it. For example, if you paid $15 for $45 of sushi and you forget to use the deal before it expires, you can still get your $15 with your voucher. It's always best to check the terms of your individual deal, but generally, this is the case.

Do you have any techniques for making sure you use your daily deal vouchers? Share in the comments!

This article is from Meg Favreau of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

The Store Sales Cycle: Your Monthly Guide to Clearance Prices

Paul Michael — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 10:00:11 +0000

My recent article on extreme couponing definitely got people talking. There's nothing like a lively debate. However, I always like to take something positive away from even the most negative of experiences, and I did discover something that extreme couponers know well — the store sales cycle.

For various reasons, including overstocking of products that are in season and clearing the aisles for the next big holiday, stores put items on sale at the same times every year. With very few exceptions, the same products get cleared out as regularly as clockwork every year, and knowing when they go on sale can help you stock up and save money. (See also: Wise Bread's Shopping Calendar product-buying guides)

Here's a basic, month-by-month guide to the major products, produce, and categories that go on sale throughout the year.

Keep it handy the next time you plan a big shop, or when you clip a few coupons (I'm not against coupons, just extreme couponing). This is for the United States, by the way; other countries will have the same kinds of sales after major holidays or events, but many other factors will vary the list.

January

Super Bowl is just around the corner, so look for bargains on Pepsi and Coke products, chips and dips, cheese, beer, crackers, snacks, hot dogs and wings, frozen appetizers, and pizzas. Also, with the diet trend in full swing with the start of a new year, look for low-fat, low-carb specials: granola bars, diet frozen meals, diet cereals, yogurts, diet sodas and drinks, and Slim Fast shakes. And as it is cold and flu season, look for bargains in the medicine aisles, including vitamins, fish oils, cold remedies, and chapsticks.

Major Events

Preparation for Super Bowl Sunday, New Year's Resolutions

Seasonal Produce on Sale

Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, grapefruit, leeks, lemons, oranges, papayas, tangelos, and tangerines.

Clearance Items

The holidays are over, so look for major bargains in toys, Christmas decorations, seasonal candy, wrapping papers, and greeting cards.

February

Track Your Refunds or Get Ripped Off

Andrea Karim — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 19:41:59 +0000

“Refunds” are supposedly different from “rebates”, although honestly, you might never know it, since both are difficult to obtain. I find that lately, I’ve had to harass the heck out of companies, particularly companies that primarily do business via mail order or on the internet, to get my money back even after returning a product.

In the past, when I treated money with a devil-may-care attitude, I’m sure I let dozens of potential refunds slip right by. I don’t believe that all retailers really want to rip off customers, but I don’t see refunds as a really high priority of theirs, either.

A few months ago, I realized that I had not received a refund for an anti-virus program that I had purchased months before, the installation of which had required a hard drive reformatting. Thinking that I was being taken for a ride, I emailed the company and demanded my money back. An apology was issued, along with an immediate refund.

It was after that experience that I started to keep track of expected refunds. Any time I returned an item to a non-local retailer, I noted the expected time frame for a refund, say 6 weeks, and then entered a reminder in my cell phone that would go off roughly 6 weeks later. When the reminder popped up, I’d check my account balance and see if the refund had been issued. I found that if I didn't do this, it was really easy to forget that I was owed money.

I returned quite a few items following this holiday season, so I was expecting at least six refunds. Guess how many came through in the “expected” time frame?

Yup. Zero. Not one. For every single refund, I had to email and/or call the company and ask for the refund. Almost all of them refunded my money within 24 hours, with the exception of Palmer Cash, the “vintage” t-shirt people who don’t seem to believe in customer service.

Which got me to thinking: after your returned merchadise is received, these companies are perfectly capable of processing your refund the same day, but they don’t. They tell you it might take 4-6 weeks. Are they expecting you to forget or get lazy about it, the same way companies that offer rebates try to make it as difficult as possible to get your money back?

My advice to people who don’t track their expenses as well as the budgeting types:

Whenever you return an item, set up and automated reminder (be it on your cell phone, email, online calendar, or regular ol’ wall calendar) so you’ll remember to look for the refund towards the end of the expected processing time. If I hadn't been tracking these expected refunds, I'd probably be out well over $400 right now.
As always, pay with a credit card if you have one. I don’t, so I use my debit card, which doesn’t offer protection like major credit cards. Mind you, I rarely buy big ticket items.

This article is from Andrea Karim of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread: