Personal Finance Checklists: Net Worth to Annual Review

The fourteen Parts explain why; these four lists are the what and when. Each item names the section that explains it, so a box you can’t tick sends you back to the right page. To use them on paper, print this page from your browser (File → Print, or Ctrl+P / Cmd+P); the boxes print empty, ready for a pen. Every dollar limit below is dated: the limits are 2026 figures as of October 2026, and Appendix A.2 lists when each one next changes. Keep the printed copies with your financial records and date each one you complete.

Checklist 1 — The net-worth worksheet. Net worth is assets minus liabilities (1.2). Fill in each line with today’s value, not what you paid, and repeat on the same date each year: the change is the number that matters.

• 1. Checking and savings — balances on one date: $________ (2.1: Checking vs Savings — What Each Is Actually For, 2.7)
• 2. CDs, Treasury bills, I bonds — current value including accrued interest: $________ (2.7, 7.8: Target-Date Funds, I Bonds and TIPS, and a Plain Word on Crypto)
• 3. HSA balance — cash and invested, both count: $________ (6.6)
• 4. 401(k), 403(b), 457 — vested balance only; unvested match is not yet yours: $________ (6.2, 6.7: Vesting, Rollovers, and What Happens When You Change Jobs)
• 5. Traditional and Roth IRAs, SEP or Solo 401(k) — pre-tax money carries a future tax bill, so note it separately: $________ (6.3, 6.4, 6.8: Self-Employed Retirement Accounts: Solo 401(k) and SEP-IRA)
• 6. Taxable brokerage — market value on the statement date: $________ (7.6)
• 7. 529 plans — the account owner lists it: $________ (4.4)
• 8. Home — a realistic sale price minus about 6% selling costs, not the purchase price: $________ (5.1: Rent vs Buy — Running the Real Numbers)
• 9. Vehicles — private-party value, which falls fastest in the first years: $________ (3.9)
• 10. Cash value of permanent life insurance — the surrender value, not the death benefit: $________ (8.3)
• 11. Credit cards — full statement balances, even if paid in full monthly: $________ (3.3)
• 12. Personal loans and BNPL plans — remaining balances: $________ (3.6: Personal Loans, BNPL & Payday Loans)
• 13. Auto loan — the lender’s payoff figure; if it exceeds line 9’s car value, that gap is negative equity: $________ (3.9)
• 14. Student loans — principal plus unpaid interest, from studentaid.gov or the lender: $________ (4.1: Federal vs Private Loans)
• 15. Mortgage, HELOC, home equity loan — principal balances, not payments: $________ (5.4, 5.7: Home Equity — HELOCs vs Home Equity Loans)
• 16. Taxes or medical bills owed — anything due but unpaid: $________ (9.3)
• 17. Net worth — lines 1–10 minus lines 11–16: $________; compare with last year’s figure (1.2)

Checklist 2 — Open enrollment. Benefit choices made in a few weeks each fall set a year of costs and are usually locked until the next window unless a qualifying life event occurs. Twelve steps:

• 1. Mark the window. Employer enrollment usually runs a few weeks in the fall. The HealthCare.gov marketplace runs November 1 to January 15 (enroll by December 15 for coverage from January 1); Medicare’s annual window runs October 15 to December 7 (dates per HealthCare.gov and Medicare.gov, as of Oct 2026; the coverage choices themselves: 8.2, 10.9).
• 2. Read what changed. Compare next year’s premiums, deductibles, out-of-pocket maximums and networks with this year’s; a plan that renews unchanged in name can change in price (8.2).
• 3. Price every plan at three levels of care. Total cost = after-tax premium + out-of-pocket − employer HSA deposit − tax saved; run low, medium and high years, as in the 8.2 worked example.
• 4. Check your doctors and prescriptions. Confirm each is in network and on the formulary for the plan you pick (8.2).
• 5. If you choose an HDHP, set the HSA contribution. 2027 limits are $4,500 self-only and $9,000 family (2026: $4,400 / $8,750), plus $1,000 at 55 or older, counting employer money (6.6).
• 6. Size a health FSA to predictable costs only. The 2026 limit is $3,400, and unspent money is lost beyond any carryover (up to $680) or grace period your plan offers. A general-purpose health FSA blocks HSA contributions; ask whether a limited-purpose (dental and vision) FSA is offered (6.6).
• 7. Elect a dependent-care FSA if you pay for childcare. Up to $7,500 per household from 2026; coordinate with a spouse’s plan, and remember the same expenses can’t also claim the childcare credit (6.6, 11.2).
• 8. Confirm the full employer match. Set the 401(k) rate at least to the match cap and turn on auto-escalation if offered; the 2026 deferral limit is $24,500 (1.8: The Financial Order of Operations: Where the Next Dollar Should Go, 6.2, 6.5).
• 9. Review life insurance against a DIME estimate. Group life is often one year’s salary and ends with the job; buy individual term if the gap is large (8.3).
• 10. Check long-term disability. If the plan lets you pay the premium with after-tax dollars, benefits arrive tax-free (8.4).
• 11. Update beneficiaries. 401(k), group life and HSA forms override a will (12.1: Wills and Beneficiary Designations — Why Both Matter).
• 12. Save the confirmation and check January’s paycheck. Every deduction on the first pay stub of the year should match what you elected (1.6: Paychecks Decoded).

Checklist 3 — Buying a home, from pre-approval to the day after closing. The sequence follows 5.3; the numbers that decide whether to buy at all are in 5.1 and 5.2.

• 1. Pull all three credit reports and fix errors months before applying; a higher score buys a lower rate (3.2).
• 2. Set the budget before the search. Full PITI within about 28% of gross income and all debts within about 36%, with the emergency fund left intact after the down payment and closing costs (1.4, 5.2).
• 3. Get pre-approved by two or three lenders close together — scoring models count mortgage inquiries made within a short window as a single search (5.3).
• 4. Compare Loan Estimates line by line. Each lender must send one within three business days of your application; compare rate, points, lender fees and cash to close, not the payment alone (5.5).
• 5. Run the points breakeven. Cost of points ÷ monthly saving = months to break even; skip points if you may move or refinance sooner (5.5).
• 6. Make the offer contingent on inspection, appraisal and financing, and attend the inspection (5.3).
• 7. Lock the rate in writing and note the lock’s expiry date against the expected closing date (5.3).
• 8. Keep your finances unchanged during underwriting. No new cards, car loans or job changes, and no large undocumented deposits (5.3).
• 9. Bind homeowners insurance and ask whether the property needs separate flood coverage, which standard policies exclude (8.5).
• 10. Review the Closing Disclosure. The lender must deliver it at least three business days before closing. Compare it with the Loan Estimate; if the APR becomes inaccurate, the loan product changes or a prepayment penalty is added, a corrected disclosure and a new three-business-day wait are required (5.3).
• 11. Verify wiring instructions by phone using a number you already have for the title or escrow company, never one from an email: closing funds are a known target of email-impersonation scams, and a sent wire is rarely recoverable (13.2).
• 12. Do the final walk-through within a day or so of closing: agreed repairs done, appliances included, nothing damaged (5.3).
• 13. Closing day: bring photo ID and the wire confirmation or cashier’s check; read before signing; leave with copies of everything (5.3).
• 14. The day after: file the documents, set up the servicer’s account and autopay, note the PMI 80% and 78% dates (5.5), add the house to the net-worth worksheet, and update homeowners and umbrella coverage (8.5, 8.7).

Checklist 4 — The annual financial review. Pick one fixed date — early January works, because new contribution limits and tax figures take effect then — and work through all fifteen items.

• 1. Update net worth with Checklist 1 and compare it with last year (1.2).
• 2. Re-run the budget against last year’s actual spending, not the plan (1.3).
• 3. Resize the emergency fund to three to six months of current essential expenses, and keep each balance within the $250,000 deposit-insurance limit (1.4, 2.6).
• 4. Check where the next dollar goes by walking the order of operations again (1.8: The Financial Order of Operations: Where the Next Dollar Should Go).
• 5. Raise contributions to the new year’s limits. For 2026: 401(k) $24,500, IRA $7,500, HSA $4,400 / $8,750, with catch-ups from 50 (HSA from 55) (6.2, 6.4, 6.6).
• 6. Check withholding with the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator, and file a new Form W-4 after any life change (9.3).
• 7. Pull all three credit reports at AnnualCreditReport.com — free every week, permanently — and dispute any error (3.2).
• 8. Confirm credit freezes are in place, and renew a fraud alert if you still need one; an initial alert lasts one year (13.3).
• 9. Get the new year’s IRS Identity Protection PIN if you use one; a new PIN is issued each year (13.4).
• 10. Rebalance back to the target allocation, using new contributions first (7.4).
• 11. Review insurance: life need (DIME), disability, homeowners or renters limits, auto, and an umbrella policy once net worth grows (8.3–8.7).
• 12. Check every beneficiary designation — retirement accounts, life insurance, HSA, payable-on-death accounts — after any marriage, divorce, birth or death (12.1: Wills and Beneficiary Designations — Why Both Matter).
• 13. Review the estate documents: will, durable power of attorney, healthcare directive, and where the originals are kept (12.1: Wills and Beneficiary Designations — Why Both Matter, 12.2).
• 14. Name a trusted contact on every brokerage account and set bank alerts for large withdrawals; do the same with aging parents (13.5: Protecting Older Adults From Financial Abuse).
• 15. From 60 onward, add retirement checks: your Social Security estimate at my Social Security (10.3), income that could cross an IRMAA tier two years later (10.9: Medicare at 65, IRMAA, and the Pre-65 Health Insurance Gap), and required minimum distributions from 73 or 75 (10.6).