Your Financial Guide to 2022

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We love a calendar reminder.

If you’re a regular in the Lapin-verse, you know that I love putting reminders in my calendar. I have a calendar reminder to schedule my calendar reminders… not too dissimilarly from how I made a label for my label maker. I know that’s a little intense, and may not bring you the same joy that it brings me— and that’s totally okay.

But, you should have a few calendar reminders set for your financial self. And today, I’m going to walk you through those important dates.

Today: FSA Reimbursement

Yep, I’m going to give you homework for one of those financial deadlines right now. If you had an FSA in 2021, you should check with the HR department at your company today to confirm when you need to submit all of your 2021 receipts for reimbursement. And just to be super clear: this deadline is for receipts of FSA-eligible expenses that you gathered throughout the 2021 year… not new expenses you’ve made in 2022.

In many cases, you’ll be able to submit receipts for the expenses you incurred in 2021 by March 31st 2022, so check that deadline with your HR department right now and then make sure you have all of your receipts in.

April 18: Tax Day

Woohoo, we loooove Tax Day. You should circle this one in your calendar in a bright color and draw little hearts all over it. Yes, let’s get excited for Tax Day, people.

… I’m sort of talking to myself here because I get a liiiiittle bit stressy around tax season. Yes, even the Rich Bitch herself gets tax stress. But we got this. We do harder things in life than file a tax return.

Last year, Tax Day was pushed back to allow people to take some more time putting their finances together during a hugely COVID-disrupted year. There’s no sign of that happening again this year, so I would plan on submitting on— or before— Tax Day.

Typically Tax Day is April 15th, but because April 15th is a holiday, Emancipation Day, in Washington DC, the federal tax deadline was moved to April 18th. However, some states may still require that your state taxes are due by April 15th, so you should check your state’s rules before marking your calendar.

May 1: Student Loan Repayment Un-Freezes

As of right now, the student loan moratorium is supposed to run out on May 1st. Although it has been pushed back a few times, let’s assume that it will not be again. It’s better to be safe than sorry. So throughout the month of April, you should reconfigure your spending plan assuming that come May 1, you’ll be making loan payments once again.

May 30: Memorial Day

Memorial Day Weekend is the best time to find deals on appliances and mattresses. If you’re thinking that you’ll need a new mattress within the next year, plan on doing it May 30th.

July 1: Back to School Deals

Many states offer a weekend in either July or August where back-to-school items are eligible to purchase without sales tax. Most states hold this weekend in August, but there are some states that hold this weekend in July. On July 1st, you should look up whether your state holds that weekend and when. Then, you guessed it, put that weekend in your calendar.

July 4th: Financial Independence Check-In

On Independence Day I want you to lean into the holiday spirit and have a check-in with yourself on all of your financial independence goals. In addition to being a great day to reflect on Independence, July 4th is also a little bit past the half-way mark of 2022. Are you following the New Year's Resolutions you set? Are you on-track for your end of year goals? July 4th is a great time to ask yourself those questions.

September 5: Labor Day

It’s another great long weekend for holiday sales. Labor Day is the best time to snag deals on summer-y products like patio furniture and grills. So if you feel like you need new summertime goodies, try and wait until Labor Day when you’ll get the most bang for your buck.

November 1: Open Enrollment

November 1st marks the opening of the federal health insurance marketplace for 2023 health insurance coverage; but if you’re getting your healthcare through an employer, your open enrollment period is probably around this time too. Now, this isn’t the deadline for enrollment— this is just when you’ll first be able to enroll, but it’s better to look through your options as soon as open enrollment starts. Once you go through your options, you may have questions, so get a head-start on this so that you’ll actually have time to talk through your questions with an HR advisor, or health insurance representative.

November 25: Black Friday

On Black Friday and also on Cyber Monday (which this year is November 28th), you’ll want to finalize— yes, finalize— your holiday shopping. Hopefully the supply-chain issues will be easier to manage come November 2022, but if 2021 taught us anything, it’s that we don’t want to take our chances with shipping delays.

December 31: End-of-Year Deadlines

This is the last day of the 2022 year. It seems so far away but, trust me, it will come up quickly. As the last day of the year, it is the deadline for any annual spending deadlines— like FSA spending, and many flavors of taxes (I’m talking income taxes, tax deductible-spending, and so on). I want you to mark your calendar for December 1st to start thinking about bringing the 2022 fiscal year to a close, and planning to make the most of it.

xo,

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