3 End of the Year Moves

In “The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio,” a movie that more people should have seen, the lead character (played by Julianne Moore) has a wonderful line. At the end of a particularly awful 24-hours, she says, “I am going to bed. I am tired of this day, I want a new one.”

Well, we are all tired of this year.

But before we say good riddance to 2008, there are three things you should consider doing.

1.Write an extra mortgage check. If you make your January 2009 mortgage payment this month, you will be able to claim the January interest on your 2008 tax return. (The only down side? You will need to pay January 2010’s mortgage next December as well in order to deduct 12 months of interest during 2009.)

2.Please sell the dogs. If you have stocks outside of your retirement accounts that have suffered loses—and who hasn’t—stocks you really don’t expect to recover any time soon, sell them before the end of the year, in order to generate a capital loss, which will reduce the taxes you owe.

3.Take advantage of any corporate match to your retirement contributions. When the stock market recovers, and it will someday, you will be happy you did.