Inside the chapter: Personal Finance Checklists: Net Worth to Annual Review

In summary

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.

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:

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.

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.

Most costly money mistakes in this volume are omissions, not bad decisions: a match never collected, a beneficiary form never updated, a Closing Disclosure signed unread, an HSA left unfunded for a year. A dated checklist turns each of those into a box that is either ticked or visibly empty — which is the whole case for writing it down.

Inside the page

■1. Checking and savings — balances on one date: $________ (2.1: Checking vs Savings — What Each Is Actually For, 2.7)

■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)

■7. 529 plans — the account owner lists it: $________ (4.4)

■10. Cash value of permanent life insurance — the surrender value, not the death benefit: $________ (8.3)

■13. Auto loan — the lender’s payoff figure; if it exceeds line 9’s car value, that gap is negative equity: $________ (3.9)

■16. Taxes or medical bills owed — anything due but unpaid: $________ (9.3)

■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).

■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).

■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).

■11. Update beneficiaries. 401(k), group life and HSA forms override a will (12.1: Wills and Beneficiary Designations — Why Both Matter).

■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).

■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).

■8. Keep your finances unchanged during underwriting. No new cards, car loans or job changes, and no large undocumented deposits (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).

■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).

■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).