Looking Ahead: Setting Yourself Up for Financial Success in 2026

Calculator displaying 2026 on top of tax documents, representing financial planning for the new year.

As 2025 comes to a close, it’s a natural moment to pause, reflect, and realign. Whether you’re preparing for early retirement, nearing your planned retirement date, or already enjoying your post-career years, the transition into a new year offers a powerful opportunity to strengthen your financial foundation.

Here are a few key steps to help you enter 2026 with clarity, confidence, and a plan that supports the life you want to live.

Look Back Before You Look Ahead: Lessons From 2025

Every year brings financial surprises, market swings, tax changes, evolving retirement rules, and personal milestones. But hidden within these shifts are valuable lessons.

Some of the biggest financial takeaways from 2025 include:

The “One Big Beautiful Bill” introduced sweeping tax changes.
Several provisions reshaped the planning landscape in 2025, including adjustments to income tax brackets, changes to standard deduction amounts, updates to capital gains thresholds, and shifts in rules related to Roth conversions and retirement account distributions. Because these changes impact early retirees, those nearing retirement, and those already in retirement differently, tax-efficient planning has become even more essential.
Shifting interest rates and persistent inflation reshaped retirement planning.
After several years of elevated interest rates, 2025 brought renewed conversations around potential rate cuts. While falling rates can boost market performance, they also reduce the income retirees earn from cash, CDs, bond ladders, and other fixed-income investments. At the same time, even moderate inflation continues to erode purchasing power, especially for early retirees planning multi-decade income needs and those already drawing from their portfolios. This highlighted the importance of diversified income sources, inflation-aware strategies, and flexibility in bond and cash planning.

Markets remained resilient despite mid-year volatility.
Markets continued to reward long-term, diversified investors despite short-term swings, reinforcing what long-standing data has shown for years: staying invested often outperforms attempts to time the market.

What does this mean heading into 2026?

It underscores the importance of being proactive, not reactive. Tax-aware planning, thoughtful withdrawal strategies, and a clear investment approach remain some of the strongest tools for building confidence in uncertain times.

Set Clear, Actionable Goals for 2026

A new year is an excellent time to realign your financial goals with your current reality, your income, your health, your family, and your retirement timeline.

As you look ahead to 2026, consider focusing on a few core areas:

Clarify your income and withdrawal strategy.
Make sure the way you draw from savings, investments, and retirement accounts supports your lifestyle today and your long-term plan. This is especially important if you’re navigating early retirement years before Social Security and required minimum distributions begin.
Review your health insurance and benefits.
Health coverage is often one of the largest line items in a retirement budget. Whether you’re on an employer plan, ACA marketplace coverage, COBRA, or Medicare, your income projections and timing decisions can have a meaningful impact on both premiums and taxes.
Refresh your tax game plan.
With the One Big Beautiful Bill changing the tax landscape, it’s worth reviewing opportunities like Roth conversions, capital gains harvesting, charitable giving strategies (including QCDs for those who qualify), and how you’re balancing taxable and tax-deferred accounts.

Update your 2026 spending plan.
Even as inflation stabilizes, everyday costs in West Michigan and beyond have shifted. A realistic, updated budget helps you protect your lifestyle without undermining your long-term goals.

Ultimately, the goal is simple: set goals that match your life, not someone else’s timeline.

Make Financial Planning a Family Tradition

Financial planning becomes even more powerful when it’s not done in isolation.

Here are a few ways to bring family into the process in 2026:

Share your financial values, not just your numbers.
Families who talk openly about money tend to build stronger financial habits over time, according to research from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
Include adult children in high-level estate or legacy conversations.
You don’t have to share every detail, but talking about beneficiaries, key documents, and your intentions now can reduce confusion and stress later.

Talk about upcoming life milestones.
Career changes, home purchases, college planning, caring for aging parents, or your own retirement decisions all benefit from being viewed as part of a broader family financial picture.

At Straight Path, we often see how including loved ones creates confidence, preserves clarity, and supports smoother transitions for everyone involved.

Prepare for a Customized 2026 Strategy

The best way to build a strong financial plan isn’t through generic checklists; it’s through a personalized strategy that aligns with your taxes, retirement timing, investment philosophy, and life goals.

As you prepare for the year ahead, ask yourself:

Are we on track with our tax plan for the next 12–24 months?
Are our investments aligned with both our risk tolerance and our income needs?
Are there opportunities to save on taxes, increase retirement income, or better support our desired lifestyle?

These are the conversations we have every day with families across West Michigan and the rest of the country, who want to retire confidently, stay retired, and make the most of the years ahead.

Start 2026 With a Clear Plan and a Team in Your Corner

Whether you’re thinking about early retirement, preparing to transition into retirement, or looking to strengthen your long-term plan, now is an ideal time to review your strategy.

We’d love to help you map out a smooth, confident entry into the new year.

Schedule a FREE 15-minute assessment call with one of our CFP® professionals and get a customized 2026 financial strategy built around your goals.

Connect with a CFP® Today!