The last three months of the year are when a lot of money decisions quietly get made for you. Miss a deadline and you can get defaulted into a student loan plan, a health plan or a tax penalty you never chose. This Q4 money checklist puts the dates that matter most in one place, with the official links to act on each one.

The stakes are real for our families. In the Federal Reserve’s latest household survey, 60% of Black adults said they were doing at least okay financially in 2025, compared with 79% of white adults. That share was down 5 percentage points for Black adults from the year before. When margins are that tight, a surprise bill in January hurts.

Your Q4 money checklist: save these dates

1. Student loans: the SAVE plan is over, so act on your notice

If you were one of the millions of borrowers in the SAVE plan, this is the most urgent item on the list. The Education Department said that starting July 1, servicers would send each SAVE borrower a notice giving them at least 90 days to choose a new repayment plan. Borrowers who do nothing will be placed in the Standard plan or the new Tiered Standard plan, which can mean a much higher monthly bill.

The first notices went out July 1, so the earliest 90-day windows close around Sept. 29. Notices are going out in waves, so your deadline may not match your cousin’s. Here is what to do:

• Log in to your servicer account and StudentAid.gov and find the exact date on your notice.
• Compare plans with the repayment tools on StudentAid.gov. The new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP), which opened July 1, bases payments on your income and number of dependents.
• Under RAP, the department says borrowers who pay on time are shielded from unpaid interest piling up.

Two more loan items. The department announced a 1% interest rate cut for Direct Loan borrowers in auto pay, running through June 30, 2028. It covers borrowers who were already in auto pay or enrolled by Sept. 30, 2026, and you have to stay in auto pay to keep it.

And if you are close to income-driven forgiveness, know that the federal tax break on it expired. As NASFAA explains, forgiveness under income-driven plans can count as taxable income again starting in 2026. Public Service Loan Forgiveness is still tax-free.

2. The FAFSA is already open

Federal Student Aid confirmed the 2027-28 FAFSA is now available for students attending college or trade school between July 1, 2027, and June 30, 2028. It went live Sept. 23, ahead of the Oct. 1 target.

• Some states and colleges hand out aid first come, first served, so earlier is better.
• Parents and students each need their own StudentAid.gov account.
• Pair the FAFSA with our list of scholarships for Black students due in October and November.

3. Oct. 14 and Oct. 15: Social Security and taxes

The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases September inflation data on Oct. 14. That report completes the third quarter numbers Social Security uses to calculate next year’s cost-of-living adjustment. For reference, the 2026 COLA was 2.8%. If you help an elder with a budget, update it once the new number is out.

If you filed a tax extension in April, your 2025 return is due Oct. 15. The IRS is clear that an extension gave you more time to file, not more time to pay, so interest may already be running on any balance. File on time even if you cannot pay in full, then look at IRS payment plans.

4. Medicare Open Enrollment: Oct. 15 to Dec. 7

This is the one window each year when people with Medicare can join, switch or drop Medicare Advantage and drug plans. Changes take effect Jan. 1.

Do not just let your plan roll over this year. Kiplinger’s rundown of 2027 changes notes the Part D drug deductible can go up to $700, the yearly out-of-pocket cap on covered drugs rises to $2,400, and a temporary federal program that lowered drug plan premiums is ending.

• Read the Annual Notice of Change your plan mails you.
• List every prescription and check each one in the Medicare plan finder.
• Confirm your doctors and pharmacy are still in network.

5. ACA Marketplace: Nov. 1 to Jan. 15

On HealthCare.gov, open enrollment for 2027 coverage starts Nov. 1. Enroll by Dec. 15 for coverage that starts Jan. 1. Enrollment closes Jan. 15, with coverage starting Feb. 1 for those later sign-ups. States that run their own marketplaces can set different dates, and healthinsurance.org tracks them. It also notes that a shorter federal window was blocked in court in June, though HHS has appealed.

Shop carefully. The extra premium subsidies from the pandemic era ended after 2025. KFF found that average net premium payments jumped 58% in 2026, from $113 to $178 a month, and average deductibles hit $3,786.

• Update your income estimate. It drives your subsidy.
• Compare total cost, not just the premium. A cheap bronze plan can come with a big deductible.
• Check whether your kids qualify for Medicaid or CHIP, which accept applications all year.

6. Holiday side hustle? Keep receipts

Selling plates, braiding, doing hair or flipping on resale apps this season? Payment apps and marketplaces only have to send a Form 1099-K when you pass $20,000 and more than 200 transactions. But the IRS also says all income is taxable unless the law says otherwise, even without a form. Keep a simple log of what you earned and spent, and set aside part of each payout for taxes. If you owe estimated tax on that income, the IRS lists Jan. 15, 2027 as the due date for the final 2026 payment. Need ideas on where to spend your own holiday dollars? Our roundup of Black business wins is a good start.

7. New baby since 2025? Claim the $1,000

Children born from 2025 through 2028 who are U.S. citizens with a Social Security number can get a one-time $1,000 federal deposit into a Trump account. Parents make the election on IRS Form 4547, filed on its own or with a tax return, and trumpaccounts.gov now points families to the official Trump Accounts app to sign up. The IRS says Treasury makes the deposit as soon as practicable once the account is open. Total contributions are capped at $5,000 a year, with employer contributions capped at $2,500.

The bottom line

You do not have to do all of this today. Pick the item with the nearest deadline, do that one, then move down the list. If your situation is complicated, a free counselor can help: your State Health Insurance Assistance Program for Medicare, a Marketplace navigator for ACA plans, or your loan servicer for student loans.