As the year comes to a close, lots of opportunities exist for families to make final decisions that can affect their finances and their taxes. These include Traditional or Roth IRA contributions, HSA contributions, year-end expenses for farmers, ranchers, and business owners, just to name a few.

Another lesser known year-end strategy is something called tax loss harvesting. This strategy helps investors take advantage of investment losses they may have experienced, but still keep their funds invested for the long-term.