Life moves quickly. It’s easy to get distracted. But that can be costly.
Miss an important financial date or deadline, and you could be on the hook for a penalty or lose out on a limited-time opportunity to save money.
Enter our “Money Calendar” series.
In this edition, we’ve rounded up the noteworthy money dates in October 2025. Take a look and mark your calendar with any dates that apply to you. And if you enjoy this series, sign up for the Money Talks Newsletter so you don’t miss the next edition. Look for it on the last weekday of every month.
Target Circle Week
Date(s): Oct. 5-11
Target will host a Target Circle Week sale starting Oct. 5, offering “savings of up to 50% off everyday essentials and trending seasonal items,” the retailer says. The event is exclusively for members of Target’s loyalty program, Target Circle, but it’s free to join. Visit Target's website to learn more about the sale — including sneak peeks of the deals — or to learn more about the loyalty program.
Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days sale
Date(s): Oct. 7-8
Amazon will host another holiday sale just for Prime members this October, offering millions of deals, according to the retail giant. The event is called Prime Big Deal Days, and it will last 48 hours.
Walmart Deals sale
Date(s): Oct. 7-12
Not to be outdone by Amazon or Target, Walmart will host a Walmart Deals event alongside its competitors’ sales. You don’t have to be a Walmart+ member to shop this sale, but members will get five hours of early access: They can start shopping the sale at 7 p.m. ET on Oct. 6. Nonmembers can start taking advantage of the deals after midnight on Oct. 7.
Federal holiday
Date(s): Oct. 13
Whether you call the second Monday in October Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples Day, it’s a federal holiday. That means financial institutions like banks may be closed and retailers may have sales.
Social Security COLA announcement
Date(s): Oct. 15
The Social Security Administration will announce the 2026 cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for Social Security recipients on the morning of Oct. 15.
Open enrollment for Medicare
Date(s): Starting Oct. 15
The fall open enrollment period for Medicare — the federal health insurance program for seniors and people with certain disabilities — starts Oct. 15 and runs until Dec. 7. If you’re on Medicare, this period is your opportunity to change your health care plan and drug plan for next year.
Meanwhile, keep an eye on the official Medicare website. Information about 2026 plans will be available there in October.
Also, round up the following documents, which you should review before deciding whether to change your plan for the new year:
- Evidence of Coverage (EOC): This document includes information about your current plan, such as what it covers and how much you pay.
- Annual Notice of Change (ANOC): This document includes any changes to your current plan’s coverage, cost or service area that will take effect in the new year.
You are supposed to receive both of these documents from your current plan in September. If you haven’t received them, Medicare advises that you contact your plan.
Tax return deadline for extension filers
Date(s): Oct. 15
Did you request an extension from the IRS earlier this year, instead of filing your 2024 tax return by April? If so, Oct. 15 is one deadline you do not want to miss — it’s Tax Day for you.
If you live in a disaster area, however, you may have longer. See the IRS’ “Tax relief in disaster situations” webpage to learn more about extended deadlines for taxpayers in these areas.
Last day to buy I bonds at current rates
Date(s): Oct. 31
Series I government savings bonds, often referred to as simply “I bonds,” have two interest rates:
- A fixed rate, which remains the same for the 30-year interest-bearing life of an I bond
- A variable rate, which is only good for the first six months you own an I bond, as it resets every six months based on inflation
Currently, I bonds are paying a fixed rate of 1.1% and an inflation-based rate of 2.86% — so a total return of nearly 4%. If I bonds are a good fit for your investing goals and those rates sound attractive to you, note that you have until Oct. 31 to buy I bonds at those rates. In other words, you must complete your I bond purchase by then to get those rates.
Come November, the U.S. Department of the Treasury will announce a new fixed rate and a new inflation-based rate, which will apply to I bonds purchased from November 2025 through April 2026. The new fixed rate might be lower, due to the Federal Reserve’s recent rate cut, but the inflation-based rate might be higher, as inflation recently ticked up.
Nevada National Guard sales tax holiday
Date(s): Oct. 31 – Nov. 2
Purchases of tangible personal property made over the weekend that starts on the last Friday in October by members of the Nevada National Guard or their relatives will be exempt from state sales taxes. To learn more, see the state’s FAQ webpage about this sales tax holiday.
Open enrollment for many employer plans
Date(s): Vary
If you have health insurance through your employer, the chances are good that open enrollment starts in October or later this fall. If you’re unsure of exactly when it starts, check with your employer so you aren’t caught off guard by it.
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