This article was originally written as a reminder that financial planning isn’t a one-time event. Halfway through the year is the perfect opportunity to review progress, celebrate wins, and adjust expectations. In today’s world of constant distractions and financial uncertainty, the advice may be even more relevant.
Mid-year Personal Finance Checkup
Looking at your mid-year personal finance checkup, you can ask the all-important question, “Now what?”, and as usual, my non-committal answer is, “That depends!“
Have you met all your financial goals by mid-year? Did you set your goals too low? Could be you sandbagged to make yourself feel good, or you got really lucky. No matter what the reason, you can celebrate a little bit for achieving your goals. Now is the time to make some “stretch” goals for the end of the year. Prove that your success at the start of the year was not just a fluke. Show that you can work hard the whole year. Simply sitting on your financial laurels is just not the thing to do. Build on your success and show that you can finish strong for the year.
If none of your goals are met and you think you will be unable to hit any of them this year, it might be time to revamp your plan. Consider rethinking or even scrapping it altogether. You may need to rethink it or scrap it completely. Not to worry, look at where you had problems with your plan and figure out whether you were:
- Too aggressive in your planning, and set unattainable goals
- Very unlucky and the world conspired against your plan
- You never really planned to follow this plan
Is the answer (3)? Don’t kid yourself, you need to plan; this is going to hurt you some time soon. If the answer is that you were too aggressive, maybe go back to your original goals or plan and scale them back so they’re attainable by the end of the year (while still making them challenging).
Things going OK? You think you can succeed with your plan, good for you, you have made a good plan, and you are following it. You can celebrate your success a little, but get back to your plan. Enjoy your success and keep up the good work.
Follow-On Thoughts
One of the biggest mistakes people make is treating financial goals like pass/fail exams. In the end, I guess they are, but not while you are writing them.
Maybe your TFSA isn’t fully funded.
Perhaps your debt isn’t paid off, or you haven’t reached your debt goals yet.
Mayhaps your emergency fund isn’t where you wanted it to be.
That doesn’t mean you’ve failed.
It means you’re halfway through the year.
A mid-year review isn’t about beating yourself up. It’s about making sure you’re still heading in the right direction.
The Series
- Time for Mid-Year Financial Check Up never a bad time to see where you stand financially.
- What to look for in your Personal Finance Plan and how to deal with success and with failures.
- Mid-Year Personal Finance Check Up (Now What) always a good question to ask.
I”m always thinking of way to save money. I do research and more research. Reading blog has really opened my eyes as to how save money and have a more balanced wallet.