Mid-Year Financial Check-up: Mastering Your Money Routine

We are almost halfway through the year, making it the perfect time to evaluate your systems and habits. One crucial system to review is your money routine.

What is a Money Routine?

A money routine is a set of habits and practices used to manage your finances.

Why Create a Money Routine?

Just like your daily routines—making coffee, stretching, or scrolling through your phone—a money routine can become a habit.

Frequencies of Financial Routines:

Money routines can be annual, quarterly, monthly, weekly, or daily

A common question I receive, "Melissa, how often should I review my finances?" The answer depends on your situation, but here are some standard practices that I and some of my clients tend to follow:

Annual:

• Income and Expenses: Review your annual income and expenses. What value did you gain or lose from expenses? How do you feel about your income level? A tracking system can help evaluate these figures efficiently.
• Goals: Check short, medium, and long-term goals. Are you on track? If not, why? Do you need to adjust your goals?
• Loans: Review your loans. Know the expected payoff date.
• Insurance Policies: Has the value of your home increased? Do you need to adjust your coverage?
• Charitable Contributions: Reflect on your contributions and plan for how you want to help others in the coming year.
• Credit Card Benefits: Review current benefits and options. Check resources like The Points Guy for recommendations.
• Quarterly:
• Credit Report and Score: Understand the difference between the two and review them. More info here.
• Investment Allocations: Review and adjust as needed.

Monthly:

• Checking Accounts: Ensure all transactions are correct and adjust or cancel auto-pays if necessary.
• Savings Accounts: Confirm automatic savings are happening and directed to the right places.

Weekly/Daily:

• Daily/Weekly Check-Ins: The frequency of these check-ins depends on your current financial situation. If you're just starting to earn money, merging finances, or managing significant debt, more frequent check-ins are necessary. This involves ensuring you have enough funds to cover upcoming bills and evaluating any irregular expenses.

Regular Reviews: Even with automation, regularly reviewing your expenses—biweekly or monthly—ensures your spending aligns with what’s most important to you. This practice fosters meaningful dialogue with your spouse or serves as a valuable self-reflection if you're single.

Your turn…. What does your current money routine look like?