Today, July 2, marks the mid-point of the year, so what better time to check in with your finances and any goals you may have set back in January.
Lindsey and I are including some of our to-dos, and we also asked a few friends of The Purse to offer their own mid-year tasks. Bookmark this for after the long weekend, or get a jumpstart now!
1. Check your savings rate
If you’re lucky, you may have gotten a raise at the beginning of the year. Did you raise your savings rate in tandem, or are you using the money for other spending?
Regardless, now is a good time to see if you can put a little bit more aside in your emergency fund or for retirement. Even a 1% bump can make a noticeable difference at the end of the year.
If you have enough in your emergency fund and are sufficiently saving for retirement, consider setting up a sinking fund for a specific goal. A sinking fund can give you a sense of security and freedom in knowing that you set aside the money for a specific goal, Laura Combs, certified financial planner at Mercer Advisors, previously told me. “It actually takes the stress of that 40th birthday or Christmas or holiday gifts off of [your] plate.”
2. Update your beneficiaries
When did you last update your beneficiaries and payable-on-death (POD) and transfer-on-death (TOD) designations across all of your accounts? This includes retirement accounts, health savings accounts, life insurance policies, checking and savings accounts, investment accounts, and all your eligible workplace benefits.
It’s easy to forget to update these as life and relationships change. Don’t forget, a beneficiary can override a will!
- Erin Lowry, host of Funny Money: A comedy show about money next happening July 18 and author of the Hopefully Helpful newsletter
Want to go deeper? Read more about the importance of updated beneficiaries in our Inheritance Month series here and here.
3. Review your debt
Do you have any high interest debt from a credit card or other loan? Review your repayment plan and see if there’s any way to pay a bit more than the statement minimum through the end of the year. Every little bit helps when interest rates on credit cards are topping 20%.
In fact, it makes more sense to pay off your high interest debt before saving any more for an emergency. So really consider your options and priorities if you’re carrying a balance month to month.
Jamie Alyson Feldman
4. Check your financial operating system
We spend so much time thinking about budgeting and growing our wealth that we might forget to maintain the systems that keep our financial lives running. So, this is a great time of year to give your accounts a “checkup.”
Make sure your autopays are processing correctly; credit cards linked to recurring bills haven’t expired; your logins for all important accounts are still active (many have switched to 2FA); and your beneficiaries and trusted contacts are up to date. All of this will probably take you less than an hour, and it’s one of the easiest ways to prevent headaches down the road.
- Heather Boneparth, author of The Joint Account newsletter and Money Together
5. Do the one task you’ve been putting off
We all have that one thing that we can never seem to get around to (and I may have more than one of them). But if you’re focused on improving your finances, save the rest of this article for later and go do the thing right now.
Often, it only takes a phone call or quick trip to a store or the bank—a limited amount of your time for a fair amount of relief.
6. Run a financial audit
Take a day (or chunks of time over a week) to run a financial audit on your life. Are you using all your subscriptions? What about your workplace benefits like an insurance plan that reimburses for gym memberships? Are you even using gift cards and reward cards before they expire? (Guilty of not taking advantage of both because I’ve been saving them for the perfect time.) Is there an opportunity to negotiate a lower rate for an insurance policy or utility?
It isn’t about cutting out what you enjoy for the sake of saving money. It’s about making sure that you’re getting value out of the services to which you subscribe and maximizing workplace, credit card, or other membership benefits (like AAA).
- Erin Lowry
7. For freelancers: Check in on your salary goal
How much did you bring in during the first two quarters of the year? Is it in line with the salary goal you set at the beginning of the year?
If not, Jen Miller, freelance journalist and author of the Notes from a Hired Pen newsletter, advises “marketing sprints” when you’re not meeting your goals. Think: Who have you worked with in the past who you can reach out to now? Follow up on letters of introduction you’ve previously sent, check in with contacts at companies who’ve used your services (even if it’s been years), and reach out to old colleagues just to see how they’re doing.
Often, getting on someone’s radar is the most helpful thing you can do to land more work. (Just maybe wait to send those emails until after the holiday weekend.)
8. Gut check your budget
My spouse and I will do a mid-year review of a budget we adopted at the beginning of the year to enable us to live off investment income. We plan on taking a look at categories where we are struggling to stick to budget, and discussing how we can be more successful for the next six months
- Jessica Phillips, author of the Post-Wealth Project newsletter
9. Use those credit card perks
Credit cards often come with perks, benefits, and credits to offset the annual fees. Some reset on each account anniversary or calendar year—and others reset monthly, quarterly or biannually.
Taking 10 minutes to look over your credit card benefits and marking your calendar with deadlines, can save you money throughout the year. Using the bi-annual StubHub credit on our premium travel card just before it reset got us completely free tickets to a Yankee game this week!
- Rachel Lipson, author of The Point newsletter
Heather
10. Cull subscriptions
The middle of the year is a great time to review your subscriptions. Run through your checking and credit card statements to understand what you're paying for and then be honest with yourself about what you really, actually use. I did this recently and uncovered hundreds in savings.
And don't beat yourself up if you find a bunch of subscriptions you had forgotten. Instead, be proud of yourself for taking the time to look into it and cancel it now.
- Matt Schulz, author of the Ask, Save, Earn newsletter
