One of the best things you can do for your money is track your standing! I love setting goals at the beginning of the year, making it a point to check in throughout the year and assessing my progress at the end of the year. If this is something you want to start implementing, I’m sharing 5 questions to answer to complete your own mid-year money check.
Each of these questions is designed to help you get an idea of where you stand with your money and money goals, so you can use the answers to course correct (if necessary) for the second half of the year. Learn what has and hasn’t worked and vow to be better as we move into the last half of the year!
5 Questions to Answer for Your Mid-Year Money Check
#1 Is all my spending tracked?
You can’t complete a mid-year money check without knowing what happened with your money the first half of the year. The only way to know that is by tracking your spending! The first question you’ll want to ask yourself is if all your spending is tracked. If the answer is “no”, then your goal is to get your spending from the first six months of the year tracked. Check out 5 Ways to Track and Organize Your Spending for some tips.
If your spending is tracked from the first half of the year, make sure it’s easily accessible. Not only is it good to see where your money went, but we’ll need that information as we move to the other questions in your mid-year money check.
#2 Am I on track for my annual goals?
I used to be the person who set annual goals and didn’t check in on my progress throughout the year. This would mean that I probably missed opportunities throughout the year to make more progress to reaching my goal. Don’t be like old Raya. Instead, use your mid-year money check to assess the progress you’ve made towards your annual goals.
Are you on track to reach your goals? If so, how can you make sure you continue to stay on track? If you’re not on track, what do you need to do to get yourself back on the right path? Asking yourself these questions halfway through the year will allow you to course correct and make sure you have a better chance of reaching your goals.
#3 If I’m not on track, how can I make up the difference?
I specifically included this question in your mid-year money check because it requires a lot of thought. You have your spending. You know you’re not on track for your annual goal. What do you need to do or change to get back on track? Look at your spending to see what you can cut back to put more towards your goal. Spend a lot of time here so you can give the second half of the year an honest shot to reaching your goals.
#4 How can I make more money in the second half of the year?
I’ve preached this over the years: at the end of the day, you can only cut back your spending so much. At some point, your next step will be to make more money. Once your spending is in check, you’ll be ready to seek out more income to help you reach your goals faster.
As you complete your mid-year money check, think of ways you can make more money the second half of the year. Even if they’re only temporary streams of income, extra money can help end your year ahead and set you up for success for the following year. Check out 15 Ideas to Earn Money Quick for some ideas on making more money.
#5 What has and hasn’t worked for me financially over the past six months?
The final question you’ll want to ask before wrapping up your mid-year money check is what has and hasn’t worked financially during the first half of the year. What can you keep doing? What do you need to stop doing? What do you need to start doing? Thinking through this question can help you avoid mistakes and find new ways of reaching your goals.
Make a list of what does and doesn’t work and then vow to keep doing more of what works and do less (or none) of what doesn’t work! Imagine skipping this question and continuing to do things that bare no results for the entire year?! No thank you!
Related: 6 Questions to Help You Reflect on Your Goal Progress
One thing I’ve admitted to struggling with in the past is setting goals but not properly tracking the goal status along the way. Almost like I’d set the goal and see where I was come the goal deadline. There’s a more effective way to make sure you can reach your money goals (or any goal for that matter)! Track and monitor your progress along the way.
The questions in this article can help you midway through the year to assess your goal progress and make changes before it’s too late! Do you monitor your goal progress regularly? Any tips you can share? Drop them in the Comments section below!
-Raya
The CGS Team
