You’ve made it halfway through 2021 already! At this point in the year, it’s a great time to take stock of your finances and check in on your progress. Kick your financial plan into gear for the rest of the year with what we’re calling the Four R’s Midyear Financial Checklist.

1. Reconcile your receipts and review your statements.

Reviewing your statements frequently helps you mitigate fraud, catch any errors and report any suspicious activity quickly. Do you have a pile of receipts on your desk that you’ve been saving “just in case”? Go ahead and sort through those, comparing the total on your credit and debit card statements to the total on the receipts and disposing of what you no longer need to keep.

Reconciling receipts is something we recommend doing on a regular basis, no less than monthly but ideally at least biweekly. If you’re out of the habit of reviewing your monthly statements, set a reminder for yourself to get back into the practice. It’s best to catch discrepancies early and always know where your money is going. (Want to make reviewing statements from your Grow accounts a breeze by getting them directly to your email? Sign up for eStatements.)

2. Realign your budget with your life.

Take stock of your January through June expenses and income. How is your monthly budgeting method working? Is your budget still effective and moving you toward your goals? Situations can change throughout the year, especially coming out of a global pandemic, so it’s important to assess the effectiveness of your budget and make any changes as needed. Take some time to realign your budget with your long-term goals.

Do you find yourself winging it month to month without a budget in place? If so, you aren’t alone. A 2021 Debt.com survey found that while more people are budgeting than in previous years, 20% of people reported that they still don’t use a budget at all. If you don’t have a budget in place currently but want to develop one, learn more about starting a budget.

3. Review your credit report.

It’s important to review your credit report regularly, both for your awareness and to check for accuracy. Monitoring your credit helps you catch fraud or errors quickly. Plus, you’re legally entitled to a free credit report every year from each of the major three credit bureaus, so take advantage. Working to improve your credit score? Develop these four habits to improve your credit.

4. Renew your commitment to your goals.

We talked at the beginning of the year about three financial goals to set in 2021. Maybe you set one or more of those specific goals for yourself, or maybe you created some custom goals based on your own unique situation. Take some time to reflect on any of the goals you’ve set for yourself this year, financial or otherwise. How is your progress? Are there any steps you need to take to readjust your spending, saving or other choices to improve? Are there any roadblocks hindering you, and how can you remove them?

We hope you enjoy these tips and use them to help you review your finances. We’ll be continuing to share advice and information to encourage financial literacy for our members and community. Do you have a topic you’d like to see covered? Let us know by messaging us on Facebook or Instagram! We’d love to hear your input.

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Posted In:

• General Education
• Savings Education