With two quarters under the market’s belt in 2024 and the next earnings season on the horizon, Rachelle Akuffo joins Wealth! to discuss how you can navigate a mid-year financial check-in.

She stresses the importance of looking back on your budget for the first half of the year and noting where you may have overspent or underspent. This will help you adjust your budget to better reflect your lifestyle and needs in the second half of the year.

Akuffo also encourages revisiting your financial goals and ensuring they’re SMART — Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-sensitive. She points to increasing payments on high-interest debt or trimming unused subscriptions as a way to get closer to those financial goals.

During that process, you should check in on your emergency fund and make sure to replenish it if it has been dipped into. Akuffo explains that an emergency fund should have three to six months’ worth of living expenses to prevent any financial shocks if an emergency were to arise.

For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Wealth!

This post was written by Melanie Riehl

Video Transcript

With two quarters down and the next earning season on the horizon, now is a great time to check in on your financial goals for more.

We welcome in our own Rochelle a coo Hey, Rochelle.

Hey, Brad, good to see you.

So, of course we’re headed into the second half of the year and getting ready for another earning season to kick off.

So before you blow all your money this summer or your YOLO money, let’s get your mid year financial check in.

So first thing to do.

Re evaluate your budget from the first half of the year.

See perhaps what you over spent or underspent if you need to adjust.

Perhaps adjust uh, your budget to better reflect the ongoing realities of pers of persistent inflation as well, especially on your essentials.

Things you’re accounted for your housing, your food, your utilities and your transportation.

Next, revisit your financial goals to make sure that they’re smart.

That stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time sensitive.

And ensure that there’s still a priority for you.

For example, increasing payments on some of the high interest debt you might have, or perhaps trimming subscriptions that you don’t use.

And if there is a goal that you’ve already fulfilled, perhaps you can find a new one or put those funds towards your remaining goal.

Also very important.

Check in on your emergency fund because if you had to dip into it this year, you do have to remember to replenish it.

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You can do that by automating deposits.

It can just be small amounts, but keep building it up until you have 3 to 6 months of living expenses to really limit any financial shocks that might come up next.

Of course, check your debt.

Of course, there’s been a lot of news about student debt and different kinds of debt, So reassess your debt repayment strategy to make sure that you’re still on track.

And, of course, don’t forget to check in with creditors if you’re falling behind, as well as negotiating payments.

If your income has changed significantly so good to keep in mind, don’t just stick your head in the sand here.

Also consider consolidating debts to a lower interest rate if possible, so that you’re not still paying very high interest rates.

If you don’t have to.

Brad.

So, Michelle, do you have any tips for mid year investment strategy Check ins Now, obviously, a lot has changed since the beginning of the year, so it is always good to review your investment portfolio to ensure that it does still align with your long term financial goals.

And, of course, your risk tolerance as well.

And your asset allocation.

Now it’s interesting because according to Charles Schwab’s most recent modern wealth survey, only 36% of Americans have a written financial plan.

You have to write it down so that you know what your goals are, and you know what you’re aiming for.

And even among those that do, 96% of those surveys say they feel confident about reaching their financial goals.

So something about seeing it written there in black and white.

And, of course, it also depends on where you’re getting your advice from.

And when it comes to sources of quality advice, professional financial advisors still top the list, followed by accountants, investment firms and friends and family.

So do your due diligence, but don’t feel like you’re you’re locked in here, but please, just just check in.

Make sure that your budget and your financial goals still make sense.

Alright, great tips there for a mid year check in Yahoo Finance’s own Michelle A coo Michelle.

Thanks.