Wrapping up your 2023 financial year.

As we approach the middle of Financial Literacy Month, and the last month and a half of 2023, it is time to consider your year end personal finance check-in and how best to approach that. As the year draws to a close, it’s the perfect time to reflect on your personal finances, assess your progress, and get ready for the upcoming year. To properly check-in with your personal finances, there are a series of steps to ensure your finances are on the right track and are ready for whatever challenges and opportunities the next year my bring. 

1. Reflect on your financial goals – Start by taking a moment to reflect on your financial goals that you set at the beginning of the year, and possibly updated as the year progressed. Did you aim to save a specific amount, pay down debt, better manage your budget? Reviewing your goals will provide some clarity on what you have accomplished and what you might want to accomplish in the future. 

2. Review your budget – Reviewing your budget regularly allows you to determine where your money is going. You will be able to identify any areas where change may be required, whether you need to allocate more money to a designated category or find a way to spend less in that category. Analyzing your budget towards the end of the year also gives you an opportunity to consider what the new year will bring and adjust for any changes you may foresee. 

3. Assess your debt – To gauge whether you have made any progress in reducing your debt, take a look at your outstanding debts, such as credit card balances, loans, and lines of credit. Compare these balances to the balances at the beginning of the year. Were you able to pay down what you intended to, or did you accumulate more debt throughout the year. If you accumulated more debt, than it’s important to take this into consideration when updating your budget.

4. Check your emergency fund – If building an emergency fund was a top priority this past year, look and see if you met your goal. It should have enough funds to cover unexpected expenses such as medical expenses, income as the result of a job loss, car repairs, etc. If you have not met your goal or had to dip in to cover unexpected expenses throughout the year, ensure your emergency fund stays a top priority into the next year. 

5. Analyze financial habits – Reflect on your past years’ financial habits. Did you make any lifestyle changes, such as reducing unnecessary expenses, implement any financial challenges to improve your savings, etc. If you have discovered you created more bad habits than good habits, make a list of habits you would like to change in the upcoming year, and how you can set yourself up for success. 

6. Set new financial goals – After assessing your 2023 year, it’s time to consider the upcoming year and what goals you would like to accomplish. When doing this, it’s important to remember what you did really good in 2023, what changes you would like to implement in 2024, and ensure your new goals are well defined goals that are specific and measurable. 

An important thing to remember as your year comes to an end is that goals are not static, and they may evolve and change as your life circumstances change. By taking the time throughout the year to assess and reassess your financial goals, it will help you stay on track and make informed decisions. 

By following these steps, you’ll have a better understanding of the past year. You may have made financial mistakes or put your goals on the backburner due to circumstances out of your control such as inflation, but you are not alone and now is the time to make a plan to have a better upcoming year. 

If you had trouble meeting your financial goals due to overwhelming debt, there are options.

If you are looking for advice, or a second opinion about your debt, it does not cost anything to talk about your options. Every financial situation is unique and viable options can differ from person to person. A conversation free of judgment is the first step to determine options for debt that make sense to you. For a free consultation, please call or text (506) 645-1814 or email jaime@tackledebt.ca; or visit www.tackledebt.ca.