Embrace the Mid-Year Pause

July 1st marked the beginning of the second half of 2024, and for many of you, one of the next few weeks also marks the second half of summer. It's a reminder of what we all know: time flies. And, this is your reminder that you can do something about it.

Taking a moment to journal about the first half of your year, and what you want the next half to look like, are crucial to living aligned with your intentions.

Whether the first two quarters of 2024 felt out of alignment, or completely on-task, now is a great time to reflect on what is working, what is not, and where your goals may have shifted. I'm sharing some of my journal prompts, as well as some helpful quarterly financial planning tips, to help you stay on track with the rest of 2024 and beyond.

My Q3 Journal Prompts

1. How has 2024 felt to me so far?

2. What were the three biggest professional wins for the first half of 2024?

3. What were the three biggest personal wins for the first half of 2024?

4. What has brought me peace and stability this year?

5. What's something positive I've done for my wellness this year?

6. What would I like to change in the second half of the year?

7. What are the relationships in my life that I would like to focus more on?

Quarterly Personal Financial Planning

Entering Q3 means now is the time to take care of your quarterly financial tasks. Here are some that are good to tackle each quarter:

Revisit your household budget 🔎

It's easy for budgets to slip throughout the year, especially as our priorities and routines may have shifted. Each quarter, take a look at your recurring expenses to see which ones need to be cut in order to align with priorities that have changed for you throughout the year. If new costs have made their way into your budget, it's a good idea to see which OG costs should be on the chopping block.

Make income-based goals 🎯

It's a great idea to make income-based goals, such as "invest 20% of my take-home pay". Mid-year is an excellent time to reassess those goals. Can you be more aggressive with your investing goals? Or maybe you have a big event that you want to save for, so what changes do you need to make to create that savings number? In addition to reassessing these goals, be sure that your saving or investing amounts still align with your goals if your income has changed. Start this exercise by taking a look at all of your net income and realigning your income goals based on your short and long-term financial plans. Then, make sure you adjust your systems to see your goals through; setup automatic investments when possible!

Quarterly tax planning 📖

If you make estimated quarterly tax payments, be sure to plan for your next (and last) payment in 2024 coming up September 16. If you have a rental or other business, use this time to ensure that your books are up-to-date and that any tax payments or other business expenses made to date are documented.

This is also a great time to estimate your 2024 tax bill to determine whether you can and should make higher contributions to tax-advantaged accounts in order to reduce your taxable income for this year.