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June is a funny month. The kids are newly or nearly out of school, summer is technically here, and somewhere between the end-of-year class parties and the first pool trip, it hits you: half the year is already gone.

How did that happen? More importantly, how are your finances holding up?

In addition to the ridiculously priced summer camp tuition payments, June is the perfect time for a family mid-year money check-in. Not because it's fun (it's not, really), but because there's still enough of the year left to actually get back on track if you’ve drifted. Think of it as a financial halftime show, except Bad Bunny is serenading us in Spanish about tracking your spending.

Here's what to tackle:

1. Compare What You Planned to What Actually Happened

Pull up your budget from January, or if you didn't make one, pull up your bank statements and brace yourself. The goal is simple: look at what you thought you'd spend versus what you actually spent in the big categories (groceries, dining out, kids' activities, subscriptions, etc.).

Almost everyone finds at least one category that went completely off the rails. For most families, it's either food or children. Sometimes both, because children love berries and berries are car-payment-expensive.

Don't beat yourself up. Just note the gaps and decide if they reflect a one-time splurge or a new reality that needs to be built into your budget going forward. The easiest way to do this is with Monarch. If you haven’t tried them out yet, here’s my referral link.

2. Check Your Savings Progress

Are you on track with your emergency fund? Retirement contributions? Any big savings goal you set at New Year's (vacation fund, new roof, that kitchen renovation you've been "planning" since 2021)?

A good rule of thumb: by June 30th, you should be roughly halfway to any annual savings goal (duh). If you're behind, now's the time to recalculate, not in December when the holiday shopping season has already eaten your wallet alive.

Also worth noting: June 15th is a quarterly estimated tax payment deadline if that applies to you. Don't let that one sneak up on you. The IRS is not known for its sense of humor.

3. Review Any Debt You're Carrying

Take a look at credit card balances, car payments, student loans, or any "I'll pay it off next month" situations that have been quietly collecting interest since February. Make a list. Rank by interest rate. Consider throwing any extra cash at the highest-rate debt first.

If the list is longer than you'd like, that's okay. Seeing it clearly is step one. Ignoring it is how you end up in December wondering why everything feels tight.

4. Update Your Beneficiaries (Seriously)

This one sounds boring, which is why almost nobody does it. But mid-year is a great time to log into your retirement accounts and life insurance policies and confirm the right people are listed. Life changes including marriages, divorces, new babies, family dynamics, and your paperwork doesn't update itself.

5. Make a Summer Spending Plan

Summer is financial quicksand for families. Camp fees, vacations, kids bored at home ordering DoorDash when you're not looking (which apparently is a VERY real problem for families with adolescents and teens), it adds up faster than you'd think. Before June gets away from you, set a rough summer budget and talk about it as a family.

Yes, that includes the kids. Teaching them that fun costs money is a life skill. Teaching them early is a gift.

A mid-year check-in is really a sanity check as our lives are consumed with constant busyness.

Until next time, Villagers,

-Catie

Be sure to check out my handy dandy list of resources!