You’re halfway through the year.
Back in January, you probably had some ideas about what you wanted to happen with your money. Maybe you wanted to save more. Pay down debt. Build an emergency fund. Get control of your spending. Start investing. Stop living week to week.
You made plans. You set goals. You might have even set up systems to make it happen.
So here’s the question that matters: are you where you planned to be?
The Honest Answer
If the answer is “yes, I’m on track” – great. Keep doing what you’re doing. And also keep reading, because the second half brings different challenges (Christmas, anyone?), and you’ll want to plan for those too.
If the answer is “not really” or “not at all” – you’re not alone. Most people don’t hit their January goals exactly as planned. Life happens. Priorities shift. Unexpected bills arrive. Job situations change. You get tired and lose motivation.
The important thing isn’t whether you hit your goal perfectly. The important thing is knowing where you genuinely stand right now, so you can decide what to do about it.
Do Your Mid-Year Check-In
Here’s how to actually do this without it taking all day.
Step 1: Find Your January Numbers
Go back to where you started. Pull up your bank statements from January. Look at your account balances. If you wrote down a goal somewhere (even just in a note on your phone), find it.
What did January-you want to happen by June?
Step 2: Look at Where You Are Now
Pull up your bank statements from this month. Look at your current account balances. Check your progress on whatever goal you set.
This is just information. There’s no judgment yet – it’s just facts.
Step 3: The Honest Comparison
So if January-you wanted to save $5,000 by December, have you saved $2,500 by June? If you wanted to pay off $10,000 in credit card debt, are you halfway there? If you wanted to build a $2,000 emergency fund, do you have $1,000?
You don’t have to be exactly on track, but you can see roughly where you stand.
Step 4: Ask Why
If you’re on track – why? What worked? What habits did you build that made it possible? Do more of that.
If you’re not on track – why? Did something genuinely unexpected happen (medical bills, job loss, car breakdown)? Or did priorities shift and that goal doesn’t matter as much anymore? Or did you just lose momentum and forget about it?
The reason matters, because it tells you what to do next.
Adjust Your Plan
An intentional money plan isn’t supposed to be set in stone in January and never touched again. It’s supposed to work for your life as it is right now.
If your goal was too ambitious, adjust it. If your circumstances have changed, update the plan. If you’ve realised your January priorities aren’t actually your real priorities, change them.
This isn’t failure. This is being realistic and flexible.
Maybe You Adjust the Goal
You wanted to save $10,000 by December. You’re at $3,000 in June. That’s fine – maybe the goal was too aggressive. Adjust it to $6,000 total, or $7,000. Set a realistic target you can actually hit.
Maybe You Adjust the Timeline
You wanted to pay off your credit card by June. You’re halfway there. Adjust the timeline to September instead. That’s still progress, and it’s more achievable.
Maybe You Adjust the Priority
You wanted to save for a house deposit, but halfway through the year you’ve realised what you actually need right now is an emergency fund so unexpected expenses don’t derail you. Switch your focus. Your January goal can wait.
Maybe You Adjust the Approach
You were trying to save by cutting back on spending, but that wasn’t sustainable. Adjust your approach – maybe you need to find extra income instead, or automate your savings so you don’t have to think about it.
The point is, if something isn’t working, change it. Don’t just keep struggling along with a plan that doesn’t fit your life.
Plan for the Second Half
Now that you know where you stand, you can plan for what’s coming.
The second half of the year brings specific challenges. School holidays. Back to school expenses. Christmas shopping. Year-end bills. Summer energy costs. All that costs money, and it happens at predictable times.
Unfortunately most people don’t plan for it. They just get surprised when the bills arrive in November and December.
You can be different.
What Do You Want to Happen in the Second Half?
Think beyond just surviving. What do you actually want to achieve in the next six months?
Maybe you want to have Christmas paid for by November so you don’t start the new year in debt. Maybe you want to build your emergency fund higher. Maybe you want to take a holiday. Maybe you want to finally pay off a specific debt. Maybe you want to invest some money.
Write it down. Be specific.
Work Backwards
If you want $3,000 for Christmas by December, that’s roughly $500 per month starting now. Can you do that from your current income? If not, do you need to find extra money elsewhere? Can you cut back on something?
If you want to save an extra $5,000 in your emergency fund by December, that’s about $833 per month. Is that realistic for your situation?
If you want to take a $4,000 holiday in September, you need roughly $1,300 per month for three months. Can you make that happen?
Working backwards from your goal to your monthly requirement shows you whether the goal is achievable, or whether you need to adjust it.
The Point of All This
The point of a mid-year check-in isn’t to make you feel bad about what you didn’t achieve. It’s to give you information so you can make conscious choices about the second half.
You get to decide what matters. You get to adjust your goals based on reality instead of fantasy. You get to plan ahead so Christmas doesn’t surprise you in November.
And most importantly, you get to see the progress you have made, even if it’s not as much as you planned.
If you’ve saved anything since January, that’s progress. If you’ve paid down any debt, that’s progress. If you’ve just started tracking your spending, that’s progress. Progress is progress, even if it’s slower than you wanted.
Use your mid-year check-in to celebrate what’s worked, adjust what hasn’t, and plan for the chaos coming in the second half.
Need Help With Your Mid-Year Check-In?
If you’re not sure where to start or you want help adjusting your plan for the second half, book a free call and we can chat about where you’re at and what would help most.
Or check out my coaching packages if you want ongoing support through the second half of the year.
Want more practical money tips? Read the blog or subscribe to get tips in your inbox.
Disclaimer: This information is general in nature and doesn’t take your personal circumstances into account. Always seek professional advice for your specific situation.
