The mid-year mark is a natural moment to pause, check in on your progress, and set your sights on the months ahead. Just like our guide for January through June, the goal here is simple: a few practical, actionable steps each month to keep you moving toward your financial goals. In this guide, we cover estate planning, emergency funds, cybersecurity, insurance, and year-end giving. Add these to your calendar - one focused task per month from July through December - make them recurring, and let the plan do the heavy lifting.
July - Evaluate or Create Your Estate Plan
Discussing and thinking about what will happen after you are gone can be difficult, but creating a plan now for who will inherit your assets, make critical medical decisions on your behalf, or care for minors in worst-case scenarios can save a lot of time and money, not to mention heartache.
If you already have estate planning documents:
Take time this month to review them with fresh eyes. Life changes quickly, and documents that made sense a few years ago may no longer reflect your current wishes.
- Review beneficiary designations on your IRAs and 401(k)s. These designations pass assets directly to named individuals regardless of what your will says, so it's important they stay current after any major life change.
- Revisit your core documents, including your will, trust, power of attorney, and healthcare directives, to ensure they still reflect your current intentions.
- Update your account directory to ensure it accurately lists your bank accounts, retirement accounts, and safe deposit boxes, including account numbers, key contacts, and login information. Include real estate and business holdings as well.
- Confirm your documents are stored securely, and consider providing a copy to your financial advisor for safekeeping.
If you haven't started estate planning yet:
There’s no time like the present to get started! You’ll want to begin by speaking with an estate planning attorney who can help you put the foundational documents in place (a will, power of attorney, and healthcare directive at minimum). In the meantime, you can take one immediate step: log into your IRA and 401(k) accounts and verify or add your beneficiary designations. This simple action ensures your retirement assets go to the right people regardless of where you are in the broader estate planning process.
August - Review Your Cash and Emergency Fund
Mid-summer is a good time to make sure your financial cushion is intact. The right approach depends on where you are in life:
- If you're retired: Make sure you have enough liquid cash or low-volatility assets to cover near-term expenses. When markets decline, you don't want to be forced to sell investments to meet cash needs; doing so risks locking in losses at the worst possible time.
- If you're still working: Make sure that your emergency fund intact and healthy enough to cover three to six months of expenses. Economic uncertainty can arise unexpectedly, and having cash on hand provides an important financial cushion.
September - Check In on Your Financial Plan
Are you hitting the savings and spending targets you set at the beginning of the year? If not, maybe it's time to revise your goals or start increasing your savings. Consider setting up automatic transfers or updating your direct deposit instructions to help you meet savings goals – automating the process removes the temptation to skip a month. If you haven't set any savings or spending goals yet, now is the time to start. Start small if you need to! Consistently saving even a modest amount each month will get you moving in the right direction.
October - Review Your Cybersecurity
Data breaches continue to affect major institutions, making it important to review your digital security habits each year. A few simple steps can significantly reduce your risk:
- Update passwords on financial accounts, email, and any accounts tied to sensitive personal information. Consider using a password manager to keep track
- Enable two-factor authentication wherever possible, especially on banking, investment, and email accounts
- Be cautious with unsolicited contact. If you receive a call or email from your bank or another source asking for sensitive information, hang up and call back at a verified number before sharing anything
November - Review Your Insurance
As we approach year-end, most employers offer open enrollment periods for health insurance. It’s a good idea to review your current elections and make changes if your needs have shifted. It's also a good opportunity to take a look at your property insurance, life insurance, and any other policies you carry. As life events occur, some coverage may no longer be appropriate while other gaps may emerge. Evaluating your policies annually helps ensure you're neither overinsured nor underinsured.
December - Give Generously
December brings several valuable opportunities to transfer wealth to loved ones and support causes you care about. Here's what to keep in mind:
Gifting to loved ones:
- The annual gift tax exclusion allows each individual to give up to $19,000 per recipient in 2026 without filing a gift tax return.
- Gifts above that amount require filing a return, though no gift tax is typically owed unless your cumulative lifetime gifts exceed the $15 million lifetime exemption ($30 million for married couples), a threshold that affects very few families.
Charitable giving:
- If you plan to itemize deductions, speak with your tax professional about making charitable donations before December 31st to potentially reduce your tax bill.
If you are taking Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from an IRA, consider a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD). This is a direct transfer from your IRA to a qualifying charity that counts toward your RMD and reduces your taxable income for the year, even if you don't itemize.
And that's it – congratulations! By tackling a few things each month, you can keep your goals in sight and ensure that you are creating the financial future you want for yourself and your family. Having goals is important, but in the words of French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, "a goal without a plan is just a wish." No one can wish their way to financial success, but even the simplest plan, consistently applied, can make a big difference.
