Your Mid-Year Financial Checklist

As we turn the calendar to July and hit the halfway point of the year, now is a great time to take care of things that you might normally forget about. Change your smoke detector batteries, check your HVAC filter, and also-check your finances! The halfway mark of the year is a great time to review your finances and ensure that you are on track to meet your financial goals for the year. Below is a list of items that would be great to review now:

• Your beneficiaries. Beneficiaries on our retirement accounts, life insurance, transfer-on-death designated accounts, and even in our estate plan, are easy to forget about. It is important to review your beneficiaries regularly to make sure that your assets will still pass as you wish. The middle of the year is a great time to sit down and review your beneficiaries, and to make any necessary changes.
• Your insurance coverage. Now is a perfect time to gather all of your insurance policies (life, property & casualty, disability, etc.) and review your coverage. Do you have enough coverage for your needs? Do you have too much coverage? Are there any areas where coverage needs to be adjusted to accommodate changes since you first opened the policy? These are all questions that you should be asking of your insurance policies. If anything needs to be updated, don’t wait!
• Your asset allocation. As the financial markets move, it is likely that some of your investments may have come out of balance relative to your original investment plan. Mid-year is a great time to take a look at your portfolio and rebalance if necessary. It is also a good time to take a look at your investment plan and ensure that it is still suitable for your investment goals.
• Your retirement plan contributions. With 6 months left in the year, there is still time to adjust your retirement plan contributions to ensure that your are hitting your savings target. Are you capturing the full company match? Is your goal to max out contributions for the year? Are you contributing enough to meet your retirement goals? Should you be making Roth or Pre-tax contributions? Reviewing your contributions now can help you make quick adjustments that will lead to major long-term results.
• Your fees. Do you know what you are paying your financial advisors? Do you know how much your company’s retirement plan costs? What about the management fees on your mutual fund/ETF investments? Now is a perfect time to review that various fees that you pay across your accounts, and look for any opportunities to optimize for cost. Fees are one of the biggest factors in long-term account growth, so it is important to ensure that you are getting the value you expect for the fees you pay. If not, an adjustment may be necessary.

While this list is not exhaustive, taking time to review these items as we hit the halfway point of the year can lead to long-term financial success. If you are unsure where to start, or simply want a second opinion on these and other financial items, contact us at Greenspring today!