4 Financial Checks to Do Before the Last Four Months of the Year

👋 Hey, it's Travis

Tomorrow is September 1st. We're officially entering the -ber months. September, October, November, and December. Just 4 months until the New Year. Catches me slightly off guard how fast it can go. Before you notice it's already Christmas.

Because of that I like to sit down and look at where things are at before this last stretch starts. Just four checks that take a Sunday morning and set you up so that end of December isn't a surprise.

And I think September is one of the better months for this. It beats January, that's for sure. In January you're running on pure motivation and New Year's resolutions. September is honest and gives enough runway to actually change the year's trajectory.

This week's Money Monday is four things worth checking before September starts - because four months is enough time to actually move something if you start now.

📊 1. Recalculate Your Net Worth

Eight months of data - summer spending, any debt taken on, any investments made or missed. The numbers moved somewhere, so now it's time to take a look.

Pull every asset and every liability, subtract, and compare to where you started the year. Is it up? Good, you're on the right track, system is moving and grooving. Flat or down? That's okay, we've got 4 months to mend this and get it back on track. That's why we're doing this now and not the beginning of December.

This is the check that tells you whether the year is working or not. If you've never run this number, no worries. Better late than never. Mark it down and check it again at the end of the year.

💸 2. Check Whether Your Savings Rate Actually Moved

Did you set up an automated savings increase earlier in the year? Now is a great time to check on it. Did it stick? Is the money actually going where you decided?

The specific question: what percentage of last month's income did you actually save? Was it what you planned?

If the savings rate hasn't moved since January, moving it 1% now means three months of compounding before December and three months of building the habit before the holiday spending pressure starts.

📅 3. Run the Q4 Irregular Expense Audit

The holiday season is the most predictable budget emergency of the year and most people treat it like a surprise.

List every expense coming between now and December 31st that doesn't bill monthly: holiday gifts, travel, year-end events, car maintenance before winter, any annual subscriptions renewing in Q4. Add them up. Divide by four. That's what needs to be set aside monthly starting now to cover them without putting anything on a credit card in December.

The point isn't to not spend on the holidays. It's to already have the money when they arrive so you can actually enjoy yourself and not stress about finances.

💳 4. Address Summer Debt Before the Holidays Add to It

BNPL purchases, credit card balances that grew over summer, any financing taken on for a vacation or a bigger purchase. The holiday season is coming and it will create new spending pressure. Carrying summer debt into the holidays only leads to compounding debt and stress.

Pull every balance. Total them. What's the interest rate on the highest one? Is there a specific payoff target before December?

This doesn't need to be fully solved in September. It needs to be seen clearly so the holiday spending decisions get made with accurate information about where things actually stand.

🎃 Bonus: Start the Halloween Budget

October is closer than it feels. Costumes, candy, decorations, parties. For families especially, Halloween spending adds up quickly and can be quite a scare if it isn't planned for. Spend a few minutes now and plan it out so you aren't shocked come November.

✅ Money Moves to Make This Week

🎯 Action 1: Calculate your net worth today and compare it to January (15 minutes)

Assets minus liabilities, written down with today's date. Then pull whatever number you had in January and put them side by side. That's eight months of information in one comparison.

🎯 Action 2: List every irregular upcoming expense and divide the total by four (15 minutes)

Gifts, travel, events, subscriptions renewing, car maintenance. Add them up. Set that monthly amount aside starting this week, not in October when it feels urgent.

🎯 Action 3: Pull your highest interest summer debt balance and set a payoff target (10 minutes)

Log into whichever account has the highest rate. Write the balance, the interest rate, and a specific dollar amount you want to have paid down by December 31st. You don't need to solve it today. You need to see it clearly so the holiday spending decisions get made with that number in mind.

💬 Fund(amental) Quote of the Week

Four months is not the end of the year. It's enough time to change how it ends.

Until next Monday,

Travis