The new year brings time for assessment, reflection, and recalibration. This is also an excellent time to form some new, good habits.
We all know finances are always at the top of the New Year’s Resolutions list, so let’s carve out a plan to make ’em easy.
Do you wish you had a checklist to ensure you aren’t missing anything when it comes to your money?
No problem!
We’ve created a Financial Wellness Calendar to serve as a unique and actionable way to properly organize—and prioritize—your financial life.
Print it off and reference it monthly to strengthen your finances in the new year.
We’re looking at financial wellness because finances affect life way beyond your wallet.
Your relationships, your mental health, and more are all affected by your financial health. So, you’ll be tasked with activities and goals each month that are intended to uplift you financially, but holistically as well.
The concepts will never be outdated, so you can jump in anytime and it can be used year after year.
Join my mailing list to claim your free printable Financial Wellness Calendar. Then, read on to discover how to put it into action.
Affiliate Disclosure: Some of the links in this content are affiliate links, which means I may get a commission if you purchase a recommended product or service. The price you pay isn’t affected, and I’ll only make recommendations I genuinely think you’ll find beneficial.
Table of Contents
What is Financial Wellness?
Financial wellness is a healthy relationship with money.
It generally means you have a good understanding of your money and how to use it effectively according to your values and goals. However, you should define what it really means for you, because this is your life.
Financial wellness might include knowing when to ask for help, or when you are placing too much importance on money at the sacrifice of relationships.
It means taking time to invest in your strengths, desires, wants and needs—whether they are material or emotional.
It goes beyond financial literacy or being able to afford things or pay bills on time.
You may define this differently, but I believe that you have the capacity for financial wellness when you have created a relationship with money where it serves you as a tool to achieve your goals, rather than you serving it.
How does Financial Wellness relate to Mental Wellness?
It’s pretty simple. Your finances are directly related to many areas of your life.
Debt creates stress and anxiety. Stress and anxiety lead to impulsive and underthought purchases and decisions.
It’s a vicious cycle.
Your net worth, for example, is something you can be proud of when it’s expanding. But if it’s shrinking, you might feel inadequate or even embarrassed.
We tend to use money to express ourselves through purchases – from clothes and cars to houses and investments. That’s not necessarily wrong, but if we allow those items to determine our self-worth, it may be worth evaluating.
When you are feeling stuck or generally dissatisfied with life and money is a common concern, it’s a good sign that your financial wellness is out of whack.
The importance of financial health he’s become prevalent. Today, many employees are being offered financial wellness programs through platforms like Enrich and others. These platforms aim to improve financial literacy, lower financial stress, and help their overall well being.
On to the Financial Wellness Calendar
Okay!
We’ve discussed the importance of financial wellness. Now, let’s get to work!
Begin by subscribing to my mailing list for immediate access to your free Financial Wellness Calendar. Then, print it out and set to work using it monthly.
If you prefer to keep it as a digital asset only, that’s cool too.
January: Inventory in the New Year
Start the year strong by gaining a complete overview of your finances.
You’re looking at many different areas, but you aren’t going deep on any one particular item. Create a basic budget and spend time getting all of your financial documents in order.
You aren’t changing anything yet; you’re taking inventory and putting your mental wheels in motion.
Do you have an emergency savings account?
Do you have the documents available so you can be ready to file taxes? We all love taxes.
Do you feel like your financial health needs some work?
Are you effectively managing your money, or do you need to invest time in financial education to make this a successful financial year?
These are questions to ask. They aren’t problems to solve all this month. The intention is to gauge where you are on your financial journey.
The work you do now is crucial because it will be the foundation of everything to come.
Use: PocketSmith– A budgeting tool built for unique individuals… finally.
Read: How to Budget– A deep dive on budgeting from the Nerds.
February: Income Inspection
Depending on your personality type, this month might be the most fun as it allows for creativity.
How much money do you make in a month? Will you accept a challenge to yourself of increasing that number by 10%?
Increasing your annual income by 10% should give you an increase that you actually feel, even with the potential weight of inflation.
Achieve your increased income by working overtime or asking for a raise.
It’s not always easy to convince your employer to give you a raise, but you can definitely manage to increase your income by picking up a side hustle in the gig-economy, or freelancing on a site like Upwork.
The goal isn’t to crush yourself here, but the more you can increase your income, the more you’ll crush your current and future financial goals.
Use: Upwork.com– Unleash your hustle, land gigs, make money.
Read: Nick Loper at Side Hustle Nation delivers an abundance of insight and resources for those looking to build another stream of income. I’ve followed his page for several years and know you’ll get a lot out of this one.
March: Debt Deep Dive
Now that you’ve got a budget and are working toward increasing your income, it’s time to establish a plan to pay off any debt that you have.
How quickly can you become debt-free if you use the increased income to pay down debt? Really debt-free– credit card, cars and all.
To save the most money, attack the highest interest rate debt first. Then, move on to the next highest interest rate and so on, known as the avalanche method.
To experience more immediate “wins” and gratification, use the snowball method instead. This approach organizes debts from the smallest balance to the largest, ignoring interest rates. You’ll pay more interest than the avalanche approach, but you’ll quickly build psychological momentum.
If you find your credit card interest rates average 13% or more, consider a Debt Management Plan. If you’ve fallen behind, consider speaking with a debt settlement attorney. There’s no shame in connecting with a financial professional. This is your future at hand.
Use– Magnify Money’s tool compares Snowball and Avalanche debt approaches.
Read– Peruse the blog
April: Monthly Expense Exploration
Now that we’ve laid a solid foundation in the first few months of the year, we’re going to evaluate monthly expenses. You increased your income, but that went right to paying down debt. Your goal is to cut where you can so you have more money for savings and investments.
Your cable subscription might be the first thing to go; could Netflix meet your needs?
Can you avoid eating out a bit less?
How about health care expenses- the bane of America that they are?
What could be done better about your grocery shopping habits?
Look for other monthly expenses that can easily be changed or removed. Depending on your living situation, you might be able to lower your housing costs. Some approaches are downsizing, finding a roommate, or renting a room on Airbnb.
The goal isn’t to sacrifice the joy out of life; it is to make a series of small changes to enjoy sustainable progress. It can be a fun challenge to see how quickly a few dollars less in each category of your budget can add up.
When you have the knowledge that a small sacrifice in the moment can improve your overall financial well being, it won’t feel like such a sacrifice.
Use– PocketSmith: Use a budgeting tool regularly to identify surprise expenses.
Read– Bob Lotich crushes budgeting with various templates and approaches.
May: Emergency Fund Evolution
May may be a breeze, or it may be a bit of work.
If you haven’t already, it’s time to establish an emergency savings account. This is a separate account that hopefully lives somewhere in quick reach yet somewhat out of sight. Savings accounts are ideal as they don’t allow for point-of-sale transactions.
A general rule of thumb is to save 3-6 months of your expenses in your emergency fund. This should help you be financially prepared to weather most hurdles life throws at you.
We are living in a world where inflation is growing nearly twice as fast as wages, so if you already have an emergency fund it’s not a bad idea to make padding it a bit further one of your top financial goals.
Use– An interest-bearing savings account. Available when you need it… but not too easily.
Read– The CFPB’s guide to emergency funds.
June: Savings Rate Review
June is all about setting up an automatic saving plan that you won’t even notice paying into every month. After reducing your expenses, hopefully, you’ll have freed up some money.
Begin by determining your savings rate- the percentage of your income you are saving. Don’t worry about ideals or where you “should” be. We’re going to objectively find where you are today, and the goal is simply to increase that number moving forward.
If you’re still working on that emergency fund, put all you can right toward that, then move on to other investments. If you aren’t sure where to start, see what kind of 401(k) or other inve
If you’re still working on that emergency savings account, it’s in your best interest to put all you can right toward that. Then move on to other investments, specifically retirement contributions.
If you aren’t sure where to start, see what kind of 401(k) or other investment accounts your employer offers. Many employers offer a match to your contributions, and it almost always makes sense to take advantage of that first.
Once you’ve met your employer’s contribution match, look toward an HSA if you have a high deductible health insurance plan.
Most people don’t realize that an HSA is a triple tax-advantaged account:
- You reduce your taxable income by funding the account.
- Investments within the account grow tax-free.
- You can withdraw funds for eligible medical expenses without tax, too.
Utilizing these other benefits of an HSA is a financial planning strategy that most people just aren’t aware of.
Read– ChooseFI serves up a deep dive on HSA’s.
July: Work your Net Worth
Do you know your net worth?
Once you complete July’s tasks on your Financial Wellness Calendar, you will!
Your net worth is the value of your assets minus the total amount of debt you owe.
Start by adding up what’s in your checking and savings accounts. Next, add the value of any investments—retirement and non-retirement—and the equity in any real estate you own. Finally, subtract any outstanding balances on credit cards, vehicles, loans, and other obligations.
The number you reach is your net worth.
Don’t be alarmed or ashamed if you have a negative net worth- the point isn’t making harsh judgments but evaluating and taking ownership over your finances.
Use- This net worth calculator from NerdWallet.
August: Asset Allocation Assessment
A bit past the halfway mark in the year, it’s time to look at your investment portfolio and asses your asset allocation.
It’s surprisingly common for people to fly blind here.
So many people contribute to retirement accounts and dump their money into whatever option was highlighted on the homepage of their brokerage account. It’s overwhelming, and for some reason, we feel silly asking questions about things we think we should know about topics nobody has taught us.
Speak with a financial advisor or take time this month to research your investment options. The FIRE (Financial Independence/Retire Early) crowd loves low-cost index funds like VTSAX that track the broad stock market, and I’m (mostly) on board. Financial advisors may recommend different approaches based on your personal goals.
This month is more education than action. Get to it!
Read- A beginners guide to investing is worth a read no matter your familiarity.
September: Purposeful Retirement Planning
As the season turns, it’s only fitting to consider your next season. In September, you’ll be planning for your retirement with purpose and intentionality.
Allow yourself to dream.
What life do you want to live in retirement?
Where will you be? Will you sacrifice the small luxuries in life to minimize your retirement needs? Or, will you grind it out a bit longer to maintain your current lifestyle in retirement?
When determining how much to save for retirement, consider what you’ll be spending in the future. Will inflation raise prices? Will an unexpected health scare increase insurance premiums?
Plan ahead and build in the flexibility to weather the unexpected.
Read: A piece published by Stanford University lends perspective.
Use: Vanguard (my preferred brokerage) offers a user-friendly planning guide.
October: Life Plan Implementation
Since we’re already welcoming other spookies into our world in October, it only seems fitting to look at end-of-life matters this month.
Set aside the discomfort of thinking of your demise and ensure your affairs are in order. Create a will. Review your lie insurance policies. Create a document for your heirs that shares passwords, bank account information, points of contact, and the like.
It is way too easy to delay this task for a lifetime, but I implore you to get on this one. You want to leave a legacy, not a mess.
If you already have all of these affairs in order, review everything to be sure it meets your current needs and adequately express your current wishes.
Use: Policy Genius– Compare insurance options quickly and easily.
Use: Family Emergency Binder– A well-reviewed tool that will meet all the needs the Financial Wellness Calendar’s October tasks.
Read: NPR shares the importance of end-of-life planning.
November: Gift Giving Goals
November is gratitude month, which leads us right to living a life of giving.
This month, consider your gift-giving plans, both in the short and long term. You’re going to look at holiday gift-giving, charity, and philanthropy.
For gifting, consider whether you’ll be giving holiday gifts to friends and family in the holiday season. If so, how much will you spend? This is an opportunity to build savings in a holiday account where you can squirrel away funds for the upcoming winter gifting.
For charity, think about any local individuals or organizations that can use uplifting. Are you in a position to help financially? If not, are you in a position to donate your time or skills?
When it comes to philanthropy, think more broadly and longer-term. Can you make a significant impact in a small way? For example, naming a meaningful organization the beneficiary of the life insurance policy you no longer need. Even if it’s a small amount, charity can make an immediate difference.
Whatever you do, allow it to be intentional and with a grateful heart.
Use: Guidestar allows you to check out a charity before making a financial commitment.
Read: Alternative tithing approaches shared by Bob at SeedTime.
December: Intentional Living
December is going to be about mindset and closing the year on a high note.
This month, start by asking yourself one simple question: Are you living the life you want to live?
If yes, fantastic! But don’t stop there. What meaningful element of your life can you honor and make your existence—financial and otherwise—even more amazing?
What do you need to change if you’re in the wide camp that can’t answer to the affirmative? What can’t you ignore any longer? What’s the first step you can take to get there?
You may find your answers lead toward living a simpler life. Or maybe emphasizing well-being and self-care. You might wank to gain knowledge by strengthening financial literacy or pursuing a major goal. Whatever your personal outcome is, combat the hustle and bustle of December with calm contemplation.
Consider, and answer, these biggest of questions. Then take action to create that existence.
Read: Mans Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
Summing it Up
Finances aren’t always easy.
Every year brings ups and downs; excitement and discouragement.
No matter what part of the year it is or where you are financially, this Financial Wellness Calendar should help right the course reaffirm your current path.
Wishing you good wealth and health all year round!