The Fall season is here and it’s cozy, cool and the leaves are changing colors. It’s easily my favorite season because it represents newness and a signal that the end of the year is coming.
This time of year also brings a period of self-reflection, and gives you a view on how much you want to accomplish by January. That’s why it’s a great time for you to think about your money goals, and what you’ve achieved. It’s also perfect to brush off your financial goals and start working on them.
Here’s my Fall Money Checklist that will help you to look at your current money situation and learn how to save money for Fall.
Fall Money Checklist #1: Get Clear on Your Money Vision
Now is the time to take a look at your money vision. Your money vision is asking yourself where do you want to be in your financial life? This vision should be personal to you and your goals.
With this exercise, you are laying out what you want to accomplish for the balance of the year and the upcoming year. You can even think about a longer-term plan like in the next five to ten years.
Some of the plans may be buying a house, starting a family or going back to school. As you map out these plans, look at them through a financial lens, how will these plans affect my money life? What do I need to put in place?
Take some time, reflect and map out your money vision.
Fall Money Checklist #2: Plan Your Budget for the Upcoming Holiday Season
When Fall begins, it signals that the holiday season is very close and will require some planning. In this season alone, there’s Halloween, Thanksgiving and the early days of the Christmas season.
These are holidays that will require some financial investment in different ways and could affect your budget. Autumn is the time to start mapping out how you will be spending your holidays and how much you will be budgeting for all the things that come with the season.
This will help you with getting your finances in order so that you are in a good position to meet all the expenses that will come up. Check out my blog post on getting ready for the Christmas season and saving for the holidays here.
Fall Money Checklist #3: Look at Your Credit Report
Knowing your credit score and taking a look at your credit report is another important thing you should do during the autumn months. You are entitled to one free copy of your credit report every 12 months. You can learn more about the process of grabbing your free credit report here.
Once you get your credit report, you can see if there are any errors and verify that the information is correct. under report, if there’s something missing. Knowing this information will let you know your credit information and will help you to make plans.
It’s a great way for you to figure out what your finances look like, so that you can make good decisions, and also start mapping out your financial goals.
Fall Money Checklist #4: Assess your Savings Accounts
Look at your savings accounts, do you have enough saved up in your emergency fund? Are you contributing to your company’s savings plans like a 401K (USA) or RRSP (Canada)? Are you investing or thinking about investing? Do you have a retirement account and how much are you contributing to this account?
These are all questions you should be asking yourself. Take a look at all of those things and figure out how much money you need to save to reach your savings goal at the end of the year. Look at how much money you want to save for next year, start mapping out your savings strategy and figure out what it will look like and get yourself on track.
Conclusion
Fall is a beautiful time. It’s a time for renewal. It’s a time for looking at your goals and your life and what you want to achieve in the coming year. It’s also a time for you to wind down the year and think about your financial life. Make the whole entire journey fun, but also think seriously about what you want to achieve and how you’re going to do it.
What other money activities will you be doing during this autumn season?
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