Money and Relationships: Year in Review

We find ourselves more than halfway finished with 2011, and now may be a great time to assess our financial goals for the year. Many of these goals fall into joint finance goals, so as we continue our Money and Relationships series, let’s take a look at our goals for the year and how we can get back on track.

What Was My Goal Again?

The first step in reviewing our goals is to identify your goal. Did you want to put away $2,000 by the end of the year? Invest in your first stock? Both of these things? Well, shout it out from memory, ask your spouse to remind you, or call up your spreadsheet; just try to identify what your goal was.

If you are unsure what you resolved to accomplish this year (or never made a goal), it’s never too late to make a new goal! Think of something you wish to accomplish before 2012 rolls in.

How Far Did I Make It?

Now that you know what you and your spouse vowed to accomplish in your financial relationship this year, together you can assess how far you’ve come. Did you save $1,000 toward your $2,000 savings goal? Great! If not, there’s still plenty of time to rearrange your finances and reach that resolution.

If you or your spouse are visual people (like me!), it may be helpful to write down your goal and your assessment. Better yet, make a goal thermometer and hang it on your wall. It can sometimes help to have a constant reminder hanging over your heads (quite literally). Then, you can also mark off the money you save as you save it, which basically gives you both a visual pat-on-the-back for every dollar you stick in the piggy bank.

Reassess

Once you know how far you’ve made it, you can also tell how far you need to go. If you did not make it halfway to your goal, you can ramp up your efforts in the coming months. For example, if you only made it $700 toward your $2,000 savings goal, you know you need to reassess your spending to save a little more.

Here it is often helpful to look back on where you and your spouse have overspent. Maybe you bought something that really wasn’t in your budget. Or possibly an emergency popped up that made it impossible to save as much. Whatever the reason, knowing why you could not reach your goal can help you identify how you can get back on track.

Whether you reached your goal or are a few dollars off, assessing your finances and resolutions halfway through the year can help you and yours satisfy your goals (or make new ones!), all to welcoming 2012 with goals complete and champagne in hand.

Are there any other tips out there? Does anyone else assess goals with their spouse mid-year? What other ways do you check in with each other?

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