Reflecting Back on 2018

As the year winds down and you look back on 2018, it’s a great time to reflect on the things you accomplished, things you didn’t quite get to, and the things you’d like to change for the coming year. Life happens. Circumstances change. There are habits we need to leave behind and new one we need to build. By taking a few minutes to reflect back on the past year, your trip down memory lane now may bring clarity on things that may not have seemed clear at the time. Like the saying goes, hindsight is 20/20.

Start by thinking about the goals you reached, the successes you had, the struggles you encountered. What can you learn from each? These may be personal, professional or financial, but we’ll focus our attention on the latter. Financial lessons can be hard to forget because the impact can stay with you for a long time. Here are some key questions to reflect on to check your financial wellness journey in 2018:

(1) Do you have an emergency fund? Does it need to be replenished?

(2) Do you have high interest debt? Do you have a plan to pay it down?

(3) Was your spending on track? Do you know where your money went?

(4) Did your credit score go up or down? Why?

(5) Did you save money for the future? Is it automated?

(6) What’s one good financial habit you know you should have but just can’t get started on?

(7) What’s one bad financial habit you just can’t shake?

No matter the answers, you can approach each as a learning opportunity for next year. Don’t worry about solving these problems right now. Just think about these questions and be honest with yourself. We’ll get to solving them soon enough.

BrightDime can help you get your finances on track for 2019. Just login and start chatting with a coach.