Before Fall Arrives, Give Your Financial Plan a Checkup

August is a natural transition point. Summer isn't quite over, but families are already looking toward the fall. Back-to-school expenses are arriving, schedules are changing, and the final months of the year no longer seem very far away.

It's also a good time to give your finances a checkup.

That doesn't mean trying to predict where the stock market will be at the end of the year or searching for the next great investment. Instead, it's an opportunity to look at the financial systems you've already put in place and ask whether they're still doing what you intended them to do.

Start with the basics.

Review where your money is going

Many financial plans gradually drift away from their original purpose. A subscription gets added here, an expense increases there, and a few months later the monthly budget can look very different.

Look at several months of actual spending rather than relying on what you think you normally spend. You may discover expenses that can be reduced, but the purpose isn't necessarily to cut everything possible. It's to make sure your spending still reflects your priorities.

Sometimes a financial review simply confirms that things are working as planned. That's useful information, too.

Look at your emergency savings

An emergency fund isn't designed to produce an impressive investment return. Its job is to provide accessible money when something unexpected happens.

Consider whether the amount you've accumulated still makes sense for your household. Changes in housing costs, insurance, transportation or family expenses can change the amount of cash you feel comfortable keeping available.

If you're still building an emergency fund, consistency can matter more than making large contributions. A smaller amount saved regularly can gradually create a meaningful financial cushion.

Review your investments, but resist the urge to constantly change them

Investment accounts deserve periodic attention, but reviewing a portfolio doesn't necessarily mean trading.

Ask whether your investments still reflect your goals, time horizon and tolerance for risk. A portfolio can change significantly when one investment performs much better or worse than the others.

It's also worth looking at how much cash you're holding and whether you're contributing as much as you planned.

The important distinction is between reviewing a strategy and reacting to the market.

Markets will always provide reasons to feel optimistic or nervous. A long-term financial plan should be able to function through both.

Check your retirement contributions

Retirement accounts are easy to put on autopilot and forget.

Take a few minutes to see how much you've contributed so far this year. If your financial situation has improved, you may decide that you can increase your contribution. If circumstances have changed in the other direction, you can adjust accordingly.

The important part is knowing where you stand rather than discovering it in December.

There is still time left in the year to make thoughtful adjustments without feeling rushed.

Revisit the goals behind the numbers

Financial planning can easily become a collection of account balances, percentages and charts. Those numbers are useful, but they're not the actual objective.

Money is a tool.

Your goals might include retirement, buying a home, paying for education, eliminating debt, building a business or simply creating more financial flexibility for your family.

Ask yourself whether the financial decisions you're making today are moving you toward those goals. If they are, you may not need to change very much. If they're not, identifying the difference is the first step toward making an adjustment.

A good financial system doesn't need constant attention

One of the most useful things I've learned about managing money is that a good system should reduce the number of decisions you have to make.

Automatic savings, regular retirement contributions, defined investment rules and periodic reviews can remove some emotion from financial decisions.

That doesn't mean ignoring your finances. It means creating a structure that doesn't require you to reinvent your strategy every time the market moves or another expense appears.

August provides a natural opportunity to perform that review.

You don't need to know what the markets will do this fall. You only need to know whether your financial system is prepared for whatever comes next.