How quickly the year flies!  Soon it will be the last week of June which means we’re halfway through this year. It’s a great time of year to take stock of the promises we made to ourselves when the year had just started.

Are we on track to achieve what we wanted for this year? Are we making a little progress at least? Or have we not started as yet?

It’s also at this time of year that our thoughts turn to the shape of our finances. Are they shiny and bright like a crisp new apple? Or have they gone a little ‘pear-shaped’?

It doesn’t seem to be easy to make ends meet at the moment – Money doesn’t seem to stretch as far at the supermarket; car, health and household insurances have gone up again; council rates are due to rise and of course – electricity and gas prices  are elevated at least once every year.

It seems like our wallets are being attacked from all sides – I guess you don’t need anyone to remind you how tough it is at the moment.

The 30^th of June marks the end of the current financial year – the time when we gather together all our paperwork and receipts in preparation for filing our tax return. It’s traditionally the time when a lot of financial decisions are made or re-evaluated.

For every person and/or household that has an income now is the time to assess your money and how you’re managing. If you’ve fallen behind in your savings plan – then now is the time to make amends. If you’re falling behind in paying your bills when they’re due – then now is the time to organise or re-organise your budget.

If you don’t know how to get things started or back on track then call us!  The worst thing you can do is to leave things till they are beyond repair.

The end of the financial year doesn’t have to mean the end of your financial focus.

©   Carmel McCartin – Budget Bitch

And don’t forget – (The views expressed in this blog are the personal opinions of the author. Don’t rely on them to make financial decisions; you have to make up your own mind. If you don’t like the content – then either stop reading or send me an email)