Your Yearly Money Check-Up

The story: Check-up day

Ana and Marcus sit together with a checklist on their yearly money check-up day and mark off each item.

1. Narrator: Every year on the first Saturday of spring, Ana and Marcus run the same money check-up.
2. Marcus: Net worth first. Then the budget and the emergency fund.
3. Narrator: They work down the list: retirement saving, insurance, beneficiaries, credit freezes and account security.
4. Ana: We had a baby this year, so there are three fixes: beneficiaries, life insurance and our wills.
5. Narrator: A birth, a move or a new job is a trigger event. Next time, check what it touches right away, not just on check-up day.
6. Marcus: Done in one afternoon. Same day next year.

What you’ll learn

1. One afternoon, once a year

   Pick the same day each year, like a birthday or the first weekend of spring. Use the same checklist so nothing slips. Most households finish in an afternoon, and it gets faster each year because you start from last year’s notes.

2. A typical order

   Net worth, budget, emergency fund, retirement saving and rebalancing, insurance and beneficiaries, credit reports and freezes, account security, tax withholding (W-4), tax breaks with end dates, estate papers, kids’ accounts and the family code word.

3. Trigger events

   A marriage, divorce, birth, death, move, new job, job loss or inheritance calls for an extra check right away. These are trigger events. Don’t wait for check-up day when life changes; check the items the change touches.

4. Who joins

   Include anyone who shares the money, like a partner, or a trusted person if you manage money alone. Teens can join parts of it to learn. Write down what you changed, so next year starts from this year’s notes.

Key words

annual review

a yearly check of your whole money plan

trigger event

a big life change that calls for an extra check right away

Common questions

What if I find a lot of problems?

That’s normal the first time. Fix the biggest risk first, like an old beneficiary form, and put the rest on a short list for the next few weeks.

Do I need all ten items?

No. Pick the ones that fit your life now. The list can grow as your life changes.

Remember this

Same day every year, same checklist.

Try it: Put check-up day on the calendar

1. Pick a date and put it on your calendar every year.
2. Print or save your checklist from this lesson.
3. On the day, work through the list and note what you changed.

No account needed: print the checklist you build in this lesson, or write your own.