Many clients ask us for suggestions for good financial health, and we often recommend having a “budget summit” twice a year – January and July. In January we like to think about what lies ahead for the year. Are you taking a big vacation? Do we have to upgrade anything in the house? Any major medical expenses coming up?
But the July summit is more fun. We can go back and see how close we were to our estimates. Where did we go off track? Now let’s make adjustments. We had no idea that our PG&E was going to be $1,200 in February, so we got our HVAC system tested and what do you know, it wasn’t working correctly. Suddenly we needed a new system. With that unexpected expense we were not going to make our annual budget assumptions, so we decided to put off upgrading the bathroom.
July is also a good time to think about your retirement contributions. If you are self-employed, you probably have a good sense for how much money you might earn in 2025 so now is a good time to make an estimated contribution to your SEP IRA or Solo 401(k). And if you haven’t made an estimated tax payment you can jump on that. If you work for an employer, now is a good time to see if you are on track to reach the maximum amount you can contribute to your 401(k) this year and make any adjustments.
There was a recent article in the NY Times on Sunday June 29th about “no buy July” (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/27/your-money/no-buy-july-budgeting.html) and while we love the idea of “conscious spending” what didn’t make sense is that July is actually a great month to buy some big ticket items. TVs, mattresses, cars, many essentials go on sale for “back to school” – which seems to come earlier and earlier every year. Seems like somebody out there wants to try and create a marketing gimmick around every month!
Good financial health is spending in moderation, checking in on your budget periodically and buying big ticket items when they are on sale – so don’t miss out on those 4th of July sales – or Prime Days!
If you want help with your budget, we can help! We are very cash flow focused and help clients establish and refine their budgets all the time. If you are a current client, you can email us at info@astifinancial.com or new clients can schedule an intro strategy session to see if we are a fit for your needs.