Category: Financial Planning
Estimated Read Time: 7 Minutes
Publish Date: September 13, 2026
Summer has a funny way of throwing normal life out the window.
Vacations. Weddings. Camps. Golf. Concerts. Weekend trips. Eating out. Home projects. Kids running in every direction.
And somehow, September arrives before we know it.
The kids are back in school. Vacations are winding down. The calendar starts looking a little more normal again.
Financially, this is also one of my favorite times of the year for a simple reason:
There is still time to do something.
January gets all the attention when it comes to setting goals and making financial resolutions. But September might actually be one of the best times of the year for a financial reset.
You have eight months of the year behind you, which means you have real information about how the year has gone.
And you still have several months ahead of you to make adjustments.
So before life gets busy again with the holidays and year-end deadlines, now is a great time for a financial check-in.
First, How Did Summer Actually Go?
This doesn't need to start with a spreadsheet.
Just look back.
Did you spend more than you expected this summer?
Maybe the family vacation cost a little more than planned.
Maybe there were more dinners out than usual.
Maybe you tackled a home project.
Maybe summer camps, sports, travel, or weddings added up quickly.
That's life.
The purpose of financial planning isn't to eliminate spending on things you enjoy. It's to make sure that spending fits within the bigger picture.
So instead of looking at summer expenses and thinking, We spent way too much money, ask a better question:
Did our spending interfere with anything else we're trying to accomplish?
If the answer is no, great.
If the answer is yes, September gives you an opportunity to adjust.
Maybe you rebuild cash over the next few months.
Maybe you temporarily reduce discretionary spending.
Maybe you rethink how much you want to set aside for travel next year.
The goal isn't guilt.
It's awareness.
Check Your Cash Position
After a busy summer, one of the first places I'd look is cash.
How much do you have available today?
Is your emergency fund where you want it?
Did you dip into savings over the summer?
Are there larger expenses coming before the end of the year?
The holidays aren't that far away. Neither are property taxes, insurance premiums, tuition payments, travel, or other expenses that may hit toward the end of the year.
Having cash available for known expenses can help prevent those costs from turning into credit card balances or forcing you to sell investments at an inconvenient time.
And if your cash reserves took a hit this summer, that's okay.
Now you know.
You have the next few months to rebuild them.
Look at Your Retirement Contributions
September is also a good time to check your retirement savings.
Pull up your latest 401(k) statement or paystub.
How much have you contributed so far this year?
Are you on pace for what you intended to save?
Are you receiving the full employer match available to you?
Did your income change during the year without your contribution percentage changing with it?
For higher earners especially, it's worth checking your contribution pace before getting too close to December.
You don't necessarily need to maximize every retirement account available to you. Your strategy should depend on your goals, cash flow, tax situation, and other priorities.
But you should at least know whether you're on track.
There's a big difference between intentionally deciding where your money should go and realizing in December that you simply forgot to make an adjustment.
Don't Forget the Accounts Outside Your 401(k)
Retirement accounts usually get most of the attention.
But what about everything else?
Have you been contributing to your non-qualified investment account?
What about an IRA or Roth IRA if appropriate?
Are you building savings for a future home purchase?
Have you made the 529 contributions you planned for your children?
This is where financial planning becomes more than simply asking:
"Am I saving enough for retirement?"
You may be saving plenty for age 65 while underfunding everything you want to accomplish between now and then.
Building wealth isn't just about accumulating the largest possible retirement account.
It's about creating financial flexibility.
September is a great time to look at all of your savings goals together and make sure your money is going where you actually want it to go.
Back to School Is a Good Reminder to Review Education Planning
If you have children, the beginning of another school year can also be a natural reminder to revisit education planning.
College may feel incredibly far away when your child is starting kindergarten.
Then suddenly they're in middle school.
Then high school.
Then you're touring colleges.
Time moves quickly.
Take a look at any 529 plans or other education savings you've established.
How much are you contributing?
Has your goal changed?
Do you expect to cover all of college, a percentage of it, or simply contribute what you comfortably can?
There isn't one correct answer.
What matters is that your education strategy fits alongside your retirement, cash flow, and other financial goals.
You don't want to fund one goal so aggressively that another important part of your financial plan gets ignored.
Open Enrollment Is Coming
For many employees, fall also means open enrollment.
And this is one area where people tend to click "same as last year" and move on.
Take a little more time this year.
Health insurance options can change.
Your family situation can change.
Your income can change.
Your benefits can change.
Review your health insurance choices, HSA or FSA elections, life insurance, disability coverage, and any other employer benefits available to you.
If you have an HSA, consider how it fits into your broader financial strategy rather than viewing it only as an account for this year's medical bills.
And make sure your beneficiary designations are still accurate.
These aren't exciting financial decisions.
But they matter.
Start Thinking About Taxes Before December
December 29th isn't the ideal time to start thinking about tax planning.
By then, many opportunities may already be limited.
September gives you time.
Have you realized significant investment gains this year?
Do you have investments currently sitting at a loss?
Could tax-loss harvesting make sense?
Have you made charitable gifts you intended to make?
Has your income been significantly higher or lower than expected?
Could a Roth conversion potentially make sense?
Do your tax withholdings still look appropriate?
Not every strategy will apply to every person.
But that's exactly why tax planning should happen before tax preparation.
Tax preparation looks backward.
Tax planning looks forward.
There are still a few months left in the year to make decisions that may affect your 2026 tax picture.
What Has Been Sitting on Your Financial To-Do List?
We all have them.
The beneficiary you meant to update.
The old 401(k) you were going to roll over.
The life insurance policy you wanted to review.
The estate documents you haven't looked at in five years.
The investment account sitting at another institution.
The will you said you'd finally get done.
The financial conversation you've been meaning to have with your spouse.
Usually these aren't difficult because they're impossible.
They're difficult because life keeps getting in the way.
Pick one.
You don't have to fix your entire financial life this weekend.
Just take one thing that's been sitting on the list and move it forward.
Progress compounds too.
Go Back to the Goals You Set in January
Think back to the beginning of 2026.
What did you want to accomplish financially this year?
Maybe you wanted to save more.
Pay down debt.
Invest outside your retirement accounts.
Buy a house.
Take a big vacation.
Increase your 401(k).
Start a 529.
Get your estate planning done.
Or simply feel more organized.
Now ask yourself:
Am I closer today than I was in January?
Don't worry about whether everything went perfectly.
It probably didn't.
That's not the point.
Financial planning isn't about predicting exactly what the next 12 months will look like and then following a perfect plan.
Life changes.
Priorities change.
Markets change.
Income changes.
Expenses change.
A good financial plan changes with them.
September Might Be the Best Financial Reset of the Year
There's something powerful about January.
A new year feels like a clean slate.
But January has one major disadvantage:
You don't know what the year is going to look like yet.
By September, you do.
You know roughly what you've earned.
You know how much you've spent.
You know what happened in the markets.
You know whether your goals are still realistic.
You know what unexpected expenses showed up.
And most importantly, you still have time.
You don't need to wait until January 1st to get organized.
You don't need a perfect budget.
You don't need to overhaul every account you own.
You just need to look at where you are, where you're trying to go, and whether the two still line up.
Summer is over.
The kids are back in school.
Life is getting back into a routine.
Maybe your finances should too.
Financial clarity doesn't come from checking every box. It comes from knowing where you stand and what you should do next.