Monthly Money Review
Create a recurring monthly process for reviewing accounts, spending, debt, savings, and upcoming financial obligations.
What Monthly Money Review gets you.
By the end of this upgrade you will have a recurring monthly checklist that reviews accounts, spending, debt, and savings in one sitting.
- Login access to all bank, credit card, loan, and investment accounts
- Prior month's spending totals by category
- A running list of upcoming bills or financial deadlines
- A dedicated document or note to log each month's review
Run the upgrade.
- 01
Schedule a recurring monthly review appointment
Put a fixed recurring calendar block (e.g., first Saturday of the month) on your calendar specifically for this review so it isn't skipped.
- 02
Reconcile account balances
Log the current balance of every checking, savings, credit card, loan, and investment account to catch errors or fraud early.
- 03
Review last month's spending against categories
Compare actual category totals from your tracking system against your budget or prior-month baseline and note any category that moved significantly.
- 04
Check debt balances and progress
Confirm each debt balance decreased as expected and that no payment was missed; note the payoff trajectory if you're following a payoff plan.
- 05
Confirm savings contributions landed
Verify automated transfers to emergency fund, sinking funds, and any investment accounts actually processed at the expected amount.
- 06
Preview the next month's known obligations
List any known upcoming large bills, irregular expenses, or income changes so next month starts with no surprises.
- 07
Log a one-paragraph summary
Write a short summary of the month's financial status and one action item to carry into next month, building a searchable history over time.
- A recurring monthly calendar block for the review exists
- All account balances were reconciled this month
- Spending, debt, and savings were each reviewed against expectations
- A one-paragraph summary with one action item was logged
Monthly
- Keep every review to the same checklist so months are comparable
- Carry forward unresolved action items to the next month's review
- Update categories or accounts tracked as your financial picture changes