There aren’t many situations in life to which a good Yogi Berra quote doesn’t apply. As we head into the holiday season and 2026, it’s a great time to check in on where you are and where you are going.
Financial health boils down to good habits being the central theme. One other habit that is relevant to financial literacy and health is the annual checkup. Just like going to the doctor each year, there are sources of potential dread in a financial checkup — do I really want to know? Can it have gotten better with another year of age? It sure is easier to ignore problems!
So just like your annual physical, if you don’t already take an annual snapshot of your financial picture, find some time over the holidays to do that. What that entails is up to you, but at a basic level I would suggest building your own “balance sheet” and potentially a cash flow plan for next year.
When my wife and I were planning our wedding, one of the traditions in the Catholic Church is pre-cana classes. These classes go through many of the logical issues that you would imagine the church would focus on, but they also covered the basics of a financial plan. As we went through the session on this, it was amazing to me how many other engaged couples had no clue that their future spouse had massive credit card debts, or, in one case, that they were the beneficiary of a large trust fund. Knowing these things is really important to having any kind of a plan together, or even on your own.
Making your balance sheet is straightforward — you are looking to comprehensively total up your assets and your liabilities (or debts). Making a simple spreadsheet that lists the things you own and the amounts you owe will not only give you a good snapshot of where you are, but it also makes planning much easier in the future. You’ll start next year’s check-in from last year’s balance sheet, and the updates can be incremental that way. Moreover, your balance sheet will greatly simplify things for your heirs in the event tragedy strikes.
Starting with this snapshot, I would then suggest building a plan for next year. It can be simple — what are the big sources of funds that will come in next year, and what are the big uses of funds next year? I like to project mine monthly — I know what my paycheck should be, and what my mortgage payment and other monthly recurring expenses will be. Then I can see what I’ll have left over after the basics for more optional expenses.
As you do these over time, you will get a good picture of the progress you are making toward whatever goals you have. Progress won’t be linear — you’ll have some good years and some less good years — but by knowing where you are, you’ll have a much better chance of knowing where you are going …
Happy Holidays to everyone!
Brad Briner is the treasurer of North Carolina.
