It is the time again. Time that comes around every 4 weeks….the end of the month. For so long, I always looked forward to the beginning of the months but never took the time to look back and really evaluate the previous month.
This is SO important. How can I budget for next month if I haven’t looked back over my finances of this month? How can I establish goals if I haven’t looked to see what I accomplished and what is still on the list?
So, before we get too crazy planning out next month. Take a moment to look back over the following:
Budget Overview
Look back at last month. What areas did you over spend in? What about under spending? Do you need to make any adjustments for next month?
Goals
I am big on this. I make goals and then I will just easily move them over month to month unless I take the time to really look at what I have done and reasons why I didn’t accomplish the other ones. This is the time when I decide if that goal is something that is worth becoming a higher or lower priority moving forward.
Highs/Lows
This one I forget but I think it is so important. To pause and look over this last month and pick out the lows and the highs. Mainly because this helps me see if there are ways I can avoid some of those lows next month and it helps me celebrate the highs. This also helps me not just rush to the next thing.
Freezer Inventory
It has been a month and I am sure that you have begun depleting your stash in the freezer. Before you can start meal planning and prepping for next month, you need to see what you already have.
Meal Review
Write down the meals that your family really liked last month. This will then help you when you start meal planning for next month.
As you can see, the end of the month really is designed to make us pause and look at what happened this last month. The good, the bad, the crazy. Then, start thinking about things you want to recreate next month and changes you want to make. Take notes of this and start thinking about how month can be even better!
