 WED, SEP 1, 2021 
It's September, which, under normal circumstances, conjures the real "new" year for many, as students head back to school. This year, many kids will return to their classrooms, and workers who have been home for most of the coronavirus pandemic will venture back to offices. We're not out of the woods from Covid yet. Still, with circumstances and routines changing for many, it can be a good time for that "fresh" start: to take a look at the bigger picture, check in on your finances and think through what your goals are going forward. One strategy I have turned to time and again is the life audit. I wrote about it for CNBC, and you can also read a blog post by Ximena Vengoechea, the original creator. Essentially, a life audit entails taking a night when you don't have anything else to do and listing out every single thing you can think of that you want to accomplish at some point in your life. That might be a promotion at your current job, or owning a house near the ocean, or even something less high stakes, like beating a certain video game.
I list my goals out on individual Post-it notes and stick them to a wall; you can also use a Word document, paper journal or some other system that works for you. Having everything written down can be, in my experience, clarifying about what's important to you and if you're already heading in the right direction or need to reroute.
But if it's too draining to think of the future right now, you can still take some time to consider what you want to accomplish before 2022, at least. That might be paying off some debt you've accrued, or taking on some new responsibilities at work. Maybe that's a new job entirely.
A few things I want to check off my financial to-do list before the end of the year:
Some other ideas:
And if those don't strike your fancy, here are 30 simple tasks CNBC Make It put together at the start of the coronavirus pandemic that can help you get a handle on your finances.
Once you have an idea of what you want to do, you can write out some concrete steps for making them happen.
What's part of your financial reset? Email me at alicia.adamczyk@nbcuni.com, I'd love to hear from you. Have a friend who might appreciate this type of content? Please forward it along!
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