You might have read our article “Manage Your Annual Finances With Simple Monthly Steps For Q1” for the best monthly financial decisions from January to March. This article will cover the monthly steps to take that will help you manage your annual finances from April to June for Q2.

April

This month will help you organize for the first month of Q2starting with reevaluating your goals as this is a perfect time to review your progress on goals that you set in January. This will give you a chance to see which goals you’ve completed so you can set new goals, moving on to the following high-priority task. It’s best to revaluate your goals the first month following the last month of the previous quarter that should be done at the beginning of each quarter. The next thing to focus on in April is to increase your savings rate as you contribute to your taxable account by 1%, 401(k), or IRA which usually doesn’t seem like too much. Gradually increasing your savings rate a little at a time as you’ll hardly notice your paycheck is 1% less but will contribute to your savings and investment funds in the future with these investments compounding over time. This plan is standard for the first month forQ2, Q3, and Q4 that will slowly increase your savings that can add up over time with minimal effort.

May

By May you’ve received your tax rebate that can result in some people splurging on big purchases when they should be considering how to spend is wisely or not spends at all. One of the best uses of your tax refund is paying off your debt with the highest interest rate, building an emergency fund, invest, or deposit into your savings account. This month is also great timing to adjust your federal and state withholding allowances depending on how you filed your taxes last year. This can be the case if you ended up with a larger bill than the predicted tax bill that will help you for next April by requesting the government hold onto some of your money for tax purposes.

June

Following tax season, it’s best to brush up on your knowledge of finance by reading a personal finance book and you can start an annual goal of reading one per year. You can research which book will help you with your financial situation and another option is listening to an audiobook that you can listen to anywhere that can be great for long car rides. This month can be utilized to do a mid-year clean-out to go through your belongings to find assets you no longer use that you can sell for a profit. There are many methods for selling items like hosting a garage sale, selling through online marketplaces, or selling to a pawnshop (if applicable).Anything you’re unable to sell you can donate with most donation sites offering a receipt for a tax deduction that you can use for next year’s tax season. If you would like to continue taking monthly steps to manage your annual expenses, you can check out the article “These Monthly Goals For Q3 Can Help You Manage Annual Finances.”