a lot can happen in six months thats why as we close out the first half of the year it makes sense to check in on your financial life with inflation people this year are more heavily impacted in comparison to earlier so its a good time to see how things have been going as well as plan for what lies ahead in the remainder of the yearso where should you start add these four items to your midyear money checklist1 review your income expenses and goalsyou dont have to tally up every penny youve made and spent over the last six months but taking a few minutes to check a bank or budget app can help you better understand your finances and coursecorrect if necessaryright now with inflation even if you had a budget back in january it probably is not the same as it is today there are some things that are going to need to be changed so its just really resetting and figuring out where you stand today versus where you thought you were going to stand today says kayla welte a financial plannerlook for opportunities to scale back if youve spent more than anticipated for example you can dine out less or cancel subscription services you rarely use any excess spending that youve been doing you may have to cut down to account for this higher cost of things that you absolutely have to buy welte saysif you set money resolutions or other financial goals earlier this year check on those too have you saved as much toward retirement or an emergency fund as you planned are you on track to pay off debt2 deal with debtdebt is becoming more expensive to carry due to rising interest rates pay down debts sooner particularly those with variable interest rates to save money these debts might include credit cards personal loans or adjustablerate mortgagesconcentrate on reducing your highestrate debt first then move on to the next highest dallacqua also suggests switching from variablerate to fixedrate options by refinancing if possible if you can lock in the fixed rate now youre likely to be saving yourself significantly in interest costs over time he sayssetting aside money now in a separate savings fund can help soften the blow3 plan holiday shoppinginflation could make holiday gifts a little pricier this year create a shopping list and think about how much you can afford to spend figure out what that would require for you to start saving on a weekly or monthly basis and start putting that money aside right now dallacqua saysstarting on shopping early can also help you manage the cost without accruing debt many retailers host major sale events4 examine your taxes and benefitswelte recommends using an online tax calculator to check whether youre withholding too much or too little this can help you avoid getting hit with a big tax bill unexpectedly or missing out on extra cash you may need nowif you do the math