You probably kicked off 2026 with some big New Year’s Resolutions: Maybe financial goals like saving more, spending less, paying down debt, or improving your credit score.
It seems money is top-of-mind for many of us right now: Among 2026 resolutions, nearly everybody — 97% — had financial goals on that list, according to a Wells Fargo survey.
It’s now more than halfway through the year. So, how exactly is that progress coming along?
At some point in the year, it is important to reassess, regroup, and either recommit yourself to this year’s resolutions or even create some fresh ones.
“The mid-year is a great time to check in on your financial goals and resolutions,” says Michael Espinosa, a financial planner in Salt Lake City. “There's still time left in the year to make meaningful progress.”
If you delay those goals until next Jan. 1, you've wasted a few precious months that could have put you back on course. Current, a consumer fintech banking platform, shares a few key tactics to give your financial life a summer overhaul.
Review your rates. The economic climate has been so volatile recently, that interest rates can change significantly within a few short months. As one example, the current average on a 30-year fixed mortgage has now risen to over 6.6%, as of mid-August, after dipping to 6% not long ago.
That means it would be wise to check in on what rates you are paying and receiving. As of Aug. 11, the national average interest for savings accounts stands at 0.62%, according to financial information site Bankrate.
Target tiny fees. Small monthly charges are insidious because they don't seem like much at the time, but over the course of a year, they can make a massive difference to family balance sheets.
Perhaps your bank account comes with a monthly maintenance or minimum balance fee, for instance. Or you're paying overdraft fees. Paying these is completely unnecessary. Many spending accounts do not charge overdraft or maintenance fees, and have no minimum balance requirement.
Or you signed up for more streaming services than you realize: U.S. adults are throwing away $250 a year on unused subscriptions, according to a new survey from CNET.
“Review subscriptions, investment expenses, insurance premiums, and high-interest debt,” says Nathan Sebesta, a financial planner in Artesia, New Mexico. “Eliminating unnecessary costs is one of the few guaranteed ways to improve your finances.”
Supercharge savings. The harsh reality of the modern economy is that 48% of Americans say they are living paycheck-to-paycheck, according to a 2025 NerdWallet survey. The key to more financial and emotional stability is to give yourself a cash buffer, so that you're not always living on a knife's edge, and look for a higher-yielding savings account.
So build up your emergency fund with a few months’ worth of expenses, and max out retirement accounts if you’re able, suggests Sebesta. A cash reserve will then snowball in a positive way when that money is put to work in the right account.
“Make sure your emergency fund still reflects today’s expenses and current interest rates,” he says. “Many people are earning far less than they could on idle cash.”
Boost your credit score. The reality of the credit-scoring system is that progress takes time. Even if you pay off all your outstanding debts today, that doesn't mean your score is going to leap right away. Lenders want to see consistent, responsible borrowing behavior over long periods.
So to rack up significant, measurable progress by the start of 2027, you should begin right now. As a rough target, a score of 670 is considered good, while 740 is very good, according to credit agency Experian.
One way to get there is with a secured charge card, which can help you build your credit history with on-time monthly payments, and minimizes the risk of debt as you can spend only the amount of money available in your account. You'll want to look for one with a low or no required security deposit and that reports to the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion).
Beyond just these four strategies, a mid-year checkup can be used for even more than that, says Espinosa: This includes checking your tax withholding, or setting up a dedicated fund for your Christmas vacation, or updating beneficiaries on your financial accounts.
Think of all these moves as a critical restart of your financial engine. Instead of seeing your 2026 resolutions continue to peter out, you can regain money momentum over the next six months and enter 2027 running at full speed.
This story was produced by Current and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.