Featuring insights from REDW Wealth‘s James Karberg, CFP®, as seen on AZ Family with anchor Jaime Cerreta
A mid-year financial check-in is one of the most practical steps anyone can take to protect their financial goals before the second half of the year takes over. James R. Karberg, CFP®, Principal and Practice Leader of Wealth Management at REDW Wealth, joined AZ Family in May 2026 to share a simple, three-question framework for assessing your financial health at the halfway mark — and how small adjustments now can make a meaningful difference by December.
Why Mid-Year Matters More Than You Think
By May or June, the year has texture. You know what your spending actually looks like — not what you hoped it would look like in January. You can see whether the raise stuck around in your savings account or quietly got absorbed by takeout. And you still have six full months to course-correct before December shows up.
The goal isn’t to audit your life. It’s to take about 20 minutes and look honestly at where things stand. With summer spending right around the corner — higher utility bills, travel, camps, weddings — getting a read on your habits now puts you in a much stronger position for the rest of the year.
The Three Questions
James suggests beginning evaluating your financial health with three simple questions:
1. Am I Saving Enough — and Saving Consistently?
These are two sides of the same coin. Saving something is a start, but saving too little, too irregularly, won’t move the needle over time. The goal is a steady rhythm — a consistent percentage going into your 401(k) or a recurring transfer to savings — that also actually reflects what your goals require. A heroic deposit in March followed by months of silence is far less effective than a modest, automatic contribution that never misses. Think about both the amount and the habit.
2. Is My Debt Decreasing, Not Increasing?
Direction matters more than speed. If the balance on your credit cards, auto loans, or other revolving debt is moving down month over month, you’re winning — even if it’s slow.
3. Am I Spending Less Than I’m Earning?
The simplest test, and the easiest to dodge. If money is flowing in faster than it’s flowing out, the rest of the plan has room to work.
Two Out of Three Is a Passing Grade
Here’s the part most people miss: you don’t need to nail all three. James notes that hitting two out of those three puts you in solid financial shape. That permission to not be perfect is part of what makes the framework stick.
“Financial success is not perfection. It’s progress.”
James Karberg, CFP®, on AZ Family
That line is worth sitting with. Very few can complete a perfect financial year. The people who build wealth are the ones who stay in the game — even when a month goes sideways.
Summer Is Where the Budget Usually Slips
Summer carries hidden costs: higher utility bills as the temperature climbs, travel, weddings, camps, concert season, eating out more because nobody wants to cook. None of these are problems on their own. They become problems when you don’t plan for them.
A few moves to make this month:
- Pre-fund summer. Estimate what travel, events, and extras will run, then move that money to a separate account now.
- Audit your subscriptions. Streaming, apps, gym memberships, software. The average household has more than a dozen. Cancel what you don’t actively use.
- Watch the daily leaks. Coffee runs, lunches out, impulse online orders. Each one is small. Together they’re the line item nobody can find in the budget.
Small Changes, Compounded
Another big point: don’t overhaul. Adjust.
Bumping a 401(k) contribution by just one percent feels invisible in a single paycheck. But with compound growth over a 30-year career, a one percent increase over time can make a huge difference. Cutting one dinner out per week can be the price of a vacation by year-end. Small, consistent moves do the heavy lifting.
Start Saving for the Holidays Now
Yes, in June. The reason holiday spending becomes financial whiplash for so many families is that it arrives all at once. By starting a dedicated holiday fund this month, six months of small contributions cover what would otherwise hit a credit card in December. The math is the same. The stress is completely different.
Is a 20-Minute Monthly Check-In Worth It?
James’s answer is yes — emphatically. His advice: assign 20 minutes a month, look at three things, and correct course as you go. Not an annual review. Not a quarterly deep-dive. Just a regular, low-stakes check on the three questions above.
Calendar it like a meeting. Treat it like one.
When a month goes sideways, come back to this: financial success is not perfection — it’s progress. Keep going.
Twenty minutes, once a month. That’s time well spent.
About REDW Wealth LLC
Founded in 1997, REDW Wealth LLC is an SEC-registered investment advisory firm subsidiary of REDW LLC. With offices in Albuquerque and Phoenix, the REDW Wealth team provides financial planning, investment management and consulting, and estate planning services to individuals, families, businesses, institutions, and Tribal entities and manages more than $866 million in assets under management. For more about REDW Wealth, visit REDW Wealth online at redw.com/wealth, or connect on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/redw-wealth-llc.
© 2026 REDW Wealth, LLC. This content is intended for informational and market commentary purposes only. The information contained has been prepared without regard to any investor’s objectives, financial situation, or needs. Accordingly, investors should not act on any recommendation (express or implied) or information in this material without obtaining specific advice from the financial professional(s) of their choosing and should not rely on information herein as the primary or sole basis for their investment decisions.
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