7 Resolutions for Financial Success

By Dave Carpenter -- AP Personal Finance Writer

CHICAGO (AP) — Summertime and the livin' is easy, which often means letting decisions about your finances slide. Who wants to think about tedious money matters during vacations and down time?

But this year in particular, it may be a good idea to sit down and reset some things as midyear statements roll in.

The dust from the market crash has largely settled, and government decision-makers are in the midst of taking actions that will reverberate throughout the economy, the markets and beyond. You want to be prepared for the consequences.

Summer also is generally a golden opportunity for those willing to use some of their extra time to tighten their finances.

"It's like the fable of the ant and the grasshopper," said Eleanor Blayney, consumer advocate for the nonprofit Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards. "The grasshopper fiddles away the summer while the ant puts away food for the winter. Which one do you want to be?"

Be an ant, at least for a little while, when it comes to your financial affairs this summer.

Here are seven midyear financial resolutions, as recommended by certified financial planners, that should pay off in the long run:

1. REVIEW FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND STRATEGY. If you're among the many who have developed a habit of not opening account statements or delay looking at them since the market crash, it's time to break it.

It's not just that stocks have bounced strongly higher since early March, making midyear statements tolerable to look at. Disengagement can lead to bad things while your investments are on autopilot — portfolios can get out of whack, becoming too risky or conservative for your situation.

Besides looking at recent results, make sure your holdings and investment allocations still make sense in this economy. And rethink your strategy periodically from now on, either on your own or with a planner's help.

"Don't just assume you can throw money into an indexing strategy, or a couple of actively managed funds, and let them go," said Ron Myers of Associated Financial Consultants in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. "That may not be the case any more."

2. BECOME MORE AWARE. As part of a financial reawakening, it's a good idea to watch political and legislative actions more closely because federal and state officials are reshaping your future on many fronts.

Your investments, taxes, insurance and health care all face changes from a variety of pending or expected proposals: a health care overhaul, Social Security and Medicare reform and some states' income tax increases among them.

3. BUILD UP YOUR EMERGENCY FUND. The Great Recession and still-rising unemployment have increased the urgency of having at least six months' minimal living expenses set aside. The average length of official unemployment is now 24½ weeks and rising — the longest since the government began compiling that data in 1948.

Besides serving as a cushion in case of job loss or disability, it could also help provide the freedom to try a new line of work. "This job market is giving people an opportunity now to pursue what they love doing," said Susan Spraker of Spraker Wealth Management in Maitland, Fla. "People lose sight of the silver lining of second chances."