At the beginning of the year, many of us will have made a list of goals and desires for 2023: resolutions intended to give us a sense of purpose during the dreary days and nights of January, motivating us to get up and get things done.

They might have been work or exercise-related – or perhaps your ambitions were financial. You might have wanted to save for a new car, a mortgage or a rainy day. Maybe you wanted to pay off some credit card debt or start investing. In January 2023, inflation stood at more than 10% (it’s now at 8.7%), while rents for new lets increased by over 11%. We often make resolutions about our spending after Christmas, but it felt particularly necessary this year in the middle of a cost of living crisis.

But no matter how focused we are on saving and tightening the purse strings, we’re still only human. Financial consistency can be difficult, and that’s particularly true in summer, with weddings and festivals in full swing and more spontaneous parties and pub trips likely to distract us from our bank balances. When the sun is shining, it’s easy to end up throwing caution to the wind and dipping into our accounts more and more.

Life is for living and we all deserve to enjoy ourselves. But summer fun can derail our financial goals – delaying their progress or causing them to fall by the wayside entirely. So if you’re keen to stay on track financially, a mid-year money MOT is just what you need.

A mid-year money MOT is key to staying on top of your finances. Here’s how to do it