Your financial year: looking back to plan ahead with intention

It's end of December, a natural time for both reflection and anticipation.

To help you start the New Year strong, we designed a simple, two-part exercise to help you close the financial chapter on 2025 and approach your finances in 2026 with intention and focus.

It will only take about 15 minutes, plus some curiosity. Oh, and maybe a hot cup of something to warm your hands while thinking.

Let's get started!

Part 1: Your 2025 Financial Reflection

Reviewing the past helps us identify patterns and celebrate success. Here are five questions to help jog your memory about your finances in 2025:

 1. What was the single best money decision you made in 2025 that you're most proud of?

2. What was the most surprising expense that came up? How smoothly do you think you handled it?

3. What was a financial goal you set out to achieve in 2025 but didn't yet hit? What obstacle stood in your way?

4. What is one money habit that did not serve you anymore in 2025 and you're ready to retire?

5. In one word, how did you feel about your finances in 2025?

Part 2: The 2026 Financial Intention Setter 

Now, let's look forward and build a plan rooted in clear purpose and strategy:

1. If 2026 had a financial theme or feeling, what would it be?

2. What is one area of spending that you want to feel more relaxed about in 2026?

3. And one area where you need to get stricter?

4. Money may not buy happiness, but it can buy time! In which area of your life could you use money in 2026 to buy back your time? What would you do with that extra time?

5. The Single Most Important Goal (SMIG): If you could achieve only ONE financial goal in 2026, what would it be? Imagine you got it done in 2026... what has changed in your life as a result?

Shall we capture your thoughts?

Click the button below to open the 2026 Financial Design Journal. It will guide you through the questions above, and automatically email your answers back to you for safekeeping.

Start my 2026 Financial Design Journal

Ready to move from Intention to Implementation?

This is where we as financial coaches come in. We can help design your roadmap so that you increase your chances in 2026 of hitting your SMIG, and then some!