Midyear marks prime time for personal finance review

Midyear marks prime time for personal finance review

As the first half of the year comes to an end, many investors will pause to review the performance of money managers, to examine stocks and mutual funds to decide what to keep and to consider how to tweak their holdings to do better in the future.

Unfortunately, this midyear review most likely will leave out the most important manager of all, because people don't evaluate their own performance as a saver, spender, consumer and investor. They're so busy looking at investment results that they fail to consider their own progress (or lack thereof) toward personal goals.

This is odd, because investors have more power and control over themselves than over any pro. Your investment decisions may improve your portfolio, but you have complete control over your savings rate, your ability to cut debt and more, and those actions will improve your overall financial condition as much or more than dumping a money-losing stock or fund.

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