# Halfway through 2021, what can you do now to finish the 2021 investment year strong? Author: Pal Sinha, Barnali Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali Published: 2021-07-02 Category: FINANCE Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/finance Meta Title: How to Catch Up Financially in the Second Half of 2021 Meta Description: Discover expert advice from Eddie Ortiz, Founder & CEO of PressPlay Finance, on how to catch up and excel financially in the second half of 2021 URL: https://financedigest.com/halfway-through-2021-what-can-you-do-now-to-finish-the-2021-investment-year-stronghtml ![undefined](https://prod.superblogcdn.com/site_cuid_cm5qst7v3003gwirgwqtxn8i8/images/graphicstock-protect-company-finances-and-tax-optimization-company-investment-represented-by-dollar-symbolsuy7j2vgsg-1-1736838238229-compressed.jpg) By: **Eddie Ortiz,** Founder & CEO of PressPlay Finance ![](https://prod.superblogcdn.com/site_cuid_cm5qst7v3003gwirgwqtxn8i8/images/eddie-ortiz-450x727-1736838238250-compressed.jpg) With the world starting to open up slowly post-pandemic, it can be very confusing on what to do with your money now. People generally fell into one of two categories during the pandemic: (1) Those whose earnings were affected or (2) Those whose earnings were not affected. For those with earnings affected, there has been a renewed focus on [basic budgeting to get them back](https://www.financedigest.com/investors-go-back-to-basics-with-simpler-self-driving-vehicles.html "Investors go back to basics with simpler self-driving vehicles") to a place of having the dispensable income needed to continue wealth creation. For those whose earnings were not affected, they [saved their money](https://www.financedigest.com/how-to-save-money-for-a-car.html "How to save money for a car") given the fact that the world was shut down so commuting costs were zero, general entertainment spending was small, etc. Regardless of category, people restrained themselves the first half of the [year and are now behind on financial moves](https://www.financedigest.com/30-years-of-excel-lence-time-to-move-on.html "30 YEARS OF EXCEL-LENCE: TIME TO MOVE ON?") that should have already been taken care of by the halfway point of 2021. So, what do you do if you fit into one of these categories to catch up/have a successful [second half of the year](https://www.financedigest.com/ericssons-board-rebuked-by-shareholders-at-agm-for-second-year-in-a-row.html "Ericsson’s board rebuked by shareholders at AGM for second year in a row")? I recommend that each category take inventory of the following things: 1. Back-to-Basics Budgeting: This sounds trivial, but I highly recommend it just to give you peace of mind. Do the simple exercise of jotting down what your total [income is AFTER taxes](https://www.financedigest.com/the-sixteenth-amendment-and-income-tax.html "The Sixteenth Amendment And Income Tax"), what you have already saved, what your fixed expenses are, and what your discretionary expenses are. Fixed expenses are things like housing, food (not eating out, more like groceries), transportation, etc. Discretionary expenses are things like eating out, clothing, entertainment, personal travel, subscriptions, etc. Then take your income and subtract your expenses. What’s left is what you can put into savings as well as discretionary spending. If you have nothing left over or worse, you’re already overspending, [consider looking at your discretionary spending and reducing](https://www.financedigest.com/britains-smes-urged-to-consider-reducing-uncertainty-as-brexit-approaches.html "Britain’s Smes Urged To Consider Reducing Uncertainty As Brexit Approaches") appropriately. I recommend to [clients the 50/30/20 budgeting plan](https://www.financedigest.com/how-to-support-clients-with-complex-succession-planning.html "How to support clients with complex succession planning") where you spend 50% of your budget on needs, 30% on wants, and 20% on saving. You can find a free version of this budget plan with a simple search [engine](https://www.financedigest.com/how-to-optimize-your-new-content-for-the-search-engines.html "How to Optimize Your New Content For the Search Engines") search. 2. If in debt, pay it down: I recommend [living as lean as possible if in debt after you’ve cut discretionary spending down significantly and use all that money towards paying](https://www.financedigest.com/factbox-strikes-protests-in-europe-over-cost-of-living-and-pay-2.html "Factbox-Strikes, protests in Europe over cost of living and pay") obligations. I would also stop contributing to any [investments if you’re doing that and turn those monies over to paying](https://www.financedigest.com/sainsburys-pays-524-million-for-full-ownership-of-store-investment-vehicles.html "Sainsbury’s pays 4 million for full ownership of store investment vehicles") off your debt. You may THINK you’re saving [money but you’re actually losing it as most loans are charging you more interest than what you’re making in gains from your investments](https://www.financedigest.com/ethical-property-investment-can-your-money-do-more.html "Ethical property investment: Can your money do more? "). Also, inquire with a [financial planner on how to capitalize on other market](https://www.financedigest.com/digital-finance-unlocking-new-capital-in-disrupted-markets.html "Digital Finance: Unlocking New Capital in Disrupted Markets") conditions. 3. If not in debt, play catchup with your investments: Find out how many pay periods are left in the year from your [employer](https://www.financedigest.com/uk-employers-see-slight-fall-in-pay-awards-over-2023-xperthr.html "UK employers see slight fall in pay awards over 2023 – XpertHR") and then divide the amount you want to contribute for the year by the amount of pay periods you have left. Once you have that number make sure those contributions are being taken out of your paycheck and put into your country’s version of a 401k/IRA (ISA, LISA, etc.). For example, in the U.S., if you’re wanting to contribute $19,500 (the max contribution for 2021) to a 401k, there are [around](https://www.financedigest.com/tantalum-carbide-coating-for-graphite-market-is-estimated-to-expand-at-a-healthy-cagr-of-around-5-over-the-forecast-period-of-2021-2031.html "Tantalum Carbide Coating For Graphite Market is estimated to expand at a healthy CAGR of around 5% over the forecast period of 2021-2031") 13 pay periods left in a 26 pay period schedule (meaning you’re somewhere in June when you calculate this). That [means you’ll need](https://www.financedigest.com/does-the-monzo-effect-mean-banks-will-need-to-rethink-brand-building.html "Does the ‘Monzo effect’ mean banks will need to rethink brand building?") to set aside $1500 per pay period to get to the max contribution for the year of $19,500. You can adjust this as needed and can do this with an IRA too which, in the context of this example. $6,000 is max for IRA contributions and you would [need to save](https://www.financedigest.com/how-much-do-i-need-to-save-for-retirement.html "How much do I need to save for retirement?") $461.53 per pay period to reach that goal. 4. Maintain an [emergency fund:](https://www.financedigest.com/where-can-you-start-building-your-emergency-funds.html "Where Can You Start Building Your Emergency Funds?") If this pandemic has taught us anything it’s that anything can happen at a moment’s notice, and you must be prepared financially. I always suggest at least 3 months of expenses for your emergency fund. I would [focus on getting at least 1 month as quickly as possible and then you can take a little time getting to 3 months as you prioritize your other financial](https://www.financedigest.com/future-focus-four-trends-reshaping-financial-services.html "Future focus: four trends reshaping financial services") goals. 5. Focus on efforts that improve your [credit score:](https://www.financedigest.com/12-things-that-dont-hurt-your-credit-score.html "12 Things That Don’t Hurt Your Credit Score") Do everything in your power to pay bills on time, perform an Experian Credit Boost, and do not close any credit card accounts, even if you don’t use the credit card and have paid it off. This will ensure you have a long credit history. Performing an Experian Credit Boost is a good way to give your credit a boost in the short-term and paying [bills on-time is a great way to help it continue to climb](https://www.financedigest.com/explainer-why-europe-faces-climbing-energy-bills.html "Explainer-Why Europe faces climbing energy bills") long-term. If you are in good financial positioning, consider [paying off a personal loan early; this will also give your credit a boost as it improves your credit worthiness](https://www.financedigest.com/7-questions-to-ask-before-paying-off-your-mortgage-early.html "7 Questions to Ask Before Paying Off Your Mortgage Early"). Going through these five steps can be a useful exercise to ensure you’re on track to having a great second [half of 2021 and positioning](https://www.financedigest.com/what-brexit-blues-new-research-reveals-over-half-of-businesses-in-the-financial-sector-believe-brexit-will-have-a-long-term-positive-impact.html "What Brexit blues? New research reveals over half of businesses in the financial sector believe Brexit will have a long-term positive impact") yourself to have an even better 2022. --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. ---