If you were sure that your 2025 economic objectives and priorities were rock solid, realizing that they may no longer work for you this year can certainly keep you up at night. However, there is nothing wrong with adjusting them as needed to better align with your current financial situation. In fact, being honest with yourself about adjustments you might need to make is the responsible way to handle changes to your personal financial situation or concerns about how an unstable economy might impact it. Here are some of the most critical steps to take when working with CrossleyShear to re-evaluate your financial priorities and adjust your 2026 financial goals to better align with your current needs.

Focus on Your Budget

While you may have no control over a volatile economy, adjusting your personal budget to better manage changing conditions remains one of your most important financial responsibilities. If you feel that you may no longer be capable of meeting previous targets, or if you need to set new ones that you hadn’t previously considered, it’s necessary to take action. In such cases, you will likely need to decrease your spending or increase your income. This will help you maintain an appropriate balance moving forward. Always prioritize meeting your immediate obligations before pursuing more ambitious 2026 financial goals. It’s acceptable to scale back investments or other long-term objectives if you need to spend more on essentials like rent, medical bills, or a reliable vehicle.

Identify Exactly Why You Are Changing Your Financial Goals

Wanting to spend less money in the coming year is a good decision for many people. Still, it is not specific enough to be sustainable. Reflecting on your overall financial situation and identifying specific reasons for setting new financial goals can clarify your motives and help you stay committed to necessary lifestyle changes. Some common reasons for changing your 2026 financial goals include:

• Losing a job or starting a new one with a significantly higher or lower salary
• Getting married
• Having a child
• Purchasing a new home or moving to a new city with substantially higher rent than you are used to
• A child is starting college or an expensive private school
• Significant medical expenses

Set SMART Goals

Pinpointing exactly why you want to set new 2026 financial goals is an essential first step. Then, make sure those goals are specific to help you achieve them. Goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound offer a structured approach to making changes. Using small, clear steps leads to better results than vague goals without a plan.

Prioritize Annual Reviews

Your annual reviews are valuable for understanding your current financial situation and how national and global economic changes may influence it. They also help identify beneficial adjustments for the coming year. Regularly scheduled checkpoints allow you to reflect on your income, spending habits, investments, and overall portfolio. They help identify areas for improvement for your next review.

Choose CrosselyShear to Reach Your 2026 Financial Goals

At CrossleyShear, we are here to help you understand every detail of your current financial situation. Our goal is to use that information to choose realistic priorities for this year onward. Setting new plans can feel intimidating, especially if what you thought was the perfect solution one or more years ago no longer works for you. However, identifying older financial goals that are no longer a good fit for you and being realistic about why is a smart money move that helps you make better use of every dollar. Instead of ignoring changes to your financial situation or the economy and hoping they resolve on their own, we’re here to help you reassess older decisions that may no longer be sustainable in 2026 and adjust them to align with current conditions. Contact us today to learn more about the benefits of working with us to maximize your financial goals this year or to get started. Every investor’s situation is unique and you should consider your investment goals, risk tolerance and time horizon before making any investment. Prior to making an investment decision, please consult with your financial advisor about your individual situation. The foregoing information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee that it is accurate or complete, it is not a statement of all available data necessary for making an investment decision, and it does not constitute a recommendation. Any opinions are those of Dale Crossley and Evan Shear and not necessarily those of Raymond James.