Many in their 40s find themselves at a life stage where career, family and long-term planning all converge, creating highly stressful financial pain points.

We’ve created a concise midlife money checklist. This will enable you to take control of your finances and help guide you towards achieving the ultimate financial goal for many – the freedom to retire early or pursue longed for passions.

1          Shine a light on your finances

Analyse your net worth: Annually update your assets minus your liabilities to establish your current net worth.

Review your spending: Track one to three months of expenses to understand your cash flow.

Set a feasible budget: This provides the discipline needed to build long-term wealth.

2          Debt & cash

Create an emergency fund: A core foundation of financial goals is having a safety net for unexpected life events such as job loss, property or car repairs. Establish three to six months of essential expenses and hold this in an accessible savings account. Your emergency fund should always be fully funded before investing.

High-interest debt: It’s recommended that our total debt payments should be no more than a third of our gross monthly income. Pay off credit cards and personal loans with the highest APR first. Tackling and eliminating high-interest debt is a crucial goal that frees up cash flow for saving and investing toward bigger ambitions.

Review your mortgage: Compare your current rate with the market and consider refinancing or making extra payments if it saves you money.

3          Family & education

School fees and/or university savings: Establish the estimated total amount required for your child’s/children’s education and set a monthly auto-transfer aiming to fund this.

Health and protection insurance: Ensure you have adequate life, disability, and health cover for your dependents to ensure you can cover essential bills like rent, mortgage payments, and living costs if the unforeseen happens.

4          Your pension

As a rule, by the time you reach 40, the recommended value of your pension should be equivalent to roughly three times your annual salary. You should make consistent contributions to your pension fund(s), to take advantage of tax-efficient schemes.

Most pension schemes allow you to make regular, additional contributions or one-off lump sums to your pension on top of your standard auto-enrolment contributions. If you increase your workplace pension contributions, your employer may also increase the amount of employer contribution being paid in.

If you have one, ensure your private pension complements your workplace pension and is on target for your ideal retirement age.

Plan for making strategic choices about how best to draw a retirement income – this can make a real difference!

5          Estate & legal

Will: Ensure your will is up to date with your chosen beneficiaries.

Power of attorney: It’s good practice not to wait until you later years to draw up a power of attorney. This enables those you trust to help with any financial and healthcare decisions on your behalf if the worst happens.

Document storage: Keep copies of all finance related documents in a secure but accessible location.

6          Future goals

Define big goals for the next 5–10 years (home improvements, new business start-up, sabbatical, adventure holiday, etc). Estimate cost and open a dedicated sinking fund to put in a fixed amount until you hit your goal. It’s intentional and purpose driven.

We have quite a few clients who have experienced midlife financial stress, so completely understand how this impacts on their lives and delighted when we’re able to help.

“Working with Gemma has really lifted the stress we used to feel around money and instead given us clarity and peace of mind. We’re so pleased to have her support and expertise and look forward to continuing to work with her in the years ahead.” Victoria

You can read Victoria’s full testimonial here.

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

The value of an investment with St. James’s Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds selected and may fall as well as rise. You may get back less than you invested.

The levels and bases of taxation and reliefs from taxation can change at any time and we are dependent on individual circumstances.

Powers of Attorney and Will writing involves the referral to a service that is separate and distinct to those offered by St. James’s Place are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

SJP Approved 02/12/2025