Time to Catch Your Breath, Ascenders
Here we are – the final stretch of 2025. If you’ve been following along with Monthly Money this year, you’ve checked your accounts, reviewed your spending, maxed out what you could for retirement, and tied up those loose ends that always seem to multiply in December. You’ve done the work.
Now? Now it’s time to step off the trail for a moment.
The View from Here
You know what experienced hikers do when they reach a good vantage point? They don’t immediately forge ahead to the next mile marker. They stop. They take in the view. They pull out their map and plan the next leg of the journey while their legs recover and their perspective expands.
That’s exactly where we are right now, and that’s what I’m asking you to do this week.
Take time with your family. Put the spreadsheets away. Close the banking apps. You’ve prepared your finances for 2026 – that foundation is solid. What you need now isn’t another optimization strategy or one more financial tweak. What you need is space to dream.
Your Assignment (The Fun Kind)
Between now and the New Year, I want you to do something that might feel unfamiliar: spend time envisioning what 2026 could actually look like. Not just financially – holistically.
- What does your family want to experience together?
- What’s one thing you’ve been putting off that deserves your attention?
- Where do you want to be this time next year – not just in net worth, but in life?
- What would make 2026 feel like a year you truly lived, not just survived?
Talk about this with your partner. Include your kids in age-appropriate ways. Dream a little. Maybe dream a lot.
Why This Matters
Here’s something I learned as a former financial advisor and wealth manager and most importantly-a dad: the families who built real wealth weren’t the ones obsessing over every basis point. They were the ones who knew why they were climbing in the first place.
Your money is a tool. It’s there to help you build the life you actually want, not some theoretical perfect financial statement. But you can’t build that life if you haven’t taken time to imagine it.
What’s Next
When we reconvene on January 2nd, we’re going to take everything you’ve envisioned this week and create your 2026 map. Think of it as your trail guide for the year ahead – practical, achievable steps that connect today’s reality with the summit you’re working toward.
But that mapping exercise only works if you’ve done this week’s work. You can’t chart a course to somewhere you’ve never imagined going.
So go. Enjoy your family. Rest. Reflect. Dream.
The climb continues in January, Ascenders – and it’s going to be your best year yet.
What are you envisioning for 2026? Drop a comment below – I’d love to hear where you’re headed.
