Why This Review Matters Now
Think of October as a financial checkpoint. It's the ideal month to assess your financial habits and make adjustments. With the festive season around the corner, expenses on travel, gifts, and celebrations can quickly spiral. A proactive budget review
now ensures you are prepared for these costs without derailing your long-term goals. Furthermore, it sets a strong foundation for the new financial year, allowing you to enter it with clarity and confidence. By taking a few hours to analyse your spending and saving patterns, you can identify areas for improvement, cut unnecessary costs, and ensure your money is working as hard as you are.
Audit Your Recurring Payments
Recurring payments for subscriptions and services are often a blind spot in personal budgets. That monthly charge for an app you no longer use or a streaming service you forgot about can add up significantly over a year. Your first task is to become a detective. Scour your bank and credit card statements for the last three months to identify all automated debits. The RBI's e-mandate framework makes this easier, as you should receive a notification 24 hours before a debit. For each recurring payment, ask yourself: 'Do I still use this? Is it worth the cost?' To cancel, you can either go through the merchant's website or app, or stop the payment directly through your bank's net banking portal or UPI app. Many UPI apps like Google Pay and PhonePe have an 'AutoPay' section where you can view and cancel mandates with a few taps. This simple clean-up can free up a surprising amount of cash.
Analyse Your Loan Costs
Loans, especially those with floating interest rates like home loans, are directly impacted by changes in the RBI's repo rate. As of August 2026, the repo rate has been held at 5.25%, providing some stability. However, it's crucial to understand how your Equated Monthly Instalments (EMIs) are structured. A rise in interest rates may have increased your loan tenure rather than the EMI amount, meaning you will be paying the loan off for longer. Check your latest loan statement to understand the current tenure and interest rate. If your EMIs feel burdensome, several strategies can help. You could consider making partial prepayments to reduce the principal outstanding, which can lower either your EMI or the tenure. Another option is to explore a loan balance transfer to a different lender offering a more favourable interest rate, though you must factor in processing fees. For a less drastic measure, simply negotiating with your current lender or opting to extend the loan tenure can provide immediate relief, but a longer tenure often means paying more interest over the life of the loan.
Review Your Investment Contributions
Your investments, particularly Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs), need regular check-ups to ensure they align with your financial goals. An annual or semi-annual review is generally sufficient for most long-term investors. The first step is to consolidate all your holdings, including mutual funds, stocks, EPF, and NPS, to get a complete picture of your asset allocation. Compare your portfolio's performance against relevant benchmarks; for instance, see how your large-cap fund has performed against the NIFTY 50. Consistent underperformance might be a sign to reconsider that fund. Also, check for 'portfolio drift,' where market movements have shifted your asset allocation away from your target. For example, a bull run might mean your equity exposure is now higher than you're comfortable with. Rebalancing—selling some assets and buying others—can bring your portfolio back in line with your risk appetite. This review is also a good time to ensure each investment is still mapped to a specific goal, be it retirement, a child's education, or a down payment on a house.
