If your workload climbed while your margin stayed flat, you didn’t grow, you just got busier. There is a difference, and your STOP Bank account has been trying to tell you that. Owning a business doesn’t have to mean 16 hour days, 80 hour work weeks, but we get caught up in how good it feels to feel needed. All the while forgetting that the whole purpose of life is to explore, love, be messy with our choices, learn from them, watch our children grow. But for some reason we stay stuck, complaining about how we are always working and still broke.

Here are three ways to review your year end budgeting:

1. Celebrate What Worked

Start by celebrating what actually supported your business this year. Name the team members, offers, clients, systems, and marketing channels that paid you back with profit and peace. If a team member had incredible loyalty or leveled up a system, celebrate them! If a service line delivers strong margins with consistent demand, keep feeding it. When cash flow felt calm and spacious, capture what created that safety, maybe it was your STOP transfers, better pricing, boundaries that stuck, smarter payment terms, or cleaner scopes. Success leaves a trail. Write down why it worked so you can budget more of it into 2026 on purpose, not by accident.

Ask yourself:
• What created profit?
• What created peace?

Common “wins” to look for:
• STOP transfers that gave you breathing room
• Pricing that felt aligned and confident
• Boundaries that stuck
• Better scopes or payment terms that protected your time

2. Review What Hurt

Now, scan for the bruises: financial, energetic, and operational pain points. This is where honesty meets leadership.

Scan for the financial, energetic, and operational bruises:
• Expenses that felt necessary but didn’t yield results
• Unused software or duplicated tools
• Hiring too early or hiring the wrong person
• Discounting to win clients… who then drained you
• Rework or scope creep that your pricing didn’t account for

If you or your team ended each quarter exhausted, that is an expense. Burnout has a real dollar value because exhaustion impacts productivity, morale, and retention.

Look at handoffs, workflows, and decision-making. Confusion is costly. If money, time, or energy leaked, it’s time to shift away from these and level up your systems and clients.

3. Decide What to Stop Doing

Give yourself permission to stop doing what no longer serves you or the business you’re becoming. This requires courage

Give yourself permission to stop:
• Legacy discounts that trained clients to expect extra for free
• “Fun” projects that look good online but don’t convert
• Serving low-fit clients who drain your energy and block aligned opportunities

Then do a pricing and payroll check-up for 2026:
• Update pricing based on real labor, overhead, and COGS
• Tighten scope and set clear expectations
• Review your team:
– Who upleveled your business?
– Who drains the team and culture?
– Who is missing the skill set needed for your next level?

If it doesn’t serve the 2026 version of your business, it’s time to release, refine, or replace.

Bonus: Come Up With Your 2026 Game Plan

Use the last four quarters to plan the next four by:
• Offer
• Season
• Capacity
• Cash flow

Structure billing to align with delivery: deposits, milestone payments, auto-pay, these protect your peace more than hustle ever will.

Pick one guiding theme for the year:
• Margin expansion
• Operational ease
• Scaling with intention

If a request, collaboration, or idea doesn’t support the theme → it’s a not now. Add it to your parking lot list for later.

Final Thoughts from Your Favorite Bookkeeper 🧡

Year-end budgeting isn’t about judgment, it’s about alignment. Your numbers show where you honored the business you’re building… and where old habits tried to pull you back into survival mode.

Use this reflection to:
• Double down on what works
• Gently release what doesn’t
• Build 2026 with intention, data, and gut feelings

If you want support building a budget that honors your time, energy, and financial goals:

👩‍💻 Want a CFO in your corner? Join my Path to Profit workshops. Each month you’ll walk away with budgeting clarity, strategy, and confidence on how to move into 2026 with ease.
✅ Want done-for-you support? Hire My CFO as your bookkeeping team! We’ll clean up the numbers and help you stay on plan.
📚 Prefer to DIY? Grab my book + workbook on Amazon to guide you step-by-step.

👉 Because at the end of the day, cash flow isn’t luck, it’s strategy.