Last week I saw a Christmas tree at a local bank. It was a promotion for their "Christmas Club". (A holiday savings plan popular in the 50s and 60s).

It reminded me that it was almost Christmas in July, a little more than halfway through the year. With the summer slowdown and half of the year gone, it is a good time to check your financial health. Here are four categories to review.

Saving - Did you have a goal to save more consistently this year? Pull out your statement and see how you are doing. If you are not where you want to be, try putting it on auto. Company sponsored savings plans work well because the contribution comes out of your paycheck before you see it. Ask your bank if they can set up a weekly or monthly transfer to a savings account.

Spending - Is your spending tracking your plan? If you don't know the answer, you may have problems meeting your Saving goal. If your spending is higher than you expected, look at the unplanned expenses. Are they controllable? What about entertainment, eating out, extra clothing or hobby purchases? If you need to make improvements, choose one item, decide what you are going to change and keep it in front of you. Make it valuable to you. For example, I am eating lunch out only once a week so I can save $30 a week for the trip to Paris. Put it on a sticky note or a poster on your wall or a widget on your screen. If this doesn't work, get a partner you can call when you are tempted to break your resolution.

If you are not tracking your expenses, start. Just write down everything as you spend it. If you are having trouble getting started, check out resources at Mint.com, 360FinancialLiteracy.org or BeStreetSmartAboutMoney.com.

Protection - Once a year get all your insurance policies out and review the coverage. Will your disability insurance provide enough income if you are injured and can't earn as much as you do now? If you don't know if your insurance covers your needs, meet with your agent or a financial planner to sort out how much coverage you need. Things change, children may be on their own and you might need less coverage.

While you are checking your coverage, see if there are ways to reduce your costs. Your car is now another year older, do you need the same coverage? Can you increase the deductible? Have you shopped around in the last three years? If not, do it now and check on the company's financial strength. The economic slump has affected insurance companies also.

Investments - Check to see that your investments still meet your risk criteria. The changes we have experienced in the last year have made some "safe" investments riskier. If it has been more than a year since the last check up, you are overdue. Start by making sure your overall portfolio is set up to support your long term and short term goals. Is the allocation diversified and balanced? Have you and your financial planner addressed the varied economic and market risks? If your life situation has changed, such as retirement or loss of income, you may need to revise your portfolio design.

Your financial check up is just as important as your periodic medical check up. You can identify small problems and make changes to avoid bigger problems later. So this week, take a break from the heat, pull out your records and spend an hour on each item over four days. If you don't know where to start, ask friends, relatives or people at work for advisor recommendations. You will feel better for knowing you are on track and have your family financially covered.