Money Musings 💭 2020 is a 💰💰💰 #mood
Happy New Year!
I love the New Year because it’s an ideal time for a fresh start. Apparently many of us feel this way - studies show there is actually a “fresh start effect” where we become more motivated when we have a fresh start (especially if we’ve failed in the past).
And money is definitely an area where most of us have failed in the past.
When I started my first job, I knew it was important to sign up for the 401(k) program. There were two options: a Traditional 401(k) and a Roth 401(k). I had no idea what either term meant or which was better, so I put half my money in each. 🤷♀️
Then it was time to choose my investments. There were 20 options and there was a little box next to each one where I could elect what percentage of my money would go to each investment. I had no idea what these investments were, but I had heard that it was important to “diversify,” so I divided 100% by the 20 investment and put 5% of my money in each.
You can imagine there was a lot going on when I logged into my 401(k). 🤪 There were two accounts with twenty investments in each!
The truth is that even though I didn’t know what I was doing, I was better off for having opted in! Because I had invested in my 401(k) - my money was growing in a tax-advantaged account. It’s better to invest than to do it perfectly.
With that said, it would have been even better if I knew what was happening with my money. So many of my friends and colleagues have been in a similar boat, and we all knew we wanted to start financial adulting.
If you’re ready to start financial adulting (or take your financial adulting to the next level), the New Year is the perfect time for a fresh start.
Join me next Tuesday, January 7th for my FREE live class, The 3 #Adulting Personal Finance Hacks No One Tells Us 🤯. These hacks were complete life-changers for me!
I’ll also be raffling off a free coaching session on the call. If you can’t make it, sign up anyway, because I’ll be sending out the recording!
I hope to see you there!
Money Move of the Week
Lay out your SMART goals for 2020 . I’m a fan of turning New Year’s resolutions into goals. In order to make our goals more effective and impactful, we want to make them SMART. SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time Bound. Let’s say you want to save more money in 2020 (who doesn’t?!). You can turn that into a SMART goal by making it:
Specific: How much do you want to save?
Measurable: Will you know when you achieve it? Luckily with numbers, the answer is yes!
Attainable: Is it possible? Can you reach this goal? Is the outcome in your control?
Relevant: Are you motivated by this goal? Is it worthwhile?
Time Bound: By when will you achieve it?
“I’m going to save more in 2020” becomes “I’m going to save $250 per month in 2020 so that I’ll have $3,000 at the end of the year!” It even sounds more powerful! 👊
You Gotta See This
I talk a lot about aligning our spending with our values and investing in companies that operate in ways that we believe in. It’s pretty quick and easy to google and see if a company is women or minority-owned or to see if a company has women on the board and on the management team, but it’s a little more tricky to figure out if a company is treating their employees well and protecting our planet. One of my friends recently told me about a company called Good On You that rates and shares details about how ethical a brand is. It’s a great resource to check out before purchasing something! You can also see how your go-to’s stack up.