Money Musings 💭 A game-changing tool for you
What you’ll find below:
Reflection: A new sinking funds guide - because you know I’m obsessed
Money Move: The best way to become aware of your spending
You Gotta See This: Credit score jargon demystified
Reel of the Week: Important update for expectant and new moms in the workforce!
Larger, infrequent expenses like a weekend getaway, the holiday season, or our quarterly haircut can throw our finances out of whack and wreck even the most thoughtfully planned budget.
The solution? Sinking funds.
I’m a huge proponent and user of sinking funds.
Sinking funds are money we set aside to sink. 💸 Create a dedicated account and set aside money (automatically) each week, each paycheck, or every month for these specific expenses.
Then, the money is waiting for us (and earning some interest!) when it’s time to use it.
I have sinking funds for travel, camp, vet expenses for our pup and home repair. They truly changed the game for me.
I put together this tool for you so that you can:
plan out how much you need in any particular sinking fund
track how it goes
Would you like me to put together a video to walk you through how it works? Hit reply and let me know!
I'd also love to hear your sinking fund questions as well as how you like this tool!
P.S. There's a little over one week left to sign up for my 1:1 offering. If you've been wanting to work together, now could be our time!
MONEY MOVE OF THE WEEK
PLAY THE MONEY GAME.
Make saving money into a fun game? Yes, please. Here’s how.
Choose the amount you want to spend each week on variable things like food, transit, shopping, etc.
Important: Make this amount realistic.
Let’s say you choose $250. Then, track your spending and total it up at the end of the week. Were you under your goal? If so, by how much?
If your weekly spending totaled $200 and your spending goal was $250, you won $50 in the Money Game! 🥳
Now you get to decide where that goes! Put that $50 towards a goal, like paying down debt or building your rainy day fund. You may decide to put $25 towards a goal and spend $25 on something fun now. Do whatever is most motivating for you.
Pro tip: Have a plan for where your winnings will go before you start playing.
For those who hate tracking…
If you don't want to (or don’t remember to) track your spending, you can set up a Money Game "salary" to transfer to a separate bank account. You can use that account’s debit card and will know where you stand in the Money Game by checking your balance.
YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
DEFINE SOME KEY CREDIT SCORE TERMS.
Next week we’re kicking off our ‘Increase Your Credit Score’ series. Before we do, let’s define some key terms that will make everything much easier to navigate.
DEFINE CREDIT SCORE: Tells lenders how risky it is to lend us money (i.e., how likely we are to pay them back). We’re assigned a number, typically 300–850 – the higher the better.
DEFINE CREDIT AGENCIES: There are currently three credit agencies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Each one of them has a credit report with information on your debt (and payment history), bank accounts, and even your past addresses. You can pull these reports for free, once per year, at annualcreditreport.com.
DEFINE FICO SCORE: The most common credit score in the United States is the FICO score, and the VantageScore is a close runner-up, but many of the larger lenders also have their own scoring systems. You might think that there’s one universal credit score system that we’re all measured by. Nope. That would be too easy!
DEFINE HARD INQUIRY: When a lender or bank checks your score. They can only legally do this with your permission and it usually happens when you are opening a credit card or taking out a loan. Hard inquiries stay on your credit report for up to two years but typically only impact your score for one year. When you receive a credit card offer in the mail (meaning you didn’t give them permission to inquire into your credit), that’s a soft inquiry. That won’t affect your score.
DEFINE SECURED CARD: Exactly like a traditional credit card 💳 except you have to put down a cash deposit of typically the same amount as your credit limit ($100 cash deposit means a $100 limit). As you use the card (just like you would a typical credit card), you build your credit and build trust with your bank.
Are there other credit score terms you’d like demystified? Hit reply and let me know.
your weekly money wins
Here are all the amazing money moves you made this week 👏👏👏
Shal: After a decade of losing track of my child's trust fund that I set up for him when he was a newborn, due to moving countries, bank closure and splitting from his dad, I managed to track it down with the help of a government-designated organization. Found the new bank and set up online banking for us to track his funds and investment. His account has a small nest egg ready for him to use when he's 18, whether to use towards university or starting his own business or continuing to invest! Feeling very proud that I took this step when he was a newborn and highly recommend it, as well as a big sense of achievement in regaining control after so long.
Simone H: My tenants moved in to my first rental property! Hello passive income!!!
Amanda S: Negotiated a better contract for myself! Aaand they made an even better offer than what I asked for!
Michelle H: Treated myself to a luxury item but also contributed an equal amount to my brokerage
Vanes: Paid down debt
Erika A: Upped my 401k contribution!
Katrina G: Streamlined our money party process to analyze our spending better!
Brianna: Meeting at a fast food restaurant with a playground instead of a trampoline park!
Christine: Made an appointment with a financial advisor! 🙌🏻
Al H: Actually spent some of the money I'd saved in my HYSA sinking fund!
Hayley: There are a lots of things I left in cards and didn't buy 😂
Jenny T: Set up automatic investments to a brokerage account!
Dana D: Got my line of credit under 26k!
Danielle W: Ate leftovers at home before going to CNO dinner - and only had water ( I'm 🤰🏻). I realize that makes me sound lame...but it's what our family needs in this season! But hey - I still went and ordered a plate of fries and had a BLAST w my girls!!!
Na Dia: Paid off credit cards the day after coming back from vacation to kill vacation expenses
Sarah: Researched the SAVE plan. Decided it's more worth it for us to just pay off loans ASAP.