Money Musings 💠Do we ever “make it?”
Have you ever gone after a goal expecting that achieving it would change the way you feel, indefinitely?
We might think things like:
Once I own my own home, I’ll know I’ve “made it”
If I get this promotion (or client), I’ll finally feel accomplished and worthy in my career
When I’ve paid down my debt, I’ll never stress about money again
I’ve been there. Over and over.
At first I thought that my goals just weren’t big enough. Goals tend to feel less lofty as we get closer and closer to achieving them.
But no matter how big the goals I’ve achieved, they didn't have the life-changing effect I expected them to.
âś… Face my fear of public speaking
âś… Get paid to speak
âś… Publish a book
âś… Sell 35,000 copies
âś… Buy a home
âś… Pay myself a salary
âś… Build a profitable six figure business
âś… Build a community of thousands of women
âś… Hire a team
I was still me. The same me who has self doubts and worries. The same me who had a new goal the next week.
Now don’t get me wrong. I’m still a big believer in goals. Having and achieving financial goals provides major benefits like peace of mind, more security, less guilt, more room for joy, and the list goes on and on.
I’ve just changed my expectation of what achieving goals will mean. I make sure to celebrate and feel proud of the milestones along the way, but I know that there is no arriving.
There’s no being done. There’s no making it. There’s no waiting to enjoy life until X, Y, Z goal is achieved.
Life is really about enjoying the messy process along the way.
This applies to all goals - career, lifestyle, relationship and you guessed it, money.
The good news is that this takes a lot of the power away from our goals. They aren’t the key to our happiness. This can help them feel less daunting and more fun.
The bad news? We’re never done. The world changes, our goals and needs change, and we continue to learn and grow.
End on some good news? I’m with you for this money journey for the long messy haul. Who’s with me?
MONEY MOVE OF THE WEEK
PAY DOWN DEBT SERIES: STEP #2 - TAKE INVENTORY.
After we’ve started to let go of the shame (it’s a process!), the next step to paying down or managing debt is to take inventory.
I’ve done this with hundreds of people and I promise, while it can feel scary to see everything in one place, it’s most often a huge weight off their shoulders.
Until we know what’s going on, we can’t do anything about it.
You’ll want to gather the following information about each piece of debt:
Name of the credit card or loan (so you know which one it is)
Balance (how much you owe right now)
Interest rate (i.e. APR)
Minimum required payment or monthly payment
Payment date
Credit card limit (if applicable)
Do this for each piece of debt you have. If this feels overwhelming, start with one card. Breaking steps that feel too big into smaller manageable steps sets us up for success.
I have a great free template for you to use.
YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
THE VENMO ETIQUETTE SURVEY.
It’s easier than ever to split a meal or a vacation with a friend using apps like Venmo and Zelle. But with that ease comes a whole new microcosm of navigating money with friends and colleagues.
What’s worth requesting? When is it time to follow-up when a friend doesn’t pay you? We asked the Fiscal Femme community to share their cash app etiquette so we could learn from each other! 💵📱
Here are some of the highlights:
62% of you said you'd only send a Venmo request for $20 or more and 20% said you'd Venmo request for over $10
35% follow-up on a Venmo request after a few days and 39% said it depends on the amount
34% request exact change and 27% said it depends
57% said they'd talk about it with a friend who ghosted their request and 29% said they'd be annoyed
If someone sent a Venmo request for a first date 64% said they'd pay it but would not go on a second date
43% said they'd ask for more details if they got a suspiciously high Venmo request after a group dinner (57% said they'd feel to awkward and would just pay it)
58% immediately Venmo someone after they pay a group bill and 28% pay within a few hours
When asked for other advice? I received lots of recommendations to keep your Venmo activity private
You can see the full survey results here.
your weekly money wins
Here are the amazing money moves you made this week đź‘Źđź‘Źđź‘Ź
Amy B: Finished my taxes, sold an old monitor on Poshmark
TW: My credit score went up 13 points.
Emily R: It's small but I questioned my contractor on a price increase for a house project!
Mama C: Invested $50 bucks to my Roth 401(k) because it's better than nothing!
Maribeth: Opened a Betterment account!
Claire H: Made a big credit card payment - officially have paid down 25% of my debt
Anna W: Started investing small amounts $50-$100 to Fidelity!
Sara W: Amending two tax returns because I realized I forgot the self-employed health insurance deduction!
Sophia L: Grew up working class. Lived at home after college to save $. Hit $500K net worth this week!
Carmen C: Opened my first brokerage account!
Za K: Allocated a windfall towards debt, travel, savings and of course some fun #balance