Money Musings š Make a holistic plan
Weāre almost at the end of 2022. I can hardly believe it. š¤Æ But donāt I feel this way every year?
Now is the perfect time of year to start planning for 2023.
Hereās what goes into a holistic planning sesh:
Reflect on the last year and review what worked in 2022
Create goals for 2023
Put together a financial plan (or happiness allocation) to support those goals
Many of us jump right to steps 2 and 3 but taking the time to reflect can make a tremendous difference. We end up choosing goals that are more aligned (aka bring us more happiness!) and we are more likely to achieve them.
Donāt skimp on the reflection and review! Hereās how I do it.
Make sure you have at least an hour to go through this.
Get cozy, grab a pen and paper (or your fave electronic device) and reflect. Donāt be afraid to day dream a little!
Ask yourselfā¦
What went well in 2022? I like to look through my calendar and photos to jog my memory for these first two questions. Celebrate all that went well!
What would you like to look different? What could have gone better? What financial goals would you like to prioritize in 2023?
What do you want to spend more time or money on (i.e. lifestyle changes)?
What do you want to spend less time or money on?
Let me know how it goes and what you discover!
From there, you can start to set some goals and put together your 2023 financial plan. If you want a snazzy template, you can grab ours here.
P.S. I want to issue a correction to last week's Money Musing. Where I said "renting" books, I should have said "borrow" books. Libraries are a public service for the community where it's free to borrow books and much more.
MONEY MOVE OF THE WEEK
GET A MONEY BUDDY (OR A GROUP OF MONEY BUDDIES).
When we tell someone we are going to do something, thereās a 65% chance weāre going to do it. That goes up to 95% if we set a check-in āļødate. I like those odds!
And it makes sense! If youāve ever had a gym buddy, you know that having one makes it more fun to work out and more likely that youāll show up. The same goes for our money.
If you have some money goals for 2023, find a money buddy to support you in those goals. Thereās a much higher likelihood youāll take the action you set out to!
If youāre not sure where to start, complete the weekly āMoney Moveā in this newsletter together.
If youād like some help finding your money buddy, we have you covered. Join our free Fiscal Femme Slack Community for an amazing group of feminist money buddies to hold you accountable, support you in your goals and answer your š° questions.
YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
THE US AND THE HOLOCAUST.
As a Jewish woman it feels like antisemitism is everywhere. Iām seeing it across the political spectrum, in pop culture, in my DMs and in threats to our local synagogue (I wrote about it last year here).
History repeats itself and unfortunately for the Jewish people that has meant massacre after pogrom after genocide.
I believe education and a knowledge of history is one of the best antidotes to hate.
There is a relatively new PBS docuseries directed by Ken Burns, called The US and The Holocaust. As someone who lost an entire side of their family to the Nazis, it was really painful to watch but it was also tremendously important.
I didnāt know that US Jim Crow laws as well as the brutality towards Indigenous populations were influential inspiration for Hitlerās Germany.
This film is extremely relevant, even if youāre not Jewish.
One quote that has stuck with me from writer Daniel Mendelson - āThe fragility of civilized behavior is the one thing you really learn, because these people, who we now see in these sepia photographs, they're no different from us. You look at your neighbors, the people at the dry cleaner, the waiters in the restaurant. That's who these people were. Don't kid yourself."
Just like with any type of hate, itās important to listen to and learn from those experiencing it. There are 15 million Jewish people in the world (0.2% of the worldās population) so you might have to seek out Jewish voices to hear them. If youād like to learn more (please do!), here are some of my favorite follows: