Money Musings 💭 My daily intention 😊
A couple of months ago I restarted my morning meditation practice. This time, it’s a bit different. I’ve been including a quick 5-minute intention setting exercise that sets the tone for the day.
After settling in and some deep breaths, the teacher asks … "How do you want to BE today?"
I love this question. Notice - it’s not “what do you want to DO today?” It's "How do I want to be?"
How do I want to exist throughout the day? How do I want to show up?
It lets me brainstorm a bunch of words and then has me choose one word to guide the intention. Lately, I’ve been choosing the word satisfied.
To me, satisfied means I have enough, I am enough. It’s very grounding.
It puts a pause on my striving. Or that feeling that I just need to reach that next achievement or milestone before I let myself feel happy. I’m already satisfied.
What I noticed since starting this morning exercise is that I don’t necessarily DO anything different during my day. I have my morning routine with the kids, my morning routine with myself and I go through my work tasks for the day.
BUT how I feel and experience doing those same things feels very different. I’m more at peace. ✌️ I snap less. I enjoy it more. And there is a lot less pressure on the result because I’m already satisfied.
If you were to choose one word for how you want to be today, what would it be? I’d love to hear.
MONEY MOVE OF THE WEEK
GOAL SETTING SERIES: STEP #2 - PRIORITIZE YOUR GOALS
Last week we made a comprehensive list of our goals. Woohoo!
Knowing you, you probably have many goals. While it might feel tempting to work towards them all, I find that we have the best results when we work on 2-5 goals at a time. That way we’re not spreading our funds too thin. 💸
So you are probably wondering, how do I prioritize? What should come first?
Here are some commonly accepted financial guidelines on how to prioritize your money goals.
First and foremost - build up a rainy-day fund. Start with $1,000 or one month's worth of expenses. Ideally, you will want 3-6 months of expenses saved
Next, if you have it, take advantage of your employer’s 401(k) match (hi, free money 🤑)
Pay down high-interest credit card debt
Invest for retirement in those tax-advantaged accounts like 401(k)s, 403(b)s and IRAs
Save or invest for all other goals. For everything else, it’s a balance of what makes the most financial sense (the interest rate you’re earning or paying) and the urgency or importance to you
Go ahead and rank your goals in order of importance - 1 being the most important and then working your way down the list.
YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
DEFINE SOME KEY CREDIT CARD TERMS.
We asked you all what you wanted to see more of in this newsletter and what is top of mind for you right now. If you didn’t get a chance to respond, you can add your thoughts here!
Many of you shared that you are managing and paying down debt, and that includes credit card debt. 💳 Let’s define some key terms that credit card companies use.
DEFINE: REVOLVING LOAN. A credit card is a revolving loan from a bank or other institution. You can use the card to pay for things, pay the balance down, and build up the balance again. It revolves so to speak.
DEFINE: CREDIT LIMIT. With each credit card you are given a certain credit limit, which is the maximum you are able to borrow (or put on the card) at any given point in time. Credit limits can change.
DEFINE: REQUIREMENT PAYMENT (a.k.a. minimum payment). Each month you’ll have a required payment (or minimum) on your credit card. Your minimum payment is NOT the total amount you owe (see credit card balance below). It’s much less.
Each credit card company calculates its minimum payment differently, but it’s often 1–3% of your total balance. That’s why it’s not uncommon for your balance to increase over time when you make minimum payments, even if you’re not spending on the card. Woof, I know.
DEFINE: CREDIT CARD BALANCE. The total amount owed on the credit card at any given time. This is the total current loan amount. 💸
DEFINE: APR (also called APR or annual percentage rate). The amount we pay to compensate the credit card company for lending us the money.
The APR is applied to the balance that is not paid off at the end of the month (or cycle). For example, if your balance is $1,000 and you make a $30 minimum payment, you’ll pay interest on the remaining $970. For an APR of 20%, that’s a 20% interest rate per year, but you are charged interest monthly (20% divided by 12) as part of your monthly bill, which comes to about $16 in interest.
To find the exact amount, there is typically a line item on your credit card statement titled “interest charges” or something similar.