Money Musings 💭 My new opportunity jar
What you’ll find below:
Reflection: A fun way I make hard habits stick
Money Move: The 2nd step in our retirement check-in series
Reel of the Week: Navigating financial differences in friendship
Something I took away from the book Atomic Habits (more on what I’ve been reading soon!) is that to make a habit stick it really helps to make it satisfying in the short-term.
Unfortunately, so many of the habits that will benefit us in the long-term, don’t provide short-term rewards.
When you decide not to buy something or to cook a healthy dinner at home (vs going out), you don’t feel that reward until you have your money party or pay your next credit card bill.
Yet, that one decision, if it were to become a habit, could have a tremendous long-term impact.
A lot of the work I do for my business doesn't provide much of a short-term reward. If I reach out to a brand about partnering today or I pitch a speaking engagement, I might never hear back. And if I do, it could take months or even years for it to actually happen.
That being said, reaching out and pitching are critical to building my business and for future revenue down the road. So to ingrain this as a habit, I took James Clear’s advice and made a jar 🫙 to track my progress and give me that short-term reward.
Here's how it works. I have 2 jars. One is labeled “Opportunity Seeds” and the other is “Opportunities Planted.” Each Monday I start moving the 50 colorful pipe cleaners and pom poms from the seeds jar to the planted jar as I take actions like send an email, make a call or have a meeting to build new business.
Regardless of what happens with those seeds, 🌱 my job each week is to move 50 items over from one jar to the other. It's process vs. outcome focused because that's what's in my control.
Are there habits you want to keep in your finances or career that don’t give you a short-term reward? How can you give yourself that satisfaction in the short-term so you get to win out in the long-term? Hit reply and let me know.
P.S. I'd love to hear your thoughts on my most recent offering so I can make sure any future products are the best fit for you. Can you fill out this quick poll?
MONEY MOVE OF THE WEEK
RETIREMENT CHECKUP SERIES - STEP #2 - TAKE INVENTORY.
Last week you did some dreaming about your retirement. This week, we’ll get into the planning.
A key part of figuring out how much you need to contribute to your retirement goals is figuring out how much you already have. You can use the Net Worth Tracker and make a specific section for your retirement investments.
Notice I used the word investments. We want the money 💵 in our retirement accounts to be invested and working for us.
List out all your accounts and what the balance is in each. Then you can add them all up. For bonus points, look into what each account is invested in. You can learn everything you need to know about investing in chapters 7 and 8 of Financial Adulting.
In the press
We interviewed Ashley about how women can create a more resilient financial future by paying off their debt, and freeing themselves of financial shame.
your weekly money wins
Here are all the amazing money moves you made this week 👏👏👏
Maddie M: Developed a joint budget with my now-husband in YNAB (we got married on September 23rd!) as a first step to us combining finances down the line. It's great to see a snapshot of our assets and liabilities, all in one place.
Ashley M: Paid off one of my creditors and lowered my DMP payment by almost $200 a month!
Beyond: Received a job offer that pays me more :)
Nadia: Created DIY Halloween decor for a quarter of the cost of buying them
Jenni F: Didn't buy pizza tonight, eating food from the house even though I'm lazy
Daya M: Was able to increase retirement savings by 1%!
Shel: Finally got my fiancé on board with budgeting! We made a budget for him this weekend 😀
Shifra E: Ate challah and the little piece of cheese in the fridge instead of getting pizza
Ariel F: Saved $64 at Publix BOGOing and couponing
Alexandra: Invested some $$ sitting in my Roth and resisted a pastry I didn't need with my coffee 🫤
Sūs: Did "fakeaways" instead of ordering takeaway (same $, but enough for 3 meals!)
Kate: Stopping getting my nails done to save money. Doing them at home!
Victoria S: Bought a minivan with cash!
Nic: Asked for a raise at work and am going to get it :))
Meghan W: Sold my house and paid off my student loans with the proceeds! 🙌🏾
Grace N: Last two weeks together I've been $32 under budget on food and meal planning deliciously
Denise: Cancelled my gym membership and 2 streaming services to prepare for Christmas! 🎄