Money Musings 💠I want to celebrate YOU
What you’ll find below:
Reflection: Your 2024 focus
Money Move: A 4 week New Year’s goal-setting series
You Gotta See This: Your favorite winter frugal Joys
Reel of the Week: 10 money wins to celebrate
Happy New Year!
It’s 2024 (somehow) and what better way to kick off the year than to share some money intentions or goals?
Why does goal-setting matter?
First, when we put our goals out there, they become real. Our brains get to work reconciling our realities with the things that we want.
If we share our goals with others, even better. Those around us - (hi! Including me!) can support you and cheer you on as you achieve those goals.
They give us a path. When we have a vague idea of what we want to improve or where we want to go, it’s not clear what it will take to get there. Having specific goals (we’ll talk more about these next week!) gives us a step-by-step plan to make them happen.
Plus, a bonus - it’s fun! I know, I know. Some say I have a warped sense of fun.
So I’d love to hear!
What are you focusing on in 2024?
In what financial areas would you like to make progress?
If you could sum up your ideal financial life in one word, what would it be?
Fill out this quick survey and let me know!
Now, if you’re feeling daunted by this already, remember… progress does not mean we have to transform overnight. That never works.
It just means we want to take small consistent steps throughout the year.
If you want some help figuring out your goals, I’m kicking off a 4-week goal-setting series here in the newsletter.
You’ll find 4 steps to creating (and tracking) your 2024 each week in the ‘Money Move’ section, starting with step #1 next week.
Forward this to a friend who may like to join!
MONEY MOVE OF THE WEEK
RECAP THE HOLIDAYS.
I know, I know. The last thing you want to do right now is look back at your spending in November / December, but hear me out…
The holidays are going to happen again in 2024 (brutal, I know). If we take some time to recap and plan, we can make sure they wreak less havoc on our budgets and financial goals. So here we go!
Take some time to recap:
How much did you spend during the holidays? Don’t forget to include expenses outside of gifts. This is worth the work and provides the most accurate data!
Were there areas you didn’t plan to spend or areas you spent more than expected?
What spending was worth it to you and what spending would you prefer not to repeat this year (no judgment and no wrong answers!)?
Great! Now you can plan in advance. If your holiday spending is significant enough to throw off your budget, set up a sinking fund starting now.
How much money do you want to set aside each paycheck or month so you’re ready for holiday spending by early November this year?
More resources:
Sinking funds - what they are and how to set them up
Sinking fund tracker - set up a system to plan for and then use your sinking funds. I’ll also send you an explainer video!
My favorite online savings accounts (i.e. where to put your sinking funds)
You gotta see this
YOUR WINTER FRUGAL JOYS.
Frugal joys are free or inexpensive things that make us really happy. They are great for:
Adding joy to our lives without increasing how much we spend
Swapping out more expensive activities with free or inexpensive ones to save money (without losing the joy). Win, win.
Many frugal joys are seasonal, so I gathered a list of all of your favorite winter-time frugal joys here.
It helps to have a list you can easily refer to when the mood hits.
This week, I challenge you to choose one frugal joy per day. If that feels overwhelming, start with one for the week. I can’t wait to hear how it goes!
your weekly money wins
Here are all the amazing money moves you made this week
Abigail S: Figured out a different and way more effective way to do my budget!
Frankly: Funded Roth IRAs and changed 403b contributions to max for 2024
Sayrrah: Opened a savings account with a 4.4% interest rate with an auto deposit of $100 / week
Ruby G: Saved at LEAST 20% of my paycheck every time and used it for true emergencies only
Megan C: Putting some $ into CD's - great return!
Elizabeth: Maxed out my 401k
Sara G: Put myself out there for my small business and gained some new clients
Katra M: Despite 8 months of FUNemployment, I made a full ROTH contribution!
Maria C: Paid off $300K of student loans and still have $225K in an HYSA
Can: Extra money on mortgage!
Mone: Invested in gold
Mwakish: Trying every day without giving up. This journey made me realize that doing and showing up leads to mastery. Despite how challenging it can be I am glad I show up every day
Dana B: Increased my credit score and I’m now in the 700s club!!!
Amy B: Hit $880k net worth, investments are up $11K from where they were two years ago, bought a little luxury (upgrades) for cheap - Hulu 99 cents a month, Costco membership $20
Maddie M: Finally opened a joint marital checking account and started switching over the connected accounts/automatic transfers!
Ashley: Just put a large sum in a CD for 8 months - I will make a little over $2,400 doing nothing!
Dani: I put in an offer on my first house!
Beyond: Attended a holiday craft fair as a vendor and made some sales selling handmade jewelry from my small business - IG: @beyondca.designs
Dani: About to get pre-approved for a mortgage!! Been dreaming about this for 14 years
Kristin B: Maxed out our HSA next year to combat additional therapy costs
Shae: Finally cleared out my condo so I can remodel it and lease it out
Tiffany Vick: I made my very first sinking fund transfer and tracking future deposits using the Fiscal Femme tracker