I know… how do you accidentally sell your home?!

A few years ago we were approached by a broker asking if we’d sell our apartment. It’s a very unique unit (at least I think so!) because it has a large backyard and parking spot in Hoboken (a pretty urban area).

We were very happy in our home but said we’d be open to sell for a “make us move” price so he created an off-market listing.

If you follow me on Instagram or TikTok, you might have noticed I have a new short do (if not, what are you waiting for?! 😆).  

Long story short, I love my new haircut (so much!). Not only do I love the way it looks but it’s given me back hours of my life. I do nothing to style it. There’s no blow drying. It’s as easy as it gets.

Something I didn’t realize about shorter styles was that to keep them short, you have to get it cut more often. Sounds obvious, I know. 😆

We’re home and (still 😆) readjusting after spending an incredible month as a family in Europe. If you followed along on my summer travel journey, you know that a lot went into budgeting for and planning out the cost.

Usually, I'm thrilled by the prospect of a money party, but when I got home, I was surprisingly more hesitant (perhaps even dreading) to reflect on how it went.

While it can be hard to come back to the numbers after a break, it was a weight off my shoulders to see that it wasn’t as bad as I thought (it never is) and this recap will help me plan better for next year.

Over the last year I’ve been on a bit of a health kick. Some (like my partner J 😆) might say it’s more than a “bit.”  

I think part of it is age. Things that felt fine in my 20s and even early 30s aren’t working for me at 37.

I’m also very motivated by the idea of healthspan. Not only focusing on how long you live but how good you feel during those years of your life.

Larger, infrequent expenses like a weekend getaway, the holiday season, or our quarterly haircut can throw our finances out of whack and wreck even the most thoughtfully planned budget.

The solution? Sinking funds.

I’m a huge proponent and user of sinking funds.

Sinking funds are money we set aside to sink. 💸 Create a dedicated account and set aside money (automatically) each week, each paycheck, or every month for these specific expenses.

The other day I was pushing the stroller along the sidewalk with my oldest son, E.

Someone stopped to let us pass because the sidewalk was too narrow for us both to fit. I said "sorry!" as we walked by.

My son then asked, "Mom, why did you apologize? You’re allowed to take up space on the sidewalk."

Wow. 🤯 He was right.

It can happen at any time… the spending heyday.

Even though I had a detailed budget and travel fund set aside for our trip to Europe, the heyday crept in.

What’s a spending heyday?

It’s that thing when expenses flow out a little too easily and in higher than usual proportions. Have you experienced it? Once you’re on a roll it can be hard to reel in. 🤑

I’m feeling very excited today, friends. 😄 In order to carve out the time to write my second book and get my CFP® designation, I stopped offering 1:1 work to this community and I have really missed it.

I’ve missed the back and forth conversation. I’ve missed getting to watch your results and transformation first hand. And I’ve missed getting to say "YES!" when you all reach out for help.

So… I’m thrilled 🥳 to share a new offering that includes 1:1 support from yours truly.

There are a very limited number of spots and I’ll be filling them on a first come, first serve basis.

Here it goes… 🥁🥁🥁🥁

I'm going to be implementing some of your requests from the 5th anniversary survey - thank you! 🙏🥳 First up - community Q&A!

Ask your questions here and I'll share via video responses.

Okay, back to it!

Before starting the Fiscal Femme one of the reasons I avoided looking at my bank account 🏦 was so that I could pretend.

Learning to have compassion for myself was a really important shift in my own money journey.

Before that, I held a lot of shame for the mistakes I made and for what I didn’t know.

It sucked!

As I discovered all we have working against us when it comes to money and personal finance, it helped me find compassion.

Okay, are you ready to laugh?

In my first job, I had the opportunity to invest in a 401(k). Magic. ✨ I’d heard that’s a good thing and it was important to sign up. (Yes, yes! I’m cheering 22-year-old Ashley on!). 👏

Signing up sounded simple enough but when I went to actually do it, it wasn’t quite so straightforward. Did I want to contribute to a Roth or Traditional 401(k)? There were 25 investment options. Which should I choose?

You might already know (because I talk about them a lot 😆) that I’m a big fan of having Money Parties.

What are Money Parties?

Money Parties are time we set aside (at least 1x per month, if not more) to manage and track our finances. To show our money some love, if you will. 😍

Before we dive in, here's the working link to the quick 5th anniversary survey. If you answer the 5 (very quick) questions, I will be SO grateful.

Okay, back to it.

In the world of personal finance, there’s a lot of focus on what we don’t spend money on and how we can save more.

This is the 250th Money Musing! 🥳

I started sending the Money Musing almost five years ago...

And over time your feedback has made them better and better. This newsletter continues to grow and evolve to this day. Thank you! 🙏

I’m really proud of what the Money Musing has become. I’m able to share my personal experiences around money, give you a money move to make progress each week, celebrate your money wins and highlight important money happenings.

Now that rates are higher, we can earn some legit interest (3.5-5%!) just by keeping our money in a savings account. 📈

I’m a huge proponent of online savings accounts (also called high yield or high interest savings accounts) as part of our overall financial strategy.

We recently started a new ritual where we go around the table and each share 2 things we’re grateful for.  🙏

Gratitude is a powerful practice to cultivate abundance and a ritual like this starts to wire our brains to look for things that we’re grateful for throughout the day.

What is abundance? Abundance is having more than enough.

The opposite of abundance is scarcity or not enough.

Back in July of 2020, I wrote in this newsletter about a large purchase we made - a lawnmower. Here’s what I shared:

“This summer, J and I decided to purchase something that cost hundreds of dollars but would save us money in the long-run - a lawnmower.

We live in Hoboken which is a far cry from the burbs but we have a small yard and it cost us $40 every other week from April through October to have someone come and mow it. I think the hassle of getting to our lawn with all the equipment accounted for most of the cost.

Earlier this month I got to attend my mom’s PhD graduation ceremony 🎓 where she received her doctoral hood.

I watched her walk and receive her diploma, we celebrated with her classmates and most importantly I got to witness her achieve a lifelong dream to become Dr. Feinstein.

So inspiring right?! 🤩

Something my mom taught us growing up and has always embodied (her new PhD is proof!) is how important it is to be a lifelong learner.  

If I only knew then what I know now... sigh.

There are so many things I wish I knew about money when I graduated from college. Anyone else?

In honor of the many college graduations taking place across the globe, I’m going to share the top 7 things I wish I knew.

Sunday is Mother’s Day and even though I look forward to a lovely day - breakfast in bed, maybe a cute homemade something from the kids, and I scheduled myself a massage, Mother’s Day fills me with rage. 🤬

Did you know that having kids is the single best predictor that a woman will go bankrupt in her lifetime?  

Mothers get paid 30% less (just for being moms). If you’re a mother of color, the numbers are even worse. Black women earn $0.64 for every dollar a white man earns and 80% of Black mothers are the sole or primary breadwinners for their households.