Yo, yo, happy people!

Came across this cool quote recently from Louise Smith…

“You can’t reach for anything new if your hands are still full of yesterday’s junk”

It got me thinking…

For every 1 minute you spend worrying about stuff outside of your control, that’s 1 less minute you have to actually fix problems inside your control.

And for every 1 minute you re-live yesterday’s issues, that’s 1 minute you rob yourself of living in the present.

Today: Drop some old junk. Free up that bandwidth to pick up new, awesome things in your life.

OK, onto the money stuff 👇👇👇

TO DO

Actually *Use* Your PTO Days…

A recent study shows that 46% of people who have access to paid time off don’t use all their vacation days! 😳 Whhhyyyyy!?!?!

Taking advantage of company benefits (the ones you fought so hard for when getting the job) is really important. Vacation days are a big part of work-life balance! Be sure to use any time you are offered to recharge, enjoy hobbies, and spend time with loved ones. That rest will make you a better employee too.

You’ve earned it. You deserve it. You still get paid. 💪💪💪 Use your PTO!

SAVING MONEY

Efficient Laundry Tips… 👖🧺

Who wants to save money, reduce energy consumption, AND get longer life out of their clothes!? 🙋‍♂️🙋‍♀️ Me me me!!!!

Well, there might be some smarter (and cheaper) ways to do your laundry…

Here are some frugal laundry tips to try…

• Wash your clothes less often ⏱️: Most households run laundry too often, washing everything after just one use. But except for underwear, socks, and obviously soiled items, many clothes can be worn 2-3 times before needing a wash. (We’re not telling you to curb your hygiene standards… just be mindful when things are only lightly worn)

• Use less detergent 💧: Some people think more soap = cleaner clothes. But that’s not right… Excess soap residue can get trapped in fabric and turn your soft clothing scratchy or “crunchy.” According to the New York Times, the perfect amount of detergent to use is 2 tablespoons at most!

• Wash with cooler water 🌡️: Over 75% of your washing machine’s energy goes to heating up water! Using a lower temp setting is usually just as effective as hot, and saves you majorly on your elec bill!!

• Air dry that sheet 😉: Dryers are really harsh on clothing, warping and shrinking fabrics and lessening their life. Instead, grab a basic foldable drying rack from Amazon, and hang dry your heavy and more expensive garments. Less electricity + less wear = win/win!

• Use wool dryer balls 🧶: Dryer balls can reduce drying time, break apart crumpled/twisted/dense loads, and soften up your clothes! They only cost a few dollars, but save a lot (up to 25%) on dryer energy.

• Run laundry during “off-hours” 😴: Many utility providers have “time of day” programs, charging more for electricity during peak hours and less during off hours. Find out your utility peak hours and run your loads at the cheapest times (usually mid-day or nights after 9pm!)

The bottom line is, try taking a more mindful approach to this household chore… You’ll save money in the long run and be able to enjoy your favorite outfits for years to come.

Related stuff:

• 💻 HTM Blog: 10 Laundry Tips to Save Money

• 👨‍💻 More Posts: Ways to save money on electricity, water, and gas!

TOGETHER WITH CARDRATINGS**

Credit Card Search Tool 🔎

If you’re looking for a new rewards card, check out our interactive search tool! It scours all the current offerings and sorts them by the best promotions and highest point-earning opportunities!

Joel’s parents just used this to find/get the Southwest Rapid Rewards card — Hello 60k welcome points (and a killer 30% off coupon) for a Hawaiian family vacay!!

Check out the tool! (And as a reminder, ALWAYS follow our best practices when using credit cards!!)

RETIREMENT

How America Saves Report 2023 📑

Last month Vanguard released its annual How America Saves Report. (Although it’s a 2023 report, the data is all based on 2022 findings/trends)

Basically, they dig through about 5 million customer retirement accounts and look at savings trends, how many companies offer which types of plan features, and note other interesting movements in the retirement industry.

For example, across all Vanguard Defined Contribution Plans (typically 401k/403b), here are the average and median balances by age group. 👇

Other interesting stuff in the report:

• Auto-enrollment: 58% of all Vanguard retirement plans have adopted automatic enrollment for new employees. (compared to just 32% a decade ago). Also, 2 out of 3 auto-enroll plans include automatic increases to contributions each year. Woohoo!

• Savings rates: The average savings rate across all plans was 7.4% in 2022 (median was 6.4%). But if you include employer matching, the average savings rate was 11.3% (median 10.6%)

• Roth Option: At the end of 2022, 80% of Vanguard plans offered a Roth feature. But, only 17% of participants who had the option took advantage of it.

• Average growth: The average total 1-year return across all accounts was -15.8%. (no surprise there, as stocks/bonds tanked last year)

• Funds: About 60% of participants invest their entire balance in a single Target Date Fund. This has doubled since 2013, which is great because participants are “trading” less. Woot woot!

If you like all these nerdy numbers, feel free to dig through the 113 pages of this report for more info. There are tons of ways to dissect the data.

But at the end of the day, what matters most isn’t how other people save money — it’s how YOU save money. It’s nice to look at averages and compare ourselves to others, but the best comparison you can make is Past You vs. Current You.

Related stuff:

• 👨‍💻 Vanguard Viewpoints: A handful of other interesting articles and reports from Vanguard

• 💻 Investopedia: Is a Roth 401k Right for you? 

• 👩‍💻 HTM Blog: Pros and Cons of 401k plans

ICYMI

News and Fun Finds…

“Hot-bedding” 🛌
A new money-saving trend in Australia is growing in popularity… “Hot-bedding” is when renters split the cost of a bedroom, sharing a bed (when one person is not in bed, the other can use it). Sounds crazy, but high cost of living areas like Sydney and Melbourne have seen excessive rent increases and young people are finding any way to cut back on costs.

Realtor Fees 🔀
Some pretty interesting lawsuits are gaining traction against the National Association of Realtors, claiming that MLS rules are allowing realtors to charge exorbitant fees and prop up agent commissions. Depending on how far these lawsuits go, we could have a big shake-up in how real estate fees are handled.

AARP 🤑
Reminder: There is no age limit to join AARP! Although people over 50 benefit most from membership, there’s still a hefty amount of savings that you can get at any age! (like flights, hotels, insurance, cell service, etc…). Membership is only 12 bucks for 1 year.

Using AI 💸 
Tools like ChatGPT are starting to help people save money on home loans and other areas of finance. What used to be long and confusing research is now done in seconds, thanks to AI. Things like researching the best loans/rates, deciphering or comparing contracts and terms, searching for discount/relief/grant programs, and even drafting letters to lenders.

Homeownership 🏡
The latest poll from Divvy Homes shows that most Americans feel they’ll only own a home if they win the lotto (40%), inherit money (26%), or marry someone rich (19%)! 😳

FRIENDS OF HTM

Farnoosh Torabi – Money Expert

Farnoosh is a personal finance expert, journalist, author, podcast host, and television personality. She’s literally done it all!

We enjoyed interviewing Farnoosh back on Ep 193, talking about couple’s finance. She explains that money is so much more than just understanding the nuts and bolts…

Check out her website, follow on Insta, or pick up her latest book, When She Makes More!

Cheers for reading! Have an awesome day, and remember to drop some old junk from your life!!

Best friends out 🍻