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Happy Tuesday, money nerds!

Would you ever say this to your friend…?

- You’ll never make over $100,000 a year
- Your new business idea sucks and will probably fail
- It’s too late for you to make a career change
- You’re way behind on savings and will never catch up

Of course you wouldn’t say these things to your friends… It’s not only mean, these statements are definitely not true!

So why do we sometimes think it’s OK to say these things to ourselves?

I hate to admit this, but I’ve said every single one of those statements above to myself before. Sometimes more than once. 😬

Just something to think about this week... Watch the way you think and talk to yourself. Be uplifting, and positive, and cheer yourself on. YOU are the most important friendship YOU will ever have. Treat yourself accordingly.

OK, onto the money stuff! 👇👇👇

TO DO

12-12-12 Decluttering Method 🫧

Your mission this week:

• Find 12 items to throw away 🗑️

• Find 12 items to donate 👐

• Put 12 items back in their proper place 🧺

Tidy house —> tidy thoughts —> more energy to focus on the fun stuff!

INVESTING

No 401k? No Problem! 💸

About 3 in every 5 workers has access to a 401k plan. Woohoo! More and more people are using them, being auto-enrolled, and automating retirement savings.

But, what about the other 2 out of 5 people? How should they tackle retirement savings?…

If you don’t have access to a 401k, don’t stress. Here are the next best accounts to save for retirement:

HYSA → Emergency Fund: Building up cash reserves is priority number one in personal finance, and you do it within a high-yield savings account. Emergency funds protect all your assets so you don’t have to disrupt your investments if/when trouble strikes.

Roth IRA → Max it out every year: In 2024 you can put away $7,000 into a Roth, or $8k if you’re 50+. Most people will have higher taxes in the future than they have now, so Roth IRAs make a lot of sense. But if your income is past the allowable limit, consider a traditional IRA (and look into Backdoor Roth conversions).

HSA → Max out if you are eligible: If you have a high deductible health plan, stick money into your HSA. Then, invest inside that HSA! If you reach age 65 and have zero medical expenses (lucky you), you can withdraw the money and spend it however you like, after paying taxes. (It can function like a traditional IRA after age 65)

Brokerage Account → For all savings above and beyond: Once you’ve leveraged tax-advantaged accounts, put everything else into a regular brokerage account. Grow it as big as you can.

Real Estate → Optional!: After your main accounts are set up and being funded regularly, real estate investing could be a good next step. But know that it’s not a necessity either!

There’s no one-size-fits-all prescription. The above list is just an outline of ideal options for most people to consider. Just know that you can still invest like a boss even without a 401k at your disposal.

Related:

• 📥 Human Interest: If you work for a small business without a 401k plan, forward this link to your boss/owners. They can start one!

• 🏆 Roth: How to Become a Roth IRA Millionaire

• 👩‍💼 Freelancers: 11 Money tips for freelancers and gig workers

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SAVING

Dining Out vs. Dining In 🍽️

Today’s chart is from Sherwood media, showing the percentage of food budget that average households spend eating out vs. at home.

As you can see, eating out at restaurants is now taking up the lion’s share of people’s food budget 👇👇👇

This isn’t all bad news… Eating out can be a great experience. It can be convenient when you are in a busy season of life. And if you’re a real foodie, it makes sense to spend a little more money on the things that you love - like hitting up new and exciting restaurants regularly.

But, if you’re in a financial bind or looking for ways to save more money each month, dissecting your food budget is a great place to start! Meals at home cost about ¼ of the price of buying food out. The savings really add up!

Personally, it costs me about $100 - $200 for my family of 5 to get take-out or eat at a mediocre restaurant. While we are happy to pay this occasionally, there is SO MUCH more our family could do with that money!

Teaching our kids to cook is incredibly important to us too — if we take them to restaurants too often or get takeout frequently, they’ll adopt the same habits and it’ll become the norm for them when they leave home.

It’s something to be conscious of. Dining out is a luxury and it’s costing the average American much more these days. With proper planning, it can be just as fun and vastly cheaper to eat at home.

Related stuff:

• 🤷‍♂️ Cost Difference: Average cost of eating in vs. eating out (broken down state by state!)

• 🫵 Challenge: Try a 30-Day No Eating Out Challenge

• 📖 BudgetBytes: Popular Summer Recipes!

ICYMI

In other news…

Retiring to College 🧓
The latest retirement trend: Seniors are moving into University-Based Retirement Communities. It’s kind of genius actually — college campuses have a ton of amenities, jobs, and activities for older folks. And it’s a great mix for younger folks to be around too.

Passports 🛂
If you’re traveling internationally soon, remember to check your passport expiration date! The State Department just announced a beta program for renewing passports online that’ll save you time and hassle!

Hidden Costs 🏠
Bankrate just released a study on homeownership maintenance costs broken down by state. If you’re hoping to buy a home soon, consider all this and plan accordingly so you don’t get blindsided by bills after you buy.

Habituation 🔁
Cool article from GQ: Why We Get Bored of The Best Things in Life (and how to avoid it). “If you’re feeling ‘meh’ about some aspect of your life, or even deeply dissatisfied, it may be that you’ve simply habituated to it and need to work to appreciate it once more. The key is shaking things up, but not in a drastic way.”

Upgrading 📲
New post up on the HTM site: How to Save Money Upgrading Your Phone — for those of you needing to make a switcharoo soon.

ASK HTM

“Does leasing a car ever make sense?” 🚘

While it’s usually not the most frugal move, leasing a car does have some benefits. Right now one of the appealing points is lower monthly payments (as opposed to financing a new car with high interest rates).

BUT, there are a ton of downsides you’ll want to consider too. If your main objective is to spend less money overall (which we strongly encourage everyone to do!), buying a cheap used car within your financial reach trumps leasing a new one every time.

That’s the short answer. Here’s the longer one!

That’s it for now! Have a great week and remember — be kind to yourself 🤗

Best friends out! 🍻