Good morning, money lovers!!

FEELING: I’m way behind financially…

FACT: You’re probably doing way better than you think you are. Every dollar you are saving builds a stronger, wealthier, future you. Keep going!

FEELING: The stock market might crash, and I’ll lose everything…

FACT: Bull runs outnumber the downturns. The stock market rises 3 out of every 4 years on average. Keep investing!

FEELING: I’ll never be able to afford a house…

FACT: That’s what every homeowner said (before they actually bought a house). Keep saving and wait for the right cycle to align with your financials.

FEELING: I’m old and fat and not very good-looking.

FACT: Nobody has called you ugly since grade school (and they were probably eating glue at the time!). Stop looking in the mirror and start improving who you are on the inside.

*****

All these feelings floating around in our heads each day… But are they facts? Probably not.

Get out of your head. Facts over feelings.

Okie dokie… let’s get to the money stuff! 👇👇👇

TO DO

Take a Photo of Your Fridge 🤳

Try this: Before your next trip to the grocery store, open your fridge door and take a photo of the inside. Then when you’re at the store, you’ll know exactly what’s missing and what you already have enough of.

Meal planning and shopping with a list is always preferred. But if you’re in a rush, snapping a quick photo on your way out can save you from forgetting something (or buying extra of what you already have!)

JUST FOR FUN

HTM Bingo 🙌

A friend of ours challenged her husband at the beginning of the year: “No eating out until Valentine’s Day”…

For all of January and half of February they saved money eating at home, and then when Valentine’s Day came around they went BIG and celebrated at a fancy restaurant! All in all, they had a lot of fun and saved hundreds while doing it.

It got us thinking about fun little money challenges and daring each other to make small sacrifices for longer-term goodness. So….

We made a little BINGO challenge for you...

Just like regular Bingo, your mission is to cross out 5 squares in a line by completing the activities within each square.

Winners get $1,000!!!***

And if you can complete ALL of the squares, well, let’s just say you can have ultimate bragging rights across all social media platforms as the HTM bingo super champion.

Game on!

Related stuff:

• 🏆 More ideas: 14 other Money Challenges to Try at Home

• 💻 Frugal Living: 20 Tips to Cut Monthly Expenses

***$1000 “in value” after investing your saved money for multiple years 😜.

TOGETHER WITH BETTERMENT

Make your money rise and grind while you sit and chill, with the automated investing and savings app that makes it easy to be invested. Learn more.

SAVING

Reducing Food Costs 🍱

This week’s chart is from a recent WSJ article…

The left chart below shows the percentage of income people spend on food. And the right chart breaks down eating out vs. buying groceries… 👇👇👇

A lot has changed over the last 30 years! Notably a constant decline in grocery spending and a constant rise in what Americans spend dining out.

For those looking to pare back on their overall food spending, here are some of the biggest impact areas that will help you save the most:

• Eating out less is the number #1 way to stretch your food budget. The average meal cost at home is ~$4, compared to average restaurants at ~$16 per meal! If you do dine out a lot, at least consider skipping appetizers and alcohol. Those have a huge effect on reducing your bill!

• Meal planning in advance will make sure you have the right ingredients at the times you need them. it also reduces food waste and helps with portion control so you don’t make too much (or not enough!)

• Buying store brands instead of name-brand grocery items will save you roughly 40% according to CNET reports. And blind taste tests from Consumer Reports confirm that people often can’t even tell a difference between store brands vs. name brand staples!

• Meatless Mondays (skip eating meat just once a week) could save you approximately $1,196 per year. That’s a big chunk of change! And when you do buy meat, buy it in bulk when it’s on sale.

• Shop weekly sales, use digital coupons and store apps, price compare across stores, use the right rewards credit card (AmEx Blue Cash Preferred ftw!), shop on a full stomach, and all those other little frugal hacks you’ve heard about but never tried ;)

The goal isn’t to make your food costs as low as humanly possible…. It’s more about smartly stretching your dollars while still giving your family yummy and nutritious eats!

Related Stuff:

• 🍱 BudgetBytes: Meal Prepping 101, A Beginners Guide

• 📲 Weekly Ads: Check out the app Flipp. It scours all the weekly ads of stores in your area, and you can search by item to see if there are current deals available.

ICYMI

Buzzing around the interwebs…

Cheapest Days 🥳
BetterReport shares the cheapest day of the week to do certain things, like book flights, shop for groceries, see a movie, etc.

Average Salary 🙋‍♀️
The average annual salary across the U.S. is just over $59,000... but there's a decent variance comparing state by state. Here are the breakdowns for average salary, plus a bunch of other filtered results, via USA Today.

Social Security 💵
Delaying social security is usually a smart financial move (each year you delay, benefits increase by 8%!). So why do many people do the opposite and draw on social security as early as possible? A new published study says it’s a psychological thing.

Dealworthy 🎯
Target is rolling out a new store brand, called Dealworthy, which will offer quick essentials (like shampoo, toilet paper, phone chargers, etc) that give people a cheaper choice against expensive name-brand counterparts. Items start at less than $1 😳

FAFSA 👩‍🎓
With such a rocky start to this year’s FAFSA rollout, some colleges have started taking matters into their own hands and are creating their own student aid forms. These aren’t meant to replace FAFSA, but rather to help students quickly estimate what aid awards they’re likely eligible for. Something to check out if you’re college-bound!

Credit Reporting 🧾
Complaints are increasing at major credit agencies, with more folks finding errors on their credit reports. A great reminder to check your credit report and score regularly, and make sure to dispute any errors you see!

FRIENDS OF HTM

Rachael Camp, CFP®

Last week we had Rachael Camp on the podcast, and what a fun and knowledgeable person she is! Rachael helps higher-income earners and solopreneurs make the most optimal money moves to reach financial freedom sooner in life.

Check out Rachael’s site for more info, follow her on X for nuggets of financial wisdom, and be sure to check out her new podcast Becoming Work Optional.

Welp, that’s it for now. Have a great week and remember —> Get out of your head. You’re further along than you think you are! 💪

Best friends out! 🍻