Good morning HTM family!

Hands up if you’re filled with fresh motivation and determination to crush your 2024 financial goals!?!? 🙋‍♀️🙋‍♂️

Me too!!!!

Just remember, big achievements take time - especially for personal finance goals. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. And just like a smart runner — pacing yourself and conserving energy is the best way to create a sustainable rhythm, stay motivated, and avoid burnout.

So, as we kick off the year, try to curb your expectations of immediate results and instant success. It’s more realistic to change your financial trajectory by making a 1% change each day for 1000 days vs trying to change 1000% in 1 day.

OK, onto the money stuff! 👇👇👇

TO DO

Check for Missing Money 💸

About 1 in 10 Americans have unclaimed property aka "missing money" floating around that they don't know about.

Head on over to MissingMoney.com, a free site that helps you search databases across all states and provinces to find unclaimed funds. Bookmark this site and check it every once in a while.

Ps. bonus points if you search for your friends/family members too! Helping others find lost money is 🏆💪🙌

MINDSET

Don’t Be Normal. Get WEIRD… 😵‍💫

A few months back on the podcast, we talked about how acting like “normal Americans” will screw you over financially.

After all, if you follow what everyone else is doing, you’ll get everyone else’s results. (and you don’t want that, trust me!)

So as a reminder to stay weird, here’s a little acronym with some money statements to live by:

What do you think? Are you already a money weirdo?

One last note about being weird… Figuring out the “why” behind your money choices can help you tremendously on your financial journey. Understanding this helps you spend and save in a way that aligns with your values and adds more meaning to your life!

Since everyone’s why is different, it’s important to uncover and understand your own. It might seem weird to others, but it’s the best path for you.

Stay weird, people!

Related stuff:

• 🎧 Weird Finance Podcast: The Surprising Ties Between Money & Relationships 

• 💻 Comfort Zones: How to step outside them, and why it’s awesome

TOGETHER WITH STUDENT LOAN PLANNER*

Advice & Tools to Help CRUSH Student Debt

Do you have over $50k in student loan debt? If so, choosing the most efficient payoff plan is pretty important. Tiny little adjustments you might not even know exist could save you thousands in interest and cut down your payoff timeline.

This is what Student Loan Planner specializes in... They are a group of student loan professionals that offer expert advice to those with large amounts of student debt. Their average client reduces their overall loan cost by 5 figures!!!

We’ve written a full review about SLP here. And even if you’re not ready to seek professional help, it’s worth checking out their blog and podcast — both are great free resources to help borrowers navigate the confusing world of student loans. 👩‍🎓

SAVING

The #1 Resolution in 2024…

YouGov surveyed Americans about their New Year’s resolutions and here are the results…

Surprise, surprise; the top money goal for this year across all age groups is to save more money 👇👇👇

As it so happens, we are experts in this field!!! 🎉 And we’d love to share the top tips we’ve collected over the years…

**Side note — Isn’t it awesome that “being happy” is also up the top of people’s resolutions? Glad to see people are actively working on pursuing happiness. It doesn’t happen automatically, you gotta create it! 🙌

Anyway, here’s our quick hit list of ways to save money…

1. Start an actual budget: Or at the very minimum, begin tracking your expenses. You can’t plug holes in your bucket if you don’t know where the holes are. Basic budgeting will reveal the lowest-hanging fruit for your particular situation so you can focus on the high-impact areas first and save the most money.

2. Cut a recurring expense: Are there any subscriptions or little regular splurges you could live without? Cut them out of your life and see how it feels. If it turns out you feel deprived, you can add them back into your life later (chances are, you won’t even notice after a while).

3. Cook at home: Eating out consistently drains your wallet. Learning to prep meals at home not only saves money, but it’s healthier too! That’s because you get to control the ingredients and portion sizes (a double-whammy for any health & weight loss resolutions too!!!). Plan your meals, make a shopping list, and stick to it.

4. Automate (and prioritize) savings: Paycheck deductions are the easiest way to save more without thinking about it. If you have a 401k, increase your contributions a tiny bit. Just a 1% increase matters! No 401k? —> Set up recurring transfers to your savings/investment accounts every payday. Yes, your leftover money to spend will be smaller, but that’s the point! Think creatively and you should be able to adjust your spending to survive just fine.

5. Free activities & cheap date nights: We hear people complain, “every time I step out of the house I spend $100”… Well, have you ever tried googling “free things to do in [your city]”? Also, check out our list of 30 cheap date ideas you can try. Having fun doesn’t have to be expensive!

6. Avoid impulse buying: Spending is way too easy these days. Sneaky retailers are integrated into our social media feeds, which means mindless scrolling turns into mindless spending! Set some spending rules (wait 24 hours before buying anything over $10) or use this flowchart of questions before making a purchase. If you’re a couple, keep each other on track by setting a spending limit. (eg. before spending over X in unplanned buys, check with your partner first)

7. Prioritize debt payments: Folks grossly underestimate how much compound interest works against them when they remain in debt. Using a 0% APR credit card could be a good solution, temporarily relieving interest so you can pay down debt faster. Just be sure to have a debt payoff plan to go along with that new lower rate!

8. Rethink your transportation: Changing your driving habits will have a huge impact on your monthly expenses. Cars are money pits, so make that pit as small as possible. Downsize, sell your second car, shop around for insurance, walk more, bike, scooter, carpool, etc. Yes, change is hard, but that effort will be rewarded.

More Stuff:

• 🤓 Quick Hacks: 18 Frugal Hacks to Try

• 🚍 Cheaper Travels: Ways to Save Money Traveling

• 📝 Budgeting 101: Making a budget for beginners

• 🤷‍♂️ Totally lost? Start here if you’ve never been taught anything about money.

ICYMI

Noteworthy happenings…

Social Security ☝️
Recipients of social security and other fixed-income programs will see a ~3.2% increase in monthly benefits this month. This is the annual cost of living adjustment (COLA) based on last year's inflation numbers.

Over-saving 😰
Business Insider calls out some high earners for saving “too much” for retirement. It’s a good reminder actually to not sacrifice too much today, as it’ll negatively impact your relationships and social life in the long term. Find that balance!

Gift cards 🎁
Did you get a random gift card for Christmas to a retailer you don’t like or a place you’ll never go to? Here are some online sites where you can sell those cards for cash, instead of keeping them in your drawer for years to come.

Bull Run 🐂
Will 2024 be an up year for the stock market? History says Yes, according to Nick Maggiulli from Of Dollars & Data. But who cares anyway? Just keep buying!

Jobs 🧑‍💼
Both monthly job openings and new hire numbers are slipping, hitting their lowest levels since March 2021. This Yahoo finance chart shows that the labor market is cooling.

Secure 2.0 ⚖️
A bunch of changes to retirement accounts took effect at the start of 2024 as part of the Secure Act 2.0. Here is a summary list of what has changed!

Important Dates 📆
Here are the important dates and money deadlines to mark on your calendar for 2024. (Reminder: Jan 15th is the last day to enroll in or change healthcare coverage!)

COMMUNITY

“Dude, I just got like 40 bagels for $5.99 🤯”

Our friend Brit texted last week with an awesome money win… she scored a ton of bagels for $6, by using an app called Too Good To Go.

This app notifies you of bakeries, stores, and restaurants in your area that have a surplus of food that they’re selling for cheap instead of letting it go to waste. Whilst it’s not available in every city (yet), it’s slowly growing and gaining popularity.

Thanks Brit for sharing this savings tip! Y’all should check it out and see if you can snag some good food deals where you live. 🙌

Welp, that’s it for today! Wishing you a great week ahead, slowly stepping closer to your dreams and celebrating all the little milestones along the way. 💪

Best friends out! 🍻