Happy Tuesday, money lovers!

Here are some reasons why people fail when trying new things…

• It takes too long (so they quit)

• It’s too challenging (so they quit)

• People make fun of them (so they quit)

• They get scared (and quit)

• There’s too much competition out there (so they quit)

• Nobody helps them (so they quit)

• “Unfair” things happen to them (so they quit)

And here are the reasons people succeed when trying new things…

• They just don’t quit, ever.

******

Just something to think about when you tackle your next new scary thing…

Don’t quit. Commit! 😉

OK, let’s get onto the money stuff… 👇👇👇

TO DO

Calculate Your Annual Savings Rate 💸

Step 1: Take your total income from last year (it’s listed on your W2, 1099s, or just use your annual salary number)

Step 2: Tally up how much of it you saved (401k contributions, IRAs, Savings accounts, etc. This is new money you personally saved last year)

Step 3: [Savings] divided by [Income] = Your personal savings rate. (for example, 20k saved on a $100k income = 20% savings rate)

Typically, we recommend folks shoot to save at least 15%-20% of their income each year. Any less might mean not having enough money for retirement! 😬 Now, looking at your 2023 number, is there a way you can improve it in 2024?

SAVING

Frugal Tech Tips 📲

Earlier this month, Apple released its new “spatial computer,” the new Vision Pro, selling for a whopping price tag of $3,499. People lined up for blocks at certain locations to get their hands on one, snagging it despite the hefty cost.

Now, we’re all in favor of folks spending their hard-earned money on the things that bring them joy… BUT, do you absolutely need the latest and greatest gadgets the instant they are released?

Frugal techies know it’s better to wait. Wait for sales, wait for price drops after new versions are released, wait for refurbished or secondhand sets, etc. You can save HUNDREDS just by putting on your patience pants and waiting a bit.

Here are some other frugal tech tips:

• Protect Your Devices- It might seem like a shame to cover up a sleek and sexy new phone with a bulky protective case and screen protector, but it’s much better than spending big bucks on screen repairs.

• Perform Routine Cleaning- Dust and dirt are your device’s biggest enemies, and keeping things clean can extend the life of your stuff! Here’s a recommended cleaning schedule:

• Buy the Second or Third Newest Model- The annual refresh of devices like phones, tablets, and computers is a great time to pick up a slightly older model. When a brand new device is released, it’s usually accompanied by a solid price drop on existing versions!

• Consider Buying Used- You just gotta make sure you’re buying from trusted resources… Amazon Renewed, Apple Refurbished, Samsung Renewed, Gazelle, SellCell, and Swappa are all legit places to buy refurbished tech.

• Skip BNPL- Sorry to burst your bubble… But if you can’t afford to buy your tech outright, you just can’t afford it right now. Buy-over-time or financing with a credit card might make payments smaller now, but you end up paying way more for that tech upgrade in the long run. Financing your new gadget is a no-go.

• Total contract cost- Retailers sometimes offer “free" devices… but they come with a catch… expensive monthly contracts! Make sure to shop around for cheaper carriers and compare the total cost of your tech devices + service plans.

Buying and owning awesome tech doesn’t have to drain our wallets or derail our financial goals. Just apply the principles of frugality to your digital life like you would anything else.

PA. if you bought those Apple VR goggles… Can I come over and try it? 😅

Related stuff:

• 👩‍💻 More Tips: 14 Frugal Tech Tips to Save Hundreds

TOGETHER WITH YNAB*

Rule #2: Embrace Your True Expenses

With YNAB, large and infrequent expenses are broken up into smaller, more manageable savings goals.

This means things like holiday shopping, home repairs, or annual insurance premiums are way easier to save for, because they don’t catch you off guard when bills come due. Better yet, breaking big expenses into smaller monthly amounts helps you make fully-informed spending decisions... and allows you to sleep a little easier. 😅

If you need a more robust budgeting system, check out YNAB. At least try the 34 day free trial — it may just change your financial life. 💪

AUTO

Low Maintenance + Best Reliability 🚘

If you’re in the market for a new (to you) car, check out this chart from Consumer Reports.

It ranks major car brands by comparing their 10-year reliability and 10-year average maintenance costs👇👇👇

Basically, everybody should buy only Toyotas for the rest of their life! End of story. Just kidding. (or am I? 🤷‍♂️)

Here are a few other shopping tips when thinking about maintenance and repairs:

• Domestic > foreign: When it comes to routine maintenance (oil, brakes, tires etc) domestic car brands are almost always cheaper than imports. (and servicing at independent/chain repair shops is typically much cheaper than going to the dealership!)

• Basic > upgrades: Cars with sports packages or premium trims cost more to buy, maintain, and repair. With more complex features and electronics comes more costly failure points.

• High mileage cars: Many Toyota, Honda, and Ford models can reach 200k miles (and beyond). But it’s important to make sure that they’ve been maintained properly. If you’re buying a used car approaching 80k - 100k miles, pay close attention to maintenance records and make sure the "big ticket” service items have already been taken care of.

• Mechanic inspection: No matter the make/model, it’s almost always a good idea to get a mechanic to check out a used vehicle before you buy it. Paying $150-$300 is a small amount to protect you from thousands of dollars in potential repairs. (plus, getting an inspection can give you negotiation leverage in a private sale)

• Match your needs: Probably the best money-saving tip for buying a car is determining your true needs, and then matching a vehicle only to those. Every single person doesn’t need a massive gas-guzzling truck or SUV. You might need less car than you think you do. 😉

It takes a lot of time and research to buy a reliable vehicle that you’ll be happy with for years to come. The odds will be more in your favor if you begin with makes and models that are proven to have low maintenance and high reliability!

• 👨‍💻 HTM Blog: How to Buy a Cheap & Reliable Car

• 🚗 CR Repair Assistant: Maintenance Estimate Tool (type in your make/model/year and what repair you need and it’ll tell you the average cost so you can shop around!)

• 💻 Invest instead: How Much is That $70,000 Truck Costing You? via A Wealth of Common Sense

ICYMI

In other news…

Fin Lit 👩‍🏫
Cool viral TikTok video last week… A 3rd grade teacher in North Carolina shows how she charges her students rent for their school desks. Pretty awesome system to teach kids about money at an early age!

2023 Roth 📆
Just a reminder — there’s still time to make contributions for last year’s IRA or Roth IRA allowances. The deadline to contribute is April 15th this year for 2023 contributions.

Bank Fees 👿
America’s three biggest banks reported a $700 million drop in overdraft fee revenue in 2023. Good to see people avoiding dumb penalties and being smarter about banking! (Bad news though: those banks still made $2.2 billion from overdraft fees. 😳 So we still have a long way to go).

Dating App 👨‍❤️‍👨
Is your love language “financial security”? Well you might like this new dating app called Score. It pre-screens potential dates by their credit score!

MVNO’s 📲
A new YouGov survey finds that only 8% of peeps use an MVNO for their cell phone carrier (with another 29% saying they’re likely to switch). Come on folks — switching to a discounter is easy and it’ll save you money!!

Adulting 101 🎧
Joel had a guest appearance on The Struggle is Real Podcast last week with Justin Peters. Great conversation about the big secret behind frugality (hint: it’s not about depriving yourself!)

HOW *YOU* MONEY

Liz, 44, Portland, OR 🌦️

Occupation: Freelance Designer
Salary: ~$65k

Paycheck deductions: n/a
Housing: $3,000/m
Other Debts: n/a
Living expenses: $1,000

Leftover savings each month: Unpredictable (variable freelance income)

How are you investing your excess savings each month?
Currently building an emergency fund in Schwab high yield checking account for home improvement projects. Mom is adding to my Roth IRA.

Biggest “craft beer equivalent” splurge:
Fine dining

Best savings hack/advice:
Buy essentially nothing ;-)

Biggest money challenge right now?
Not being able to balance freelance work, taking on any project that comes to me for fear that I won't have work later.

Recent money win and how did you celebrate?
Got a $1200 tax return - gave the tax return to my book editor as a thank you.

**How do YOU 🫵 handle your income/savings/investments? We’d love to hear about it & share your story — Fill out this HYM form! (Don’t worry, we won't publish anything without you approving it first)**

Cheers for reading! Wishing you all a great week ahead, living your best life 💪 😎 

Best friends out! 🍻