Good Morning, HTM Fam!

Can you believe it’s the last day of March?! Here’s your fair warning to be on the lookout for April Fool’s jokes tomorrow… you’re safe from us, but who knows what your partner/friends/kids are planning! 😜 

LIFESTYLE

Spring Cleaning Your Finances 🧹

The sun’s out, your closet is (maybe) getting attention… but what about your finances?

Spring is the perfect time to dust off your finances and clear out anything that’s been quietly holding you back. This doesn’t mean you have to do a full life overhaul… a few intentional tweaks can make a big difference.

Don’t worry; we’re here to help! Here’s a quick list of things you can tackle to declutter your finances and ensure you’re on the right track toward your goals:

Refresh Your Budget ✍️

If you haven’t taken a good look at your spending habits recently, it may be time for an update. Revisit your spending categories, see where you can pull back, and make sure your current spending aligns with your priorities. If you find yourself constantly going over budget, here are some ways to get back on track.

Make Your Savings Work Harder 💪

We hope that everyone reading this is utilizing a high-yield savings account, but if you’re not, now is the time to open one! The big banks suck. Do a little bit of research to ensure you’re still getting the best rate and that your money is working hard for you.

Declutter Your Accounts 🧹

If you have multiple old accounts you don’t use, close the unnecessary ones! Fewer accounts make it easier to keep track of your finances.

Consolidate Retirement Accounts 📈

Do you have an old retirement account from a past job? It may still be working for you, but like we said above: fewer accounts = less clutter. Rolling over your old retirement accounts can simplify your finances and minimize hidden fees.

If you need a little help getting started, Capitalize is a free tool that walks you through the process step by step. We’ve also put together a full review breaking down just how seamless it really is.

Give Your Debt a Game Plan 🎯

You may have debt for a number of different reasons, but if you want to eradicate it, you need a clear payoff strategy. Whether you choose to snowball or avalanche your debt, having a plan helps you make real progress (and saves you money on interest!).

Tidy Up Your Financial Life 👔

Organize important documents, update your passwords (including that one you’ve used since 2012), and shred anything that’s no longer needed. Scannable is a free, easy-to-use app that lets you quickly scan important documents right from your phone. From there, you can email or upload them for safe digital storage. Less clutter on your desk!

Turn Clutter into Cash 🪑

As you’re spring cleaning the rest of your life, don’t automatically throw out or donate any used and unwanted items. Clothes, furniture, appliances, tech, etc. can all be listed on Facebook Marketplace to make an easy sale! Less clutter + more cash = a win-win.

Check In on Your Goals 🔍

The savings goal you made for that summer vacation to Italy… how’s it going? If plans change, so should your savings goals. By having something to work toward, you keep yourself accountable. And it’s always fun to see your progress!

Prep for Upcoming Expenses 💰

Car repairs, holidays, random life stuff… it’s all coming. Setting up sinking funds now to save for large expenses you know are coming can help you avoid the “why is this so expensive?” moment later.

Optimize Your Credit Cards 💳

We shared some of our favorite cards last week, and maybe you even opened a new one to take advantage of a welcome bonus or additional perks! But if you have old cards lying around, make sure you’re not paying an annual fee for an unloved card.

For the cards you do use, consider making a credit card “cheat sheet” to ensure you’re using the best card for each purchase to optimize rewards and cash back.

Spring cleaning your finances doesn’t have to be all about cutting back. It’s about taking the time to make sure your priorities are aligned, your accounts are in order, and setting yourself up for a fantastic rest of the year! And you don’t have to do all of this at once. Pick one or two items that can benefit from your attention, and make a goal to dedicate a little time to each this week. 🤓

INVESTING

Don’t Be Picky 📉

Picking individual stocks from the comfort of your couch might seem stressful, or it may seem exciting! Depends on your personality and risk tolerance, I guess. There’s a certain pride to watching the company you invested in have a crazy run-up. And while it’s easy to say then that you knew that would happen, the reality is that even the pros don’t consistently beat the market over time.

In fact, research shows that even when fund managers do pick winning stocks, they still lag simple index funds. Why? The success you have in the market isn’t just about picking the winners. It’s about time and consistency, too.

Why Picking Stocks Is a Losing Endeavor

Picking a great stock feels like a win. As humans, we’re prone to remember our winning picks and dismiss our bad ones. Owning one or two strong performers doesn’t guarantee you’ll beat the market, either. If your other picks lag behind, or you miss out on the year’s biggest winners, your overall returns can still come up short.

As we always say, time in the market is better than timing the market. Knowing when to buy and when to sell is massively hard, even for seasoned investors. The article above illustrates that "for as good as these managers might have been in choosing stocks, it appears they struggled to discern when to buy, when to sell, and when to leave well enough alone.” If that’s true of the pros, it’s likely to be for us normies too!

On top of that, higher costs drag performance down. Picking stocks as opposed to low-cost index funds often involves more frequent trading, higher fees, and bigger tax implications. All of these things can significantly eat into your gains over time.

So What’s the Move?

While investing in low-cost index funds might not be the most exciting strategy, it’s one of the most consistent. Over the long run, that simple, boring strategy reliability tends to outperform even the best stock-pickers out there.

Your index funds are like the sturdy brick walls of your house. If you want to pick stocks on the side, go for it! But think of them as the fancy artwork or accent lighting: nice to show off, but they won’t keep the roof from caving in.

A good rule of thumb: don’t let your individual stock picks exceed more than 5% of your total portfolio. That way, you can still feel the excitement of attempting to pick some winners, but you don’t risk blowing up your account from going all in on a friend of a friend’s “secret intel” that they swear will make you a millionaire. 😅

TOGETHER WITH TURBOTAX*

How Solopreneurs Can Clean Up Their Taxes ✔️

Spring is the season for fresh starts, making it a perfect time for those side hustlers and self-employed startups to file before April 15. But with all the recent tax reform changes, that can be confusing.

With the tax deadline fast approaching, small business owners and sole proprietors can match with a TurboTax expert who can help and even file for you at turbotax.com/business.

Self-employed individuals and small business owners can connect with business tax experts with expertise and knowledge in their specific industry - helping them maximize deductions and get taxes off their to-do list.

TurboTax helps:

• Save You Money: TurboTax Experts find you deductions and savings to keep every dollar possible in your business.

• Access to Experts: With an average of 12 years of experience, TurboTax Experts are matched based on your industry and are there for you to securely prepare and file your taxes virtually or in person.

• Year-Round Tax Support: TurboTax Experts for Business provides unlimited year-round expert support at no extra cost, and offers audit protection.

• Seamless Integration: TurboTax integrates with bookkeeping software like QuickBooks to eliminate the need for multiple financial apps or manual data entry – delivering a truly personalized, done-for-you experience.

Check out how TurboTax Experts for Business can help you both spring clean your taxes - sorting through receipts and expenses - and maximize your refund, today. 

HOME

Keeping the Critters Away 🐛

Hiring a pro pest control service may feel necessary, but doing it yourself can save you hundreds of dollars per year. And surprisingly, it’s pretty straightforward! Most people don’t love dealing with bugs, but with a few simple steps, you can keep ants, mosquitoes, and other common pests at bay without breaking the bank.

Before we get into controlling the pests… prevention is the most important part! Keeping your home and yard clean, sealing leaky entry points, and trimming plants away from walls and windows goes a long way toward stopping an invasion before it starts!

DIY Pest Control Strategies

• 🌱 Natural Solutions: Diatomaceous Earth is a food-grade powder that dehydrates ants and other insects. Sprinkle it along entry points to your home for a natural, non-toxic barrier.

• 🦺 Professional Products: Talstar Pro is what most pest control professionals use, and it can tackle more than 75 types of pests! We have mixing instructions here along with some more tips for keeping pests away. This stuff costs pennies compared to hiring a service!

• 🧴 Homemade Deterrents: Simple mixtures like apple cider vinegar for fruit flies, citronella or basil for mosquitoes, and soap/oil mixes for garden bugs can keep minor pests under control, too.

The best part? DIY pest control isn’t just cheap, it’s quick! A half-hour every few months can replace what would cost hundreds of dollars in professional services. And if you own rental properties, doing your own pest control there will multiply your savings!

Of course, some situations require a knowledgeable pro. No need to combat a pack of rats in your kitchen completely alone! But for run-of-the-mill ants? You’ve got this.

ICYMI!

Your Weekly Update…

Kids Bowl Free! 🎳
Need something fun to do with the kids this summer? How about FREE bowling!? This summer, kids can get two free games per day at participating locations. Simply find your location, register your children ages 2-13, and enjoy!

Traveling for Dental Care 🦷
Sky-high U.S. dental costs are sending patients south of the border, where entire economies now revolve around affordable care for foreign visitors. Listen to 99% Invisible’s recent podcast episode to learn more about “Molar City” in Mexico.

Streaming Madness 🏀
Looking to follow March Madness without the cost of a long-term contract? Here are your best options for streaming every Men’s and Women’s game.

Try not to get fooled tomorrow! And to all who celebrate — have a great Easter weekend! 🐰

Best friends out! 🍻