Over the last 14 years, I’ve gone behind the scenes with hundreds of people and dug into their bank and credit card statements. I’ve worked with people making $30K per year. I’ve worked with people who make millions per year.
I have good news and bad news.
What I’ve found is that no matter how much money someone earns, there's a 99% chance they will need to put together a spending plan in order to feel clear about their goals.
If you earn a salary, it's probably your largest form of compensation (or benefit) offered through work. Yet many of us don’t learn how to maximize that benefit. And to make matters worse, we aren’t sure who to turn to when we need help.
And that’s just budgeting. There are also the other very important parts of our financial lives like investing, debt pay down, credit scores, and the list goes on and on. Not only does this impact our own well-being, it also impacts the companies we work for.
By this time in the New Year most people have given up on their resolutions or goals. Womp womp.
While we can make some major strides in a month, the key to financial success is in consistency.
Small, consistent steps over time lead to big results.
The good news is, the steps can be small and manageable. The bad news is, we’re never done.
So, how do we keep our money motivation up all year round? Here’s what works for me, no matter what area of my life I’m looking to improve.
Our quizzes are back!
I love quizzes because they’re a fun way to learn about our money habits and money mindset AND get tailored tips that cater to our individual personalities.
I have two new quizzes for you.
WHICH BUDGETING APP IS RIGHT FOR YOU?
If you use Mint, you've probably heard that the long-time free budgeting app is going away. I've been getting a lot of messages from the Fiscal Femme community asking about the best alternatives. Whether you are switching from Mint or are just looking for a new budgeting solution, I have you covered. Take the quiz to find out which budgeting app is best for you.
If the end of the year felt like a spending free-for-all, you’re not alone. Between holiday expenses, travel and higher prices, many budgets (or lack thereof) are feeling completely out of whack.
Maybe you have some exciting New Year’s money goals but are feeling like you have to catch up (or stop the bleeding) before you can make progress.
I know the feeling. Right after spendy times, expenses can continue to flow a little too easily and in higher than usual proportions. You might think, my credit card bill is so high, what’s another [insert purchase here] going to matter?
Happy New Year! It’s 2024 (somehow) and what better way to kick off the year than to share some money intentions or goals?
Why does goal-setting matter? First, when we put our goals out there, they become real. Our brains get to work reconciling our realities with the things that we want.
If we share our goals with others, even better. Those around us - (hi! Including me!) can support you and cheer you on as you achieve those goals.
It’s time to celebrate!!! We did it! Regardless of how messy or different than planned or perfectly chaotic your year turned out, you did it. Another trip around the sun.
It’s so important to celebrate how much you’ve accomplished and grown in the last year. I asked you to share your wins, big and small. Here are some highlights:
When it comes to our goals, we often focus on the “doing.” For example, to save $1,000 by next December, I’ll set aside $20 per week. Or to finally start budgeting I’ll put a plan together and check in on it once a month.
While this can work well and I’m a big proponent of action (hello weekly money moves!), even our best laid plans and momentum eventually fade.
What gives?
I’ve found that having a specific goal-setting mindset can make all the difference.
Instead of asking “what do I need to do to achieve this goal?” ask yourself, “who do I need to be to achieve this goal?”
Each week I feature our community fails (including my own) via #FinancialFailFridays on Instagram.
You might be wondering why I celebrate our fails each week. 🤔 A few reasons.
First, it helps us feel less alone. Because money is not something we talk about, even with our closest friends and family, and we are often left feeling like we’re the only ones who don’t have it all figured out. When we see that others are making mistakes, it normalizes it.
We see that we’re all figuring this out together.
I was recently trying to parallel park (very unsuccessfully) in front of a few jeering men and was reminded of a study I read about women and math.
Before I tell you about the study I need to share that I’ve parallel parked many, many times successfully, but something about this situation with onlookers had me freeze up. I forgot everything I knew.
In the book The Confidence Code the authors Katty Kay and Claire Shipman call this "stereotype threat."
Last month I had the pleasure of speaking at Under Armour’s Women’s Summit hosted at their headquarters in Baltimore.
I kicked off the talk with mindset. There are two mindset reframes that make taking steps in our money lives much easier and more effective.
The first…
BUDGETING AND TAKING CARE OF OUR FINANCES IS AN ACT OF SELF LOVE.
As we approach the biggest shopping weekend of the year, I want to share some of the strategies I’ve developed for not overspending (too much).
For years, I matter-of-factly decided I wouldn’t buy anything on Black Friday or Cyber Monday - and I consistently failed. 🤦♀️ Sometimes bigger than others.
These are the five things that have changed the holiday sale game for me:
If you’ve been following along our house saga (here, here and here), you might be wondering, what will Ashley do with her house money? 🤑🏡
Spoiler alert - I’m going to share the juicy details below but not without a little backstory.
I’ve been thinking a lot about this after my conversation with Ali and Erica on the Finding Mr. Height podcast. Erica shared her experience meeting with a financial advisor.
As he was making his investment recommendations, all she could think about was… can you log in and show me YOUR MONEY? What are you invested in? Is this an absurd thing to ask of someone?
If you’ve ever been curious about working with a financial planner but feel overwhelmed by the process of finding someone you can trust and afford, you’re not alone.
The myriad of titles and professions are confusing and daunting.
Not to mention, the financial services industry is amongst the least trusted of any other industry. Only a small percentage of people really trust financial professionals – and for good reason!
According to a study out of the University of Minnesota and the University of Chicago Business Schools, between 2005 and 2015, 87,000 financial advisors were disciplined for misconduct or fraud. And that’s just the ones who were caught.
By the time we sold our condo and found our new place, it was go time. We had two weeks to get ready to move.
Here’s how I prepped.
I minimized the amount of stuff there was to move.
We dedicated a lot of time to going through our things. As we did, we asked ourselves, “is this worth moving?” And if it wasn’t, we either:
After we sold our place, it was time to find our next home. ICYMI, you can read the full backstory here.
A lot has changed since we were last in the market to buy (6 and a half years ago). The biggest change of all? The prices.
Woof, things are expensive! It definitely took me some time to recalibrate to the current market.
And with interest rates at all time highs those high prices got even more expensive. Plus, there was very little inventory so there weren’t many options.
Something I took away from the book Atomic Habits (more on what I’ve been reading soon!) is that to make a habit stick it really helps to make it satisfying in the short-term.
Unfortunately, so many of the habits that will benefit us in the long-term, don’t provide short-term rewards.
When you decide not to buy something or to cook a healthy dinner at home (vs going out), you don’t feel that reward until you have your money party or pay your next credit card bill.
A critical part of selling our home (ICYMI here’s the backstory) was the appraisal. During an appraisal someone comes in to check things out and tell you how much the home is worth.
If our home didn’t appraise for close to what the new owners were paying, the deal wouldn’t happen. For a certain value home, appraisals impact if buyers can get a mortgage and of what size. It’s a big deal.
Even though objective things like square feet and the number of bedrooms are an important part of the appraisal, I still wanted to make the place look nice for the more subjective piece.
A critical part of selling our home (ICYMI here’s the backstory) was the appraisal. During an appraisal someone comes in to check things out and tell you how much the home is worth.
If our home didn’t appraise for close to what the new owners were paying, the deal wouldn’t happen. For a certain value home, appraisals impact if buyers can get a mortgage and of what size. It’s a big deal.
Even though objective things like square feet and the number of bedrooms are an important part of the appraisal, I still wanted to make the place look nice for the more subjective piece.
