
Ashley Feinstein Gerstley, money coach and founder of The
Fiscal Femme, to share tiny tweaks you can make every day for the
next month to cleanse your finances…and seriously boost your bottom line.
Getting Started
DAY 1: SET THREE GOALS
What do you
want to accomplish in your financial life? First thing’s first: Write down your
top three priorities—like boosting your 401(k) contributions—to help you stay
focused over the next 30 days.
DAY 2: PINPOINT
YOUR MOTIVATIONS
You set three money goals, bravo. But while the idea of paying
off your debt once and for all is exciting, it’s helpful to identify why you
want to do this (for example, bumping up your savings for an upcoming trip) and
how your life will change if you achieve this.
DAY 3: ASSEMBLE A
SUPPORT NETWORK
Money is tough to discuss, but if you don’t share your financial
goals with the people you care about—like your hubby or BFF—it’s hard for them
to support you. (Cue your best friend keep telling you to treat yo’self .)
DAY 4: KEEP A MONEY
JOURNAL
Write down (or type out) everything you
spend and earn each day. For spending, include the item and the price or
amount. For the best insight, you should add a line about how you felt before
and after you made the purchase.
DAY 5: TRACK YOUR
MONEY OUTLOOK
Now that you’re jotting things down, keep
track: Did you get giddy before buying something only to feel guilty after? Or
feel inadequate about your paycheck? Note when you’re positive about spending
habits and when you're negative. (It matters!)
DAY 6: CHANGE YOUR
MONEY MANTRA
With money, negative self-talk (like “ugh,
I’ll never ever get out of debt”) becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Replace
these words with something positive and specific: “I’m going to set aside
$5,000 this year.” Then write it on a Post-it and tack it up.
Budgeting 101
DAY 7: MAKE A LIST OF YOUR EXPENSES
List out each
of your daily, weekly, monthly, annual and onetime expenses. (For example,
groceries, mortgage payment, student loans, dining out, etc.) Refer to your
money journal to jog your memory and narrow down categories. No need to plug in
costs just yet.
DAY 8: MARK PLACES
YOU CAN CUT
Take a look at your credit and debit card
statements over the past two months (or better yet, the past year) as well as
your journal. What was worth it? What wasn’t? If it doesn’t bring you joy (like
an old subscription you forgot about), write it down.
DAY 9: QUANTIFY
YOUR LIST
Now you can plug in costs for your expenses.
Do it on an annual basis, so if you get one latte per day at $4, that’s $1,460
a year. (Estimates are OK if you don’t know the exact amount.) This gives you
an idea of your total spending for the next 12 months.
DAY 10: NOW DO THE
MATH
It’s the golden rule of personal finance:
[Annual income] minus [The amount you’re hoping to save] = [Annual expenses].
Your annual income is what hits your bank account after taxes and other
deductions. (If this end number is scary, don’t fret.)
Spending and Saving
DAY 11: DEFINE “SPLURGE”
When you treat
yourself at the expense of something you really want, it’s not a treat. Take a
look at your spending and ways you can reallocate your cash toward things that
make you happier short- and long-term. (For example, a latte versus a
vacation.)
DAY 12: LET GO OF
THE REST
It is possible to increase
what makes you happy and decrease the cost. For example: You love quality time
with your friends but can’t afford the tab. Host a party at home so you can
still catch up at a lower price. It’s all about getting creative.
DAY 13: MAKE MONEY
A GAME
Spending plans that are too restrictive
don’t work. Instead, allocate funds for something fun (like eating out) and
make it a game to come in under budget every week. Put any surplus toward
savings.
DAY 14: LIST OUT
FRUGAL JOYS
What are activities you love that cost you
almost zero dollars? Think: A cup of coffee with a friend or reading a good
book. Take note of them and suggest them when you’d rather not break the bank
on social plans.
DAY 15: KEEP TABS
ON ENVIRONMENTAL TOXINS
These are the people, places and things
that get the best of our spending. (Like the friend who costs you $100 every
time you hang out.) Toxic expenses can be big or small, but the real issue is
that they derail your budget.
DAY 16: PLAN A
MONEY PARTY
Schedule time in your calendar every two
weeks (and include your partner, duh) to check in on your progress toward your
money goals—rainy day fund, retirement, etc.—and deal with any bills you have
to pay.
DAY 17: TAKE
INVENTORY
Check in to see how much you have in your
checking, savings, investments and retirement accounts. What do you owe? Any
credit card debt or loans and how much is left on that mortgage anyway? Taking
inventory helps you calculate your net worth (total assets minus total debt).
DAY 18: CONSOLIDATE
ACCOUNTS
Ugh, taking inventory was complicated. As
time goes on, we tend to accumulate things: more accounts, more expenses, more
clutter. Can you close out any accounts? Or roll over old 401(k)s from previous
jobs? It’s all about streamlining.
DAY 19: SEPARATE
YOUR SAVINGS
It doesn’t always make sense to have your
checking and savings at the same bank. For one thing, it’s too easy to access,
and secondly, you might be missing out on a better interest rate. (Online
savings accounts are free and earn around one percent.)
DAY 20: PAY
YOURSELF FIRST
In most cases, you earn money, live your
life, pay bills and wait to see what’s left over at the end of the month. But
what if there’s nothing left over? Setting up an automatic transfer to savings
(even $5 a week) is a good place to start.
Dollars and (Common) Sense
DAY 21: PLAN FOR EXPENSES
Your emergency
fund is there for the costs you can’t anticipate. But there
are many things (like holiday spending) that you can. Say you spend $1,000 on
an average Christmas. Make it a goal to put aside $83 per month so you’re
covered come December.
DAY 22: AUTOMATE
EVERYTHING
Not just your bills, but your expenses,
too. For example, saving for a move? Have that transfer automatically to a
dedicated savings bucket. What about your rent payments? Set it up so this
payment is automatically set aside from your paycheck.
DAY 23: MAXIMIZE
YOUR BENEFITS
When you start a new job, there’s a lot to
learn and you don’t always think your benefits through. Once you’re settled, go
back and read everything again. Maybe you should bump up your 401(k) or take
advantage of tax-advantaged transit options. The worst thing you can do is
leave money on the table.
DAY 24: SAY NO TO
FEES
Always (always) negotiate if you incur a
fee. But you should also research to see if you’re gettingcharged quarterly
or annual fees on your 401(k) or investment accounts. Look out for them—and
maintain the balance to avoid them.
DAY 25: PEEP YOUR
CREDIT REPORT
Mistakes happen. You can generate your credit report on annualcreditreport.com once
a year to be sure there aren’t any errors. If there are, there’s usually a spot
to dispute (and remedy) them right from the site.
DAY 26: GENERATE
YOUR SCORE
With this number, ignorance is not bliss. A
higher score means you’ll get lower interest rates on mortgages and other
loans. But keeping an eye on it (aka doing a soft pull) won’t decrease your
score. Plus, there are quick ways to bump it
up.
A Few Parting Words of Wisdom
DAY 27: REMEMBER, YOU’RE DOING GREAT
Whether you’re
creating a debt pay-down plan or getting started with investing, it’s much more
important to dive in than to do it perfectly. Even small steps (like
eliminating that daily latte) can create big results.
DAY 28: TIE UP ANY
LOOSE ENDS
Financial to-dos are stressful. Make a list
of anything you’ve been pushing off—like, say, rolling over a 401(k)—and put a
time on your calendar to make it happen. Checking it off your list feels great.
DAY 29: CELEBRATE
YOUR SUCCESSES
It’s about the little milestones (like
cutting $500 in credit card debt). Take a minute to congratulate yourself. Just
don’t buy the most expensive wine on the menu.
DAY 30: AND KEEP
PLUGGING AWAY
One month down! Now’s the time to set your
next batch of financial goals—or keep plugging away at what you set out to do.
You've got this!
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