Month: December 2024

Kickstart Your 2025 with New Habits

smbaccari

New Year, New Habits…???

Here we are at the end of another year!  Why is it that the end of the year is when most of us fall off the deep end and any bad habit we might have is now X10! You start the new year thinking you are going to eat better and be more mindful of your spending so you can save more! BUT we get to December every year and ALL that goes out the window! It’s Christmas Day 2024, and the day is not even over, heck the year is not even over, and I am ready to re-set!

I think I have had my fill of sweets and “grazing” on fun food people have delivered and or sent as a holiday gift. Don’t get me wrong, I love it ALL! That’s the problem. 😊

I am also ready to stop spending my money on all those last- minute stressed out, how did I forget about that person, gifts too. Too much stress! So today. Ok  maybe tomorrow, I will start getting back on my schedule with both food and budgeting. I am approaching 2025 with small steps each week or month to move in the right direction. I am making my to-do list, and I think I will actually LOOK at this list every couple of weeks, so that I can feel guilty IF I do not start getting things checked off this list! The list is the only thing that will keep me accountable, and it will help me work on my mental toughness. 😊 In order to keep the to-Do List reasonable and reachable, I will make the “items” attainable and not be too hard on myself if it takes a few weeks to do them.

I will stay focused on how great I am going to feel if I have one action item a month to complete and let’s say 6 or 7 get done by the end of the year and it sticks as a new positive habit! That would be amazing!

Some of the smaller items will be things like, cancelling a fairly new gym membership that’s just not working for me. I have decided I would rather stay at my old gym.

Another item on the to-do list is to investigate my husband’s cell phone rate. I think they are OVER charging him, a customer, for 10 years vs the current plans they offer existing customers. Cell phone companies lower the plan rates, BUT I think I must reach out to them and ask for that lower rate? Not really sure, but I need to check it out.  These little things you need to watch because they are banking on you NOT paying attention. It’s not nice. ☹Same goes for the Car insurance. I need to re-look at that too!

All these little things that take time and money out of our pockets because the mental energy we need to expand to get these tasks done is painful. The goal in 2025 is to push past this.

I tried this same thing last year, although I did not keep an actual list, I did make some small positive moves in the right direction that I am proud of, like increasing my 401K contributions each month and automating it. It was quick & easy and only a few % points, but it was done! I really did not notice the difference in my take home pay. I also cancelled 2 subscriptions; I was NOT using them.  

I was determined to save money on my cable and wi-fi bill too! Ok that one was very challenging and after 3 hours in the store, I lowered the bill by about $20.00 a month. My goal was $50.00 a month, which did not happen. ☹ BUT if I switched to that provider for my cell phone, I could save $80.00 a month, so I did! Hey, I was not leaving there after 3 hours of my time without a WIN!

Looking back, I guess I did make some positive changes in 2024, and maybe me and everyone else just accepts the fact that December is the one month we go off the rails a little. (key word here) and spend more money than other months, but we spend that money on family/friends and memories….  Enjoy the last week of the year and when setting 2025 goals, keep them realistic so that you can hit those goals and build on that!

Happy Holidays!!!

Is Employer Matching Going Toward Student Loans a Good Idea?

smbaccari

At the beginning of 2024 there were some changes to the employer side of the 401k contribution and student loan repayment. Well, for some companies that now allow an employee to get their “match money” to not go into the 401K, but to go toward matching what the employee paid toward a student loan that year. EX. If an employer’s match for say 4% each year would have allowed you to have an added $3,000 contributed to your 401K, assuming you too contributed the $3,000 at a minimum, you could have that employer match of $3,000 go toward the student load debt instead. Of course, you too would have had to put $3.000 at a min. toward that debt as well. Remember it’s a match. Not every company will allow this, because I am sure it’s a human resource challenge this early on with this new rule. Regardless, is this a good thing?  There are several people dealing with huge student loan debt, and we hear a lot of conversation around it, like it’s not fair, its right and the government should forgive student loans for people taking jobs like teachers and social workers…

Hey, I get it! But we hear very little about “educating” people about financial literacy while in High School and how to make better choices as to the schools you go to. If you want to be a teacher, WHY would you go to a private college, assuming you are tsking out large loans.  They will not pay you more because you spent more. Remember State Colleges are supplemented with tax dollars, that’s why they are less money. Don’t think that makes them less of a school. I also know state colleges are pricy too these days, but at least in most cases they are half the cost. If you need to piece it together and start at a community college for 2 years, that’s OK! But to sacrifice those early years of funds in your retirement account earning compound interest? I’m not sure about that. Most people are what experts say “behind” on their retirement savings. Do most people not understand the  power of the longer your money is IN the market, vs the amount of money you PUT in the market? “The Money Guys” (Great podcast) https://moneyguy.com/  tell us for every dollar a 20-year-old puts in the market = $88 when they are 65! That’s AMAZING! I wish I was drinking that cool-aid when I was getting out of school! Of course, back in those days you had to give a blood and urine sample and swear on bible to get a student loan vs today. When my daughter was in school every Fall, she would get a “credit” on the bill which matched the Federal Student Loan amount each year. I would LOSE IT, and tell her, “Get down to that Bursar’s office and get that off!” I never checked that box on the FASFA! Here I am killing myself to fund that 529 plan for years, and they are giving “her” loans like candy! Thank God I was paying attention….Bottom line here, we need more education on the front end so people can make more informed decisions. Hey if you want to put blinders on and spend, spend, spend, in the early years and pick the most expensive college, Go at it!  But maybe while you are picking that high-priced college you can also decide what bridge you want to live under in your golden years. Just saying… Make good choice and control what you can control.