Tag: over spending

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!!!

Budget Apps.

smbaccari

Budgeting Apps, could they be helpful???

I don’t know about you, but I have been thinking about doing a deeper dive in to some of these online tools that help you really see where you are spending your money. Each month I DO use my own bank’s online budget tool that does a great job at showing you where you are spending your money. My bank breaks it down by category, which you must look at VERY carefully. For instance, under “insurance” for me it has pulled in things like, Long Term Care insurance I pay into because it’s an Insurance Company. I’m not that old, but for me it was the right move and cheap due to my age. But I would NEVER get that back if I “Cancelled it” even if it was by mistake. I also saw that my ROTH contributions were packed under the “insurance” umbrella as well…Again NOT something I want to cancel.

So, if you do use your own bank’s online tools to see where your money is going, understand what each transaction is accually, before trying to cancel it. I also noticed on my own banking app. That it told me my cable bill was $16.30 higher than normal? I have NO idea why, but now I am watching it! I will also have to pull out that bill and see what changed! Such a pain… But these companies just randomly add things to our bills! Did someone in the house rent a movie that was NOT FREE?! With what I pay for cable & internet, ONLY FREE movies allowed. That cable bill is a topic on its own… 30 years ago it was just the cost of electricity to watch the news! Don’t get me started…

BUT then there are things like subscriptions I have TRIED to cancel more than once and are STILL showing up! Frustrating!!! Do I give it another shot and try to cancel these AGAIN? Do I call my bank and see if we can block these two merchants, and can they do that??? My fear is the bank will want to issue me a NEW credit card and the two-three things I do not want to have laps will get lost in the shuffle.

It all adds up, and before we know it an extra $100.00+ per month is out the window on really nothing. Look at it like this that’s over $1,000 a year and for that money I can get a long weekend away someplace near a beach each summer!

While the App. MINT is shutting down on Jan. 1, 2024, there is a lot of talk around Rocket Money, which is FREE. But let’s face it, nothing is FREE.  So yes, it’s FREE to download, but I get it they need to make money too.  Rocket Money is a budgeting App. and for a fee can do a lot more.  The paid monthly fee is $4.00-$12.00 a month. But it can do things like get rid of your subscriptions you do not want any more, maybe even get some money back for you??? It says it can possibly negotiate rates for you. I am assuming this is things like an interest rate on a credit card if it’s really high right now.  If you have a lot going on in your money world and see lots of things you pay for each month you want gone or need some help managing it to get your arms around your monthly spend, maybe these online apps. are worth exploring. After all the $60 a year you may pay for the app. Might be less than the “found” money you find EACH month! Take some time to look at your own bank’s “features” online.  Make sure you understand what is in each category and make sure it is “junk” for you each month and then do some research on IF an app. Is right for you. There are some great tools out there these days and they may help get us better at understanding and seeing our own habits. Once we SEE it we are more willing to make those small changes.

Make sure you look at the app’s rating from many sites, and the Better Business Bureau. Read all the fine print on the terms & conditions as well, like how to cancel the service should you want to.  Good luck if you decide to dig in here and if you do pull the trigger!!