Mindful Money Tips for 2024

Image by Blissful Muse

Whenever I think of money, I always recall the scene in The Wedding Singer with Adam Sandler and part of this quote in the above photo! 

Is money the root of all evil? Is debt inevitable now that we're into 2024? Does anyone still keep money jars on top of their fridges?! All good questions. While money can sometimes bring out the worst in humanity, carrying some debt is nothing to be ashamed of. Being able to lower financial stressors that is in our control though can be life-changing.

Here are some mindful money tips that will definitely help you to keep more money in your pocket (or on top of your fridge).

👉 Get rid of FOMO – Fear of Missing Out.

If you shop online often, you might be prone to buying products because your favourite celebrity or influencer endorses it. Perhaps you also saw it go viral on any social media platform, in particular Tiktok. This can rack up tons of unnecessary spending and increase those dopamine receptors to get the latest hit in your brain each time you click your finger or mouse to “add to cart”.  Unfortunately, this can be a recipe for disaster when you get your next bank statement.

Instead of ordering right away, leave it in your “virtual” cart for a few days and even up to a week. Then revisit your cart with all the purchases you felt compelled to put in there and go through each item. Chances are, you didn’t need most of what was there, but the allure and excitement got the best of you.  Cha-ching! Money saved. By training yourself to do this on a regular basis, you’ll become more mindful of needs vs wants.

👉 Make A Dent In Your Debts

If you have looming debts that never seem to decrease because you are paying such high interest rates, a simple way to lower them is to call up the company (or multiple ones) and try to negotiate a lower rate. If you have been consistent with paying off your account, this can definitely help your case.  Even if you’re not, try to see what you can accomplish, you’re not losing anything, just some time maybe listening to elevator music until a human voice says hello.  While this is not a guarantee, there is a good chance you can lower at least a few lingering debts.                                                                                                                         

👉 Make A List & Check It Twice

This is a must!  Making a list keeps you on track of what you need to buy. Don’t deviate from it. There are so many temptations when shopping, especially in the grocery store.  I don’t know how many times I have heard people say “I just came in for one thing, and I spent X amount on stuff I don’t even need.”    It’s all about accountability, so if you stick to what you have written down or what’s on your phone, you’ll come home with fewer regretful purchases.

                                                      

👉  Schedule Your Outings

Instead of making multiple trips out throughout the week, whenever possible, try to make a route so you can run all your errands once.  This can be challenging for health appointments, but for other things that you need to do, it is doable if you have a plan.  If you drive, this saves having to fill up on gas more often. 

Depending on your personal accessibility, skipping the car ride and opting to walk or bike is another great way to deal with your to-do list. It saves money with wear and tear on your vehicle, improves your health and reduces environmental impact.  If none of these feel suitable, utilize your local transit system - it's not free, but still can be another more affordable and beneficial option.

👉 Fees Fees Fees!

From paid streaming services to magazine subscriptions, sometimes the monthly automatic withdrawal is not in our favour because we have no idea what we’re even paying for. We just see our account balance dip and shrug it off because we're drowning in debt, what's a little more? 

That's a really toxic mindset to stay in. Take back the power and realize you can control this spending. Make a conscious effort to go through all your subscription services and see what you’re actually using.

Then, if you’re not willing to opt out completely, see if there is a cheaper way to downgrade your membership for a while. You might not miss it and realize the service is no longer serving your needs,  Most often, there are services you just forgot to cancel because you initially got roped into the free tempting trial.  

If you are looking to reduce your spending further, a great tip is to utilize any libraries in your community.  My local library is a great place to borrow items like books and movies, digitally or in-person. Best of all, it’s free – as long as you show your library card.   

                                                                         

So although it may be overwhelming at first, just chip away at each of these suggestions. Don't committ to doing everything at once. It's good to start a financial reset at the start of the year, but really any time at all. If you feel stressed, remember the old saying though, Rome wasn't built in a day. I hope that some of my tips here will help you make good decisions for your financial future. 

💜Closing up this blog, some of my readers from around the globe have sent me their own tips that I thought I would share here. If you have any, I’d love to hear from you, so just send me an email from my webform on the right-hand side, or comment below (messages are monitored due to spam) as I read everything!

💌Donna from Michigan -With rising prices, we make an effort to cook at home. Having a large family, it has saved us hundreds of dollars a month. We still love to eat out to support our favourite local restaurants, but have scaled back to making it a special treat just once in a while.

💌Shawn from London - Meal prepping has been a game-changer, not only for my wallet but my waist too. I would encourage everyone to set a few hours aside and prep meals for the week.

💌Eric from Toronto - Prices here are crazy and most of my pay cheque goes to rent! The money I save from brewing my coffee at home instead of grabbing one on my morning commute to work, I can nicely tip my fav barista when I do actually go out and treat myself to a latte.

💌Abby from Windsor - I always look at the clearance shelves and have found some staple items highly discounted that help me save money.

💌Sana from India -I have only 1 credit card and cut up the rest to prevent overspending!

💌Joanne from Alberta - Hey Muse! Green-thumb Prairie gal here - I love to garden and save lots of money growing vegetables here. It is hard though with weather being unpredictable, but I get a decent harvest - fingers crossed this year! I like to share my veggies with neighbours. 

Townhouse Living In Windsor-Essex County

The housing market in Windsor-Essex County has gone completely bonkers! In our area, prices have jumped to at least double or triple its value. It's not slowing down either, as I see homes on the market for only a few days and in a blink of an eye, the sold sign goes up.  I’ve also known more people switching careers and going into real estate than ever before.   

At certain points of our lives, we make choices that feel like a good decision in where we want to live, but then realize, it’s time to pivot in another direction that suits our circumstances more.  What's next for us? I'm not sure. 

Today, I thought I would just talk about my perspective from living in a townhouse complex (or rowhouse as it may be called) for over the last 10+ years with my husband.  After bouncing around with the ideas of whether we wanted a single-family home, condo living or even apartment renting, after viewing a very quaint and cozy townhouse complex, this type of situation made the most sense for our needs.  

Community Belonging. Townhouse living can have quite a community feel since we are all fairly close in proximity to each other and if you're outside for any length of time, someone is bound to strike up a 'hello there'  moment. Although I am a mixed bag of being an introvert and extrovert, I liked the idea of being connected to others in a way that still offered some separation when I needed it.

Maintenance-Free.  We don’t have to deal with the changing of seasons very much, so that means the lawn is taken care of in the warmer months, and the snow plows come when we’re ready to hibernate. This is included in our monthly fees, so we don’t have to go out and buy snowblowers, lawnmowers, which can be added expenses. We also have a central area in each lot for recycling and garbage disposal. No composting bins though, but perhaps that is something to implement in the near future.

Sharing the utility costs.  With the prices of hydro always increasing, paying a monthly maintenance fee that includes all our utility costs seemed like a great concept, and for the most part it is except when people abuse the privilege, which affects all units.  In hind-sight, I would have preferred to pay our own utilities and monitor our usage with individual meters for each unit.  Most townhouse complexes especially the newly-built ones are not all-inclusive, so we may be the only one left as of 2022, unless something changes.

Privacy. Can you hear that?  Well, the connected walls are pretty thin here. So whether there’s an argument going on, a child crying, singing loudly in the shower or someone who really likes to put on their surround sound system late at night, you can hear it all.  Now granted, most neighbours are considerate and quiet, but that is part of the living arrangement to deal with especially as new people move in and out. 

Mobility. Stairs, stairs and more stairs.  A good workout going from the main level to upstairs and then the basement. However, it’s a lot to deal with and as the candles get blown out each year, stairs become cumbersome.  Of course, there is the option of putting chair-lifts in.

Parking Lot Accessibility.  We don’t have garages, so cars stay in designated parking lot areas. Everyone receives one parking spot, if you have additional vehicles, you need to pay extra to obtain another spot.  For many,  not having a garage is fine, but if you have a business where you are transporting equipment on a regular basis and don’t live right next to the lot you’re in, this may pose a bit of a problem.

So as you can see, there are pros and cons. Whether you’re looking to downsize or wanting a different change of scenery to embrace townhouse living, I hope this gave you some insight on what it can entail and whether it might be right for you!  

💜I would love to hear about what you type of housing you are in currently, what prices are like in your neck of the woods, so feel free to drop me a note.