First… how did you do last week??

I received several emails from you guys LOVING this challenge. The timer trick just about broke my email! I’m not sad about it!! I’ve been doing that trick for years and it’s funny because I assume everyone knows about it. Real talk – – – You would not believe the amount of tips I talk myself out of sharing because I either think it’s just silly, or surely you already know about it, or I’m certain you’ve already heard it from someone else.

New year… new leaf… I’m just going to share. If the idea doesn’t apply to you… just delete :). I’ll try hard not to take it personally (haha).

Ok – Last week you were challenged to skip the random spending. Use what you had on hand and get out of the holiday spending cycle. Is your bank account breathing a sigh of relief??

Now, the trick is to not just go on a spending spree! Take a look at the things you were thinking of buying and make a hard choice whether or not it is something you truly “NEED” or something you just really wanted. Better spending choices start NOW!

…CHALLENGE…

Trim the FAT!

I’m not talking about exercising (although I should probably start tackling that goal soon)! I’m talking about taking a look at your expenses and seeing where you can make some cuts.

FIRST – Pull out your bank statements from the last 3 months.

SECOND – Highlight all your recurring payments. I’m talking subscriptions, auto pays, services, etc. Is there anything you aren’t still using?? Are you paying for too many streaming services?? What are you paying for that you don’t need??

Make hard choices… You may need to make some lifestyle changes to cut back… DO IT!! Make the hard choice… at least for a little while. See if you miss it. See if it’s WORTH it.

THIRD – Check your subscriptions on your apps!! Did you sign up for a “free trial” and it’s about to start charging your account? Speaking from personal experience, I forgot ONE time to set a reminder to cancel a “free trial” and BAM! I was hit with a $99 annual fee for an app I didn’t want!! UGH! I was able to get the money back, but I was just sick about it!! I found a few links on directions to handle subscriptions for Apple and Android devices.

HOW TO CHANGE SUBSCRIPTION PLAN – APPLEHOW TO CHANGE SUBSCRIPTION PLAN – ANDROID/GOOGLE PLAY

FOURTH – Keep an eye out for my upcoming BUDGETING WEBINAR! I’ll send a separate email with details on how to sign up for that. I’m going to walk you through how to use my Ultimate Budget Planning Kit!! We will talk about setting goals and how to manage the big picture to accomplish your goals! That’s a lot of !!! I know… but I’m excited to help you start the year off right!

Are you ready??

Take a deep breath… we aren’t getting crazy yet… remember, baby steps! This elephant is going to be gone in no time!!