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Speaker 1: Let's say good morning now to the host of How

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Speaker 1: to Money on KFI. It's Joel Larsgard.

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Speaker 2: Morning, Joel, morning Amy.

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Speaker 1: So for this first time that we get to talk

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Speaker 1: in twenty twenty six. Happy new year, by the way,

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Speaker 1: So do you. I wanted to talk about how we

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Speaker 1: can get our money under control this year because I

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Speaker 1: don't know about you, but for me, things have been

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Speaker 1: spiraling a bit lately and I really need to get

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Speaker 1: on track, but I don't know how really to do it.

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Speaker 1: So I was hoping we could talk about like some

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Speaker 1: easy ways that we can just sort of readjust.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, let's do it. I mean, this is one of

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Speaker 2: those things. I think a lot of people find themselves

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Speaker 2: in that situation. Come January and February, it's the post

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Speaker 2: holiday hangover. They get the credit card bill in the

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Speaker 2: mail or in the email and they're like, oh my gosh,

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Speaker 2: I totally overdid it. I did that.

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Speaker 1: I looked at it and I went I did what.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, And you're not alone? Like that is so typical, really,

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Speaker 2: and so one like just honestly is something I talk

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Speaker 2: about regularly is sinking funds, and that is to set

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Speaker 2: aside money throughout the year for expenses you know are

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Speaker 2: coming up later in the year. It's kind of ridiculous

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Speaker 2: to say start saving for Christmas in January, but really

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Speaker 2: it's not. And so like, how much did you spend

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Speaker 2: this past year? Can you start dropping forty or fifty

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Speaker 2: or sixty dollars a month whatever you need into a

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Speaker 2: savings bucket for Christmas or next year. So that's just

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Speaker 2: one thing I want to mention. Also, and I'm not

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Speaker 2: some sort of goal setting guru or anything like that,

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Speaker 2: but let's talk about goals. I think it's really important

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Speaker 2: to set realistic goals and realistic timelines because I think

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Speaker 2: one of the most defeating feelings is to say I'm

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Speaker 2: going to pay this credit card debt off in three months,

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Speaker 2: and if the truth is that's not really physically possible

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Speaker 2: within your budget, then you're just going to feel like crap.

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Speaker 2: I think when three months passed and you haven't made

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Speaker 2: as much progress as you wanted to there. So I

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Speaker 2: would come up with a realistic goal set smaller goals

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Speaker 2: along the way that are going to help you achieve

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Speaker 2: the bigger goals that you want to hit. And then

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Speaker 2: I think it's really important to remind yourself of what

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Speaker 2: those goals are. So let's say paying off that credit

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Speaker 2: card debt in five months is your goal, Well, then

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Speaker 2: you need to know, well, what is it going to

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Speaker 2: take in bite sized amounts to be able to actually

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Speaker 2: pay that debt off in that amount of time. And

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Speaker 2: if you can stick something on your bathroom mirror, on

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Speaker 2: your fridge, whatever it takes to kind of remind you

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Speaker 2: that this is what you're working towards, that's going to

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Speaker 2: be really helpful, a really helpful motivator, and.

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Speaker 1: Maybe put it in your wallet remind yourself that you

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Speaker 1: have so when you open your wallet and take out

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Speaker 1: your credit card, you go, oh, maybe I don't need

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Speaker 1: to spend that.

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Speaker 2: Yes, I think the other thing you have to do

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Speaker 2: is remind yourself of what is going you're going to

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Speaker 2: achieve at the end of this. Right, So, I think

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Speaker 2: it can feel like budgeting. For most people, that word

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Speaker 2: sounds terrifying. I hate it, Like, yeah, it's like, oh,

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Speaker 2: that's super scary. But if you can change your mindset

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Speaker 2: your mental approach to what that looks like, can say, actually,

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Speaker 2: actually budgeting is not me raining in and forgetting everything

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Speaker 2: I enjoy about life and eradicating it from my existence.

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Speaker 2: I think that's how most people, That's how I used

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Speaker 2: to think about budgeting, was like, yeah, if I do that,

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Speaker 2: it's going to constrain me. I'm not gonna be able

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Speaker 2: to enjoy my life. The truth is, it helps you

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Speaker 2: to come with intention to what it is you want

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Speaker 2: to spend money on. Spend money on those things proactively.

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Speaker 2: I talk about it as the craft beer equivalent, right,

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Speaker 2: because I like Kraft beer. It's pretty expensive to buy

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Speaker 2: good craft beer these days. But I spend lavishly on

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Speaker 2: craft beer. But it just means I cut back into

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Speaker 2: other places. So I'm not spending eighty two dollars a

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Speaker 2: month on my cell phone bill, and I'm not upgrading

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Speaker 2: my phone very often because I care about craft beer

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Speaker 2: a whole lot more. And so it just puts helps

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Speaker 2: you put your priorities in order, really important, to align

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Speaker 2: your spending with those long term goals. That's a recipe

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Speaker 2: I think for more success and for then greater joy

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Speaker 2: too in the process.

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Speaker 1: Do you think people have gotten more irresponsible about money too?

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Speaker 1: Because we don't have to track it like we used to,

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Speaker 1: Like still keep a check register, even though I don't

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Speaker 1: write checks. I mean, everything's on my debit card. Or whatever.

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Speaker 1: But you just if there's more unconscious spending because you're

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Speaker 1: not held as accountable.

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Speaker 2: Yes, oh, I mean for sure. And I think it's

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Speaker 2: a really tough world out there for consumers because there's

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Speaker 2: products out there that are made to seem normal like

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Speaker 2: by now, pay later, and there's just all these things

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Speaker 2: that continue to conspire against us, and we have to

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Speaker 2: be conscious, conscious objectors to the new forms of payment

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Speaker 2: that we can use that will keep us perpetually in debt,

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Speaker 2: to the longer car lons, to all of these things

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Speaker 2: that just kind of they start to as like, well, okay,

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Speaker 2: they offered it to me, it must be okay, And

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Speaker 2: the truth is no, it's not in your best interest.

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Speaker 2: It's gonna it's gonna harm your other financial goals that

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Speaker 2: you have. And so yeah, I do think in a

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Speaker 2: lot of ways, like it is harder and it's really important,

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Speaker 2: Like you said, keeping keeping a check register, like that's

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Speaker 2: so old school, but it's a really helpful way to do.

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Speaker 2: There's if you want to go new school, there's you

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Speaker 2: need a budget. Wineab is a great website to help

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Speaker 2: you kind of get an actual budget. It's worth the money.

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Speaker 2: Same with Monarch. Monarch money is what it used to

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Speaker 2: be called. And that's another great service where it kind

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Speaker 2: of like mint was back in the day, but on steroids.

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Speaker 2: And so if you're like, I need something digital so

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Speaker 2: I can go and check and see what I'm spending,

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Speaker 2: I can see everything in one place. I can see

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Speaker 2: my net worth growing. I can like there's something about

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Speaker 2: keeping tabs right on your net worth and on your

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Speaker 2: progress and on your debt eradication that's also going to help.

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Speaker 2: So I love that idea of having your finger on

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Speaker 2: the pulse and whether you're doing that kind of in

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Speaker 2: a more analog way or in a more digital way,

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Speaker 2: like whatever floats your boat, but you gotta be keeping

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Speaker 2: track of it in some way.

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Speaker 1: All right. So for more great money advice, you can

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Speaker 1: listen to Joel Larsgard every Sunday from noon to two

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Speaker 1: right here on KFI. It's gonna help you get your

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Speaker 1: year started off right. Thank you so much for the tips.

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Speaker 1: I need to just I like the idea of setting

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Speaker 1: your intention. I need to set my intention this year

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Speaker 1: because yeah, between between Christmas, yeah, and between Christmas and

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Speaker 1: my cat, we things have gotten way out of control.

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Speaker 1: I need to rain things back in. You can also

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Speaker 1: follow Joel on at let me see if I can

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Speaker 1: spit it out, Follow Joel at How to Money, Joel

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Speaker 1: and again. You can listen to him noon to two

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Speaker 1: on Sunday. Uh. He's the host of How the Money

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Speaker 1: on kf I Thank you Joelar's Garden, Happy New Year,

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Speaker 1: Happy New Year,