WEBVTT - Conducting A Personal Year-End Money Review #293 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:02.600 Welcome to How the Money. I'm Joel and I and 0:00:02.720 --> 0:00:06.200 Matt's and today we're discussing conducting a personal year end 0:00:06.320 --> 0:00:27.920 money review. Yeah, buddy, we are getting towards the end 0:00:27.960 --> 0:00:29.320 of the year, and we want this to be an 0:00:29.360 --> 0:00:33.080 empowerment episode, right, We want folks to start looking towards 0:00:34.520 --> 0:00:37.279 hopefully it'll be a better year. We're all hoping that 0:00:37.280 --> 0:00:39.400 in the year that it's been. But you can't really 0:00:39.520 --> 0:00:42.040 move forward until you look at the past, until you 0:00:42.080 --> 0:00:44.320 look at what this year has actually been like for you. 0:00:44.360 --> 0:00:46.600 And so we're gonna talk about ways to do that 0:00:46.680 --> 0:00:49.920 effectively during this episode. Buddyeah, no doubt conducting a year 0:00:50.040 --> 0:00:52.519 end money review can be just really really helpful in 0:00:52.560 --> 0:00:54.960 assessing how you did and then helping frame, like you said, 0:00:54.960 --> 0:00:56.680 the upcoming year, like how are you're going to tackle 0:00:56.720 --> 0:00:59.120 that when it comes to your finances. So we'll give you, 0:00:59.160 --> 0:01:02.120 in particular, five questions to think through in this episode 0:01:02.280 --> 0:01:04.840 that will really help you conduct that urine review, whether 0:01:04.880 --> 0:01:07.120 it's just you by yourself or whether it's you and 0:01:07.160 --> 0:01:08.920 a partner. And we'll get to that in just a second. 0:01:08.920 --> 0:01:11.319 But Matt, first I wanted to ask you a frugal 0:01:11.400 --> 0:01:13.399 or cheap, and we haven't done one in a minute. 0:01:13.440 --> 0:01:15.880 So is it frugal or cheap to have holes in 0:01:15.920 --> 0:01:18.720 your socks? Oh? Man, okay, So for me, I'm gonna 0:01:18.760 --> 0:01:22.280 have to side, I think on frugal because for me, 0:01:22.480 --> 0:01:24.759 at least, the way my socks wear down, the way 0:01:24.800 --> 0:01:27.120 I get holes in my socks, I don't really notice 0:01:27.120 --> 0:01:28.759 when I get holes in my socks. It's not until 0:01:29.120 --> 0:01:32.120 I'm walking around with socks on inside the house and uh, 0:01:32.160 --> 0:01:35.000 it feels a little grippier that I realized that, Oh, 0:01:35.040 --> 0:01:37.360 that's my actual foot that's in contact with the with 0:01:37.400 --> 0:01:40.000 the hardwood floors, right, it's not the slippery sock on 0:01:40.000 --> 0:01:42.800 the bottom. There's some actual points of contact happening between 0:01:42.800 --> 0:01:45.520 my foot and the floor. I think that's actually what 0:01:45.640 --> 0:01:48.200 I noticed, that I do have holes in my socks. Uh. 0:01:48.200 --> 0:01:51.600 And so for me, it doesn't necessarily take away from 0:01:51.640 --> 0:01:53.760 the function of my socks to have a few holes 0:01:53.800 --> 0:01:55.720 in it. So I'm gonna, yeah, I'm gonna side with frugal. 0:01:55.800 --> 0:01:57.480 So I don't really care. At what point do you 0:01:57.520 --> 0:01:59.320 discard your socks? And is there a point of no 0:01:59.360 --> 0:02:00.920 return where you're all right, this thing is done. I 0:02:00.960 --> 0:02:02.880 need some new ones. When they're no longer functional. I 0:02:02.880 --> 0:02:04.880 think like if I if I'm wearing them and I've 0:02:04.920 --> 0:02:06.320 got a pair of shoes on, and i can tell 0:02:06.400 --> 0:02:07.760 that there's holes in my socks and it's kind of 0:02:07.800 --> 0:02:10.079 bothering me, I would then be willing to toss those 0:02:10.080 --> 0:02:11.680 in the trash, I guess, or you know, or put 0:02:11.720 --> 0:02:13.040 them in the rag box, you know, use it to 0:02:13.080 --> 0:02:14.920 wipe on the windows, whatever you do with them. But 0:02:14.960 --> 0:02:17.440 what about you? So I'm gonna say, you know, I 0:02:17.520 --> 0:02:19.360 probably would have been with you a few years back. 0:02:19.520 --> 0:02:21.600 Maybe it was frugal to extend the life of something 0:02:21.639 --> 0:02:23.919 with holes in it. Um, I'm getting a little pickier 0:02:23.919 --> 0:02:27.320 about my socks not having holes. Like, so you know, 0:02:27.360 --> 0:02:30.079 you you got we got down the winter gear, you know, 0:02:30.120 --> 0:02:32.280 at the end of November in Atlanta, like you know, 0:02:32.360 --> 0:02:34.440 over Thanksgiving it was still like seventy degrees that you 0:02:34.480 --> 0:02:37.880 really winter socks. Yeah. So I'm starting to get into 0:02:37.919 --> 0:02:41.200 some socks that I haven't really worn much, and I'm like, oh, wait, 0:02:41.240 --> 0:02:43.200 these have holes in them from last year. Um, and 0:02:43.440 --> 0:02:45.560 I don't mind tossing a few and maybe buying a 0:02:45.600 --> 0:02:47.600 new pack of socks. And you are such a socks knob, 0:02:48.800 --> 0:02:50.400 you got like one or two pairs of Bombas, and 0:02:50.440 --> 0:02:52.520 now you're like, I need to have nothing but bombas. 0:02:53.160 --> 0:02:55.320 Those are great times on my feet now, I I 0:02:55.360 --> 0:02:58.720 really it doesn't. I don't care, like honestly, brand typically, 0:02:58.760 --> 0:03:00.720 like I'm usually going to costco from my socks. Do 0:03:00.720 --> 0:03:02.720 your socks say Cirkland across the toe? No, I don't 0:03:02.720 --> 0:03:04.680 think they do. I don't think so that would be awesome. 0:03:04.720 --> 0:03:06.840 But in particular, you can get some decent socks, what 0:03:06.960 --> 0:03:09.560 four pairs for ten bucks something like that. Um, And 0:03:09.639 --> 0:03:11.560 so I don't mind discarding a couple of the ones 0:03:11.600 --> 0:03:14.160 that are the holiest in getting something that are going 0:03:14.200 --> 0:03:16.560 to actually keep my feet forarm all winter long. So yeah, 0:03:16.639 --> 0:03:18.600 if they kept my feet from being warm, you know, 0:03:18.600 --> 0:03:20.239 if I felt like there's a lot of cold air 0:03:20.280 --> 0:03:22.280 shooting and you know, making my foot cold because there's 0:03:22.280 --> 0:03:23.680 a hole, I would I would do that. But in 0:03:23.720 --> 0:03:27.240 my mind, it doesn't take away from the functionality. On 0:03:27.280 --> 0:03:29.840 a more embarrassing note, I've got I've got a lot 0:03:29.880 --> 0:03:32.040 of pairs of underwear actually with holes in them as well, 0:03:32.560 --> 0:03:35.960 and the same thing applies, like I don't even realize 0:03:35.960 --> 0:03:37.600 that they're there except that I can see them. But 0:03:37.640 --> 0:03:39.680 guess why, dude. Nobody else sees those holes except for 0:03:39.760 --> 0:03:41.720 Kate and the kids occasionally, and they like to make 0:03:41.720 --> 0:03:45.080 fun of me. They're like, Daddy, there's holes and your underwear. 0:03:45.480 --> 0:03:47.680 And I'm like, yeah, so, but if it was affecting 0:03:47.720 --> 0:03:49.400 how they fit or you know, how they feel against 0:03:49.440 --> 0:03:51.360 my skin, yeah, then I'll definitely make it change. Okay, 0:03:51.400 --> 0:03:52.960 all right, Well, it's nice to know the weekn to 0:03:53.000 --> 0:03:55.400 come down on different sides of provoler. Cheap. I'm gonna 0:03:55.400 --> 0:03:57.200 say it's a little cheap to have too many holes 0:03:57.200 --> 0:03:58.960 in your socks. You know, maybe one small hole, it's fine, 0:03:59.080 --> 0:04:01.360 But once you get to level like three meaningful holes, 0:04:01.400 --> 0:04:03.440 like ditch them, get some new ones, and um, you 0:04:03.440 --> 0:04:05.840 know it's socks are pretty inexpensive typically. Sure. Yeah, have 0:04:05.920 --> 0:04:08.080 you ever darned any of your socks? No? I haven't. No, 0:04:08.160 --> 0:04:12.520 I've never learned skill like eleanor Rigsby It told you, well, 0:04:12.520 --> 0:04:14.400 I mean it's like our grandparents generation. They would of 0:04:14.480 --> 0:04:16.600 course darn socks. But it talks are pretty cheap now, 0:04:16.640 --> 0:04:18.080 so you don't really have to darn them anymore. It 0:04:18.080 --> 0:04:19.960 seems like that might be a waste of time. I 0:04:20.000 --> 0:04:21.800 don't know. Yeah, maybe so it just depends. It all 0:04:21.839 --> 0:04:23.960 depends on the individual. And actually we're gonna kind of 0:04:24.000 --> 0:04:25.720 talk about some of that this episode, but before we do, 0:04:25.760 --> 0:04:27.640 me on, let's talk about the beer on this episode. 0:04:27.640 --> 0:04:29.640 You and I are drinking a beer that is a 0:04:29.640 --> 0:04:32.359 part of Westbrook's fruit Wood and Time series and this 0:04:32.400 --> 0:04:35.720 one is a month Morency. Is that how you say that? 0:04:35.800 --> 0:04:40.560 I don't know mont Morncy or Montmorency and Balaton cherry. 0:04:40.760 --> 0:04:42.640 I don't know if I said either of those words correctly. 0:04:42.920 --> 0:04:45.320 So do two different kinds of cherry in this hour 0:04:45.600 --> 0:04:47.520 by Westbrook. Looking forward to having this one on the 0:04:47.560 --> 0:04:49.320 show Man. Yeah, the one that we had on Monday 0:04:49.360 --> 0:04:51.719 that was similar to this so good. It makes me 0:04:51.839 --> 0:04:53.720 really look forward to this one. So me too, Me too. 0:04:53.720 --> 0:04:55.320 All right, let's get onto the subject in hand. We 0:04:55.360 --> 0:04:58.440 are talking about conducting a personal year end money review 0:04:58.600 --> 0:05:00.680 and this is so important, right. Twenty twenty has been 0:05:00.720 --> 0:05:03.520 a whirlwind of a year, and um, we've all had 0:05:03.520 --> 0:05:05.800 to kind of cut ourselves some slack in some areas 0:05:05.880 --> 0:05:08.920 of our lives that have been majorly altered due to COVID. 0:05:09.560 --> 0:05:11.719 Some people, some of our listeners are working with a 0:05:11.720 --> 0:05:14.160 partner in a studio apartment, and they've never had to 0:05:14.200 --> 0:05:17.159 do that before. They're literally back to back working on computers, 0:05:17.240 --> 0:05:19.320 and it's been a terrible experience. It's like Forrest Gump 0:05:19.360 --> 0:05:20.800 and Bubba, you know, they're they're sitting there in the 0:05:20.880 --> 0:05:24.520 mud in the trenches, working hard, back to back, and 0:05:24.560 --> 0:05:27.000 I'm sure it's been annoying, right, it's been frustrating. Um 0:05:27.080 --> 0:05:30.040 And you know, other people have had to do work 0:05:30.080 --> 0:05:33.480 from home while facilitating virtual school for one kiddo, two 0:05:33.520 --> 0:05:37.719 kiddos or more. Also a really difficult experience. Is obviously 0:05:37.760 --> 0:05:41.200 produced a number of difficulties in our lives, and for 0:05:41.240 --> 0:05:44.080 many of us, it's also created some financial hardships at 0:05:44.120 --> 0:05:46.120 the same time, So we want to take that into 0:05:46.160 --> 0:05:49.839 account on this episode, while also prompting everyone to ask 0:05:49.960 --> 0:05:53.760 theirselves some important questions to see how your financial life 0:05:53.760 --> 0:05:56.880 has fared over the past twelve months. So these questions 0:05:56.920 --> 0:06:00.200 will be helpful hopefully as you measure your progress and 0:06:00.279 --> 0:06:02.200 as you consider the financial goals that you want to 0:06:02.200 --> 0:06:06.040 achieve going into the next year into yeah, and and man, 0:06:06.120 --> 0:06:08.360 it's hard to know how to move forward right in 0:06:08.400 --> 0:06:10.839 the steps to take if you haven't reflected on the past. 0:06:11.279 --> 0:06:13.160 Um As we are reaching the end of the year, 0:06:13.279 --> 0:06:16.480 like there are probably still a lot of unanswered questions. 0:06:16.520 --> 0:06:18.320 That's a part of the world that we're living in 0:06:18.360 --> 0:06:21.200 at the moment. But there are also some questions that 0:06:21.240 --> 0:06:23.240 you can ask yourself that will not only help you 0:06:23.279 --> 0:06:26.000 to realize that this year just wasn't a complete throw 0:06:26.040 --> 0:06:28.400 a year. Not only that, but it will also give 0:06:28.440 --> 0:06:30.880 shape to your plan for next year. And so I 0:06:30.880 --> 0:06:34.480 think of these questions as helping you to begin your 0:06:34.560 --> 0:06:37.640 financial year in review. Yeah, we mentioned early on that 0:06:37.760 --> 0:06:40.520 if you have a significan another, a partner, these are 0:06:40.560 --> 0:06:44.080 great questions to discuss together, to go through together. Given 0:06:44.120 --> 0:06:46.920 how much of our lives revolve around earning, saving, and 0:06:47.000 --> 0:06:50.479 spending money, it's actually amazing how rarely some couples have 0:06:50.560 --> 0:06:54.240 conversations about their personal finances, and a year end review 0:06:54.240 --> 0:06:57.039 can actually be the perfect kickoff. If you guys haven't 0:06:57.080 --> 0:07:00.520 been intentional this year to discuss together, you might have 0:07:00.560 --> 0:07:03.039 a different perspective on some of these things, and that 0:07:03.040 --> 0:07:06.400 can be good. Opposite attract typically right, and so um, 0:07:06.440 --> 0:07:09.320 you're not always on the same page with our partner, 0:07:09.400 --> 0:07:12.800 and actually diverging opinions in these conversations can be good 0:07:12.840 --> 0:07:15.600 and can spur us towards growth. But it's also really 0:07:15.600 --> 0:07:17.560 really good to get on the same page with your 0:07:17.560 --> 0:07:20.480 significant other so that you're working together towards the same 0:07:20.560 --> 0:07:23.640 goal as a team. Yeah, having a common goal super important. 0:07:23.720 --> 0:07:26.160 And I'll be honest, man, having year end reviews and 0:07:26.200 --> 0:07:30.440 looking to the year ahead gets me super excited, like 0:07:30.520 --> 0:07:32.680 to turn the calendar, well not just to turn the calendar, 0:07:32.720 --> 0:07:35.200 but just to play into dream a little bit, you know, 0:07:35.360 --> 0:07:36.720 as far as like what are we gonna put our 0:07:36.720 --> 0:07:38.960 money towards and trying to organize it as best as 0:07:39.040 --> 0:07:41.320 we can. It's it's never perfect, right because life comes 0:07:41.400 --> 0:07:43.440 up and like things happen, there's always kind of pivots 0:07:43.440 --> 0:07:45.400 and movements we have to make during the year. But 0:07:45.480 --> 0:07:47.760 the ability to sit down and to forecast and to 0:07:47.840 --> 0:07:49.680 think through it's like, Okay, this is what we want 0:07:49.680 --> 0:07:51.320 our life to look like a little bit, let's make 0:07:51.320 --> 0:07:53.440 sure we're putting our dollars towards that. So you know, 0:07:53.480 --> 0:07:55.560 for me to hear that, you know, there's some folks 0:07:55.600 --> 0:07:57.480 out there and they just haven't talked about money with 0:07:57.520 --> 0:08:00.920 their significant other. Obviously you and I were money nerds. Uh, 0:08:00.960 --> 0:08:03.520 this is something that we talk about often, but for 0:08:03.560 --> 0:08:05.440 me in particular, when it comes to looking at the budget, 0:08:05.440 --> 0:08:07.520 I really geek out. And the reason, you know, you 0:08:07.600 --> 0:08:09.720 geek out because like we're talking about numbers here, right, 0:08:09.720 --> 0:08:11.840 Like we're talking about a budget, and so as you're 0:08:11.880 --> 0:08:15.040 looking at how this year has gone, Uh, it's helpful 0:08:15.320 --> 0:08:18.240 to have a record of your spending in front of you, right. 0:08:18.280 --> 0:08:21.640 You know, budgets they are helpful, but depending on your 0:08:21.720 --> 0:08:24.760 level of commitment to your budget, all those numbers listed 0:08:24.760 --> 0:08:27.720 out in Excel, it might just be more of an 0:08:27.760 --> 0:08:31.440 aspirational goal than than your reality. Right. And so that's 0:08:31.440 --> 0:08:34.520 what's so great about software like Mints and Wine ad 0:08:34.800 --> 0:08:37.520 you need a budget is that the automatically track you're 0:08:37.520 --> 0:08:40.319 spending for you. So even if you're overspending in certain 0:08:40.320 --> 0:08:43.800 categories and you feel like your budgets and shambles, it's 0:08:43.840 --> 0:08:47.200 still important to see where things are and what the 0:08:47.280 --> 0:08:49.320 reality actually is. You know, it's a way for you 0:08:49.360 --> 0:08:51.440 to pull your head out of the sand, and it'll 0:08:51.480 --> 0:08:54.600 add a level of concreteness. You know. This is especially 0:08:54.600 --> 0:08:56.640 helpful to when it comes to a conversation with your 0:08:56.679 --> 0:08:59.840 significant other that can oftentimes be difficult. Yeah, that's where 0:08:59.840 --> 0:09:01.840 I'm and I went wrong early on in our marriage. 0:09:01.840 --> 0:09:05.240 In particular, it was not having the concrete numbers, and 0:09:05.720 --> 0:09:07.720 you know, I would be kind of an emotional spender 0:09:07.800 --> 0:09:11.280 or emotional saver, and that would prompt conversations in the 0:09:11.320 --> 0:09:13.960 moment which weren't really helpful. Um, we need to actually 0:09:13.960 --> 0:09:16.120 sit down and look at the facts and figures together 0:09:16.160 --> 0:09:18.319 in order to be able to have a rational conversation 0:09:18.320 --> 0:09:20.160 about the subject. Makes me think of the old running 0:09:20.200 --> 0:09:24.680 shoes story, that classic Joel and Emily story where Heavily 0:09:24.800 --> 0:09:26.080 was like, why don't you want me to have any 0:09:26.240 --> 0:09:28.720 running shoes? Like why are you so cheap? I'm like, no, 0:09:28.760 --> 0:09:30.040 I do. I just want to get them on sales. 0:09:30.040 --> 0:09:31.679 Just get them on sale. Yeah, get the same shoes 0:09:31.920 --> 0:09:34.120 for a way less exactly. All right, So let's get 0:09:34.160 --> 0:09:36.079 into the questions. We literally have five questions we want 0:09:36.080 --> 0:09:37.600 to run through today that I think will help spur 0:09:38.040 --> 0:09:40.440 your year end money review that will give it some direction. 0:09:40.880 --> 0:09:43.680 Question number one is did I or did we reach 0:09:43.679 --> 0:09:47.120 our financial goals? In did you have a dead payoff 0:09:47.160 --> 0:09:49.240 goal or an income goal you wanted to hit, or 0:09:49.320 --> 0:09:52.160 a savings goal that you were striving for. It's time 0:09:52.200 --> 0:09:54.160 to check in and see how you did. If you 0:09:54.280 --> 0:09:57.479 crushed those goals, then you should spend some time celebrating 0:09:57.520 --> 0:09:59.720 your achievements. We're actually going to have an episode in 0:09:59.720 --> 0:10:03.079 a couple weeks where Matt and I share the money 0:10:03.080 --> 0:10:05.120 wins from the How to Money community and we're going 0:10:05.160 --> 0:10:08.880 to celebrate our community wins together. Celebrating those money wins 0:10:08.880 --> 0:10:11.360 in your house um as a couple, especially if you've 0:10:11.400 --> 0:10:14.640 had to overcome major obstacles, is a good way to 0:10:14.720 --> 0:10:17.320 head into the new year. Yeah, man, I'm really looking 0:10:17.320 --> 0:10:19.559 forward to that episode. And again, so the question we're 0:10:19.559 --> 0:10:21.719 asking here is did I reach my goals? And if 0:10:21.760 --> 0:10:23.920 you weren't able to meet those goals, it's important to 0:10:23.960 --> 0:10:26.640 ask yourself what held you back? You know, if the 0:10:26.679 --> 0:10:28.959 pandemic is your answer, like you know, you mostly get 0:10:28.960 --> 0:10:32.160 a pass. Like we've discussed here, pandemic is a good excuse. 0:10:32.360 --> 0:10:34.200 It's not like the kid excuse, dog ate my home. 0:10:34.640 --> 0:10:36.840 It's a legitimate excuse for most people. A lot of 0:10:36.840 --> 0:10:38.840 things have come into our lives that you know, we 0:10:38.840 --> 0:10:41.160 couldn't have predicted, and you know, many of us were 0:10:41.240 --> 0:10:42.880 just trying to keep our heads above the water. Right. 0:10:42.880 --> 0:10:45.840 It's true that tens of millions of Americans have sought 0:10:45.920 --> 0:10:48.720 unemployment benefits, you know, since the spring. But at the 0:10:48.720 --> 0:10:51.000 same time, we can kind of balance that a little bit, 0:10:51.000 --> 0:10:53.400 we can kind of couch it because you know, there's 0:10:53.400 --> 0:10:56.840 additional stimulus and benefits provided by the Cares Act, UH 0:10:56.840 --> 0:11:00.000 and that likely short up many Americans this past year. 0:11:00.080 --> 0:11:02.440 It's it's also a likely reason too as to why 0:11:02.600 --> 0:11:05.920 the overall credit card debt levels are actually lower right 0:11:05.920 --> 0:11:09.040 now than they've been in years. Yeah, according to stats 0:11:09.080 --> 0:11:10.600 from the New York Fed. You have to go back 0:11:10.600 --> 0:11:13.240 to seen actually in order to see credit card debt 0:11:13.280 --> 0:11:15.560 levels as low as they are at the moment. That 0:11:15.679 --> 0:11:19.319 has been good news in a year fraught with bad news, 0:11:19.440 --> 0:11:22.240 right so um, Aside from the massive things that are 0:11:22.240 --> 0:11:24.319 taking place in our world, it's also important to look 0:11:24.400 --> 0:11:26.720 at did the different money moves that you made on 0:11:26.720 --> 0:11:29.240 a personal level, did you attempt to earn more or 0:11:29.280 --> 0:11:31.240 did you push for a raise when you could have 0:11:31.320 --> 0:11:33.440 or should have? And what did you do with that 0:11:33.480 --> 0:11:35.959 stimulus check? Did you use it or did you spend 0:11:35.960 --> 0:11:39.120 it on widely? Did you peter it away on little purchases? 0:11:39.320 --> 0:11:41.680 And you don't actually maybe even remember where that money 0:11:41.760 --> 0:11:44.200 went to. Likely I can remember every single craft beer 0:11:44.240 --> 0:11:46.360 I've had this year. Well, you bought a bike with 0:11:46.400 --> 0:11:48.559 hers too, Right, that's definitely something I can point to. 0:11:48.600 --> 0:11:49.840 I felt like I was doing a you know, a 0:11:49.880 --> 0:11:52.360 decent job. They're supporting, are I? They had a nice 0:11:52.360 --> 0:11:55.160 bike on sale, but yeah, bike in the stove as well. 0:11:55.200 --> 0:11:56.839 You know that something can and I are gifting to 0:11:56.880 --> 0:11:58.480 each other. I feel like those are my two splurge 0:11:58.520 --> 0:12:00.520 purchases this year. That but I can definitely point to 0:12:00.559 --> 0:12:02.520 those things, and both of those have brought a lot 0:12:02.559 --> 0:12:04.800 of joy to my life. Yeah, and that's helpful, right 0:12:04.800 --> 0:12:06.320 to be able to see where the money went, and 0:12:06.360 --> 0:12:09.480 if you kind of spent it, uh, frivolously, what kind 0:12:09.480 --> 0:12:11.920 of stinks because you could have potentially put that extra 0:12:11.960 --> 0:12:15.840 money towards, you know, a meaningful purchase, or towards pursuing 0:12:15.920 --> 0:12:18.440 and achieving a money goal that you had. And so 0:12:18.559 --> 0:12:20.640 when you're looking at the specific money moves that you 0:12:20.720 --> 0:12:23.600 made in your life, and if you fell short of 0:12:23.640 --> 0:12:25.640 some of those goals, it's the perfect time to ask 0:12:25.640 --> 0:12:28.800 yourself the question why not to shame yourself or pile 0:12:28.880 --> 0:12:31.040 on with the fact that you weren't able to get 0:12:31.080 --> 0:12:32.800 to the place that you wanted to be, but to 0:12:32.960 --> 0:12:35.800 pinpoint the specific areas in which you could have done 0:12:35.840 --> 0:12:38.480 better or where you did fall short. Maybe you fell 0:12:38.520 --> 0:12:42.440 into a habit of ordering way too much Uber Easter Grubhub, right, 0:12:42.480 --> 0:12:44.079 I mean that that was a pattern that certainly a 0:12:44.120 --> 0:12:46.520 lot of people fell into this year. But it's important 0:12:46.559 --> 0:12:49.120 to know that when you're doing your your in financial 0:12:49.160 --> 0:12:51.560 review so that you can make changes to prevent that 0:12:51.600 --> 0:12:54.439 from being the case again next year. Right. Yeah, And 0:12:54.440 --> 0:12:56.640 in the end, we have a lot more control over 0:12:56.679 --> 0:12:58.720 our lives than we sometimes give ourselves credit for. You know, 0:12:58.760 --> 0:13:01.240 these questions that we're asking today can help inform the 0:13:01.240 --> 0:13:03.719 habits and the behaviors that we want to continue in 0:13:04.480 --> 0:13:06.720 one and we have several other questions that we're gonna 0:13:06.720 --> 0:13:10.640 ask on the show today, including other questions about our spending, 0:13:10.720 --> 0:13:12.319 and so we'll get to those right after the break. 0:13:21.720 --> 0:13:23.320 All right, we're back from the break. We're talking about 0:13:23.360 --> 0:13:26.760 conducting a personal year end money review. This is so 0:13:26.880 --> 0:13:30.040 helpful as we get close to wrapping up we're moving 0:13:30.040 --> 0:13:32.120 into a new year. This is the time where you 0:13:32.160 --> 0:13:35.920 can ask yourself a few specific questions that will really 0:13:36.000 --> 0:13:38.720 help you see how you handled your money in and 0:13:38.760 --> 0:13:41.319 how you can do better next year. And question number 0:13:41.320 --> 0:13:42.840 two on the list that we think you should be 0:13:42.880 --> 0:13:45.400 asking is where did I spend money that brought me 0:13:45.640 --> 0:13:47.959 the most joy this year? Matt, you just named a 0:13:48.000 --> 0:13:50.679 couple of yours. You got the bike and the wood 0:13:50.679 --> 0:13:54.800 burning stove. Those things brought a lot of joy. Yeah. Um, 0:13:54.840 --> 0:13:57.080 I narrowly missed out on an inflatable hot tub on 0:13:57.080 --> 0:13:59.000 Black Friday. I was aiming for that. That would have 0:13:59.040 --> 0:14:00.400 brought me a lot of joy. I was a little 0:14:00.400 --> 0:14:02.400 bummed that that that I missed out on that. One man, 0:14:02.400 --> 0:14:04.080 did we share on the show that you're thinking about 0:14:04.120 --> 0:14:05.680 doing that? I don't think we did. I was totally 0:14:05.720 --> 0:14:07.439 gonna be a redneck and have an inflatable hot time 0:14:07.480 --> 0:14:09.160 in my backyard, and I was okay with it. And 0:14:09.160 --> 0:14:10.760 I was so bummed when you told me. You texted 0:14:10.800 --> 0:14:12.840 me right after you found out that they didn't have anymore. 0:14:12.880 --> 0:14:14.640 They had a limited supply. But I think it was 0:14:14.679 --> 0:14:16.640 one of those lost leaders. You know that they're trying 0:14:16.640 --> 0:14:18.720 to get folksed through the door or in your case, 0:14:18.760 --> 0:14:22.640 like web websites. I think they almost no stock truly, 0:14:22.640 --> 0:14:24.840 Like here's five of them for the whole country, and 0:14:24.840 --> 0:14:27.360 you're competing thy million people in order to get these 0:14:27.400 --> 0:14:29.440 five um So, yeah, I did not get my discounted 0:14:29.480 --> 0:14:31.360 inflatable hot tub that would have been one of my 0:14:31.360 --> 0:14:34.800 top per um Yeah, where did you spend money that 0:14:34.840 --> 0:14:37.480 brought you the most joy this year? And also a 0:14:37.520 --> 0:14:40.120 secondary question along those lines is how did my spending 0:14:40.120 --> 0:14:43.240 aligned with my values? This is something that's obviously incredibly 0:14:43.280 --> 0:14:44.640 important to Matt and I. We talked about it a 0:14:44.680 --> 0:14:46.520 lot on the show. Part of the reason we have 0:14:46.680 --> 0:14:49.680 a craft beer on every episode is because craft beer 0:14:50.360 --> 0:14:53.080 is a spending area in our budgets that does align 0:14:53.080 --> 0:14:55.520 with our values in a big way. We really like beer, 0:14:55.760 --> 0:14:58.640 at least in moderation. And before the break we touched 0:14:58.680 --> 0:15:01.080 on how our ability to earn and then put that 0:15:01.120 --> 0:15:04.160 money towards financial goals is so powerful and a great 0:15:04.240 --> 0:15:07.360 way to self evaluate. But thinking through the different ways 0:15:07.360 --> 0:15:10.480 that we spend our money can be just as important too, Right, 0:15:10.560 --> 0:15:14.280 Even though savings goals are often related to spending, sometimes 0:15:14.320 --> 0:15:17.120 they can feel pretty far off and distant. So looking 0:15:17.160 --> 0:15:19.160 at some of the immediate and tangible ways that we 0:15:19.200 --> 0:15:22.600 spend our money, it's just another great question to ask 0:15:22.600 --> 0:15:25.080 when it comes to a year end money review. And 0:15:25.120 --> 0:15:27.920 I think actually, Matt, it just reminds us of the 0:15:27.960 --> 0:15:30.160 purchases that we did make this year that mattered, And 0:15:30.160 --> 0:15:32.800 it is a great reinforcement that when we do spend 0:15:32.800 --> 0:15:35.680 our money wisely, it pays off in a big way. Yeah, 0:15:35.760 --> 0:15:37.520 and I feel like this is a question we don't 0:15:37.520 --> 0:15:40.280 often ask ourselves, you know, like we don't often look back, 0:15:40.400 --> 0:15:42.840 We don't look to the past and evaluate work, just 0:15:43.000 --> 0:15:47.360 almost always looking forward, trying to improve, optimize, maximize, right, 0:15:48.120 --> 0:15:49.920 But it really is so helpful to see the areas 0:15:50.000 --> 0:15:53.520 where our spending has had a positive impact, you know. 0:15:53.560 --> 0:15:56.480 And so ask yourself, you know, did that Airbnb get 0:15:56.480 --> 0:15:59.440 away do the trick to help you to rest and relax? Sir? Yes, 0:15:59.480 --> 0:16:01.720 the answer is us, you did. I'm glad to hear that. 0:16:02.280 --> 0:16:04.880 H Or like, maybe you bought something right, Maybe a 0:16:04.920 --> 0:16:08.640 new TV really did create some super awesome home movie 0:16:08.800 --> 0:16:11.280 nights when the movie theaters have been closed. If so, 0:16:11.400 --> 0:16:14.320 that's excellent. But write these things down or just call 0:16:14.400 --> 0:16:16.880 them out, point them out, so that you can connect 0:16:16.920 --> 0:16:19.840 that purchase to the positive results that it provided. It 0:16:19.880 --> 0:16:22.200 can even makes sense to put more money in the 0:16:22.200 --> 0:16:24.720 budget towards the things that really moved the needle. For 0:16:24.720 --> 0:16:27.000 you in You know, we're not advocates of kind of 0:16:27.000 --> 0:16:30.000 this blind across the board, uh, spending cuts where it's 0:16:30.000 --> 0:16:31.400 just like, Okay, it doesn't matter what it is, we're 0:16:31.400 --> 0:16:33.320 gonna cut spending in all areas. If you want to 0:16:33.360 --> 0:16:36.040 do that. That sounds like a path to misery. You know, 0:16:36.320 --> 0:16:38.880 we're not looking for more deprivation in our lives. Instead, 0:16:38.920 --> 0:16:41.280 we're looking to maximize the enjoyment that we get from 0:16:41.320 --> 0:16:43.760 spending money in the areas of our life that matter 0:16:43.880 --> 0:16:46.160 most to us. Yeah, I completely agree, Matt, And I 0:16:46.200 --> 0:16:49.160 think the way that you can funnel more dollars towards 0:16:49.200 --> 0:16:51.240 those things that you just named that you just called 0:16:51.280 --> 0:16:54.760 out that we're really important areas, Uh, where you spend 0:16:54.760 --> 0:16:57.840 money is two On the flip side, ask yourself the 0:16:57.920 --> 0:17:01.400 question what purchases or recurring bill felt like a total 0:17:01.400 --> 0:17:04.000 waste us this year? If it was a bigger purchase, 0:17:04.000 --> 0:17:06.119 it might be pretty easy to tag something as a 0:17:06.119 --> 0:17:08.200 total dud. Like let's say I did get that hot 0:17:08.200 --> 0:17:11.280 tub and the inflatable hot tub just didn't work very well. 0:17:11.440 --> 0:17:12.800 That might be like, man, that was a waste of 0:17:12.840 --> 0:17:16.720 two bucks. Um. But the smaller regular expenses we have 0:17:16.960 --> 0:17:20.000 can make this a bit harder of a question to answer, right, 0:17:20.359 --> 0:17:22.199 So to get to the bottom of it, look at 0:17:22.240 --> 0:17:24.280 Mint like you mentioned Matt, or wherever you track your 0:17:24.280 --> 0:17:27.160 spending and do some analysis. Or if you potentially buy 0:17:27.240 --> 0:17:29.040 a lot of items on Amazon, if that your go 0:17:29.080 --> 0:17:31.679 to place to order stuff, looking at your order history 0:17:31.760 --> 0:17:34.040