Good morning friends!!

Happy December 16th! Exactly 10 days away from my birthday, and 9 from someone else’s ;)

Fun Fact: I was actually *supposed* to be born on the 25th, but being the nice guy I was I let the Big Guy have it all to himself and forced my poor mother to continue laboring for an additional 7 hours on top of the already 20 just to be in the clear. So now we have one world-renown day on the 25th (Happy early bday, JC!) and another one back to back on the 26th (Happy early bday, J$!)

So yeah, it’s always one very festive season around here! And I do hope you have a merry one with you and your loved ones this year! 🎄

Whenever you need some good down time, pull up one of these hand-picked articles below and get refreshed all over again… Just doing ONE of any of the tips listed here has the power to change your 2024!! Life is still so full of opportunities for us! We just gotta keep on being *open* to them!

Will see ya around here again shortly… Until then, be safe, be merry, be sexy!

PS: That Santa painting up top was my very first piece of “art” I ever bought, back in the Love Drop days if any of you are still around from back then? Spent $300 on it and get to bring it out every year to enjoy!! Much to the dismay of my wife who thinks it looks awfully depressing, haha… I think he’s just pondering a well lived life! ;)

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New on Budgets Are Sexy:

The Bingo Sheet 💰 — A savings game that nets you an extra $1,000 in the new year! Plus: a fun basketball challenge I dare you to play with me ;)

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Favorite Reads From Around The Community:

12 Financial Challenges You Could Try in 2024 @ Becoming Minimalist — “#2. The Single Dollar Saver Game. Every time you receive a $1 bill in 2024, no matter where it comes from, set it aside… you might be surprised how quickly those random singles add up over the course of a year.”

How a Simple Idea Turned Into a $50k a Month Side Hustle @ Side Hustle Nation — “Lou Rice was breastfeeding her son Archie one night when disaster struck—she dropped her Kindle on his head!… It sparked an idea for Lou and her husband Ben to create a solution. Ben fashioned a silicone strap with staples to attach Lou’s Kindle to her hand and prevent any future dropping incidents… With that, strapsicle.com was born—a side hustle now generating over $50k a month selling innovative Kindle straps.”

How Much Income is Enough? $20,000 A Year More Than You Have Now @ My Money Blog — “Don’t just wish for more money, examine the money that you already have from the perspective of someone who is wishing to be you.”

If More People Did Money Like They Play Monopoly, They’d Be a Lot Better Off @ The Escape Artist — “Imagine playing Monopoly and never buying any assets or investments that generate income. Imagine you just went around collecting $200, giving your money to the rich, and trying to stay out of jail. That is how most people live their life.”

You Can Retire Early, But Never Stop Being Useful @ Abandoned Cubicle — “Leaving a paycheck, managers-by-carousel, silly meetings, and other corporate nonsense behind won’t kill you. But if you leave a job where you sit on your duff all day only to wind up sitting on your duff all day and subsequently doing nothing to improve yourself or serve others, then it’s game over.”

Five Timeless Life Lessons from Seneca @ DariusForoux.com — “Value your time more than your possessions. Unlike material possessions, time is something we can’t get back once it’s gone. It’s essential to use it wisely, prioritizing meaningful activities and relationships over trivial matters.”

The Secret to Being Rich Is to Not Buy Anything @ The White Coat Investor – “Morgan Housel is famous for pointing out that everyone says they want to be a millionaire, but what they really mean is that they want to spend $1 million, which is precisely the opposite thing. You become a millionaire by NOT spending the $1 million that you could have spent.”

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Thanks for another great year! 💙

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