Hey friends!

How are those 409s doing? ;)

Lots of great and inspiring stuff out there this year so far, and as always you’ll find my own personal favorites shared below…

Keep trackin’ and stackin’!

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Favorite Articles from the blog lately:

A New Year’s Secret — Most people don’t know this, but I promise it’s true. A fairy once told me, Now I pass it on to you!

A Financial PowerPoint Presentation That Screams “I Love You!” — Remember our guy last year who put together a 19 slide PowerPoint presentation of his finances to woo the socks off his wife? Well he’s at it again this year, and upped the game by adding an additional 15 slides for good measure ;)

8 Money Challenges to Try in The New Year –A handful of great ways to save more and spend less in the new year! Including the 52 Weeks Challenge, $2.00 Bill Challenge, Weekly Craigslist Challenge,  365 “Less Things” Challenge, and the ever popular: $1,000 Savings Challenge.

A Cheat Sheet on “The Automatic Millionaire” — A one-pager on the classic finance book – The Automatic Millionaire, by David Bach. One of my top 3 favorite $$$ books!

Product of The Month –> Debit Card Sleeves with Ledger! — I know not everyone likes to manually track stuff, but if your current system isn’t working too hotly it may be worth giving it a shot… It really is amazing just how much more AWARE it makes you when you’re forced to write everything down, and at $2.75 a pop (with free shipping!) these sleeves are well worth a try.

And if you’re new to the blog, here were the “best ofs” over the past year:

☆ The most popular articles of the blog in 2019
☆ My *favorite* articles from the blog in 2019

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Favorite articles from around the web:

Clever Ways to Give Cash via @TwoClawsMedia — “None of the kids wanted toys for Christmas this year, they just wanted cash. Understandable, but cash as a gift, while practical, always feels impersonal, so I made special packaging. Went over well.”

A Financial Independence Spreadsheet from Mad Fientist — Want to take your finances more seriously in 2020? Start tracking your money in the FI Spreadsheet!

How To Go Deeper In 2020 via Raptitude — “Taped to the door of my friend’s apartment, right at eye level, is an Anais Nin quote: “Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.””

Keanu Reeves on Money via Medium — “Keanu Reeves rarely talks about money — but when he does, it’s life-changing. Choosing one of these goals as your focus will produce more money than you could ever expect.”

Climbing the Wealth Ladder from Of Dollars And Data – “If I gave you $100, would that change your life? What about $100,000? How about $100 million? Your answer will depend on many things including age, family situation, and your current net worth. More importantly though, how you change your behavior after receiving such money can tell you a lot about your current financial standing.”

Total Cost of Ownership: Tesla Model 3 Compared with Audi A5 and Toyota Camry via EVANNEX — “Using 2019 figures, the new study reached the astonishing conclusion that, when all relevant factors are taken into account, Model 3, which is indisputably a superior car, is slightly cheaper to own and operate over a five-year period than Toyota’s mass-market sedan.”

Why the 2020s Will Be About Making New Clothes Out of Old Ones via Vogue — “What will happen to this T-shirt, handbag, or sneaker when I’m done with it? In the long term, it should ultimately change the way we shop, because we’ll only buy things with legitimate value and a feasible end use.”

‘Kakeibo’: The Japanese Art of Saving Money via CNBC — “Kakeibo, pronounced “kah-keh-boh,” translates as “household financial ledger.” Invented in 1904 by a woman named Hani Motoko (notable for being Japan’s first female journalist), kakeibo is a simple, no-frills approach to managing your finances.”

And lastly, a quote I caught from one of my favorite newsletters I’m subscribed to (5am Joel):

“Carve your name on hearts, not tombstones. A legacy is etched into the minds of others and the stories they share about you.”

– Shannon L. Alder

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XOXO,

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