Here’s the thing. Adulting is A LOT.

A lot of tasks. A lot of responsibilities. A lot of items on the ‘live your best life’ self-improvement list.

If watching Miss Americana taught me one thing (and look, it taught me many), it’s that if even Taylor Swift feels overwhelmed sometimes, we all do.

We are all Taylor, yo.

And somewhere in between jobs and partners and kids and to-do’s, we are meant to be building our financial fitness.

Setting budgets, searching out specials, putting savings aside, and a whole lot of other things.

But it’s hard. And we are busy. So today, I’m here to make a deal with you.

How about you pick JUST ONE THING?

Just one thing to focus on this month, in the pursuit of financial-best-selfness.

Now, it’s totally up to you which thing you do. And guess what, I’m giving you five to choose from!

Option 1: Track your expenses everyday – You can either download an app (there are plenty) or simply log into your bank account every day.

 

The closer you get to all those spending decisions, the more you’ll be encouraged to think twice about them.

Beyonce  checking to see if Jay-Z spent too much on snacks at the basketball

For bonus points, you could download your statements from the last couple of months and do a backwards-looking review. But I don’t know if that counts as TWO things, so, no pressure.

Option 2: Give up one expense/bad habit – We all know our kryptonite spending habit. Maybe it’s buying that second coffee in the afternoon. Maybe it’s logging onto the Iconic to ‘browse’. Maybe it’s going up to the fun level of the mall when you only came to buy groceries (like me).

It’s easy to feel like a failure if you go too hard. Tempted to do a Marie-Kondo on your entire wardrobe and vow to never  buy another piece of clothing? Not recommended.

It’s impossible, and then failure becomes a demotivator.

Instead, target one habit that’s not serving you well and get on top of it.

To-do list One Thing Challenge

Option 3: Unsubscribe to all your shopping newsletters  – The email equivalent of an all-over body scrub at a spa. It legit took me five minutes and I feel so fresh and clean!

I found a tool called unroll.me and linked it to my Gmail. In seconds it had scraped a list of all my subscriptions.

No Supre, I do not need those personalised booty shorts.

No Review, I don’t care if you have 30% off clothes I don’t need.

So much less tempting if you don’t know about it!

Bonus round is reviewing all your other micropayment subscriptions like Netflix, Stan, Spotify, Apple Music etc. I’ve heard of people who pay for one streaming service, their family member pays for the other, and then they share. Obviously I would never advocate such unethical behaviour. Just the word on the street.

Option 4: Log into your super – The point of this is simply to make friends with it. Think of it as a friendly coffee catch-up with your retirement savings.

If you don’t know how to log in, that’s the main task. Set yourself up, even if means giving your fund (or funds) a quick call. If you already have a log-in, skip to the next part.

She knows it’s kind of dull, but even Katy Perry checks her super

Once you’re in, check your balance, update your contact details and make sure your employer has actually been paying you for the last year (can you believe this doesn’t always happen?).

Bonus round is reviewing your investment option and insurance coverage, and/or rolling over accounts with other funds. But that’s intermediate level – read this post for more tips if you’re keen.

Option 5: Make a mindful spending manifesto – I like this because it’s all about words, not spreadsheets. I really don’t enjoy looking at numbers on a page.

Instead, I think about where I want to be allocating my money. (There’s a whole post about it here).

Remember, priorities change over time. Last year I was spending a lot on fitness, including personal training. This year, I’ve got an annoying shoulder injury plus a reduced income, so I’ve dialled that down. Instead, I’m investing money in my business (including an accountant – FML).

I’m updating my priorities to keep my spending in line with my goals.

rihanna money
We all want to feel like Rihanna don’t we?

Honestly Fierce Girls, my friend Jess and I got so excited about this topic, we actually have another five activities to choose from. But I am going to give us all a month before I overwhelm you.

If you are on board with the One Thing Challenge, head on over to the socials to share your wins.

I’m thinking about creating a Facebook Group for this stuff as well, so let me know if you’re keen for that (via Facebook or Insta).

That’s all for now. Stay Fierce!