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How to Invest Wisely with WeBull

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<p>The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time to do so is today. Investing your extra cash in the stock market for free while earning free stock with Webull is an excellent way to watch your money grow over a period of time. However, to maximize your returns, you need to invest you must money wisely by avoiding brokers that lack transparency and pass on a myriad of fees to their clients. To gain better control your financial future, you will need to set aside money on a regular basis to build your retirement nest egg or acquire capital for future business opportunities.</p>::Pexels

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time to do so is today. Investing your extra cash in the stock market for free while earning free stock with Webull is an excellent way to watch your money grow over a period of time. However, to maximize your returns, you need to invest you must money wisely by avoiding brokers that lack transparency and pass on a myriad of fees to their clients. To gain better control your financial future, you will need to set aside money on a regular basis to build your retirement nest egg or acquire capital for future business opportunities.

Stock or asset investing today is a lot more accessible, and some platforms like WeBull offers real-time market data, analysis tools, options, and zero commission trading for free from your browser, smartphone, or their desktop application. In addition, you get access to their paper trading platform which is a great tool for back-testing and practicing trading strategies without risking your capital.

So how you can you invest your money wisely after opening your Webull account? Here are a few pointers to get you started

Determine Your Trading Style

You will first need to evaluate how you want to invest in the stock market before making your first stock purchase. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Your availability, time management skills, and personality will be determining factors on what  kind of trading or investment strategy will work best for you. A swing trader may hold stock positions for a day to a couple months. Day trader holding periods can go from seconds to hours, but usually close positions at the end of the day. Then there are your long term investors who may have positions open for months to even decades. Some traders prefer to go about investing alone, while others join trading discord servers, and other trading communities to exchange ideas. Whatever the case, it is best to take advantage of a free stock trading platform like Webull to ensure that you mitigate risk as much as possible when you begin your trading journey.

 

Create a Budget

This is another important factor you should consider when investing. Think about how much you’re willing to allocate to investing in a company or trading strategy. Dollar cost averaging is a great way to acquire shares over time as it is nearly impossible to perfectly time the market 100% of the time and get the best entry on your share purchases. Webull also offer members the opportunity to purchase fractional shares in the companies you love so now you can purchase fractions of small pieces of high priced stocks to further aid in diversification for smaller accounts.  As a beginner, it is advisable that you should not invest more than 10% of your portfolio in any one stock. Set a limit on your investment against your total net worth and it should not exceed 20%. Check out this article on how to conduct a mid-year budget review and possibly free up some capital to fund your Webull account and trade for free.

 

Conduct Effective Research

There are over 10,000 stocks available for trade in US markets at any given time. Conducting effective research should be a key element in your trading plan. Keep up to date on overall market news, and pay attention to specific headlines which may affect companies you’re interested in. Research can be overwhelming due to the amount of information and strategies out there today. Verify the reputation of any new source or stock market “guru” you decide to follow, and be very skeptical of marketers offering trading strategies and returns that are too good to be true. If you do decide to go with a trading mentor, ensure to verify their trades, and backtest any strategy they offer using a Webull paper trading account before using a live account to trade real funds.

 

Diversify Your Investments

Once you have created an account through an online broker like Webull, stock diversification is one method used to mitigate risk. Buy stocks from different companies in different industries. While it might sound like a wonderful idea, your portfolio should not be comprised solely of tech, or trendy stocks sectors such as AI. Consider slow and steady moving industries such as utilities, or ETFs and Mutual Funds comprised of a basket of stocks.

Being awarded dividends is another great way to earn income on the shares you own in a company. Webull provides a neat divided search tool that can be used to filter out dividend paying stocks. Some investors use advance dividends tools from Dividends Stocks Online to find the best dividend income earning opportunities. They provide robust dividend scanners which allow you to search of stocks by dividend yield, ex-dividend dates, industry, and numerous other filters tied to the asset’s overall performance. One of the major benefits of dividend investing is the ability gain extra income while the stock is flat or in a downturn.

Separate your emotions

Participate in the market and don’t let emotions do your trading. You can never beat the stock market 100% of the time. Nor can you specifically predict when stock prices will rise or fall. Today market behavior is simply not good companies go up and bad companies go down; speculation is a factor to be considered. Fun fact: Most mutual funds don’t beat the market over time. Never let your emotions overcome your investment strategy if its proven to be profitable over time. Step away from the screen if you have to. However, learn to cut your losses and sell a stock if it goes below your risk tolerance levels.

 

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5 Simple and Free Budgeting Tools You Should Be Using

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<p>When it comes to handling your personal finances, budgeting can be extremely difficult. In fact, some people spend money learning how to budget or better handle their finance. What you may not know is that there are some great free budgeting tools out there that can help everyone.</p>::Pexels
When it comes to handling your personal finances, budgeting can be extremely difficult. In fact, some people spend money learning how to budget or better handle their finance. What you may not know is that there are some great free budgeting tools out there that can help everyone.

Free Budgeting Tools

When you’re looking for budgeting tools, remember that not everyone thinks the same. So, your budget may need to be a bit different than your mother’s was. These five budgeting tools are free and really easy to use:

Spreadsheet

Spreadsheets are one of the easiest ways to set and keep track of your budget. By entering your monthly income and expenses into a spreadsheet you can see where you have the opportunity to cut some expenses. Of course, to have a budgeting spreadsheet you’ll need to have Microsoft Excel or a similar application. However, if you don’t have access to the program, you can access Excel for free through Google. You can also access Excel and a computer at your local library (though you’ll want to be careful about logging any personal information on those computers).

Check out this FREE expense tracker spreadsheet.

Envelopes

As far as free budgeting tools goes, this is one of the most hands-on. To budget with envelopes, you will have to write down a budget and have a set amount of cash for each of your expenses. For example, if you spend $400 per month on groceries you would put $400 cash in an envelope marked groceries. This will insure that you don’t go over your budget and, for many people, makes them realize how much they are spending.

Pay in Cash

If you’re not into separating your money into envelopes but still want to budget and become more aware of your spending, think about paying in cash. After you’ve put money in savings, pay everything else throughout the month in cash. Many people who pay in cash tend to better stick to their budget and turn away from unnecessary purchases. Paying in cash is a great budgeting approach for many people.

You can also participate in fun money challenges like the Biweekly 26 Week Money Challenge with your change if you pay in cash regularly.

Balancing Your Checkbook

Not many people carry around checkbooks anymore but if you’re having trouble with budgeting it can be a great tool (and it is free). Balancing your checkbook requires you to stop and write down everything that you spend. It will let you take a look and realize if you are within your budget or not. Like many of the free budgeting tools mentioned above, it helps you gain awareness of your finances.

There’s an App For That

Last but not least, technology has made it easier for you to budget as well. When it comes to finance, there are a plethora of apps out there designed to help you better yourself. One of the best among them is Mint. If you’ve not heard of it, Mint is a finance app created to help people budget, monitor their credit, pay off debt and save. You can monitor your accounts, your spending and even your savings all through one single app. It is definitely one of the best free budgeting tools out there.

 

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Bills Are Going Up And We Want To Move

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<p>Our bills are going up. Really, all of them seem to have crept up and up over the last year or so. In December, the biggest hit was our rent going up to nearly $1,800 per month (yikes). So, we're putting our heads together and trying to figure out a way to move later this year because we have to renew again.</p>::Pexels

Our bills are going up. Really, all of them seem to have crept up and up over the last year or so. In December, the biggest hit was our rent going up to nearly $1,800 per month (yikes). So, we’re putting our heads together and trying to figure out a way to move later this year because we have to renew again.

However, I know that picking up and moving isn’t the right option for most people. So, here is what we sat down and talked about to come to this decision.

How Much Are Bills Going Up?

When we moved here in 2020, our rent was $1,400. So, in just two years, our rent has gone up $400. On top of that, our car insurance went up when we bought a new car, along with our car payment. Utility prices are also creeping up there, especially when it comes to natural gas and electricity in my area.

Not to mention, we have a little one whose needs are constantly changing. We are always buying new clothes, she is eating more, drinking more, and just doing more things. To nourish her life completely, we need to find a way to decrease some of our expenses. For our family, that will likely mean relocating (yet again).

Our biggest deciding factors here are: the cost of living, moving before Dahlia is in school, and still being close enough to family.

Deciding To Move

After a lot of discussions, my husband and I think it will be in our best interest to try and move by the end of the year. We are likely going to have to relocate to find something cheaper to rent, though. So, here’s our plan currently.

  1. Start saving money for the move. We’ll need between $5,000 and $8,000 to move, especially if we are going across state lines again. This will cover movers, the moving truck, deposits, and getting things set up at the new place.
  2. Begin scouting areas we think we might like and visit. We’ve made the mistake of moving somewhere before we ever saw it (Atlanta). So, to avoid those same troubles, we are likely going to take some trips around to cheaper places to see how we like it. Our sights are on Eastern Tennessee for now.
  3. Slow down our debt payoff so that we can focus on saving and prepping for the move.
  4. Put all of our windfalls towards this goal of moving.
  5. Start downsizing things and cleaning out closets so it’s easier at the end of the year.

Moving is one of my least favorite things, but if it decreases our cost of living and improves our quality of life, I’m here for it. Both of us think that will be the case with this move.

Readers, when was the last time you made a big move? Do you have any advice?

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Getting the Best of Your Student Life

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Student life has a lot to enjoy! But it can also be a big adjustment – if you’ve not lived away from your family before, especially if you’re the first one to go to study at university, then you have a lot to get used to. Getting the best out of student life can take some effort, but today we’re here to help with some tips to give you a head start!

Making a Home

If you don’t have somewhere that feels like a home to come back to, it’s easy to become exhausted and burnt out very quickly, which stops you enjoying everything university has to offer.

Make your first student housing a home, whether you’re in the historical halls of Oxford or Cambridge or the cutting-edge Sheffield Hallam accommodation, means you have somewhere you feel totally comfortable to rest and recharge, somewhere you can get away from the shock of the new that assails you at every turn.

Bring a couple of precious things from home, whether they’re soft toys, posters or action figures – a couple of mementoes won’t compromise your attempts to reinvent yourself for this new stage in your life.

Spread Your Wings

University is a great opportunity to try new things – you’re unburdened by your past reputation, and have a free hand to have a go at anything you’ve always wanted to but haven’t had the chance. The drama society doesn’t know you used to stutter, the football team weren’t around for the own goal that cut short your career as a midfielder at school.

Most importantly, the early weeks of term give you the opportunity to experiment without having to commit – you can go to some early meetings, training sessions, workshops, or whatever way the society regularly meets to see if you like the people and the activity. Most will offer taster sessions for first years (‘freshers’ in the parlance of most universities) so you can sample what’s on offer without making your whole university life about it.

Managing Your Time

The most important thing to master is time management: you have a new social life to embrace clubs and societies offering you the chance to pursue hobbies to new heights, and of course academic work to complete. Even if your qualification isn’t the most important reason for you to be at university, not giving it due attention could result in an early end to your university experiences.

Try to set yourself a timetable that means you’re working a regular amount in each day at the required reading and essay work that your course demands – as though it’s a job with set hours. As long as you put the work in, that means no stressful, punishing all night study sessions as deadlines approach. You’ll be rested enough to enjoy your free time with friends and societies too!

Tips to Help You Find Financial Focus

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<p>There is no secret that becoming debt free requires a fair amount of focus and determination. Sometimes it can seem like the entire universe is against you getting back on track or paying off your loan, credit card, whatever it may be. Here is how I'm able to re-center and find my financial focus after a setback.</p>::Pexels

There is no secret that becoming debt free requires a fair amount of focus and determination. Sometimes it can seem like the entire universe is against you getting back on track or paying off your loan, credit card, whatever it may be. Here is how I’m able to re-center and find my financial focus after a setback.

Recent Setbacks

If you’ve been following our family for the past couple of years, you know I am no stranger to setbacks. After living in a motel for six months, getting into our apartment, racking up some debt, and losing one of our incomes for six months, you think I’d be ready for just about anything, right?

In the midst of wedding planning and my regular busy schedule, I got intensely ill in January and it really set me back. First, I was ill with the flu and then I was in the hospital for possible appendicitis (yikes). Then, when I returned to work I got a notification that the state would be garnishing my wages for my 2017 back taxes. I’d been attempting to work out a payment plan but didn’t owe much so they’ll be taking $460 a month until about May or June.

When this happened I spiraled a little bit. Forget the wedding, forget our savings plan, forget all of it. However, before I completely overreacted, I decided to take a step back and reset my financial focus.

Finding Financial Focus

Obviously, this isn’t the first time this has happened. Sometimes, it is hard to focus on the big picture when everything seems like it is going wrong. Because I have the tendency to overreact, I need a go-to list of things to do to recenter my personal financial focus.

  1. Set small, obtainable, short-term goals. If you put your mind in the now and set more immediate goals you won’t be able to be bogged down by the “what ifs” of six months from now.
  2. Write it down. After you’ve set these smaller goals, write them down. We do this with everything. Whether it is our debt payoff plan, weekly budget, or savings goal. Writing it down helps us set our mind to the task at hand. Then we walk by it daily and are reminded of what we’re working towards.
  3. Search for inspiration. I cannot say enough about following fellow debt-free folks! If you follow the hashtag #debtfree or #debtfreecommunity on social media, you will find loads of inspiration. People will share their stories with you, favorite inspirational quotes, and motivational tips to help you continue on your journey.
  4. Spend time doing things that make you happy but also make you feel responsible. I like to try and avoid spending money when I feel I need better financial focus. To do this, we have a list of things we enjoy doing that cost little-to-no money. For instance, we have favorite walking trails where we take the dog or scrape for free coupons and grab a coffee together.

Lastly, if you’re really struggling to manage your finances, consider speaking with a professional. There is no shame in reaching out for help if you need it. Some financial advisors will even offer up their services for free (or cheap) if you qualify.

Readers, how do you realigh your focus when it comes to your finances?

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If It Says “Guaranteed Payday Loan No Third Party” Run Away!

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Guaranteed Payday Loan No Third Party

If you’ve been struggling with debt, your credit has likely taken a hit as well. For me, having a low credit score and a high level of debt caused me to panic. How was I going to survive? The scary thing is – predatory lenders know when you’re feeling overwhelmed. That’s when the “Guaranteed Payday Loan No Third Party” envelopes begin coming in the mail.

How to Spot Predatory Lenders

Predatory lenders are everywhere. These lenders are referred to as being predatory because they tend to target people with bad credit, a lot of debt, and low incomes. Most of the time, they don’t truly care whether you can pay the loan or credit card off. Not to mention, most types of predatory lending also comes with a high-interest rate.

Consolidation loans and other quick-money loans can be tempting, especially if you are struggling financially. However, taking on new debt with a high-interest rate will only add to your financial stress in the long-run. You can typically identify predatory lenders by the wording used in their offer. They will use the words “guaranteed approval,” “payday loan,” “bad credit, no credit,” or “money now.”

Avoid Offers Like “Guaranteed Payday Loan No Third Party”

I’ve had a number of these “Guaranteed Payday Loan No Third Party” offers come through my email and land in my mailbox. At times, it can be hard to turn down the extra cash. Many of the lenders even market the offers as a “consolidation loan.” Having read/seen the mistakes myself and others have made, I know better than to fall victim to one of these lending traps. Here’s why…

  1. They simply continue the cycle of debt and feed into it. Payday loans, guaranteed approval loans, and most bad credit loans are feeding into the cycle of debt. Generally, the interest is so high on these loans they are practically impossible to pay off.
  2. No loans are guaranteed. If anyone guarantees you approval for anything, especially if your credit is bad, it should be a huge red flag. You’ll likely end up paying three times the amount of the loan.
  3. Almost all of the “guaranteed” loans come with a high-interest rate. We are talking 22% interest and higher. If you’re already struggling, this will be nearly impossible to keep up with.
  4. You may have to provide collateral to be approved. Some guaranteed approval loans require you to put up your house or car as collateral on the loan. Don’t do it! You don’t want to
  5. These lenders don’t honestly care about your ability to pay off your loan. As mentioned above, many of these companies are feeding into the cycle of debt. If they are guaranteeing you money without knowing anything about your finances, they don’t care about your ability to pay it off or your financial freedom.

Even in the tightest financial situation, you should avoid these predatory loans at all costs. Consider getting a loan from a friend or transferring some of your debt to a credit card with a lower interest rate. Whatever you do, try to avoid anything that guarantees approval.

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3 Advantages of Being Debt-Free

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<p>If you have ever lived paycheck to paycheck you know it is no cakewalk. Oftentimes, people are living this way because they don't have all of their debts paid off or their cost of living is simply too high. Relieving that stress is only one of the many advantages of being debt-free. Here are some more to inspire your journey.</p>::Pexels

If you have ever lived paycheck to paycheck you know it is no cakewalk. Oftentimes, people are living this way because they don’t have all of their debts paid off or their cost of living is simply too high. Relieving that stress is only one of the many advantages of being debt-free. Here are some more to inspire your journey.

3 Advantages of Being Debt-Free

Anyone who has decided to embark on their own debt freedom journey probably knows most of the benefits of living a debt-free life. However, here are three perks you may have not considered yet…

  1. You get an instant pay raise. When all of your debts are paid, you’ll have more free income to spend, save, invest, and live your life with. Think about it. Every monthly payment you are making now towards an account will now be yours to spend as you wish. For us, that would mean more than $1,000 in extra cash month to month.
  2. You’re able to have more fun. Instead of borrowing money to go on vacation or biting your nails over the cost, you can stash away money more easily for fun things. You may feel like you are pinching pennies to make these things happen but you are able to freely take vacations and go out to have fun without worrying about where the money is being borrowed from.
  3. The potential to gain wealth is greater. Being debt-free will open more doors for you than you could imagine. You can create a plan to generate wealth for yourself and your family. You might even be able to become a millionaire because you’ll have the freed-up money to start saving and investing. If you are able to build up your net worth this way you are more likely to be able to leave behind a legacy for your family.

Debt Freedom Does Have Some Disadvantages

Believe it or not, not everything that comes with debt freedom is beneficial. There are a couple of disadvantages to being debt-free too.

  • It can have a negative impact on your credit score. You would think paying off all of your debts would have a positive impact on your credit score but it can sometimes have the opposite effect. If you work to pay everything off and avoid debt altogether, your score may go down because you have no way of proving you will pay for things on time. This can make it hard to get a mortgage or loan of any type.
  • You may feel out of touch with the rest of the world. Debt freedom also puts many people out of touch with the things going on in the financial world. For instance, if you are focused on paying things off and stashing money away you may miss a big investment opportunity. It can also make you feel withdrawn from family and friends. While everyone is out on Friday night, you may make the conscious decision to stay in and save money.

That being said, the advantages of being debt-free outweigh the cons every time when it comes to improving your finances. So, don’t let these two things stop you from pursuing your debt-free lifestyle.

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Birthday Reflections: How We Measure Success By Age

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<p>January 29 is my birthday. This year, I'm turning 28 years old and there is a lot changing in my life all at once it seems. Every year, I take some time to do birthday reflections and consider how far I've progressed in the past year. I note things I accomplished, things I enjoyed, things I'd do again (and things I wouldn't), and how the year went. It is also a moment to reflect on what I'd like to do in the year to come.</p>::Pexels

January 29 is my birthday. This year, I’m turning 28 years old and there is a lot changing in my life all at once it seems. Every year, I take some time to do birthday reflections and consider how far I’ve progressed in the past year. I note things I accomplished, things I enjoyed, things I’d do again (and things I wouldn’t), and how the year went. It is also a moment to reflect on what I’d like to do in the year to come.

My Birthday Reflections

This year, my birthday reflections looked a little different. I’m sure many people looked back on the year 2022 and thought, “worst year ever.” In many ways, that was true for me. There was a lot of stress. I didn’t meet all of my goals for the year. But, like many people, I kept going and kept things afloat (somehow). In 2022, I took better care of my health and took more time for self-care as well. That is something I’m proud of.

Financially, 2022 was not the greatest. There were several large emergencies that crippled us. Family emergencies seemed to pop up every other month and then we rounded out the year with a four-hour move back to North Carolina.

When it comes down to it, the year ended in a way that helped improve our lives in a big way. I hope to continue growing positively as a family this year as well.

Why You Shouldn’t Compare Yourself to Others

It is truly a mistake to measure your success against others your age. There are a lot of factors that impact how you have progressed through life. For instance, you may have had to battle serious financial struggles or mental health concerns. Not everyone your age has had to deal with those things.

On the same note, not everyone has the same long-term goals as you do. A friend of mine was speaking about graduating with her doctorate soon. She’s been working nonstop to achieve that goal but feels behind when she compares herself to her peers. Many of us have graduated and gone on to pursue careers six years ago. However, none of us will have the honor of being called a doctor. While we’ve been working to rent apartments and pay off student loans, she’s been making her dreams come true.

What I’m trying to say is if birthday reflections or self-reflection, in general, are part of your life, consider your own personal goals rather than what your peers are doing. True happiness will stem from achieving those personal goals.

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People Rarely Take Their Own Advice

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<p>As we've made plenty of decisions about our lives and finances, many people have offered up words of wisdom to help us get through. However, something I've noticed is that people rarely take their own advice. In fact, when I think about it, it may even go back to the age-old saying my own mom recited to me, "Do as I say and not as I do." But why is it that people seem to be able to offer up advice that they themselves can't take (or at least can't seem to adopt in their own lives)?</p>::Pexels

As we’ve made plenty of decisions about our lives and finances, many people have offered up words of wisdom to help us get through. However, something I’ve noticed is that people rarely take their own advice. In fact, when I think about it, it may even go back to the age-old saying my own mom recited to me, “Do as I say and not as I do.” But why is it that people seem to be able to offer up advice that they themselves can’t take (or at least can’t seem to adopt in their own lives)?

The Truth Behind It


Most of the time when people offer up their shining advice on a silver platter it is something they rarely do (or have ever done) themselves. When it comes down to it though, it is simply hard to be your own advisor. Your emotions and additional internal knowledge will cloud your judgment and lead you to make decisions that you, perhaps, would not recommend to anyone else.

More simply put, when you are not in the middle of a problem, you are better able to look at the issue objectively without all those pesky, irrelevant details. A blog post from The Cut outlined one specific example of when people talk about health issues. When we discuss health problems with someone else, we almost always suggest they get a second opinion. Once your doctor’s appointment arrives though, many people neglect to ask for a referral for a second opinion.

Why? Well, most people say that they don’t want to offend their doctor. This is something irrelevant to the actual decision at hand. When you are on the outside looking in, it is easier to look at it objectively. The same can be said of career advice, hair advice, and pretty much anything else.

Will You Take Your Own Advice?

Even I am guilty of doing this. I push the debt snowball (which I still haven’t nailed down for our family). I write on this blog every week while my finances are still not in tip-top shape, but the advice I am able to give here is from my own personal experiences. Even if I’m not taking that advice right now, per se, they are things that have helped me.

Any time you are looking at someone else’s situation, it is easier to really see the big-picture view. Having that same view when it comes to your own life is hard. It is easy to get hung up on the small stuff. But, when it comes down to it, it is all small stuff – so don’t sweat it.

When you consider offering up advice to someone, solicited or unsolicited, think about whether or not you follow that piece of advice yourself. Or, maybe, more importantly, think about whether you should be following those words of advice. Chances are, you are telling them something you need to hear too.

Readers, do you have trouble following your own advice, even when it is good?

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The ‘Feel Good’ of a New Year

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<p>Most of us were ready to kick 2020 to the curb at midnight on December 31st. While 2022 definitely was not our best year, it certainly wasn't our worse. We have so much to still be thankful for in this world and now we have even more to look forward to in the new year.</p>::Pexels

Most of us were ready to kick 2020 to the curb at midnight on December 31st. While 2022 definitely was not our best year, it certainly wasn’t our worse. We have so much to still be thankful for in this world and now we have even more to look forward to in the new year.

The new year brings hope to many people. It is a fresh start, endless opportunities, and all of that, right? But what about when the “feel good” of the holiday season wears off and you’re stuck here, in March, with none of the same optimism you had before? What then?

This year, I’m looking for ways to renew that “feel good” of the new year every day.

Why Tomorrow Always Seems Better

As a chronic planner, tomorrow always seems like a better opportunity or day to get things done. Why? Because then I can plan, or really daydream, about everything I’ll get done and how perfect it will be. News flash – nearly nothing works out that way.

In high school, we read The Great Gatsby in class and examined a very similar theme: the idea of something is always better than reality. This is true of many things (in Gatsby, it was The American Dream). My teacher at the time made a connection that has forever stuck with me though. It is like when you wake up on Thursday and all day Thursday you are looking forward to the weekend. It has been a long week, you’re ready to let loose. Once the weekend arrives though, we rarely do all the things and plans we set out to do.

Tomorrow is always where we seem to place the best of what is to come.

Today is the Day in the New Year

This year, I’m attempting to extend the “feel good” of the new year to each day by treating each day as a new opportunity. I’m not a morning person so I can’t say my feet will hit the floor with joy each day, but they will hit the floor with purpose.

Many of us, myself included, could adopt this mindset when it comes to our finances as well. Think about it: if you wake up and decide “today, I will pay $100 towards my debt,” and you do it, you will be that much further along. Instead, much of the time, we put things off until the payment date or until we can pay in full.

Get what you can get done today done and remember tomorrow is yet another opportunity to do even more. This is what will help me (and hopefully you) extend the “feel good” of the New Year beyond the first week.

Readers, we hope you have had a safe and healthy holiday season! What resolutions are you making this year?

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