30-Day Money Cleanse – Week 3: Rev-Up Your Finances

In Weeks 1 and 2 of the 30-Day Money Cleanse, you learned all about how to be more aware of your cash flow and set goals for your finances. Now in Week 3 it’s time to put those new habits to work and shift some accounts, set up new automatic transfers or make some calls.

But don’t worry, we’ve broken each challenge up into incredibly easy pieces to implement and we encourage you to take 1 simple step each day. Luckily for you, technology makes it as easy as a few taps on your phone – so you can make your money do the work for you and you can get back to living your life.

First we talked about financial awareness. Then we prioritized your goals. This week, we’ll show you how to rev-up your plan and watch your money get to work! Finally, next week we will teach you a few ways to future-proof your money and maintain the good habits you learned during the 30-Day Money Cleanse. In no time you’ll know your finances like the back of your hand, create habits that are critical to sustained wealth creation, and make your money work for you.

Day 16 – Find Alternative Ways To Save

Don’t dine out for 1 week – that includes happy hours and those coffee runs. Compile a meal plan for the week including 3 meals a day, snacks and drinks. Build a grocery list and eat from what you have in your fridge and cupboards. I promise, you won’t go hungry and you don’t even have to cook if you don’t want to.

Day 17 – Re-examine “Memberships”

Using traditional cable? Consider options like Hulu and Netflix to cut costs. Cancel unnecessary subscriptions like Birchbox or Dollar Shave Club.

Day 18 – Savings Outside of 401k

If 20% of your take home pay is more than $18,000 annually, you should look at saving in a brokerage account.

Day 19 – Check In

You’re more than halfway through! Take a few minutes to reflect on how you’re feeling financially. Are you worried? Confident? Or feeling successful?

Day 20 – Find Your Advisor

If you have at least $100K in investable assets, seek a financial advisor to help you devise a plan so that you can maximize savings in retirement, optimize tax deductions and more.

Day 21 – Explore Investment Strategies

Using a mix of low-cost ETFs or index funds is best for those just starting out. Vanguard, Betterment and Personal Capital all offer great strategies.

Day 22 – Choose Your Allocation

If you’re in your 20’s or 30’s and plan to work into your 60’s, your 401k and outside investments should be mostly (70-90%) stock index funds (about 2/3 US funds and 1/3 foreign). The remaining investment should be a blend of bond and alternative ETF’s.

Check out our entire Money Cleanse Series:

• Week 1: Awareness
• Week 2: Devise a Plan and Take Advantage
• Week 3: Rev-Up Your Finances
• Week 4: Future-Proof Your Gains

This communication and all data are for informational purposes only and do not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell securities. You should not rely on this information as the primary basis of your investment, financial, or tax planning decisions. You should consult your legal or tax professional regarding your specific situation. Third party data is obtained from sources believed to be reliable. However, PCAC cannot guarantee that data’s currency, accuracy, timeliness, completeness or fitness for any particular purpose. Certain sections of this commentary may contain forward-looking statements that are based on our reasonable expectations, estimate, projections and assumptions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks and uncertainties, which are difficult to predict. Past performance is not a guarantee of future return, nor is it necessarily indicative of future performance. Keep in mind investing involves risk. The value of your investment will fluctuate over time and you may gain or lose money.