⚖️ spending vs saving to live a good life
Q&A: Is buying an affordable home still possible?
Featured Artist: Xiaoping Lin—Egret and Ladyfish, Nature’s Best Photography, Birds Category Winner 2024
Here’s what’s in today’s newsletter:
💰 Main Topic: Balancing spending and saving for a good life
❓ Q&A: Is buying an affordable home still possible?
✅ To Do: Review your banking, money management & investing
😎 What I’m Enjoying: A TV series, gifting plants, and low-impact training
🎙 Recent Podcasts: Dig into 921+ episodes in the Money Girl archive
🤣 Favorite GIF: Reply with your favorite GIF—it might get featured!
Hi, Friend!
While sacrificing now to save and invest is wise, how do you also enjoy a good life today? Striking that balance is one of the most challenging parts of financial wellness.
1️⃣ Live like a monk, sacrifice everything, and your future wealth will all be worth it someday.
OR
2️⃣ Live for today by spending everything because who knows how much time you really have.
Those are two extreme worldviews that can get you into trouble. The secret to financial success and happiness is living somewhere in the middle that’s right for your life stage, personality, and goals.
Deferring life by never spending on trips to see friends, family vacations, home remodeling projects, or whatever you might plan to do “someday” can lead to regret. In other words, creating financial success can be at odds with things that create happiness.
But deferring saving by “living large” can cause your future self to feel regret.
If you’re unsure how to find the right balance, here are some tips:
🎯 1. Create clear goals: Know what you want and how much it will cost. For example, retire with $3 million, send a child to an expensive college, buy a $500,000 home, etc.
🔨 2. Break down your goals: Calculate what you must save or invest monthly to achieve a goal. For instance, to retire with $1 million, you must invest $800 monthly for 20 years with an average 7% return.
💰 3. Fund your goals, then live life: Put your necessary retirement contributions or other savings on autopilot and challenge yourself to live a good life on the rest.
⛔️ 4. Create a non-negotiable list: Write down expenses or experiences you refuse to put off because they bring you joy.
🗺 5. Stick to the plan: If you can’t fully fund your goals and non-negotiables, you may need to adjust your goals or cut various negotiable expenses, like reducing your housing costs or driving a less expensive car. You may also need to increase your income temporarily or permanently.
🤔 To sum up, we must show up for ourselves and the people in our lives because today is the only day we’re guaranteed. But we also need to ensure the safety and happiness of our future self, tomorrow, in a year, and decades from now.
I’d love to know your tips for balancing living today with sacrificing for tomorrow. Just reply to this email! What trade-offs have you made? 🙋🏼
❓ On Finance Friday podcast episodes, I answer your money questions! This week’s topic comes from Lisa, who says:
"I'm 29 years old and getting married this summer. My fiance and I have good jobs and contribute a little to our 401(k)s. We're renting a place, but would like to buy a home someday.
Since we don't have much savings for a down payment, should we stop contributing to our retirement plans and put money in savings instead?
Or is buying an affordable home right now just too difficult?" 🏡
On 🎙 Money Girl episode 921, Is Buying an Affordable Home Still Possible?, I review how buying a home might fit your overall financial goals and provide tips for making it as affordable as possible.
You can listen to the podcast 🎧 or read the transcript 📙
🎬 Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light is a PBS series based on the award-winning book of historical fiction, Wolf Hall. The first season tells the story of Thomas Cromwell’s rise to power as a self-made man and royal “fixer” for England’s King Henry VIII in the mid-1500s. The second season follows Anne Boleyn’s beheading and Cromwell’s later years when he was one of the most feared and influential figures of the time. The show is incredibly well done, with amazing costumes and acting.
🪴 This online plant store can send great gifts, like houseplants, planters, home decorations, and accessories! Whether you're into small, large, or carnivorous plants or want something on sale, they'll be easy to find.
💪 Jennifer Aniston’s workout routine to strengthen and sculpt is a low-impact way to improve mobility, flexibility, and balance. I love that it incorporates small, light resistance equipment you can use anywhere to build muscle and reduce the chance of injury.
✅ Review your banking! If you’re not earning much on your savings or are paying too many fees, consider switching to a better institution. Learn more about the benefits of joining a credit union in Money Girl episode 918, Credit Unions: Your Financial Best Friend. Find more resources at Backbone.us.
✅ Manage money more easily by tracking your spending, seeing all your financial accounts in one place, and getting tax reports—try Quicken for 30 days with a money-back guarantee if it doesn’t help you.
✅ Use this free Personal Dashboard to get an overview of your financial picture—plus access to high-yield savings, tax-advantaged retirement accounts, and investment guidance.
🎧 921: Is Buying an Affordable Home Still Possible?
🎧 920: The Ultimate Guide to Borrowing from Your 401(k)
🎧 919: Does a Roth Allow Me to Retire Richer?
🎧 918: Credit Unions: Your Financial Best Friend with Tansley Stearns
🎧 917: 6 Biggest Mistakes Investors Make In Volatile Markets
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