Y’all, we gotta share what we know about $$$$$. We deal with money everyday and I still feel like I’m flailing around financially even though I’ve been working to pay off debt and budget for longer than I’d like to be (lol rip).
So far in 2023, I’m working on ‘editing’ a lot of random things. Money is one of the first areas, the second is actually my underwear drawer (lol there actually will be a blog post on this), and then my habits. AKA, I’m trying to focus on mono-tasking instead of multitasking so… carrying on 🙂
Here are things I highly recommend and actively use/listen to myself that are helping me get my financial shit together:
$$$ Podcasts:
- The Financial Feminist (Her First $100K) – Tori Dunlap (who’s our age) literally breaks down financial education for all of us. Especially as women, we aren’t taught much, if ever about money. You can start with her first episode, or pick an episode that seems interesting to you! (She covers debt, budgeting, investing, money habits, and everything else under the sun.) Otherwise, her episode “5. Where do I start?” is a great choice 🙂
- Tori also just wrote her own book, also titled Financial Feminist, if you’re more interested in reading rather than listening to her content 🙂 This also includes journalling prompts and is part book and workbook.
- Bad with Money with Gaby Dunn (now Gabe Dunn) – Gabe is a queer and trans writer who talks about (as the name implies) being bad with money, learning how to be better with money on this podcast. They break down how our financial system is based on systemic oppression, and good ol’ capitalism while looking at the finances of people who aren’t white and/or straight. Their podcast is also just funny, so you’ll get a good laugh!
$$$ Credit Cards & Bank Accounts:
- Sofi Checking and Savings – Sofi is a great bank and financial institution for so many things, but their bank account really takes the cake. You get 2.50% interest on your checking account, and 3.75% on your high yield savings account (and it’s been rising!). Normally for a checking or savings account you’re lucky if you get even 0.1% interest, so this is a game changer.
Their app is super easy to use and navigate, to transfer money to between your other accounts, and it’s completely free. Literally not worth paying for any other bank account. - Charles Schwab Investor Checking account – Anytime I need to withdraw money from an ATM or am traveling abroad, this is the debit card I use. You get your ATM fees reimbursed at the end of each month, and you have no foreign transaction fees of any kind while traveling. Their customer support is also fantastic worldwide, so you don’t have to worry if something happens while you’re away from home. Plus this account automatically comes with a brokerage account, if you’re interested in investing through there!
- Capital One Savor One credit card – This is my most used credit card. It’s completely free, and you get ridiculous cash back that you can redeem and cover your purchases with right away (no odd waiting period or until you hit a certain amount). I just got my summary for 2022, and I earned $262.74 in rewards last year. Which is honestly ridiculous, I don’t get anywhere near this amount in rewards with my other credit cards.
I can also confirm most of my friends have this card, and if you have Capital One you can use it at one of their cafes and get half off your order, which is great for our iced chai tea latte love!
$$$ Habit/Misc Tips:
- Create a BUDGET (in the process of writing a post specifically about budgeting and the tools I use, which will be linked here!). Lots of thoughts on this, but any of the podcasts I list below have great episodes on how to set up your own budget. If it’s helpful, here’s the budgeting spreadsheet I use and made myself. Handwrite, get your spreadsheet going, use an app like Mint, do whatever works best for you so you’ll actually use your budget and stick to it!
- Track every purchase. I’m talking note in your phone dedicated to your spending, you write down the amount you spent and what it was for, the whole thing. You can do this in so many different ways or handwrite it – do as you please, but it’s important to know where your money goes.
- Everyone has recommended Fidelity for their investing platform, and I concur their platform is so much nicer and easier to use than a lot of others. I’m just dipping my toes in, but Fidelity makes it super easy for me to research and learn about various stocks and investment options (plus my favorite part is literally just seeing the graph of your account and how much it’s gone up or down over any period of time!). I also use Empower through work and it straight up sucks.
- Stick around after yoga class to chat with your classmates. This list was created because me, two classmates, and our instructor were just chilling after class talking about rent, moving, credit cards, and we all just started sharing what we knew about this and that.
So please, if you have anything to share or recommend, comment and share below! I do not in any way know much of about finances and am just learning myself, so I’d love to hear from my friends what y’all use and like best!
Enjoy the rest of your day, friends 🙂
Liz Happens 