If I’m being totally honest, I haven’t felt much like celebrating lately.
What a way to start a post on money wins, huh?
I think I lost the forest for the trees. Or the trees for the forest. Or money doesn’t grow on trees.
Or something.
Everything has just felt so financially ordinary lately. There haven’t been any huge mortgage payments, and we’re only slowly chipping away at this year’s Roth contributions.
But then I got a haircut.
$13 turned everything around. Not just because I was able to land a coupon that let me lop off 6 inches of hair and still give a $5 tip at that price. Though you know I am all about frugal haircuts, even if they incite awkward comments.
This money move makes me want to celebrate because it’s actually the first measurable leap that I’m making toward my first quarter goal of focusing a bit more on myself. I was not pampered. There was no zen music. There was no scalp massage. If you must know, I left with damp hair that literally froze on the walk to my car. But I had a really lovely conversation with the hair stylist, and I adore my haircut.
So in the spirit of my super frugal haircut that was only approximately six months overdue, I want to celebrate. Money wins don’t have to be big to matter. But I rounded up three huge wins anyway. I promise Kate, Rich, and Emily are all far more impressive than my haircut. Pinky swear.
Kate
What is your money win?
We saved enough before second child was born so that we won’t need to take on debt to pay for a second kid in daycare!!
Why are you pumped?
This reduces the stress of paying for two in daycare ($670/week!!).
[Penny’s note: ::faints:: ]
What can others learn from it?
It is really un-sexy to save a big chunk of your income for a future “boring” expense. But the amount of stress that was lifted from our shoulders was worth it. We adjusted to our reduced budget easily (due to our privilege to still have enough to comfortably meet our needs and many of our wants).
[Penny’s note: OK! I’m conscious again. I love everything about this colossal win! I can’t imagine having to float childcare costs for two kiddos, and I am seriously impressed by the work they put in *before* Baby’s arrival!]
Rich from PF Geeks
What is your money win?
My wife and I’s HUGE win from 2018 is that we were able to almost triple our net worth even with the recent stock market decline. We continued to live frugally even though we got 10-15% raises. We also finally closed on our house after an 8 month long search. When all of the renovation is done, we’ll have created around 10% in equity!
Why are you pumped?
At 25 years old, we know we are on the right track towards laying a financial foundation for our family.
[Penny’s note: 25! This is amazing! ::faints again::]
What can others learn?
Even though 2018 was a fantastic year for us, our spending definitely increased in some areas where it shouldn’t have. Now that our housing expenses are going way up, we’ve gone back to tracking our spending and used a zero based budget to allocate our income.
Emily Guy Birken
What is your money win?
Every year for the past 3, I have increased my income by 20-35% compared to the year before.
Why are you pumped?
I was a teacher before I started freelancing, and my earnings as a teacher were the most I made in my life, until 2017 and 2018. I am so proud that I have earned more from my hustle than I did teaching.
What can others learn from it?
Believe that you can. My husband was uncomfortable with me freelancing because he didn’t think of it as steady/reliable income. I have made it clear that I can do great by our family with freelancing.
[Penny’s note: I love the financial aspect of this win OF COURSE. But I really love the message of having faith in yourself and what you want to do with your life. I need more of this!]
Final Thoughts on Money Wins
My haircut is pretty lame in comparison to these money wins, isn’t it?
Good thing I’m not comparing myself to anyone!
My favorite thing about this series–and my how it’s grown!–is that there is no one single way to win with your money. You can save a few cents or make thousands of dollars. If it makes you feel good and puts a smile on your face, it’s a win. And they all add up!
If you missed any of the past money wins, check them out here:
Volume 1 – Kate, Revanche, Melody
Volume 2 – Jody, Aitza, Little Miss Fire
Volume 4 – Zero, Kat, Mystery Money Man
Volume 5 – Anna, Debra, Claudia
Volume 6 – Kate, Are We Adults Yet, Money Saved is Money Earned
Volume 7 – Leigh, $76K Project, Josh
Volume 8 – Jill, Verokina, Mr. Green
Volume 9 – Budget Epicurean, Felicity, Erin
Volume 10 – Kris, Revanche, Aaron
Volume 11 – My Plutus Nod & Jo-Anne
Volume 12 – Amanda, Kudy, Laura
If you’d like to join the money win party, fill out this survey. Whether you are a blogger or a reader or both, you are welcome to party here!
So Tell Me…How are you winning with money lately?
Rich is 25?‽?‽ I thought he was an old guy like me. Daaaaang son! That’s an amazing year. Can’t wait to chat more about how the 203k loan works out for him!
I KNOW, JOSH. I KNOW. That is why I fainted!
Love the diversity of the money wins — from long-term saving to raising income. I like to focus on both sides of the equation as well — saving and earning. Right now, we’re in a holding pattern as we wait for our daughter’s college acceptances — there’s a big swing between public and private college expenses. I calculated that the difference between my private college alma mater v. my husband’s public college alma mater is currently almost $200,000!
That number is jaw dropping!
I enjoy the money wins series because it’s so focused on specifics. The empowerment aspect of it is great too. These are all examples of people who have taken control, even when spending big money on some things.
Congrats to all of the winners – and yes, your haircut counts. I hope your students were kind today!
They were so stinkin’ nice. I kept teasing them that I was going to hang grammar signs from my hair since I finally captured their full attention!
I feel ya on the haircut. I had a couple of down days (I’m a depressive) from being so isolated (I work at home). But last Saturday I got a cut and color (from a beauty school, of course) and felt significantly better once I got rid of the gray and my hair stopped dragging down from the weight. I only chopped off about 3 inches, but it looks better for sure.
As for money wins, I’ve been doing a lot of saved savings lately. That is, putting money away that I “save” at the grocery store through any coupons or sales, money that I don’t spend when I use Swagbucks GCs to pay for things, etc. I’m going to have around $180 in saved savings at the end of this month, and it’s all going to the mortgage!
I am totally going to bug you to fill out the survey, so I can share more of your wins on my site at some point.
I also think of your advice often to find a beauty school to try out for highlights. I think once I decide on a color (I love my blonde but it’s sooooo much maintenance!), I will try out a beauty school a few towns over!
A haircut is my money win too. Found a less expensive place and it’s a small business.
That is my goal for this summer! I have an “independent” colorist (that I’m maybe 7 months behind seeing?!), but I just ran into a Great Clips for this one. I’d love to find a small business to support!
I love this series! It shows how personal personal finance really is. It reminds me that when some people are celebrating the amount they are putting in their 401k, we should celebrate cutting down our student loan debt because it is just as impressive. And, man, do I wish I was as on top of things as Rich when I was 25!
Right? I am still clapping and cheering for Rich. I started trying to think of where we were at 25 (we had just bought a house! gulp!), but then I remembered, it’s not a competition…so I’m not worrying about it. I’ll just cheer for him instead!
Saving enough for a second kid in daycare is huge!!! Our costs doubled and yeah, it would be double the cost for us to do that. That’s awesome they were able to do that. I’m with you on fainting, reading that story.
I agree times a million! Huge victory!