Good morning, lovely people!!!
If you have a roof over your head right now, look up and say “Thank you Mr. roof! You are awesome!”
If you have food in your fridge right now, open it up and say “Good morning delicious food, I can’t wait to eat you later!”
If you have money in your purse… “Hello coins and bills. Thank you for traveling so far to end up in my possession!”
If you live with your family, tell them all… “I love you! Let’s watch a fun movie together tonight.”
The secret to being wealthy in life —> is realizing you already are.
OK, now let’s talk about the money stuff! 👇👇👇
TO DO
Label your credit cards 💳 ✍️
Most people have a few credit cards in their wallet or purse. But they use them ineffectively, foregoing awesome rewards!
This week: Use a label maker or Sharpie to mark which cards should be used for which spending category to get the highest reward.
Label your cards, people! And bonus points if you label your partner’s cards for them too 😘
LESS = MORE
Rules for Decluttering
We’ve all been there… You do a MASSIVE clean out of your house and ditch/sell/donate half your belongings… then less than 6 months later you look around and think to yourself “where did all this new junk come from!? I’m back where I started!”
If this sounds familiar, you might benefit from implementing a set of decluttering “rules”… Whether it’s physical belongings, digital files, or even your schedule, having effective systems in place to experience less clutter on the reg can make a world of difference.
Here are a few recent tips we’ve come across that might help in your pursuit of living clutter-free…
- The “One Year” Rule: ⏳ If you haven’t used it or worn it in the past year, it’s time to let it go. This rule applies to clothing, gadgets, and items that tend to accumulate in drawers. The reverse clothes hanger trick is a good one to try!
- The 20/20 Rule: 🧘♀️ if it costs less than $20 and can be replaced within 20 minutes, it’s OK to let it go.
- “One In, One Out” Rule: 🔀 For every new thing you bring into your home (gifts, freebies, shopping, kids toys, etc), get rid of an existing thing to restore the balance. This is super helpful with small stuff like pens, clips, or even iPhone apps. Install one = delete an old one!
- “No Stacking papers”: 🔎 Piles of books, letters, forms, bills, etc. all usually accumulate in piles and never get looked at. Instead, try to immediately scan important papers (Scannable is a great app!), file cards away, or ditch them right away!
- The Daily Tidy-Up Rule: 📆 Create a trigger habit for tidying spaces. For example, “while I brush my teeth each night, I will tidy my room quickly also.” Or for kids, it could be as simple as “putting things back where they belong.” Cleaning a little every day makes cleaning easy.
- The “dump bin”: 🪣 Give each of your kids a special “dump bin” or container like a shoe box. It’s for their miscellaneous toys, cards, rocks, or whatever kids randomly bring home these days… Each day as kids accumulate new stuff, it all gets stored in the kid’s dump bin (instead of lying around on counters/tables around the house). At the end of each month, tell your kid to go through all the stuff and decide what should be kept or ditched.
- “Inbox Zero” rule: 📩 Basically, any time you open an email you either Delete, Delegate, Do it, or Defer. The goal is to have zero emails in your inbox at the end of each day. It’s also important to create blocks of time when you can check and respond to your email so you’re not constantly playing whack-a-mole as new emails pile in.
- “Take a Photo” rule: 🤳 Did you know that taking a photo of your clutter before throwing it away lessens the feeling of loss? This works great for sentimental items (eg. old teddy bears or travel souvenirs).
Remember, the goal is not just to remove clutter… It’s to create and maintain an open space that allows you to bring more value into your life.
Related stuff:
- 💻 More tips: 20 Best Decluttering Tips & Challenges
- 🎙️ HTM Pod #525: Becoming Minimalist w Josh Becker
TOGETHER WITH FLEXJOBS*
Flexing Your Career 👩💻
Say goodbye to the endless scroll of irrelevant job postings and hello to a curated list of flexible, remote, and freelance positions tailored to your skills and preferences.
FlexJobs goes beyond the ordinary job board… They screen opportunities from reputable companies and present you with the best ones matching your ideal work preferences.
They also have a ton of general support and resources to help you land that perfect gig. Check them out! 💼✨
LEARNING
Carving Out 20-30 Minutes Each Day… 📚
Did you know that nearly half of Americans didn’t read a single book last year?
Here are the numbers from the latest YouGov survey 👇👇👇
We’re not trying to shame anyone… Not everyone loves books, and that’s OK!
That being said, continuing to learn new things and growing your knowledge brings so many benefits to your life! More confidence, less bias, more opportunities, personal fulfillment, improved cognitive health, etc…
So for those of you looking to incorporate more self-education into 2024 (books/pods/courses/journaling or whatever) here are a few tips to carve out 20-30 minutes each day to dedicate to that task:
- Do it first thing: As soon as you wake up, try dedicating the first 20-30 minutes of your morning to reading a book, or articles, or engaging in online courses. Knocking it out early feels like a massive win.
- Lunch n’ learn: Utilize part of your lunch break for self-education. You could even host office brown bag sessions where you and your co-workers discuss a book you’ve been reading or watch a TED talk.
- Calendar Blocking: Schedule a specific time slot each day for “Better You” on your calendar. Treat it as a non-negotiable appointment with yourself to learn cool new stuff. But maybe not on your phone so you’re not tempted to peruse social media during that time.
- Before bed: Instead of scrolling, use the last 20-30 minutes before sleep to read, relax, or reflect on what you’ve learned during the day. Jot down notes to help those things stick in your brain!
- Limit social media: The average person spends 2 hours and 24 minutes on social media every day. That’s more than I would have guessed! Try cutting down some of your usage (maybe with a helpful app like One Sec) and redirect that time toward learning activities.
- Background learning: You might be able to integrate learning into other activities, like listening to a podcast or audiobook while doing household chores, exercising, or commuting. Multi-tasking FTW! One guy in my neighborhood reads a book while walking his dog. Quite genius, actually!
- Set clearer goals: If you have specific things to achieve this year (with a defined list of broken-down steps) then it’s easier to make time for learning. For example, if you want to switch careers in 2024, commit to a goal of “listening to 10 podcasts or audiobooks about new career paths and resume tips over the next 2 months.” If it’s important to you and clearly defined, you’ll make time for it!
- Book nook: Try to designate a specific area for learning and reading. Having a dedicated space can help signal to your brain that it’s time to focus on education.
The bottom line: There’s sooooooo much cool stuff out there that you don’t know about (yet). Making a tiny routine change allows you to unlock more of that awesome knowledge and become a wise old person 😉
Related Stuff:
- 😊 Happiness Courses: Here are 4 free happiness courses you might be interested in to boost your positivity!
- 👨💻 PF Resources: We have a handful of book recommendations on the HTM Resources page if you’re looking for a new book.
- 🌍 Learn a language: Duolingo is probably one of the best apps for short learning breaks!
ICYMI
In other news…
iSeeCars 🚘
“New car buyers seeking maximum value should consider vehicles that offer the longest lifespan at the lowest purchase price. This latest iSeeCars study analyzed over 8.3 million new car sales to find out which models fit this criteria.”
Loud Budgeting 📲
A new 2024 trend… “loud budgeting” is basically when you are unapologetically open and honest about your money situation. It’s all about normalizing the conversation about spending according to your values… Eg. “sorry, I can’t join you for happy hour tonight, I’m choosing to spend my money on other things.” Money convos shouldn’t be taboo, people!
Big Think 💡
How many times must you fold a piece of paper for it to reach the moon?… Here’s a fun little article that demonstrates the power of compound interest. (Spoiler alert — It only takes 42 folds for a single piece of paper to get thick enough to reach the Moon 🤯)
AI Checkouts 🛒
Sam’s Club announced they will be removing the manual process of checking receipts on the way out of their warehouses… Instead, shoppers will walk through a screening area (think like a big metal detector) which uses AI to scan your receipt and analyze your cart items.
Quote of the week 📣
Via James Clear on X…. “Save more money than you think you need. Life is unexpected and your future tastes will likely be more expensive. Not worrying about money tomorrow is worth more than whatever you could buy today.”
Just for fun 🤩
Check out Costcodle. It’s just like Wordle but for Costco prices 🤣
FRIENDS OF HTM
2% with Michael Easter 💪
2%… That’s the number of people who choose to take the stairs vs. the escalator. The folks who opt for “the harder thing” because they prefer the long-term health benefits vs. taking a quick shortcut.
Michael Easter writes an awesome newsletter — 2% — based on the premise of doing harder things. It covers mental/physical health and performance, nutrition and fitness, mental toughness, and a ton of other stuff to help you be your best self!
If you missed our recent interview with Michael — it’s worth a listen. You can also check out his website for more info or follow him on Insta here!
Welp, that’s it for now! Wishing you a very productive and successful week ahead ✌️
Best friends out! 🍻
