There is a big trend right now of life hacks. So, I came up with three money hacks that you can do now to change how you think and feel about your money.
- Open your wallet. Look at your money and how it is organized. Is your money a mess in your wallet? Or is it nicely organized? If you have all your money in an orderly fashion that is much different than if your money is out of order, some bills are backwards or maybe some are upside down. If you treat your money well, it will treat you well. So, pull your wallet out and take your money out of it and put the money in chronological order and face all the bills the same way.
- Freeze your credit cards. Take a glass of water, take your credit cards and put them in the glass of water and put it in the freezer. This changes your behavior. If you feel you need to use your credit card, you can take the glass out of the freezer and wait for it to thaw. But by that time, most likely, the urge to spend the money will be gone. It changes how you think about money and how you spend money. It causes you to pause and live consciously with your money.
- Set up a family 401k. This is a fun idea to do with kids. First, you as a family come up with a goal for your money, you as a parent can offer a matching program. The goal could be a pool, a trip or a new “toy” for the family like a video game. So, for example, if your daughter puts in $1 to the family 401(k) you could match her 50 cents. This way she can learn about 401(k)’s and how they work so when she starts her first job she already knows the concept of the 401(k) and concept of investing. The importance is that your kids learn how a 401(k) works and that you allow the conversations and goals about money. Stock investing involves risk including loss of principal.
I encourage you to try one (if not all) of these money hacks. It is amazing what some small changes you can do that will make all the difference in how you view money, think about money, spend money and invest your money.