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A big 2026 starts now
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Hey, Cents of Humor Villagers! Happy mid-January (said no one ever). How are your New Year’s resolutions going? Did you know most people give up on their goals by the second week of February? Ooof. That’s rough.
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That sad fact got me thinking about our financial goals and why they can be difficult to achieve. Is it a lack of willpower that stops us? Is it circumstances outside of our control? Perhaps. I think it’s time we face the truth…our own thoughts are often the culprits derailing our financial progress.
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What do I mean? Let me give you a few common examples of self-sabotage that lead to poor financial behaviors.
You let fear dictate your financial decisions
You’re scared or don’t understand the stock market, so you hoard excess cash instead of investing it for the long-term. This results in a much lower net worth than you should have had.
You question or doubt your own judgment, so you don’t invest, don’t go after that bigger job, and avoid prioritizing financial goals.
You chronically overspend or underspend.
It’s a coping mechanism. Much like gambling, you can get a high from spending or saving. This is another classic way in which people sabotage their finances.
You avoid financial conversations with your partner.
You don’t want to fight or have hard conversations. This leads to missed opportunities to align, organize, and take decisive action.
You knowingly or unknowingly are concerned with staying on trend.
It used to be called “keeping up with the Joneses” but is now commonly referred to as “lifestyle creep.” This can be disastrous for our long-term goals.
Your finances are unorganized.
Staying in a constant state of disarray results in overspending, mistakes, and an inability to take action with our money.
Oganization = clarity = calm = good decisions.
You delay or postpone saving/investing/paying down debt.
Perhaps you aren’t sure what to focus on first. Procrastinating and wasting time are hugely detrimental to your finances.
These are just a few common examples. Are you guilty of any of these? What can we do to remedy these situations?
Be aware of and evaluate your thoughts involving money.
I recommend reading and watching the work of Dr. Brad Klontz.
Automate saving, investing, and debt repayment to remove temptation.
Check this video out by one of my personal favorite money coaches, Ramit Sethi.
Learn how to reframe money conversations.
Not sure where to start? Start here.
Get organized (the easy way).
I just built this Google sheet template to organize finances. Give it a whirl!
Take one small action today.
You don’t have to completely revamp your finances today. What’s one small improvement you can make today? Something that won’t take more than 5 minutes.
Cancel unnecessary subscriptions.
Apps like Monarch or Rocket Money help with this. (Full disclosure: I’m affiliated with Monarch, but not Rocket Money. I only recommend apps I’ve tried and like.)
Create a financial system that works for you and your family.
We’re going to learn more about this in 2026. Building your family’s financial system simply and quickly is possible. I’m going to walk you through it.
The good news is, I’m on a mission to help you with all of this. (Also, my astrology-loving friends told me this was going to be a great year for many signs financially?? Is this true?? Shout out to my fellow Pisces!) The first step is getting our sh*t together and organized. As I mentioned in point #4, I’ve created a Google sheet you can fill out and customize.
Some other useful resources…
Career Coaching: Looking for a new job this year? Thinking about changing careers? Check out WOKEN. I do some consulting work with this great company, so I’m happy and proud to recommend them to my readers.
Teach your kids about money: If you have pre-teens and teens who could use a modern lesson in financial literacy, check out Greenlight.
Retirement Planning: Boldin is a great resource for folks who want to make sure they are on the right path to retirement.
Until next time,
-Catie