Three 30-Day Challenges That Will Actually Change Your Finances
Summary
TLDRIn this episode of 'The Totally Chill Guide to Work and Life', Holly Trantham, the creative director, discusses strategies for resetting finances and forming new habits. She emphasizes the importance of starting investments early and introduces Betterment, an automated investing platform. Holly also challenges the '21-day habit formation' myth, citing a study that shows it can take up to 254 days. She suggests three 30-day money challenges: a spending category reset, a month-long money audit, and a short-term side hustle to boost savings, aiming to provide insights and incremental financial improvements.
Takeaways
- 😀 Holly Trantham, the creative director at tfds, introduces the second season of 'The Totally Chill Guide to Work and Life'.
- 🌟 Holly has eight years of experience working behind the scenes on content across YouTube and other tf's channels, and she has also written a book titled 'Beyond Getting By'.
- 💰 The series aims to discuss approaches to money and career decisions from a relaxed perspective, emphasizing a balanced life rather than sole focus on these aspects.
- 🍂 As fall approaches, many people consider resetting their financial habits, and the script highlights the importance of starting to invest early to allow money time to grow.
- 🤖 Betterment is introduced as a tool for automated investing with features designed to maximize returns, making the investment process less daunting for beginners.
- 🧘 The concept of the '30-day challenge' is discussed, questioning the widely accepted idea that it takes 21 days to form a habit, with research suggesting variability in habit formation time.
- 📊 Holly shares her interest in self-improvement and personal productivity, mentioning her detailed budget spreadsheet and meticulous account tracking.
- 🚫 The potential pitfalls of short-term challenges are compared to crash diets and cleanses, which can be unsustainable in the long run.
- 💡 Three specific 30-day money challenges are suggested: a spending category reset, a month-long money audit, and a short-term side hustle challenge.
- 🛒 The spending category reset involves focusing on one area of spending, like food, to identify overspending and adjust habits accordingly.
- 📋 The month-long money audit is a comprehensive review of financial habits, including tracking spending, assessing debt and savings, calculating retirement trajectory, and setting financial goals.
- 💼 The short-term side hustle challenge is proposed as a way to quickly boost savings and potentially discover a new income stream, with examples of gig-based services or seasonal work.
Q & A
Who is Holly Trantham and what is her role in the video?
-Holly Trantham is the creative director at tfds and the speaker in the video. She has been working behind the scenes on content across YouTube and other tf's channels for eight years and has also written a book titled 'beyond getting by'. In the video, she discusses approaches to money and career decisions from a relaxed perspective.
What is the main theme of the second season of 'The Totally Chill Guide to Work and Life'?
-The main theme of the second season is to help viewers approach their money and career decisions from a relaxed standpoint, aiming to live the life they want without making these aspects their sole focus.
Why is starting to invest early considered important according to the video?
-Starting to invest early is important because it allows your money to grow over time, leveraging the power of compound interest.
What service does Betterment provide and how does it help with investing?
-Betterment provides automated investing services and tax-smart tools designed to maximize returns. It helps ease individuals into investing by managing the complexities behind the scenes, allowing users to focus on what brings them joy.
What is the traditional belief about forming a new habit and how does the video challenge this belief?
-The traditional belief is that it takes 21 days to form a new habit. However, the video challenges this by citing a study that shows the time it takes for a new behavior to become automatic can range from 18 to 254 days, indicating that habit formation is not as straightforward as commonly believed.
What is Holly's personal approach to managing her finances and why does she track her accounts meticulously?
-Holly uses a detailed budget spreadsheet to track her accounts meticulously because it makes her feel more in control of her finances. She is interested in self-improvement and personal productivity, and this method helps her maintain a better relationship with money.
What are the potential issues with short-term challenges like 30-day challenges, as discussed in the video?
-Short-term challenges can be problematic because they may be similar to crash diets and cleanses, being potentially harmful and impossible to maintain in the long run. They may not lead to sustainable habit formation.
What is the first approach Holly suggests for a 30-day money challenge and why is it beneficial?
-The first approach is a spending category reset, focusing on one spending category like food. This is beneficial because it helps identify overspending areas and adjust habits without the extreme commitment of a full no-buy challenge.
What is the concept of a month-long money audit and how does it differ from a no-buy challenge?
-A month-long money audit involves reviewing and understanding one's full financial picture without necessarily changing habits during the challenge. It differs from a no-buy challenge by focusing on gaining insights and information to make incremental changes rather than immediate spending cuts.
What is the purpose of a short-term side hustle challenge and how can it help with financial goals?
-A short-term side hustle challenge aims to provide a quick boost in savings and build momentum for potential long-term income streams. It can help reach financial goals by offering extra income that can be directed towards savings or investment.
What is the overall message Holly conveys about 30-day challenges in relation to financial habits?
-Holly's overall message is that while 30-day challenges may not make one rich, they can be helpful for changing mindsets and habits by setting clear intentions and focusing on specific, achievable goals.
Outlines
🌟 Introduction to the Chill Guide to Work and Life
Holly Trantham, the creative director, introduces the second season of 'The Totally Chill Guide to Work and Life'. She discusses her eight-year experience in content creation and her book 'Beyond Getting By'. Holly emphasizes the importance of starting early with investments and highlights Betterment's automated investing and tax-efficient tools that simplify the process. She encourages viewers to begin investing to grow their money over time and to focus on joy rather than solely on finances.
🔄 Debunking the 30-Day Challenge Myth
Holly explores the concept of 30-day challenges, questioning the widely accepted belief that it takes 21 days to form a habit. Citing a 2010 study, she explains that the time required for a habit to become automatic can range from 18 to 254 days. Holly, a self-improvement enthusiast, shares her personal approach to budgeting and the pitfalls of short-term challenges, likening them to unsustainable crash diets. She advocates for a 30-day challenge as a way to gain insights into spending habits and to set the stage for long-term financial habits.
💰 Three Approaches to a 30-Day Money Challenge
Holly suggests three strategies for a 30-day money challenge. The first is a spending category reset, where she recommends focusing on one area of spending, such as food, to identify overspending and adjust habits. The second is a month-long money audit, which involves tracking spending, assessing debt and savings strategies, calculating retirement goals, and setting achievable financial goals based on the insights gained. The third approach is a short-term side hustle challenge to boost savings and explore new income streams. Holly provides examples of side hustles and emphasizes the importance of setting realistic goals for a 30-day period to test the waters and potentially establish a long-term additional income source.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Creative Director
💡Betterment
💡Automated Investing
💡30-Day Challenge
💡Habit Formation
💡Financial Audit
💡Spending Category Reset
💡Side Hustle
💡Emergency Fund
💡Productivity
💡Crash Diets and Cleanses
Highlights
Introduction of Holly Trantham, Creative Director at tfds, and the start of season two of The Totally Chill Guide to Work and Life.
Holly's eight years of experience working behind the scenes on content across all of tf's channels.
The release of the second book 'Beyond Getting By' and its focus on a chill approach to money and career decisions.
The importance of resetting finances with the arrival of fall and the benefits of starting early with investing.
Betterment's automated investing technology and tax-smart tools designed to maximize returns.
The ease of starting with Betterment, even for those with little knowledge of the stock market.
The prevalence of the 30-day challenge concept in productivity and self-improvement.
Debunking the '21 days to form a habit' myth with research findings from the European Journal of Social Psychology.
Holly's personal interest in self-improvement and productivity, including writing a book on building a better relationship with money.
The potential pitfalls of short-term challenges compared to the sustainability of long-term habits.
Three suggested approaches to a 30-day money challenge for gaining insights into spending habits.
The concept of a spending category reset as an alternative to a full no-buy challenge.
Chelsea's experience with a food spending reset and the insights gained for adjusting habits.
The idea of a month-long money audit to assess financial habits and set achievable goals.
Applying the concept of a home project to-do list to a full financial audit for clarity and planning.
The benefits of a short-term side hustle challenge for boosting savings and finding new income streams.
Examples of short-term side hustles and how to set achievable goals within a 30-day timeframe.
The value of a 30-day challenge in changing mindset and habits for long-term financial health.
Transcripts
hello everyone I'm Holly Trantham tfds
creative director and this is season two
of The totally chill guide to work and
life for the past eight years I've been
working behind the scenes on all of the
content you see here on YouTube and
across all of tf's channels and I also
wrote our second book beyond getting by
throughout this series I'll be talking
about how to approach your money and
career decisions from a chill place
where they help you live the life you
want without ever becoming your sole
Focus so now that fall is almost here a
lot of us are looking to hit the reset
button when it comes to our fin ances
and one of the most important aspects to
investing is getting started early so
your money has time to grow and with
betterment investing does not have to be
some scary daunting task no matter how
much or little you know about the stock
market betterment helps take care of the
heavy lifting their automated investing
Tech and tax smart tools are designed to
help maximize your returns so your money
is put to work betterment can help
someone ease their way into investing as
their financial experts are working
behind the scenes to make your money
hustle while you spend more energy on
what actually brings you Joy get started
be invested click the link in our
description or head to betterment.com
tfd to sign up in minutes in our
productivity obsessed World which I've
already spent some time talking about in
this series the idea of the 30-day
challenge is inescapable whether you're
interested in trying out Whole 30 or
considering doing the annual 30-day
challenge with yoga with Adrien for some
reason we love this idea that we can
totally reset our lives or form a new
healthy habit by sticking to it for just
1 month that might be because for a long
time we have accepted the idea that it
takes 21 days to form a habit however
research has shown us that that might
not be as true as we think a 2010 study
published in the European Journal of
Social Psychology found the length of
time it takes for a new Behavior to
become automatic varies from 18 days to
254 days according to the authors
missing one day did not hinder progress
however the more difficult Behavior
change was perceived the longer it took
for the Habit to form now I am someone
who has always been interested in
self-improvement and personal
productivity I literally wrote a book on
how you can build a better relationship
with money and not be so strict about it
but I personally still utilize a hyperd
detailed budget spreadsheet and I
meticulously track my accounts because
that makes me feel more on top of it and
I think the problems people run into
with these short-term challenges can be
the same ones we see with crash diets
and cleanses Beyond being potentially
harmful to your health they are just
impossible to maintain in the long run
but that does not mean I think a 30-day
challenge cannot be beneficial for
kickstarting a new habit and when it
comes to money I think short-term
challenges can be really beneficial when
it comes to providing perspective you
won't necessarily be able to save
thousands of dollars in a month
especially if you don't make that much
to begin with but you could gain some
insights into your current spending
habits and finances that can help you
decide on longer term habits to work on
here are three ways I would personally
approach a 30-day money challenge
starting with number one a spending
category reset so full no buy challenges
are really popular for a reason they are
tough to commit to and they make for a
great headline and we've interviewed
plenty of people who have gone through
them here on this channel but they are
definitely not possible for everyone and
they're also only really effective if
you were buying too much of everything
to begin with which is a pretty
privileged position to be in so rather
than doing a full no buy month consider
doing a reset in just one spending
category like your food spending this is
actually something Chelsea did back in
February which she tracked in our
newsletter after not going out to eat
for an entire month she did end up
saving a lot of money but more
importantly she was able to identify
where she was overspending before and
adjust her habits moving forward she
also shared a breakdown of exactly how
she did this in one of our members only
workshops and also included a guide for
how to conduct your own categorical
spending reset and this is just a
reminder that if you join the society at
the 499 tier or higher you get automatic
access to all of our previous member
event recordings and if you want to do
this and you're deciding which category
to focus on take a look at your current
spending and see where your constantly
going over budget or if you don't
currently keep a budget decide which
non-essential spending category you are
spending the most on number two a
month-long money audit so before I
finally internalized better everyday
habits around my home life I used to
religiously do the apartment therapy
January cure which is a month-long
challenge with daily tasks to help you
get control over your home one of the
tasks they always assign is to do a home
projects to-do list where you simply
walk around your home with a notepad and
take note of everything you want to do a
room you want to paint a bookcase you
need to clean out or the scary under
sync area that you need to stop avoiding
and I always loved this assignment
because it didn't come with any
expectations you end up picking just one
manageable project to focus on during
the month-long cure But ultimately this
list making exercise is meant to just
give you a clear idea of what you would
like to get done in your home so you can
start tackling those tasks on your own
timeline and I love the idea of applying
this concept to a full money audit where
you don't actually set up to change any
of your habits during your challenge but
you give yourself a look at your full
Financial picture before you decide what
your next step should be this could look
something like this week one track your
spending go through several months of
bank and credit card statements to see
where your money is actually going week
two assess your debt payoff and savings
timeline look at your current debt and
savings strategies and assess when you
will be able to pay off debt or hit your
emergency savings goal or other goals
based on your current contributions week
three calculate your retirement
trajectory you can use an online
calculator like this one to see if you
are on track to retire when you want to
week four pick a goal to focus on based
on all of the above you will probably
find that all of these areas are
interconnected and you will need to
adjust some to reach your goals in
others for instance if you decide you
are spending too much money on workout
clothes you could see that if you cut
that back by x amount you could reach
your emergency fund goal in a matter of
months the point is not to walk away
having saved more but to actually just
give yourself the information you need
to start making incremental changes and
I think when it comes to money
especially this kind of slow intentional
step back can be really helpful for
people who tend to bite off more than
they can chew lastly number three a
short-term side hustle challenge so this
is just a quick reminder that the best
way to boost your savings and
Investments is to start earning more but
that's not necessarily something you can
do in a 30-day challenge especially when
you consider that the average job search
takes between 3 and 6 months focusing on
just a 30-day side hustle challenge is
meant to be temporary as a way to get a
quick boost in savings and start
building momentum or potentially find a
new stream of income you could stick
with in the long run to help you reach
even more savings goals down the line
this could be an app based side hustle
like dog walking grocery delivery or
other gig Based Services if you've
worked in Food Service before you could
add a temporary side Hustle by offering
your services to pickup shifts at a
restaurant where you have an existing
connection or you could also look for
seasonal work such as gift wrapping or
working on a customer service hotline
during the holidays and to make this
effective you have to determine what is
an achievable goal on this timeline for
example if you've already worked on a
dog walking app before and already have
solid reviews it will likely be easier
to just pick up where you left off and
get some new clients you could set a
goal to walk a certain amount of dogs
each week with the express purpose of
putting everything you earn minus taxes
into your emergency fund and just seeing
how much that saves you by the end of 30
days or if you want to dog walk as a
side Hustle but don't actually have
experience on an app before your goal
could just be to find your first few
clients by the end of the month which
you could aim to achieve by setting up a
profile and procuring some testimonials
from friends and neighbors you could
even do this by offering up your
services in your neighborhood's Facebook
group at the end of the day regardless
of what 30-day savings challenges you
see on social media you're probably not
going to magically save a bunch of money
in a month again unless you already earn
a fair amount and just cut out all of
your spending for the month but focusing
on one specific side hustle can help you
determine whether it is worth your
energy to stick with it and give you a
solid idea of what kind of extra income
in the long run is possible and while
any 30-day challenge is not going to
make you rich I do think setting out
with a very clear intention can be very
helpful for making changes to your
mindset and habits going forward thank
you so much for watching and I will see
you back here next week on the next
episode of the totally chill guide to
work and life
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