After my new job and moving to a larger house in 2019, my finances this month look very different than how they did January of last year. This year, I really want to focus on saving my money and spending my extra money on vacations and experiences. There are also other things that I want to do this year like cooking at home more, reading more books and spending more time making my house a home. Here are a few things I am doing in 2020 to stay motivated!

• Set up multiple bank accounts.
  I bank with PNC Bank and I am able to move money easily from my checking and savings and then put money in different savings accounts based on long term and short term savings.
• Budget Spreadsheets
  I actually got inspired by Jake because he keeps a tally of every bill paid and balances on all of his accounts. I want to track where I spend my money and document my savings goals.
• Create a Minimum in Checking Account
  I can proudly say that I have never bounced a check because I always keep a thousand dollars in my checking account. Since I know what my monthly expenses, I can have enough money in my checking account and move the rest to my savings. Then once payments start coming out, I will move money into my checking account to keep myself at the minimum.
• Meal Plan
  We are good at keeping a balance of eating out and cooking at home. So this year I want to keep it going by meal planning and making lists when we go food shopping so we eat in more.
• Investing with Acorns
  Honestly, I’m not that interested in the investing part more of the savings part. Acorns is an easy easy way to round up your change from every day purchases and a $5 a month goes into an account that is invested. It’s an easy way to put money into savings without realizing that money is missing from my account. I started doing this a few months ago and was amazed how much money was in my account just from round ups!
• No Shop Months
  Last year I was on a really tight budget and went months without buying something just because I wanted it. It’s been nice to have some extra spending money and now I’m looking forward to having a few months of no shopping challenges.