Hello friends, welcome to an all new series for an all new year. We’re focusing on cleaning up – our homes, our systems, our lives – in order to make better use of our money. This is not your grandmama’s decluttering challenge. No, everything we do for the next 31 days focuses on removing spending triggers and barriers to healthy money habits. So while you may clean out a closet or two, you’ll be doing much more. Prepare for breathing room for your finances and life. Don’t forget to join the Financial Decluttering Facebook Group for ideas and encouragement.
Day 1: Clean Out Your Wallet
Our first challenge is fairly simple. You’ll need to spend some time cleaning out your wallet. This assignment shouldn’t take you more than 15 minutes. We’ll work on getting rid of extras, creating a systems for positive change, and fostering an environment for success.
Why It Matters:
More than likely, your wallet is the hub of spending in your life. Keeping it organized can help you hold on to the things you need, save money when possible, and foster gratitude for what you have.
How to Do It:
- Remove everything from your wallet.
- Look for expired cards, coupons, and items you don’t use. Throw them away.
- Look up balances on gift cards. Write amounts in permanent marker on the card.
- Look through any receipts you have.
- Enter them into your budgeting software or spending log if you haven’t already.
- Use Fetch Rewards to get reward points by scanning receipts. It’s SO easy! My referral code is XP4EV if you want to share the love!
- Put job expense receipts into a designated Tax Box.
- If you have returns to make, place the receipt with said items. You may want to tape the receipt to a tag so it doesn’t get lost.
- Throw away receipts you no longer need.
- Put your wallet back together:
- Place the most used items back in your wallet.
- Remove credit cards that cause you to spend money you don’t have.
- Either cancel the account or leave the card at home. If it’s a true emergency, you can come home for it. 🙂
- When you’re finished, take a photo and post it to the challenge post in the Financial Decluttering Group. We’ll celebrate your victory. And/or post on Instagram with the #FinancialDecluttering Hashtag.
- You’ll get bonus points and virtual fist bumps for interesting discoveries!
How to Keep It That Way:
The key to keeping your wallet in good shape is a quick daily check in. It takes only a few seconds to put things where they belong. If you miss a day or two, don’t get down on yourself. Instead, repeat this financial decluttering method and begin again!
I can’t wait to see all you achieve this month. I’ll be sharing my own journey in the Financial Decluttering Facebook Group and via e-mails. Be sure you subscribe for both.
Our new book Your Money, Your Marriage is now available! Be sure to check out videos on managing money together on Facebook.
My book is now available: Slaying the Debt Dragon: How One Family Conquered Their Money Monster and Found an Inspired Happily Ever After. You can also check out The Debt Free Devotional
This post contains an affiliate link. That means when you get a great deal, learn about a way to save, or maybe even something for free, I may end up making a small commission. All prices are subject to change.
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