Hey, guys.
It's Chelsea from The Financial Diet,
and this week's video is brought to you by Adobe Document Cloud.
And this week, we're going to be talking
about all the little things you could
be doing better next year as an accompaniment to last week's
video about all this stuff you should be leaving behind
in 2018.
So let's get right into it with 15 things you should
be doing differently in 2019.
Number one is a three item night routine.
Simply put, make a list of three things
that you constantly find yourself running late on
or not having time for every morning.
And now those three things, if at all possible,
must be done at night.
For example, my three biggest things
that are always tripping me up in the morning
are figuring out what I'm going to wear, packing my lunch,
and getting my dog's bag ready, because she often
comes to the office with me.
Now I do those three things the night before,
and I've found that it has a huge impact on the quality
of my morning as well as the quality of my sleep,
because I'm not constantly stressing over all the stuff I
have to do when I wake up, which makes my whole day better
and easier.
Number two is start thinking plant first.
According to the CDC, only one in 10 Americans
are getting enough fruits and vegetables every day,
which yikes.
But eating a lot of fruits and vegetables
isn't just good for your health.
It also can save you a ton of money.
In fact, on average, vegetarians can save up to $750 a year
when compared to meat eaters.
And you don't need to go fully plant-based.
You can simply change your thinking when it comes to food.
You start with the vegetable first,
and plan the rest of the meal around that.
And challenge yourself to find meals and recipes where
vegetables are used in an exciting and interesting way,
so you're not feeling like you're just constantly forcing
yourself to eat handfuls of lettuce or broccoli.
Plants can be fun and the star of your plate.
You just have to make it happen.
Number three is get the right tools to organize.
So I am someone who has become more and more reliant on having
the right tools in order to get the work done
that I need to get done.
I'm an obsessive user of Google Calendar and Spreadsheets
for both my business and personal lives
to get everything in order on a day-to-day basis,
but more on that later.
And one app that I found extremely
helpful in getting all of my documents together
and organized is Adobe Scan.
Adobe Scan is a free mobile app that basically
turns your phone into a mobile scanner
and allows you to create editable PDFs of all
of your paperwork.
It can be used to consolidate any paper documents you might
need to take on the go, or to capture digital versions
of documents while traveling.
For example, I've never had a great system
for storing receipts, which I really need to do.
I usually just keep them in a box.
But it's super precarious not to have a digital version of them.
Plus, if I'm being honest, I know
it would be a huge hassle to actually go and sift
through that box when I need to find something.
Whereas if I had my receipts online
with clearly-labeled file names, all I would need to do
is search for them to pull them up.
So this is all you do.
I just took a picture on my desk,
and now my receipt is a totally editable and sharable PDF.
So using Adobe Scan more is just one thing
I could do next year to be a lot more organized.
And the best part is it's free on iOS and Android.
So download them and check them out.
Links are in the description.
Number four is to buy things way before you need them.
January is a slow month for retail,
with the holidays being over.
So it's also one of the best times
to buy winter clothes at a huge discount,
because retailers want to get rid of them
to make way for spring.
It's also a great time to buy home goods, like bedding.
Last year, we saw those 70% off discounts at Macy's, Overstock,
and Wayfair.
But good deals could be found at JCPenney, Kohl's and Target
too.
Additionally, plan your holiday shopping way ahead of time.
If you set aside a small amount of money each month
for gifting, you won't find yourself struggling
to pay for it come a holiday.
And you can also be more thoughtful about the gifts
you're giving people.
If you're able to buy someone the perfect Christmas
gift nine months early on super steep sale, that's a huge win.
Number five is to up your credit card limit, if you can.
So we've talked about this before,
but it's always important to remind you guys.
If you can up your spending limit on your credit card
and trust yourself not to spend the difference,
you definitely should.
It's a free and easy way to have a big positive impact
on your credit score, and that's because of something called
a credit utilization ratio.
Your credit utilization rate, sometimes called your credit
utilization ratio, is the amount of revolving credit
you're currently using divided by the total amount
of revolving credit you have available.
In other words, it's how much you currently owe
divided by your credit limit.
It's generally expressed as a percent.
If you've been looking for ways to up your credit score,
but you're already making payments on time,
you're not pulling hard checks on your credit unnecessarily,
and you're doing all the other day-to-day maintenance
to keep a good score, this is a great option.
Number six is to lean into "I don't know."
One of the most nefarious elements of social media
platforms, especially ones like Twitter,
is how much it can encourage us to form hard opinions on things
we don't know much about or don't even really care about.
When everyone is sharing their take on any given news
story or pop culture event, it can
feel like you're missing out on a huge conversation
by not jumping in.
In fact, this behavior is so established
that it's even a phenomenon within journalism,
and the term hot take even has its own entry on Wikipedia.
In journalism, a hot take is a piece
of deliberately provocative commentary
that is based almost entirely on shallow moralizing in response
to a news story, usually written on tight deadlines
with little research or reporting
and even less thought.
But we can choose to tune out that social media pressure
to weigh in on everything no matter how ill informed we are.
And in this time when everyone seems
to be shouting with less and less information,
there is something powerful about choosing to be honest
when you really don't know enough about
something to form an opinion.
Getting comfortable with the idea of really informing
yourself before jumping into a conversation,
or maybe even just deciding that something
is out of your expertise altogether,
is a great way to avoid saying something
you may end up regretting.
Number seven is get rental insurance.
A lot of people don't realize how easy
it is to protect your belongings,
even if you don't own a home.
Renter's insurance provides financial reimbursement
to cover a tenant's lost or damaged possessions as a result
of fire, theft, or vandalism.
And this might actually already be required by your landlord,
depending on your property management company and living
situation.
And while your cost per month might vary,
the average cost is only $16 a month.
You should probably get it.
Number eight is to create one weekly enriching routine.
Pick one day a week to create a routine that is purely
about enriching yourself.
And that could be mentally, professionally, socially,
or even just in terms of relaxation.
Because by the way, meditation is a great use of this time.
But this routine should be really
about doing something that is truly for you,
and about becoming a better version of yourself
in whatever way that means to you.
It's not about that thing you should do,
like that gym membership you're almost certainly never going
to use.
This should be something that you
stick to because you enjoy it, and something
that frees you from that feeling that you should be using
that time for something more productive,
like answering more emails.
In fact, I very recently invested
in my own little personal routine for the new year.
Tap, tap, tap.
I can't wait to be extremely annoying on Instagram.
Number nine is stop self-defeating emails.
Especially for women, the tendency
to be overly apologetic, self-deprecating,
or way too accommodating, especially in email,
is overwhelming.
We are taught to justify ourselves,
to pepper our communication with way too many exclamation points
so we don't seem terse, or even to apologetically
ask for things that we already should have gotten.
Sorry, just following up here, is something
that probably every woman watching this
has said in an email when talking
about something that someone should have already given them.
Don't apologize to them.
That's their fault. And it's so important
to catch ourselves in these gratuitous sorries,
justifications, or overused exclamation points.
Challenging yourself to write more clear and unapologetic
emails--
of course, still within the reason of politeness--
is one of the most powerful ways you
can change the way your colleagues see you next year.
Number 10 is stop paying to for your money.
According to a recent MyBankTracker study,
the average checking account fee at top US banks is $9.60.
Amounts average between $0 to $20,
with many finding a middle ground
at either $7, $10, or $12.
That means you could be paying literally $100 or more
every year just to store your money, which is ridiculous,
because there's literally no reason to do this.
There are plenty of online banks that
offer no fee checking accounts, and many credit unions that
do as well.
Consider doing this, especially if your current bank
is charging you for things like not keeping
a high enough account balance.
Because no one should be financially punished
for not being rich enough.
Number 11 is break domestic tasks into spreadsheets.
So as I mentioned before, I am a huge fan of using spreadsheets
for my personal tasks.
And I never find this more useful than with all things
domestic.
For example, I have a deep cleaning spreadsheet
that I use about once a month, where
I have columns of every room, and cells made of every task
within that room.
But you can also do the reverse by having the columns be
the tasks and the cells be the rooms you need to do them in.
And I also put my grocery list into spreadsheets
that are organized by category.
And even when hosting a party or having friends
come for overnight visits, I make a little spreadsheet
just for that event.
So I can break down the things I need to buy, clean, and do
the day of.
Breaking these big tasks into spreadsheets
makes them feel more manageable, understandable,
and integratable into all of your other day-to-day
responsibilities.
Number 12 is to block time-wasting websites.
As of 2017, daily social media usage of global internet users
amounted to 135 minutes per day, up from 126 daily minutes
in the previous year.
Think of all the other stuff you could be doing with that time.
Let's be honest.
So to save yourself from having your days eaten up
by these time-wasting websites, download a browser
extension like TomatoTimer, which will help you
save yourself from the problem.
When you set it, the TomatoTimer will block you
from all those sites like Reddit or Twitter or Instagram
or whatever is eating up your time for 25 minutes
with a break of five minutes between.
Number 13 is get to know your locals.
Get to know the people in your community who really
matter in your day-to-day life.
Everything from your bank representative
to your barista to local government official,
store clerks, neighbors, bartenders,
everyone who's really a part of your day-to-day life
and whom you should know.
And it's not about just setting yourself up
for potentially better deals and definitely better service.
It's also a really good way to make
yourself feel an active sense of belonging in your community.
There's an idea called social collusion,
which one TFD contributor actually recently wrote about.
As he writes, social collusion is the most powerful concept
I've encountered when it comes to meeting people naturally.
It is perfect for introverted personalities,
and takes the pressure off of us in the first few encounters
with new people.
For example, I used to take my dog to the same dog park
every day at about 6:00 PM.
The people there sucked, and so did their dogs.
They were tired and stressed out from the day,
and their dogs were wild from being cooped up all day.
So I changed it up.
I went to the dog park at 7:00 AM everyday.
We went over and over in every weather condition
constantly for weeks.
And you know what happened?
I became friends with five people who had
some of the same values I did.
We made our dogs' exercise a priority,
and we woke up early to ensure it happened.
That was enough to find other commonalities,
and believe it or not, I got to know some
of these people's families.
They became my friends.
I went out on two dates with a woman in the group,
and we remained friends long after.
Be consistent, and go to the same place day after day,
but do it intentionally.
That is how social collusion works.
And you can try this way of living with basically
any daily routine in your life.
Be more intentional, and make it a point
to learn about the people who fill
the background of your day.
Number 14 is file your taxes early.
Point blank, the sooner you can cash that refund check
or know what kind of money you might be owing, the better.
And tax day is April 15th, but you can actually
file as early as January 29th.
And taking care of this early means that you can potentially
avoid fees or late payments.
Because let's be honest.
When some of us let April 15th creep up on us,
we may even accidentally go past that day.
Be preemptive about your taxes this year.
There's no reason not to.
Lastly, number 15 is to try the 30-day wardrobe challenge.
Like many Americans-- and I assume many human beings
in general--
I have many times found myself standing
in front of my overly-full closet feeling
as if I had nothing to wear.
And while some items were actually
ill-fitting or out of style or damaged,
the main reason why I felt like I had nothing to wear
was because I kept defaulting to the same combination
of outfits, which quickly felt stale and drab.
So I gave myself a challenge, which I actually
wrote about on TFD.
We'll link you in the description,
but here's a little bit of what I had to say,
if I may quote myself.
The challenge is simple.
For one month, I can only wear outfit combinations
I've never worn before while buying nothing new.
For that time, I'll be shopping my own closet
and forcing myself to create looks
I've never put together before.
Because let's be honest, there's a solid 40%
of stuff I never really wear, and a short rotation
of the same few things that I'm super comfortable in,
which end up becoming my default, which ultimately
leads me to feeling exhausted with my own stuff.
In doing this, I learned that I actually
love a lot of the items that I used
to push to the back of my closet,
or that some items I just hadn't found the right outfit
combination before.
It made everything feel fresh and getting ready
feel like an exciting challenge, rather than a hassle.
Plus, it's free.
You know, we love that on TFD.
Basically, 2019 should be about doing all the things that
make your life healthier, easier, happier,
and more efficient without having
to radically change anything.
Little tweaks can make such a huge difference,
and so can right tools, like the totally free Adobe
Scan, which is available at the link in our description.
Check it out.
As always, guys, thank you for watching.
And don't forget to hit the Subscribe button
and to come back every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday
for new and awesome videos.
Bye.