Detox Your Money: February

How is it already February?! The month slipped right by and we didn't do any yoga! Seriously. But that's okay, we aren't going to beat ourselves up about it. We still have our fitness goals going for the rest of the year, but our focus now shifts to our February challenge - Detoxing our Money!

The entire goal of our Detox Your Life Challenge is to improve a different area of our lives each month. It's okay if we don't accomplish ALL of our goals; however, we will take much pride in tackling the goals we set and use those accomplishments to build momentum in tackling our remaining goals as the year goes on.

Last month, for the Detox Your Fitness Challenge, our goals were to:

Lift Weights 4-5 days per week (check!)
Cardio 2-3 days per week (at the end of our lifting workouts) (check!)
Hike at least once a week (We hiked twice, we weren't able to the other weekends because of the weather but we did add in a couple stair climbing sessions in the gym and some HIIT workouts! We’ll make up our lost days when the weather improves.)
Yoga at least once a week (didn't happen...nope...not once!)
Stretching every day for 10 minutes after waking and 10 minutes after lifting (half and half, we stretched after working out but not much after waking up)

I (Whitney) start week 5 of the She Sweats 12-Week Run Builder next week and Scott will start week 5 of the She Sweats 12-Week Transformation (Yes, men can do "she sweats"!).

Again, just because a new month is upon us doesn't mean that we are going to completely forget about our fitness goals. We will continue with our fitness goals and simultaneously move forward with our money goals!

Why are we talking about money?

Fitness is a large passion of ours, but financial responsibility and freedom are top priorities and huge passions as well. We both majored in finance in college and continue to be captivated by personal finance. Scott has worked in corporate finance for over a decade now and continues to stay on top of personal finance and investing news. We share a strong passion for helping our community get better at budgeting, saving, investing, and building financial freedom along with living a healthier lifestyle by focusing on pursuing active hobbies and eating healthy.

We're not perfect, but we strive to be as disciplined and responsible as possible by living within our means; it's simple - we focus on the things we need in our pursuit of happiness, not the things we want in the relentless chase for status. Living a balanced life requires saying "no" more than saying "yes". This applies to finance and fitness. It is not about deprivation, it's about self-awareness and control.

Wondering what all of this detox stuff is all about?

Take a look at the concept behind our Detox Your Life Challenge here.

Let's take a simpler approach to money this time, shall we?

Start off the month by reading our post on 18 ways to save $15,000 in 2018! It has a ton of valuable information to help you reach your financial goals. Then, pick one (or two!) of our money saving challenges to try! Getting your finances in order sounds complicated but it's really simple. It not easy but it is simple. The easiest way to get started is by spending less than you earn and prioritizing your goals whether that may be to pay off debt or build emergency savings. How you do that is up to you but we will help guide you along the way!

Check out these money quotes to help motivate you!

So, what will we be working on this month?

Opening a new savings account to maximize the interest we’re earning
Categorizing our grocery receipts to help drill-down on wasted expenses
Reviewing our retirement investments to ensure we’re saving enough for retirement
Reviewing the new changes to the tax code to identify incremental income that can be poured into savings and take advantage of new opportunities

Looking for ideas for your own challenge?

Make this month a no spend month
Build a budget
Build a financial plan
Take advantage of free (or low-cost) financial advice through your employer or bank
Start an emergency fund (ANY amount helps!)
Cut back on how many times per week you eat out
Write down every single thing you spend your money on this month (count every penny!)

Need to write down your goals with pen and paper?

We do too! We have a simple printable for you! You can print it in color or black and white and then just fill in whatever notes or goals you need to jot down. Get it here.

Reminder: Make sure you are signed up for the Detox Your Life Challenge emails so that you know when a new challenge is released or we have something fun to give you like a new printable!