You Need a Money Health Day

Your Challenge: Plan a “Money Health Day”

Most people have heard the expression “taking a mental health day.” — a planned (or sometimes unplanned) day off from work to renew and refresh.

Many moons ago, when I was first in the work force, a “mental health day” was considered kind of “under the radar” or not particularly professional. But times have definitely changed, and mental health days are considered needed, and actually a great use of time off.

Even without entire “days” off, practicing good self-care, such as eating right, exercising, and managing stress (my favorite way is stress baking, not kidding!), is sensible and vital, even for those not able to take time “off” of work or school.

This week’s challenge is the financial equivalent of a mental health day:

Take a money health day

It goes without saying that for those who have lost their jobs, a money health day will not be looking exactly like a typical one. Here are some tips and ideas to get you started if you have lost your job.

As I did last week, I am “borrowing” this idea. I’ve heard the hosts of the Motley Fool “Answers” podcast discuss a “financial health day.” (and they recently did another episode on the topic, coincidentally).

For those still working or doing online school, an entire day devoted just to financial tasks may seem impossible right now.

But just as you can set aside time for self-care activities during this time, setting aside time for these money tasks will be time well spent.

Even if you cannot devote an entire day to tackling money to-dos, plan ahead for a half-day, or even an hour.

Now, this entire year of The Clarity Project— is a yearlong list of ideas of things to add to a money health day. But this week, the challenge is to actually schedule, or set aside the time—a day or a portion of a day (even an hour!) that you plan to devote to financial tasks.

What should you do on a money health day?

Good question. And just like how personal finance is more “personal” than “finance,” the elements of a money health day will be specific to you and your family.

Regardless of your specific goals, plan to include three types of activities:

Three types of tasks to consider during your money health day:

One: Education

Two: Understanding

Three: Action

Here are few tasks in each type to give you ideas of how to plan out your day:

One: Educate Yourself

This includes learning about general money topics, especially related to tasks you hope to complete. You could complete much of this ahead of your actual designated day or hour. It could work especially well to have both spouses listen to/read the same sources, to foster discussion.

What are the ways to learn easily about money?

podcasts (here, here and here are three episodes to spark discussion.

audiobooks (I find non-fiction books not the best as audiobooks, especially money-related. This book is more about money mindset, so could be a good choice.

books (this book has a no-nonsense, irreverent, style, but has a lot of good content–especially for younger professionals).

online articles.

A key note: there is not ONE be-all and end-all source of money information—it is actually helpful to sample a wide variety of sources.

Two: Understand Your Situation

Request your credit report at annualcreditreport.com and check for errors.

Check your credit score (this is often offered by credit card companies—log in and see).

Compile a list of who you owe, how much, and at what interest rate (credit cards, auto loans, student loans).

Create a list or spreadsheet of all bills (utilities, credit cards), dates due, and typical amount.

Check your mortgage rate and how much is owed on your house, and the estimated value of your account. Check Zillow.com for a reliable estimate.

Make a (physical) list of everywhere you have money. Put each into one of three categories: general checking & savings; long-term savings accounts (money funds); and retirement accounts.

Check your bank statements, credit card statements, and make a list of any recurring subscriptions out (monthly “boxes,” newspapers, magazines, streaming services, etc.).

Three: Take Action

This is the most important step. As I write in my weekly e-mails to subscribers (subscribe below), you can take some kind of action, however small, to make progress.

Based on what you learned in the previous two steps, you should be able to easily complete or at least get started, on some of these tasks. A few ideas:

create an account at Social Security to learn about your earnings, and protect your Social Security account. Do this for every member of your family who has a Social Security number.

—freeze your credit (here is an article about how to do that and why you should!).

create an “important” file, binder, or other list, both on your computer and physical, that lists logins, accounts, etc. This is a true gift to have!

check the security of your passwords/logins to all financial accounts, and change them if you have not done so recently (and make them all different).

if you have not yet done your taxes, consider filing them. The CARES Act extends the tax filing deadline to July 15, but there is no reason to wait if you have time to complete this.

have a discussion about potentially cutting some of the recurring spending charges. Do you need all of the subscriptions/streaming services?

check your employer retirement savings account. If your employer offers it, are you getting the entire match offered? Increase to at least as much as that, and maybe one more percentage.

consider refinancing your mortgage, since interest rates are very low now.

look into refinancing your student loans (but if you have federal student loans, do not take action until September, as payments–and interest–are frozen until then.) Read this for more details.

if you do not have a high-yield online savings account for your money funds, explore opening one (or more).

check your insurance coverage on cars, house, and anything else, and consider making changes or even changing companies to save money, improve coverage, or both.

if you do not have a dedicated place, such as a fire-safe box, safety deposit box, or other secure location, for important documents (passports, birth certificates, your “important” file/binder, and other key items), obtain one, and collect things into one place.

check your will and see if it needs to be updated, or explore completing one if you do not have one.

Set some money goals for the next year:
for example: increase my emergency fund savings to $5,000
for example: pay off an extra $1,000 on student loans in 2020

actions to do with/for kids still living at home

open a 529 plan for your kids.

teach your kids how to do online banking

have discussions with your kids about credit cards

if your child has income, help them open a Roth IRA (usually) to set aside money to grown tax-free for retirement.

There are countless other tasks you could add to each project type, but this list get you started.

A few final notes:

Keep track of what you did accomplish—a “ta-da” list of all the things you did do can be very motivating. And that list can be helpful when you plan your next money health day.

Make your money health day a cheerful time. Yes, really! Even for people who are not obsessed with personal finance.

Try to have a treat when you are finished with your money health say—eat a nice meal (perhaps ordered from a local restaurant during this at-home time); watch an entertaining movie, and just relax and celebrate all that you accomplished.

Have you planned a money health day? What would be on your list to accomplish?

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