Steph FINALLY Hit $100,000 👀💰

Happy Monday! Something about the first day of the month lining up with the first ‘work day’ of the week just feels right to us. 

Welcome back to a new issue of Money Convos with Steph & Den - we’re excited to share some personal financial updates and timely tips that you can use this month. 

Here’s what’s up in this copy 🤑🗞

• One of us hit a personal net worth of $100k… 

• …and the other has officially been debt free for 3 years! 

• Steph’s $0 UberEats challenge is ¼ done 🍔

• What should you do with your tax refund? 

• It’s time for some spring cleaning (money edition) 🧹💰

Money Convo(s) Of The Month

I’ve Officially Hit A $100,000 Net Worth

We actually have two ‘money convos’ for you this month! Let’s start with a personal money update from Steph. 

I’ve been documenting my personal finance journey for the past (almost) five years now - the oldest video that I could find where I shared my exact net worth was January 2020, when I had exactly $17,978.45 between all of my bank accounts, and I was just getting serious about saving as much as possible (and by saving, I mean saving and investing). I was able to kick that up to $50,000 1.5 years later, in June 2021, and I finally - just last month - surpassed the $100,000 mark another 2.5 years later. This is a goal I’d been working toward for years, and it felt so good to officially hit it. 

Keep in mind that this number is across my various bank accounts - on March 1st (the day I crossed the $100k mark) I had about 80% of my money put towards investments (all in the stock market), about 15% put towards savings (mostly my emergency fund), and about 5% kept in my chequing account (this number fluctuates the most on a monthly basis). 

Now, for anyone who doesn’t know, Dennis and I used to work in the corporate world up until September 2021 when we quit our 9-5 jobs to work for ourselves as personal finance content creators. When we first started, we were paying ourselves a very low salary as we adjusted to receiving inconsistent income (we make money from a few different sources, but none are for the exact same amount, or come to us on the exact same day of the month). That means I saw virtually no change to my personal net worth for almost 1.5 years. Granted, our business was growing and making money, we just personally weren’t seeing that return just yet.

I’m really proud of myself for sticking to this goal - while switching careers and growing a business - over the past few years. If January 2020 me could see March 2024 me, she’d definitely be happy. 🥹

If you want to see what goal I’m working towards next, check out this video where I dive into all of the details.

How It Feels To Be Three Years Debt Free

Okay, over to Dennis for his update!

Honestly, if I could only use one word to describe what it feels like to be debt free, it would be absolutely, positively, fantastic (and yes, I know! That was definitely more than one word 😅). 

Exactly 3.5 years ago I made my final payment to the government, which meant I had officially paid off $50,000 in student loans, and when I tell you it felt great - I couldn’t have been happier to finally have a $0 net worth. 

It’s funny, and I’m pretty sure that there’s a lot of people who can relate to this, but when you’re in the midst of paying off debt, the last thing that you want to hear from people is how insignificant this part of your life will be 10 years from now once you’re debt free… but ultimately, those people are right. For me, it felt like I was never going to be able to pay off my debt, and even worse, I couldn't imagine what my life would look like after the debt. Maybe this sounds a bit dramatic or intense, but for me it was - I was dedicated to putting as much money as I could toward my student loans in an effort to just rip the bandaid off and be done with it. 

Since then, I’ve been amazed at the milestones I’ve been able to hit in such a short period of time. To give you some perspective, at age 25, right after paying off my loans, I had $0 invested and about $320 in my bank account. Just 3.5 years later, so at age 28, I have $0 in debt, $40,000 invested and $30,000 saved (if you’re wondering why I’m keeping so much money in cash, watch this video). That's a $120,000 swing in my net worth, and I honestly think that it’s a testament to the fact that I’ve made keeping track of my money such an important part of my life - and believe me, that doesn't mean that all I think about is money. It means that I know where my money is going, and I’ve realized that not knowing makes you feel 10 times more anxious. 

I’m hoping to give you guys an update just like Steph’s sometime soon, but in the meantime, I thought it would be nice to check in and celebrate life after a debt free journey. Cheers! 

$0 UberEats Challenge - Steph’s Monthly Update

I’m now ¼ of the way through this challenge, and as I’m getting further into the year, I feel like it’s actually becoming easier than I thought it would be.

ICYMI, I set a goal to spend $0 on UberEats - or really delivery apps of any kind - this year, after going way overboard last year. I don’t know if it’s the competitiveness in me, or the accountability of sharing these updates online, but I haven’t even been tempted to open up the delivery apps over the past few months (at least, once I got past January).

This past month, I ended up spending $384.39 on groceries (still above my $300 budget, and aligned with the past two months total grocery cost), and I tried a few new recipes. Our personal favs were homemade chipotle and shawarma bowls - check it out below, because I’m proud of my work!

I also went out to eat a few different times, while sticking to my $150 monthly restaurant budget (I spent $147.80 on brunch with a friend and two fairly low cost dinner dates with Dennis).

I’m still loving how avoiding the apps has let me improve my cooking skills, and enjoy new restaurants more intentionally. Stay tuned for next month to see if I can keep it up, and ideally bring that grocery bill down!

What should you do with your tax return?

PSA 🗣️ It’s tax season!

Hopefully you’ve already filed your taxes - or at least have a plan to file them within the next few weeks before the deadline hits.

Now, once you’ve filed your taxes, the real question hits… What should you do with your tax refund (if you get one)? 👀

A lot of people view tax refunds as ‘extra’ money that’s now available to spend - like an unexpected bonus. The reality is that getting a tax refund actually means that you’ve been giving ‘too much’ money to the government, in the form of taxes, throughout the year - aka, they’re actually giving money that was already yours back to you via a tax refund (that’s why it’s called a refund, not a bonus).

Again, it’s up to you to do what you want with your money - but, if you do want some direction on what you can do with your tax refund that benefits you long-term, here are some things for you to consider.

• Have you paid off all of your high interest debt? High interest debt includes credit card debt (where interest rates are ~20%+). Ideally, you should avoid this type of debt.

• Do you have an emergency fund? An emergency fund is a set amount of money put aside in case of - you guessed it - emergencies. Ideally you have this money in accessible cash (ie. a high interest savings account) so you can use it at a moment's notice.

• Do you have any other short-term saving goals that your refund would help you hit? Maybe you’re saving up to buy a house, to pay for a wedding… whatever your current saving goal(s) are.

• If your debt is paid off, your emergency fund is full, and all other short-term saving goals are hit, then invest your tax refund. We love being able to send an extra chunk of money to our investment account on top of our monthly contributions.

Spring cleaning, money edition 🧹💰

It’s officially spring, and your house isn’t the only thing that probably needs a little tidying up.

Here’s a quick check-list you can use to get your finances together for a new season!

• Review your year-to-date spending - aka, how much have you spent over the first three months of the year? It’s good to be aware of this number, so you can see if you need to cut back in general before digging into the details.

  • PS - we shared exactly how much money we’ve spent, and saved, so far this year on our YouTube channel yesterday. Check it out here. 

• Review your budget categories - has anything changed with your budget? Maybe you have a new salary, maybe you got a new gym membership, maybe you’ve been spending more in one area and less in another - take a second to make any (and all) updates in your budget tracker. 

• File your taxes - another reminder if you haven’t already, because the filing deadline is coming up this month! I know you’ve probably been putting it off, but the earlier you get it checked off your list, the better you’ll feel.

• Capitalize on current interest rates - high interest savings account rates are high right now, so make sure you’re taking advantage and growing your savings.