75 Days Until 2025: There's Still Time to Achieve Your 2024 Money Goals!

As the year draws to a close, most of us start thinking about New Year’s resolutions, from earning a promotion or maxing out our Fitness Tests -- to "real world" goals like saving for a car, buying our first house, or retiring early. But here’s a reality check: most resolutions fail. Given their (your) poor track record of sticking to a plan for 365 days, why would you wait until January to get your financial house in order? Instead of putting off those money goals, take action right now and roll into 2025 on a winning streak. Whether you’re an E-1 just getting started, or married O-6s in a dual-income household, there are some simple, powerful everyday money hacks you can implement today.

Crawl

Some hacks and adjustments take more time and effort than others. For example, at the Military Wealth Coach we repeatedly urge you to downsize your house, house-hack, and buy used cars with cash. The average American household spends about 38% of its budget on housing and 16% on transportation -- or 54% of your total income. So it makes sense that the biggest changes you can make to your budget and your ability to save towards your financial goals would come from these expenses. But it also may not be realistic, now or ever. So what can we do almost immediately to make changes?

1. Create a Budget

If you aren't already on a budget, there's no more time to lose. You can use the last two months of 2024 to determine exactly how much you're spending and where every dollar goes. That way you will be able set your budget and stick to it from January 1st -- no delays. Try our Google Sheets template HERE.

2. Lose Subscriptions

Subscriptions are sneaky and will produce a financial outcome that is akin to "death by a thousand cuts." $5 here, $29.95 there, $159 for "what's that anyway?" will add up to $100s or $1,000s of potential savings every year. If you use a budget app like CreditKarma, review all your subscriptions; log into your AppleID or Google Play account and review everything on the Subscriptions tab; log into your bank account and search for transactions. Once you find them, delete three. That's it. You don't have to go without, but just make a commitment to canceling three. And if you find more that you don't need, keep chopping!

3. Automate Everything

Maybe there's some reason why it's 2024 and you are still doing all the work instead of letting software and AI manage your bills, savings, and investments for you. The surest way to fall short of a financial goal is to try and remember every month to make each and every payment and deposit. You need to be on autopilot so you don't miss a payment or investment. Log into each account this weekend and sign up for eStatements and AutoPay, then sit back and enjoy the extra savings -- and extra free time -- in 2025.

4. Update your TSP

Your retirement savings to the TSP are "payroll deductions" automatically subtracted from your Base Pay by DFAS and sent to TSP. The amount is a percentage, not a dollar amount. Left unmanaged, your contribution each month will grow until you are saving way too much for retirement and not enough for a new car, house, or early retirement. Every December, open your Calculator app and figure out the percentage you want to contribute next year based on your rank and any upcoming promotions, then login to MyPay and update your contributions. While you're at it, log into TSP and make sure you aren't letting any of those savings go into the dreadfully underperforming Life Cycle Funds, too!

5. Gift Smarter

The end of the year is all about unit social events, friendly get-togethers, and visiting family. For most of us, that means buying gifts for lots of people. Only in return we get the unwanted gift of an ugly and waaaayyy over-budget credit card bill in January. To avoid overspending this holiday season, consider the following:

• Set a budget now, and transfer the cash to that account. Use a debit card or cash for all your gift purchases, not your credit card.
• Shop before you go home. You will save shopping at the Exchange on base using discounts and coupons and buying close-outs.
• Give experiences. Instead of buying "stuff", print out a card you design for free on Canva, and give your loved ones "coupons" they can redeem for things like going to a sporting event or having you treat them to dinner. This spreads out the gifts -- and expense -- throughout the year.

6. Buy a Coffee Maker + a Stanley

Stop paying $6 for a coffee from Dunkin or Starbucks or Tea Leaf & Bean. You'll save $1,000 or more in a year if you skip it, and for less than $100 you can get a travel mug and coffee maker. It's a no-brainer.

Walk

Once you've tap-tap-tapped your phone screen a few times and automated your bills and savings, canceled a few subscriptions, downloaded a budget template, and updated your TSP savings, you're ready to do a bit more work. These are things you'll have to plan for and think about a little bit. So instead of pretending to multitask them while watching your favorite show on Netflix, turn off the TV, open up your budget app, and put together a plan for 2025.

7. Pay Off Debts

Rack-and-stack your credit cards, personal loans, and auto loans by unpaid balance remaining, and then by interest rate. Pick one that you can confidently pay off next year (or even faster than in a year), and increase your monthly payments starting right now so you can make massive progress in 2025 towards becoming Debt Free. The Debt Snowball method pays the smallest balance first, while the Debt Avalanche pays off your debt with the highest interest rate first. You can compare which strategy works best for you using our Debt Payoff Calculator feature in our Ultimate Budget Planner and Tracker.

8. Slash Lifestyle Expenses

Now is the time to cut out the lazy and unneeded expenses in your lifestyle. DoorDash every Tuesday? Stop it. Going out to dinner and the bars every Friday and Saturday (and some Thursdays)? Limit yourself to one restaurant/bar outing per week (or one every other week if you're really serious). Put it in your calendar, then find other activities or tasks to fill up the extra free night each week you have around the house. Set a monthly monetary budget (say, $200) and transfer it to your "Fun Money" account, then make sure to leave the credit card at home and only pay with the Fun Money debit card -- or with cash.

9. Switch Up Routines

Do you stop at Trader Joe's on your way home from work because it's "on the way"? The name-brand products and prepared meals are more expensive than discount groceries at a supermarket. Commit to the extra five minutes out of your way to make it to Safeway or Publix, and skip the Whole Foods.

10. Make Your Cellular Provider Earn It

There is almost literally no cost to switching cell service providers. You can port in your old number with a few taps, and be seamlessly transitioned to a cheaper service in hours, if not minutes. Consider Mint Mobile and other discount providers: they piggyback on the major 5G networks of T-Mobile and Verizon, but are cheaper because they don't have stores and don't have to pay to maintain the infrastructure. This switch can save you anywhere from $300 to $2,000 a year in phone bills!

11. Service Bundling

Just like with cellular data services, for some reason we're afraid to set aside a 4-hour window on a Saturday to have a technician stop by and install a newer, cheaper service for cable or home internet. Spend a few minutes this weekend evaluating what you actually need and what is available in your area, and move your accounts over to a cheaper bundled service provider.

Run

After you've made the adjustments that take no more than a few minutes and a smart phone, and those that you can easily do over a weekend, you're ready to make some even bigger improvements. Right now what is required for these is a decision and commitment: we're talking life strategies. In other words, instead of going through the motions for another 12 months, waking up in October 2025 only to realize you haven't moved the ball more than a few yards towards the goal line, you can create a plan that will transform your life over the next several months. Obviously big changes require big plans, so take the next few weeks to really think hard about these financial goals and strategies.

12. Review Your Insurance

Military families are often overinsured, paying more than they need for auto, homeowners, or renters insurance, and often have insurance for things that are actually not necessary. For example, if you're in the military and have an AMEX Platinum or Chase Sapphire card, your account includes travel insurance, overseas medical insurance, and limited personal property insurance. You can save $100s each year by reducing limits, eliminating redundant coverages, increasing premiums, or bundling policies. On the other hand, you probably don't have enough life insurance, which can lead to financial hardship for your family if you don't come home next deployment. Consider buying additional coverage while you're young and the premium is still cheap.

13. Save for PCS

Sure, you'll get Dislocation Allowance (DLA), possibly an advance, to help pay for unreimbursed expenses your next PCS, but that rarely covers it all. And if you can't get an advance, you could be left with a massive credit card bill to pay before you get reimbursed. If you have a PCS in the next year, start saving $200-300 a month now so that you'll have a nice cushion when the move finally happens.

 14. Update Your Goals

Do you have enough Emergency Savings? If not, prioritize filling up that account ASAP. If you had your first child in 2024, you probably need an extra $5,000-10,000 in savings so that you can afford continuous child care if the parents need to work full-time. And are you on track for other goals, like saving for a car, house, or retirement? Spend the time now doing a "year-end review" so if you need to adjust any savings amounts or investment strategies, you can evaluate the costs and benefits of when to change. For example, you may be able to save $100s on your taxes by offloading a poor investment before December 31st.

15. Invest In Yourself

Make a commitment to get a professional certificate, trade degree, undergraduate degree, or graduate degree like an MBA by Utilizing Tuition Assistance or your service's Scholarship and Commissioning Programs. By investing in yourself, you'll build skills and confidence, and enhance your future earning potential. If possible, try to start a course before year's end so you can maximize your benefits -- and be sure to complete your payback obligation (2-3 years, typically) before you get out.  

Conclusion: Take Action Now for a Strong Start in 2025

It's crazy how powerful momentum can be -- either for you or against you. Complacency is a form of momentum, and the longer you wait to make changes, the harder they'll be to make. Instead take the time now to shave expenses, lean out your budget, and start saving toward your next big financial goal. You will start 2025 with more cash, less debt, and the confidence in yourself that 2025 really is going to be your year to make life-enhancing changes to your financial and personal well-being.

If you aren't sure where to start, or you know what you want to do but aren't confident how to do it, book a free online video consultation with the Military Wealth Coach by signing up HERE, and we'll help you assess your finances and build a plan to get you from where you are today to where you want to be in the future.