If you love challenges but hate doing the extended ones like we’ve been featuring here lately, you might like today’s ideas better ;)
Instead of doing the *same* thing day in and day out for 30+ days, what about doing 30+ *tiny* little challenges – all varied up – so by the end of the month you’ve still accomplished something pretty great?
I started sending these out a couple of months ago on Twitter just for fun, but after they seemed to go well I kept going and going until before I knew it I had done 35 of them, haha…
Here was the first one that started it all:
And then here was the next day’s:
Was pretty fun to do, but the BEST part was seeing all the replies and pictures from people completing the missions! Because after all, who can’t do just *one* small thing a day for their well-being?
The energy sorta died down towards the last few missions – probably because I started to get too fancy, haha – but thought since people enjoyed them so much on Twitter, maybe it’ll work here too?
It won’t have the same effect since I can’t send them daily to you without blowing up your inbox, but here are a couple of options you can do if you wanna simulate it:
- Copy these all into your calendar and have them pop up daily for you!
- Or for faster fun, PRINT OUT this puppy and cross off each item as the days pass! And we all know how satisfying crossing things off lists can be!! :)
Here they are!
*******
35 Daily Missions to Improve Your Life
(In order of when I sent them, along w/ the links to the tweets if you want to check out the discussions around them…. Maybe you can jump start the party again?)
- Day #1: Opt out of buying 1 thing (tweet)
- Day #2: Pay a bill you’ve been putting off forever (tweet)
- Day #3: Declutter one drawer (tweet)
- Day #4: Pay off $20 of debt (tweet)
- Day #5: Get rid of something you never wear! (tweet)
- Day #6: Track how much you spend on *wants* (tweet)
- Day #7: Say hi to someone you haven’t talked to in a while :) (tweet)
- Day #8: Use $2.00 to brighten someone’s day! (tweet)
- Day #9: Buy one stock (tweet)
- Day #10: Take a 15 minute walk and remember how fortunate you are 🙏 (Bonus points for strolling through a cemetery :)) (tweet)
- Day #11: Pick up a piece or two of trash around your community! (This is a substitute mission as the one originally posted was our post on 1/day decluttering that I was recruiting for ;))
- Day #12: Clean out your wallet/purse/money clip (tweet)
- Day #13: Unsubscribe from all those store emails! (tweet)
- Day #14: Hide a $20 bill in your car in case you need one day (tweet)
- Day #15: Do something nice for yourself! (tweet)
- Day #16: Find one bill to tweak/downgrade/kill (tweet)
- Day #17: Track/update your net worth! 📈 (tweet)
- Day #18: Declutter your keychain(s) (tweet)
- Day #19: See if you are owed any missing money –> http://missingmoney.com (tweet)
- Day #20: Thank someone who’s improved your life (tweet)
- Day #21: Return something you’ve been taking forever on! (Bonus tip: keep future returns in your trunk so you always have them with you whenever you’re out and about and remember ;)) (tweet)
- Day #22: Finally use up that gift card! (tweet)
- Day #23: Make a list of where all your credit/debit cards are linked. This will save you massive headache the next time you lose one or get a new one in the mail. (tweet)
- Day #24: Wake up an hour earlier and tackle a passion project/hustle (tweet)
- Day #25: Set a calendar item exactly one year from now to check in with yourself! List out some goals you’re aiming to hit, leave encouraging words, or simply ask yourself a question like, “Am I happy?” You’ll love hearing from your past self ;) (tweet)
- Day #26: Throw $25.00 into savings! (tweet)
- Day #27: Shop your pantry for dinner 🍴 (tweet)
- Day #28: Get rid of (or fix!) something broken in your life. An electronic, a lamp, a relationship? 🤔 (tweet)
- Day #29: Forgive a debt someone owes you (tweet)
- Day #30: Do a random act of kindness! 🖤 (tweet)
- Day #31: Clean up that inbox! 📧 (tweet)
- Day #32: Do something you’ve been putting off all month! (tweet)
- Day #33: #1) Take out a dollar bill #2) Take out a sharpie #3) Write a motivational message to yourself on the bill #4) Stick it somewhere you’ll see every morning 🤑🤑🤑 (tweet)
- Day #34: Spend 30 minutes on a dream goal! (tweet)
- Day #35: Give someone you love a book that you love 📖 (tweet)
*******
Knock them all out, and you’ll be 35 steps closer to being a better human being with more money in your pockets ;) Then start all over again!
Ready?
SET?
GO!
Get blog posts automatically emailed to you!
Less is more, no doubt about it! Getting rid of the clutter creates a focus on the important stuff.
I put several items on eBay this weekend for that very reason. Goodbye CDs and DVDs I haven’t watched or listened to in 5+ years.
Nicely done! There will be someone out there ready to use them again too, making it a double win!
Good job! I’m about to start that myself.
Oh! I love a To Do list! My paper Money Saving Chart has proven to be a real success thus far so I’ve printed this to do starting today.
Day one: I just didn’t buy new solar powered fairy lights for my garden on Amazon to replace the broken ones. #success
BOOM!
Love to hear it! :)
Great list! Hiding money in the car is something I haven’t done in a while, but it did come in handy for me a few times. Years ago I used to cross a bridge with a $2 toll every day on my way home from work. I always knew some day I wouldn’t have any money on me (and for some reason I was really slow at getting around to EZ Pass) so I kept some money in the glove box. That saved me a few times.
Sounds about right!
It also helps you when you’re desperately in need of coffee or donuts :)
(Or you’re feeling loving and helping the homeless that stand on the street corners! They don’t take credit cards!)
Or you waited too long for the gas gauge to hit empty!!
Loved the tweets when I caught them, thanks for mashing them all together in an easy to consume way – I found a hotel card from last FinCon when I was looking for my insurance card this weekend so the wallet clean is long overdue
Wow haha… indeed it’s time!
Instead of hiding $20 in my car, I often hide $20 in my jacket pocket. In case I forget my wallet, hopefully, $20 is enough for me to survive one day. I also hide $20 at my work desk to ensure that I have lunch money if I forgot to bring my wallet and I did forget my wallet a few times.
Good call on the work desk hiding! I never wear the same jacket so I’d pick the wrong one on the day I really needed the cash, haha…
That’s me but with dog poop bags :D
I’ve been loving these as you’ve been tweeting them! Bookmarking this so I can check them all off :) I love little changes – they’re so manageable but then add up to big changes when you roll them all together.
Great list to work on!
I keep a roll of quarters in my car in case I ever come across a parking meter. Although it’s $10 so could be used for other emergencies as well. I’ll add a $20 bill to it as well since I doubt anyone would want me paying in change. =)
Haha… the roll could also come in handy as a scrappy weapon too, if ever needed! :)
You know I love to focus on the tiny actions! And I love the list, it helps to grab a few from the list that aren’t on my mind for the day if I’m drawing a blank on my own.
Awesome! I’m glad you like ’em :)
These were a lot of fun. Apparently I missed a few in the business of Twitter’s feed algorithm, so thanks for posting them here!
Twitter keeps omitting replies to me too – I miss a 1/5th of what people say to me unless I remember to click on the direct tweet link to see who’s said something :( At least it works the rest of the time! :)
Oh, awesome! I have been looking for little challenges like this to improve my financial habits. It all seems so overwhelming sometimes. I look forward to going through them.
Thanks,
Wendy
Let me know how many you knock out! :)
Fun list but where to start when you’re suddenly thrown off budget? Preparing for massive hurricane. Spent $75 on water/batteries/dog food/bread/P&J/snacks. Spent $20 on non ethanoyl gas for generator ($3.60 a gallon, OUCH!). It’s small but will keep our fridge running. Also got more cash & filled up both cars with gas. Oh well, that’s what emergency funds are for, right? I strongly suggest people check for missing money. I received a huge windfall that way & my mother obtained $$ from it too. I’m guilty of having an unused gift card! But I did list some old ski pins in Ebay the other day & have a bid on them. They’ve been in a drawer for ages. Plan on selling old Xmas stuff in Nov. I need to get that $20 bill hidden in my car. Thanx for the great suggestions/challenges.
We’re starting to prep for that hurricane too here in the DC area :( I hope you guys stay safe throughout it! You’re def. right that having the resources to pick up all this extra stuff is a blessing! Exactly why we save and pay attention to our money!
Love this list! Definitely going to see if I can stick with it 35 days. Already completed day 1
Excellent! You’re 1/35th of the way there! ;)
This is an awesome challenge since it focuses on the simple stuff everyday. Exactly the stuff that will change peoples’ behavior when it comes to their finances. I’ve also looked into getting index funds through Vanguard because of this so thank you :)
Rock n’ roll!
I have never considered de-cluttering my key chains, but they do all need to be de-cluttered! Brilliant!
*takes a bow*
This is great! I love a challenge.
This one challenge I think people under-estimate, “Unsubscribe from all those store emails!”. Those emails are tweaked and tested constantly to ensure the highest conversion rate possible. Get off those emails and you’ll see your unplanned purchases drop dramatically.
Haha yup – nothing is on accident w/ those emails :)
Day #5: Get rid of something you never wear!
Did that the other day after reading Marie Kondo’s book on decluettering your life and gave away 30 large garbage bags of unused clothes. Suddenly feel a lot lighter.
I bet you do! Well done!
Hey! I read this post when it first posted but I went back to reread and I clicked on the link for Day #19 to find unclaimed money. It’s not much but I have $39 coming my way! I’ve been meaning to do this for a long time. Thanks for the reminder, again!
Oh good!!!! Free money is always exciting :) Thanks for letting me know!
You see, it’s the little things that count. Can you imagine the impact of all of these things in one month? I’m going to try this and I’m going to write about it too.
YESS!!!! Do it and then pass me the link so I can read all about it! :) Would love for these to keep getting spread around and motivating people.