December 30, 2024

Hello and welcome to The Financial Diet's weekly newsletter!

We'll be in your inbox every Monday sharing our best tips to keep your money, career, and life in order. Make sure to read through the entire newsletter this week for some very exciting updates!

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<3 TFD

By Holly Trantham

January is, overall, my very favorite time of the year: a personal reset button, fewer obligations, long evenings to spend cozied up with a puzzle or a book, the possibility of snow, generally being in planning mode for what’s to come, all of which speaks to my little Capricorn sun soul. I also just turned a year older last Monday, which always has me in a reflective mood. I wrote these words over on my personal Instagram that day, and I want to share them here:

“Today is my birthday, and I woke up in an apartment I love in the Brooklyn neighborhood I love even more, snuggled up with a cat between my ankles. I'm going to go ice skating with my husband, in our beautiful borough's big park, where there's still some snow on the ground — my very favorite thing. Later, we're going to go to a Broadway show and a cozy restaurant with one of my best friends.

“I don't think a 12-year-old version of myself could have written a dreamier future life (though she probably didn't see the cat part coming), but I also don't delude myself into thinking it's all a product of my own making. It's the outcome of a stable upbringing, emotional support, financial literacy, and dozens of other circumstances that should be a given rather than a privilege. I am so grateful, and I am learning to let that gratitude radicalize me, because everyone — everywhere — should have the opportunity to create a life they love this much.”

It may not have been extravagant, but it was indeed a great day, one I feel profoundly lucky to have memories of. It’s a complete privilege that, despite the fear and dread I feel on an existential level, January — or any new month or year — is still something I can feel positive anticipation towards on a personal level.

At the same time, a core part of our work at TFD is waking us up to how the systems at play in our lives are actively working against us. And if I have learned (or simply finally accepted) one thing about myself in 2024, it is that I have fallen much more susceptible to the trap of endless scrolling than I would care to admit. Case in point: I read a little more than half as many books in 2024 as I usually do in a given year. Part of this is probably due to the well-intentioned decision to not set a Goodreads/Storygraph reading goal for the year (because reading doesn’t have to be a competition!), which I’m definitely correcting for in 2025. But I know in my heart that the biggest culprit is my scrolling habit.

I, of course, don’t put all of the blame on my own willpower, but I also know that scrolling less will only be a net positive for my wellbeing. I’m only setting one major goal in 2025, and that is to be far less dependent on my phone. This year, I challenge you to think similarly small: what’s one thing in your life that you would like to look different a year from now?

A goal is a lot more achievable with habits, of course, so I’m setting some stepping-stone habit goals for myself for January:

• Daily: Yoga practice (even if it’s just 10 minutes; I’m also starting a yoga teacher training this month, so this should coincide nicely)
• 3x a week: Phone-free activity (puzzling, crafting, baking, etc.)
• Once a week: Finish a book (and resetting my StoryGraph reading goal to 50 books in 2025)

There are other things I am doing that are working towards the end goal of being less phone-reliant, of course, like getting involved with my neighborhood's mutual aid group, and other acitivities that are meant to get me out of the house and directly interacting with my physical community. (Despite the fact that I failed to abide by it for a lot of the year, I still stand by everything I wrote about breaking up with your phone back in January of 2024: packing your schedule makes you look at your phone less!) But tracking too much can be counterproductive, so I'm focusing on these specific habits for the purpose of tracking. myprogress. I’m also planning to keep tabs on these habits throughout the month over on Instagram, and I would love for you to follow along! Feel free to use the template below, or create your own on Canva, which is super easy.

Here’s to focusing on what’s in your control, and a joyful, intentional 2025.

Ask A Financial Advisor Every week Kellen Thayer of Advisor.com will be answering a personal finance question from the TFD community. If you have a question you'd like him to answer, email us at hello@thefinancialdiet.com!

Welcome to our new weekly series, Ask A Financial Advisor with Kellen Thayer of Advisor.com! Dozens of members of the TFD community love and trust Advisor to help them on financial journeys. Get $500 off your first year with Advisor by signing up through TFD! Click here to take our short quiz and schedule a FREE consultation call with Advisor today and never make another financial decision alone!

Q: What is better in the long run, paying extra towards the mortgage or putting the extra money towards an IRA?

A: Deciding whether to pay extra towards your mortgage or invest in an IRA comes down to a few key factors: interest rates, your long-term financial goals, and the tax advantages of retirement accounts.

If you have a low mortgage interest rate—especially one below 4%—it often makes more sense to prioritize investing in a tax-advantaged retirement account like an IRA. Historically, stock market returns have averaged higher than mortgage rates over the long term, meaning you could see more growth by investing rather than paying off a low-interest mortgage early.

An IRA also offers tax benefits that can boost your long-term savings. With a traditional IRA, contributions may be tax-deductible, and your money grows tax-deferred until you make withdrawals in retirement. With a Roth IRA, contributions are made after-tax, but qualified withdrawals are tax-free in retirement, offering substantial tax savings down the road.

On the other hand, if you have a high-interest mortgage (rare in today’s low-rate environment but possible for certain loans), it might make more sense to focus on paying it down. Paying off high-interest debt is like earning a guaranteed return, which can sometimes outweigh the potential gains of investing.

It’s also important to consider your broader financial picture. If you’re nearing retirement or feel more comfortable being debt-free, paying off the mortgage might offer peace of mind. But for most people, the combination of low mortgage rates and high potential investment returns means contributing to an IRA is the better move for long-term financial growth.

If you have a high interest rate mortgage, instead of trying to pay it off you could look to refinance the loan once interest rates drop. Especially if you plan on being in the home for more than about 5 years.

You can also balance paying down your mortgage against other savings goals (retirement, education, vacations!). Even paying a little bit extra on each mortgage payment adds up - it doesn’t have to be all or nothing.

Get $500 off your first year with Advisor by signing up through TFD! Click here to take our short quiz and schedule a FREE consultation call with Advisor today and never make another financial decision alone!

Advisor.com provides clients with a top notch advising team for a fixed, flat annual fee. Their team of advisors work for you, not commissions, and help you to achieve your smart financial goals through planning, investing, and more.

About Kellen Thayer Kellen has dedicated his career to helping clients achieve their financial goals through comprehensive financial planning and wealth management. He holds an MBA with a concentration in Finance from the University of Pittsburgh. Before joining Advisor Wealth Management, Kellen worked as an investment advisor at Goldman Sachs partnering with clients with $25mm plus in investable assets and later advised high-net-worth clients at Raymond James. His expertise spans a wide range of financial strategies, always with a focus on empowering clients from all backgrounds to build and sustain their wealth.

What I'm Loving Each week, we’re asking a different TFD team member to share what they’ve watched, read, purchased, and otherwise loved lately. Today we're hearing from Heather!

I received these Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones for Christmas and I'm thrilled with them. I've never had noise cancelling headphones before and the way they cut out all the noise at the airport was truly so soothing for my brain. Plus they're comfy and cute, 10/10.

I played Hues & Cues with my family over the holiday and thought it was really fun! It's a chill, low stakes board game with minimal rules. I'd definitely recommend it.

This is random but I've recently found my favorite peanut butter brand and wanted to share- Crazy Richard's 100% Peanuts peanut butter. I'm always looking for the product with the shortest ingredients list and I've finally found it!

I'm a fan of the Armchair Expert podcast and recently listened to one of their spinoff series called "Race to 35" and really enjoyed it. It's a real time portrayal of two women who decide to freeze their eggs and though this is not something I'm currently doing, I found it to be hilarious and educational.

Happy Holidays!

🎥 Our December video essay drops TOMORROW, December 31st! And a reminder that $4.99 and up members of the Society at TFD get early access to an ad-free cut (available NOW)!

📚We’re SO excited to offer exclusive access to an entirely new bonus chapter for those who have purchased our latest book, Beyond Getting By. With a new year on the horizon, we know how much you all are reevaluating how you spend your money and time. Beyond Getting By is the perfect companion for retooling your relationship with money, your career, and your life in general, complete with dozens of pages of beautifully designed interactive exercises. In order to get access to “‘Working To Live’ In The Face Of Layoff Culture,” please share your proof of purchase with us by filling out this very short form — once you fill out the form, the bonus chapter will be automatically emailed to you.

🎙️Today we're dropping the final episode of our very fun end-of-year, 4-part series over on our YouTube channel! ICYMI: Chelsea sat down with our friends from Celebrity Memoir Book Club for a deep dive on both Rich Dad, Poor Dad, and Lean In. Watch episode 1 here, episode 2 here, and episode 3 here, and today's finale, here.

✨Make sure to get your hands on our December guidebook, The Career Audit: An Interactive Guidebook! This month's 21-page guidebook was thoughtfully put together to help you reflect on your career path and help you move forward with intention into 2025 and beyond. From interview prep to networking and salary negotiation, we have all angles of your career path covered. Exclusively available for members of The Society Premium.

📢Have you checked out our very special 6-part YouTube capsule series, The Grown Woman's Guide To Life yet? This series, hosted by Chelsea, is all about navigating your 30s with style and grace — financially and otherwise.

• In the series premiere, The 10 Dos and Don'ts of Turning 30, Chelsea breaks down the dos and don'ts of turning 30, covering everything from friendships to career to money.
• In the second episode, 6 Things No One Tells You About Getting Rich, Chelsea breaks down the secrets of wealth building that change your financial life, no matter where you’re starting from.
• The third episode, Watch This If You're Not Sure About Having Kids, Chelsea breaks down her personal reasons for being childfree, and some truths about the choice that rarely get talked about.
• In the fourth episode, The 13 Best Things I Ever Bought, Chelsea breaks down her most life-changing purchases, and why they were so impactful.
• In the fifth episode, How To Stop Being Cheap, Chelsea breaks down the difference between cheapness and frugality and shares all the ways she's overcome being cheap in her 30s.
• And in our series finale, 6 Ways Insecurity Is Wasting Your Money, Chelsea breaks down all the ways being insecure causes you to spend more money, including how this impacted her in her 20s.

The Society at TFD is our members-only community with access available on both YouTube and Patreon. Joining The Society is the best way to directly support TFD! The Society offers the exact same things on both platforms, so choose whichever one you prefer!

We offer 3 tier options:

The Society at TFD Lite: $2.99/month

• Monthly office hours with Chelsea to chat and get your personal questions answered
• Access to our monthly book club hosted by TFD Creative Director, Holly
• Illustrated tech backgrounds every month
• Access to Society Discord

The Society at TFD: $4.99/month — includes everything in the $2.99 tier plus:

• Monthly ad-free extended director's cut videos from Chelsea
• Exclusive members-only events and workshops
• Complete post archive (including exclusive members-only videos of Chelsea ranting on different topics)

The Society Premium: $9.99/month — includes everything from the previous tiers plus:

• Weekly newsletter from Chelsea
• Monthly multi-page workbook/guidebook on a different topic each month
• Members-only capsule podcasts