I’m Terrible With Money—This Finance Expert’s Routine Is Saving My Life RN

One of my favorite hobbies is blaming my personal financial situation on literally anything but myself. Struggling to pay off my student loan debt? This is the government’s fault, somehow. Budget too tight? Creatives have never been paid what we’re worth. Unable to save? Well, I’m a Gen Zer after all, it’s not like I’ll ever be able to afford a house anyway!

Of course, at the end of the day, there are real steps I can take with my personal finances to at least attempt to cure my woes. This is where internet finance expert Money With Katie comes in—after hearing her finance routine on The Everygirl Podcast, I knew I needed to step up my game. Katie Gatti Tassin is your favorite finance expert’s favorite finance expert: Her platform is the intersection of culture and personal finance education.

From budgeting apps to regularly checking up on her wealth planner (SOS), Money With Katie’s routine is super detailed and inspiring. Here are the steps I’ll be following so that I can actually take some accountability for my finances for once.

1. Using the Copilot app to track my spending

I have been on journey after journey with budgeting apps, but according to Money With Katie, there’s only one that I should have been using this whole time. On The Everygirl Podcast, she explained that she uses the Copilot app to track all of her expenses, credit accounts, and investment accounts. “It’s like one of those budgeting apps that hook up to your credit cards and your accounts,” Katie said. “All of my checking and savings, all of our investment accounts, all of our credit cards are all hooked into this one app. It becomes my dashboard for everything that’s happening in my financial life.”

As someone who frequently forgets whether I spent that $13 on a cup of coffee or a trinket from the thrift store, I could definitely use an app like Copilot to stay aware of my spending habits. Money With Katie also emphasized that Copilot will alert you as soon as one of your credit cards might be compromised, which is, bluntly, something I literally never think about but absolutely should. Having an app like this to track my daily spending seems like the perfect place to start in terms of holding myself accountable.

2. Tracking my finances with a wealth planner

According to Katie’s interview on The Everygirl Podcast, the next step in getting my financial shit together is to start using a wealth planner. If you’re as clueless as I was as to what a wealth planner is, it’s basically a planner, or spreadsheet, that helps you budget, track, and grow your wealth, all in one place. “With a wealth planner, I have this data source where I can see patterns and trends start to emerge,” she said. Luckily, Money With Katie has her own wealth planner that she updates yearly for sale, so it’s a no-brainer which template I’ll be using. On the podcast, Katie revealed that she checks and updates her wealth planner using data from the Copilot app at the end of each month. If that saving and investing routine is good enough for her, then it’s good enough for me!

Financial independence is the point at which your investments are going to produce enough money for you to live on. Your money has made enough money for you.

3. Starting to invest—even though I don’t feel “ready”

One year out of college, I’m still in that era where investing outside of contributing to my 401k feels a bit intimidating. Luckily, Katie revealed on The Everygirl Podcast that she, too, started investing before she felt fully “ready”—and that doing so totally paid off. “Once I saw that it was possible, I was like, ‘How much more can I make and save and invest?’” she said. “You gotta get that evidence first. You have to see what’s possible and see it happening in your own accounts with your name on it.” When it comes to investing, for me, getting past the mental block is half the battle. Knowing that Katie had the same concerns when she was younger and felt motivated by the process is super reassuring.

On The Everygirl Podcast, Katie also clarified that “financial independence” doesn’t mean what we traditionally think of in terms of simply being able to support ourselves with our own finances. “Financial independence is the point at which your investments are going to produce enough money for you to live on. Your money has made enough money for you,” she said. Since I just started working I have…uh…a while before my money is making enough money for me to live on, so I’ll be broadening my portfolio ASAP based on her advice.

4. Avoiding lifestyle creep as my career grows

In case you’re out of the loop, lifestyle creep is this terrifying phenomenon that occurs when you receive a raise or promotion but never end up seeing the tangible benefits because your lifestyle balloons with your extra cash. Basically, it’s when little treat culture goes a step too far, and it’s super easy to experience without even realizing it. On The Everygirl Podcast, Katie emphasized how important it is to plan ahead when you get a raise or promotion in order to avoid lifestyle creep. For example, if you know you will have an extra $50 in your paycheck after a raise, you can choose to save that money or put it toward a credit card bill. “Without a plan, you’re probably not going to start saving more just on accident,” she said. As I start moving up in my career, as most people do in their 20s, avoiding lifestyle creep is going to be a top priority.

At the end of the day, listening to Katie on The Everygirl Podcast helped me realize that perhaps not all hope is lost for me financially. If I just take a few matters into my own hands based on her routine, I may be able to finally start taking accountability for my own finances—who knew! I may be a long way from a house, but maybe, just maybe, I can start trying to build a financial future for myself after all.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Emma Ginsberg, Associate Editor & Podcast Assistant

Emma is a writer, editor, and podcast producer who has been creating at The Everygirl since 2021. She writes for all sections on the site, edits the Entertainment and Community sections, and helps produce The Everygirl Podcast. Her main financial motivation is that she regularly daydreams about becoming an extremely involved dog mom.

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