Hi ya! 👋🏽
How have you been?
I don’t know about you, but I’m already getting into the Christmas spirit! 🎄 I absolutely loooooovvve Christmas 🥹, and I’m looking forward to all the festivities, the food and spending time with family.
Although, can someone explain how we’re already approaching November? Where did the year go?!
Anyway, something happened recently that got me thinking.
My brother overheard me talking to Jason about some plans I have for 2027, and he seemed quite surprised that I was already making plans for next year.
And I found his reaction interesting because I think that’s how a lot of us approach the new year. We wait until December, or sometimes January itself, before we start thinking about what we want to achieve.
But why?
💰Why wait until January?
I think there’s something about the end of the year that makes us feel like we suddenly need to get our lives together. December comes around, and we’re trying to reflect on the year, set new goals, prepare for Christmas, buy gifts, attend events and somehow still find time to rest. It’s a lot!
And then January comes with all this pressure to hit the ground running, as though the start of the new year automatically means we're supposed to have everything figured out 👀.
But who says you have to wait until the end of the year to start planning for the next one? Who set the rules? I can decide to make October the start of my new year 🤷🏽♀️
Time is a construct, after all 🙂↔️
And I’m not even saying this as someone who has her entire 2027 figured out. Far from it. I haven’t sat down to map out everything I want to achieve next year, but I’ve started thinking about a few things, particularly how I want to help more people in my community become better with money, alongside some personal goals I’m working towards.
And I think that’s a good place to start.
Sometimes, the first step isn’t creating a detailed plan. It’s simply giving yourself the space to think about what you want.
What would you like to be different about your finances this time next year?
Maybe you want to stop living from payday to payday, build an emergency fund, start investing or finally understand where your money goes every month.
Whatever it is, you don’t need to have all the answers today. But imagine how much more prepared you’d feel going into January if you started thinking about these things now, without the pressure of Christmas and everything else that comes with the end of the year.
And that’s partly why I’m putting together the Money Makeover Challenge, which starts on 18th January 2027. I want us to go beyond making financial resolutions and actually start taking steps towards achieving them.
Registration is already open at an early-bird price, so if getting better with money is on your list for 2027, I’d love for you to join us!
Now, here’s a little exercise I’d love you to try this week. Before the Christmas rush begins, find a quiet moment and ask yourself:
What went well with my finances this year?
What would I like to do differently in 2027?
What’s one thing I can start doing now to make that happen?
You don't need to have perfect answers. The whole point is to get you thinking.
📡 Money Radar
🏠 The Autumn Budget: The Budget is when the government sets out its tax and spending plans, and the next one is tomorrow, 28 October! I'm particularly interested in finding out more about the proposed 2.5% deposit scheme for first-time buyers. I recently explained what we know so far in this YouTube video.
📈 Anthropic: The company behind Claude AI is making moves towards a potential stock market listing 👀. It’s one to keep an eye on if you’re interested in investing, although a popular company doesn’t automatically make a good investment.
Anyway, that’s it from me this week!
Until next time,
XOXO
Chidera
P.S. Since I’ve decided that October can be the start of a new year, consider this your early invitation to get your money together for 2027🤭. The Money Makeover Challenge starts on 18th January, and early-bird registration is open!