Monthly Challenge: Make money systems easier.
Managing money shouldn’t feel hard.
Many of us avoid looking at our finances because it feels uncomfortable, overwhelming, or it takes too much time. But often the problem isn’t a lack of motivation; it’s that our money system creates too much friction.
This challenge will help you identify what’s making money management harder than it needs to be and make simple changes that make it easier to stay on top of your finances.
Why this challenge works
When something feels difficult, we tend to avoid it.
When we avoid it, we lose visibility of what’s happening with our money.
By making your money system easier, you’re more likely to use it consistently, stay engaged with your finances, and make better decisions over time.
1. Identify the friction
Watch the first video and go to your spreadsheet, app or Homebank.
2. Clean up your categories
- Remove duplicates
- Delete unused categories
- Consolidate transactions
Success is when:
You have only the categories you need.
3. Update regular payments
- Fix dates to match banking payments
- Update amounts
- Add in ones you don’t have
Success is when:
Your scheduled payments are sorted.
4. Fix account names
- Rename bank accounts to something meaningful
- Add in suffixes (to Homebank) to make it easier when importing each month
Success is when:
You can easily identify your accounts.
Tracking your progress (optional)
If you like structure and accountability, you can choose to have your progress tracked.
You earn points for completing challenge steps
Points help you see momentum over time
This is optional — the challenge works without it