With a New Year approaching, I wanted to let you know when your 2017 plan will be visible in your MoneyMinder subscription and how to plan for it. I hope you have been enjoying the new features that were added this last year.
On January 1st, you will be able to access your 2017 MoneyMinder to begin working on your January plan, as well as your Annual Plan and Periodic Expenses Calendar. Once logged in, a pop-up welcoming you to a new year will ask if you want to copy over your categories. Please say “YES”. By doing so, all the categories you customized during 2016 will transfer onto your 2017 spending plans. (If you say “No”, you will see the original default categories for your 2017 plan that you will need to customize from scratch. Don’t worry…your 2016 plans will not be affected.)
Once you’ve copied over your customized spending plan categories to your 2017 MoneyMinder, you can make changes to them. You can delete categories you no longer need, even if you used them in 2016. You can also add new categories. Once your categories are completed, you can then create your January Spending Plan, as well as your Annual Plan.
In the meantime, until January 1st and as 2016 draws to a close, here are some ideas to consider as preparation for your 2017 MoneyMinder:
- Print out your 2016 Annual Plan. To do this, click on the purple “View/Print Year” button on the right side under the Annual Plan tab. A PDF will be created which you can print out to make notes on in reviewing your year.
- Create new sub-categories. Think about what you want to draw more of into your life this coming year. Consider creating new sub-categories for those things to include on your 2017 MoneyMinder. For example, one of our users wanted to visit more art exhibits, so she created a sub-category for “Monthly Art Walks” in the “Entertainment” category to remind her. Another user wanted to see her friends more, so she created a “Girl’s Night Out” sub-category under “Food”.
- List your upcoming needs, wants, and desires. Reflect upon what you truly need and want in your life, then make notes so you’ll be ready to fill out your ”Needs/Wants/Desires Worksheet” for next year, located under “Worksheets”. For example, you might include new furniture, tires, special dental work, travel, a home remodel – whatever fits you personally.
- Note your periodic expenses. Review what your larger, non-monthly expenses were this year. Circle them on your printed 2016 plan as a reminder to add them to your 2017 Periodic Expenses Calendar Worksheet once MoneyMinder is available January 1st. Once accessible, everything put onto your 2017 Periodic Expenses Worksheet automatically transfers onto your Annual Plan, giving you a jump start on building your Annual Plan.
It is our hope that by using MoneyMinder, your new year will be more fulfilling, empowering you to create the life you desire.
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