End of the year reflection (and tips for looking ahead!)

Hi WINers!

Can you believe we're already at the end of 2023? We've had quite the exciting year at WINii. It's the perfect time to reflect back on our wins while planning for the future.

We're excited for the launch of our beta app targeting the end of Q1 2024! More details to come, so stay tuned. 😎

We had our pilot launch celebration in November in NYC and it was a blast. A bunch of WINers met up to talk money - here we are!

💼 A Lookback on Tech Layoffs

Unfortunately, 2023 was chock full of layoffs, especially within the tech industry. Over 305,000 Americans lost their jobs this year. Not even employees at big names like Alphabet, Microsoft, and Meta were immune. 

Many of us were directly affected. For me, while my day job as a product manager was spared, it was a wake up call. I grieved the impact of my close colleagues. My false sense of security working in big tech also crumbled - especially as many of these layoffs were not performance driven. The stress built up in the lead up to the announcement reverberated for the following months.

A few takeaways:

1. Loyalty to yourself needs to come first before the company. 

2. I need to stop identifying the majority stake of “who I am” with my career. I’m still ambitious, but not at the expense of my mental health. Ongoing self project - will keep you posted.

3. Importance of an emergency fund. The night before the announcement, I was checking my emergency fund. It was running lower than my comfort level from investments into WINii. I do not want to feel that sense of panic. No industry is immune in this economy. You need to be your own best safety net.

Whether you're in between jobs, holding on to your current job, or considering jumping ship, we need to be our best advocates first. Rooting for all WINers 🌟

✨ Sparking Joy

The end of the year is the perfect time to remember your financial values. 

Here are a few ways to get your money habits in order: 

• Review your expenses and determine what spending gave you joy. What spendings did you regret? Go through your credit card and bank statements. Highlight any purchases you don't remember making (spoiler alert: this can be eye-opening). Mindless consumerism is baked into society, so it literally pays to spend with intention! And for the spendings that gave you joy (eg. holiday gifts), consider saving up for it in advance (eg. a savings sub account dedicated to gifts) so more of your spending aligns with your values. 
  

• If you're thinking of buying a home, consider the cost of a mortgage versus rent payments. Due to the current high interest rates, it might make more financial sense for you to keep renting. Recent data shows in some markets, the difference between a monthly mortgage payment and monthly rent is over $1,000!
  

• Before starting the new year, this is a great time to review your annual free credit report. Identity theft is on the rise. Check your history to make sure there aren’t any surprises. 

When you align money with your values, you're much more likely to spend on what you truly need. You're also more likely to save your money instead of falling victim to that impulse purchase.

🥳 New Year, New Goals

If you need more support around setting your financial goals for 2024, we've got just what you need. 

On January 21st, we're holding a special financial goal setting webinar that you won't want to miss! What we’ll cover:

• Face your numbers. Understand which 2023 expenses brought you joy and which you should cut.

• Build a working 2024 budget. Create a working budget that gets you closer to your financial goals.

📅 Date: January 21st, 2024, Sunday
🕕 Time: 1 - 2:30PM ET | 10 - 11:30AM PT
📍 Location: Zoom

Here's the link to sign up: Webinar Link

We hope to see you there!

Minki
Founder, WINii

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