Money Management Tips
5 Ways My 2024 Finances Will Look a Lot Different From 2023
With Christmas 2023 now in the rearview, it’s basically 2024 already. In turn, as one does, I’ve been thinking a lot about the new year and what changes I can expect. So, rather than discussing my money goals for the new year, I simply wanted to share some ways our finances will differ in 2024.
My 2024 Financial Changes
Mortgage instead of rent
By far the biggest life change my wife and I will experience in 2024 is that we’ll be homeowners. Yes, this technically happened in 2023, but we’ll be fully moved into our house in 2024 and our first mortgage payment is, appropriately, due on January 1st — so I’m going to count it. With that, we’ll be trading in our rent for a mortgage.
On the one hand, our base mortgage payment (even with the damn 8% APR) is only about $50 higher than our current base rent. From there, though, there are pros and cons on each side. For the apartment, we also had to pay pet rent and were forced to pay for the valet trash service we didn’t use. Meanwhile, our property taxes and homeowners insurance are bundled into our mortgage payments, meaning that we’re paying a couple hundred dollars per month.
Hopefully, in the future, we’ll be paying less than we did in rent — but that’s dependent on us being able to refinance at a better rate. Regardless, in the meantime, the trade-offs of having a mortgage versus paying rent seem worth it.
Paying our own utilities and internet
Alas, there are other expenses that come with owning a house that we didn’t have to worry about with the apartment. First up, our complex offered complimentary Internet service whereas we are now paying for our own at the house. Luckily, at $79 per month, I’m pretty happy with the service we selected so far. Still, it is an extra expense.
The other big difference involves utilities. At the apartment, we would have to pay for electricity — although the amount we paid was based on the size of our unit, not on our actual usage. On top of that, the solar panels at the complex helped keep the overall cost down. In contrast, we now not only have to pay the full electricity bill for our home but also have to cover gas and water. Plus, with the home being a lot larger than the apartment and lacking solar panels, our utility bills will be more significant in 2024.
On that note, among the many projects we’ll surely be looking at as new homeowners, we are considering getting new windows that may be more efficient. Until then, as winter rolls on, we did purchase an insulation kit to hopefully keep us warmer for less until spring arrives.
Saving on car insurance
Switching gears from things that will be costing us more in 2024 to ways we’re saving, there was one interesting side effect of our homeownership. When we obtained quotes for our homeowners’ insurance, we found that we’d also be able to save on our auto insurance. In fact, with our new insurer, we’ll be saving about $400 a year for the same coverage we had previously.
While these savings alone won’t completely compensate for the added expenses, it is a nice reprieve.
A different health insurance
The end of the year means it’s once again time to re-enroll for our health insurance. Seeing as we’re self-employed and don’t make a ton, our health insurance comes from the federal marketplace. In years past, we’ve opted for a Silver plan as it was relatively affordable with subsidy and seemed like a good idea.
However, as we compared options this time around, we decided it might make sense to move down to a Bronze plan. While this obviously includes higher deductibles, it also allows us to add in dental and vision coverage while still saving a significant amount in premiums each month. Additionally, a lot of the basics like check-ups are available for a comparable fee.
It’s true that this money-saving play could end up biting us in the butt pretty hard if things go wrong. But, at least we still have some level of insurance, meaning that the difference should only (“only” being used quite liberally in this case) be a few thousand dollars. On the upside, if all goes well, we’ll instead save a couple hundred a month.
Our reduced phone bill
Finally, as I did happen to mention before, my wife and I recently changed wireless providers again. This time, it was because we decided to join a family plan with her mother and sister. The result? Cutting our share of the monthly bill in half — amounting to about $70 in savings per month.
Yes, this is probably sharing since this too happened in 2023. But, hey, 2024 will be our first full year with these savings! Also, while this lowered expense was already nice, it’s even more key now that we’ve taken on other bills to replace it. Through that lens, I suppose you could say that the money we’re saving on our wireless bill is basically paying for our home Internet bill. To me, that sounds like a pretty solid trade-off.
Just as I recently reshuffled my entertainment spending, it seems I’ve essentially done the same with my overall expenses. This is to say that, as we prepare to take on new bills associated with homeownership, we’ve thankfully been able to find ways to save. With any luck, all of these changes will work out to our advantage throughout 2024 and beyond.
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