In my last post I shared the results from the first week of my year-long experiment inspired by Laura Vanderkam’s Big Time: spend 20 intentional minutes each day doing something to improve my financial future.
Week 1 generated more than $870 in value through a brokerage bonus, travel rewards, and a few other intentional money moves.
This week looked very different.
In fact, if someone had looked over my shoulder, they probably would have wondered why I was spending my 20 minutes sorting papers, organizing gift cards, and cleaning up financial files.
It didn’t feel nearly as exciting as earning a brokerage bonus.
But by the end of the week, I realized I may have stumbled onto something even more valuable.
Big Goals Become Small Projects
One lesson seems to show up over and over again in books about accomplishing meaningful goals.
Whether you’re training for your first 5K, decluttering your home, writing a book, or tackling a major project at work, the advice is remarkably consistent:
Break the big project into small, manageable pieces.
I’ve been putting off organizing my financial paperwork for months.
Maybe longer.
Like many people, I had an inbox folder on my desk, a financial storage bin, receipts that needed filing, and electronic documents waiting to be organized “someday.”
Apparently, someday had finally arrived.
Instead of trying to tackle everything in one exhausting weekend, I simply devoted my daily 20 minutes to making steady progress.
What started as a one-day task naturally became several days.
And that’s okay.
Because progress—not perfection—is the point.
Week 2 Money Moves
Days 8–11: Tackling the “Later” Pile
I sorted through my financial bin, organized electronic files, and worked through the stack of papers I had been meaning to deal with.
Along the way, I discovered several gift cards I had completely forgotten about.
Then I found more. Some were tucked inside cards.
Some were hiding in a drawer.
Others had already been added to my digital wallet. And some only had remnants of spending left on them, like $2.00 left on a $25.00 gift card.
It made me stop and wonder:
How many of us have money sitting around that we’ve simply forgotten exists?
Days 12–13: Building a Gift Card System
At first, I thought I probably had around $150 worth of gift cards.
I wasn’t even close.
After checking balances, pooling the “remnants” and logging everything into a spreadsheet, I discovered I actually had more than $540 available.
That was one of those moments where I just laughed.
I didn’t make $540 this week- I already had it.
I simply didn’t know where it was. So I built a simple system.
Every gift card is now tracked in a spreadsheet, and I keep a photo of that spreadsheet in the Notes app on my phone. Now, before I shop or buy a gift, I can quickly see if I already have money waiting to be used.
Going forward, whenever I receive a new gift card, it will take less than a minute to add it to the list.
Small system. Big improvement.
Day 14: Canceling a Subscription Before It Renewed
Last year, I scheduled a text reminder one week before an annual software subscription was set to renew.
This week, that reminder popped up.
After realizing I hadn’t used the software enough to justify another year, I canceled it before the renewal date.
Savings: $30
Hmm-Sometimes your past self really can help your future self.
Using What I Already Had
This week, I also used one of those rediscovered gift cards to purchase groceries and vacation supplies.
Value Used: Approximately $50
Again, this wasn’t new money.
It was money I already owned.
The difference is that this time, I actually remembered to use it. Hidden money often isn’t cash. It’s value we’ve forgotten we already own.
Week 2 Results
Direct Financial Impact
- Subscription canceled before renewal: $30
- Gift card used: $50
- Gift cards identified and organized: More than $540 available for future purchases
Some of that $540 will likely be spent on things I would have purchased anyway.
That’s the point.
The goal isn’t to spend more because I have gift cards.
The goal is to spend less cash because I’ve already paid for part of those future purchases.
What I’m Learning
When I started this experiment, I imagined I’d spend most of my time looking for opportunities to make or save money.
Instead, I’m beginning to realize something surprising.
Sometimes the biggest financial win isn’t finding new money.
It’s making better use of the money you already have.
This week wasn’t really about organizing gift cards.
It was about uncovering what I think of as hidden financial assets.
Most of us know where our checking account and retirement savings are, but we also have money scattered throughout our lives. It’s sitting on gift cards tucked into drawers, rewards points we haven’t redeemed, memberships we forget to use, subscriptions quietly renewing, and cash earning very little interest simply because we haven’t gotten around to moving it.
Individually, none of those things seem like a big deal.
Collectively, they can add up to hundreds—or even thousands—of dollars.
This week, I thought I had maybe $150 in gift cards.
I actually had more than $540.
The money wasn’t lost.
It was simply hidden by a lack of organization.
That made me wonder how many of us have our own version of a “later pile.” Maybe it’s a basket of paperwork, an overflowing email inbox, or a folder on the computer labeled “To Sort.” We tell ourselves we’ll get to it eventually, but every day it sits there, it quietly hides opportunities from us.
James Clear writes in Atomic Habits that good habits become easier when you reduce friction.
I’m starting to think the same is true of personal finance.
Every small system we build removes a little friction from making good financial decisions.
Logging gift cards into my phone means I’ll actually remember to use them.
A reminder before a subscription renews means I can decide whether it’s still worth paying for.
A watchlist of stocks means I’m prepared when prices become attractive.
None of those systems make me wealthier overnight.
But together they make it easier for Future Me to make better financial decisions.
And perhaps that’s the biggest lesson of Week 2.
Financial peace isn’t built only by earning more money.
It’s also built by creating systems that help you capture, protect, and fully use the resources you already have.
Two Weeks In
Reflecting on the 2 weeks:
- Week 1 was about finding opportunities.
- This week’s experiment wasn’t really about organizing, it was about uncovering hidden money. And not wasting the “remnants”.
Both improve your financial life.
One creates immediate results.
The other makes those results easier to repeat.
I’m beginning to think that’s where the real value of this experiment may be.
Not just the dollars saved today.
But the systems that quietly improve hundreds of financial decisions over the years ahead.
Key Insight for me- One of the easiest ways to improve your finances is to uncover hidden money before looking for new money.
I’ll be back next week with another 20-minute money move. I’m excited to see what lessons—and opportunities—the next week brings.
Want more? Try these 2 posts: Don’t set resolutions and Takeaways from Five Types of Wealth
If you are starting your own financial experiments, please share in the comments. I like to learn as well as post 😊
Discover more from 1PracticalGal.com- Building Financial Peace Foundations
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