4 unglamorous routines you need in life

financial hot girl issue #51

Jul 24, 2025

It’s time to talk routines. And before you roll your eyes, I used to resent this seemingly heavy act of ceremony, too. I used to categorise myself very loudly as anti-routine.

This was simply because I’d never been disciplined enough to build one, and it often felt very performative for me to just do something because all the wellness girls on YouTube did it.

But at some point after turning 25, I slowly noticed that I had a life in front of me that wasn’t engineered for peace. I realised that I needed willpower too much: to work hard, to exercise regularly or even to drink enough water.

I realised that if I would just put a little upfront effort into implementing a few routines in my life, that life wouldn’t have to be hard. It would allow me to be lazy and low-maintenance and less stressed.

And guess what? A few years of routine implementation later, I lost 10kg, put on a buttload of muscle, invested £60k+, and started building a brand. Put simply;

Routine actions might be boring and they might be inconvenient at times. But routines build foundations that uphold the heavier parts of life. They allow you to stay sane, move through chaos and fall back on structure when times get tough.

𝜗ৎ In this issue:

A weekly reset routine
A financial routine
A movement practice
An annual life review
- Financially Hot™ Intel

A weekly reset routine

Whenever I think of a ‘reset’ routine, I think about perfectly organised meal prep or colour-coding your calendar. But over the years I’ve realise that while you can do those things, a real reset it about taking a little pause. And I think pausing your life on a weekly cadence vs a monthly one is a great way to stay aligned and present.

Whether you do it on a Sunday, Monday or a Friday (my personal favourite reset times) - this routine is about giving yourself 20-30 minutes every week to get your head on straight for the week ahead.

What it looks like:

Review what actually happened last week vs what you planned to happen
Pick three priorities for this week (plus, notice what priorities you kept forcing and just couldn’t get done)
Clear your physical and digital spaces
Check in with yourself about how you're feeling

I started doing this after realising I was constantly in reactive mode, just bouncing from one goal to the next. Now, I actively give myself compassion, stop and smell the roses, and feel more in control of my life. Really important things for me as a Type A Virgo 🥲

The magic isn't in the specific tasks you do weekly, it's in creating that pause between weeks where you can course-correct before you blink and wonder where the year went.

A financial routine

This is the one that's going to change everything for you financially, and it takes about 15 minutes every time you get paid.

I’ll briefly be the mean older sister here: if you don’t have a money routine, you cannot expect to get anywhere with your financial goals. Discipline isn’t just something reserved for physical fitness and athletes. You have to take action and show up for yourself, and that means spending a very small amount of time every month checking in on your finances.

Here's what you do:

Track your transactions from the last month (yes, even if it's scary - use the tracker I gave you here)
Pay yourself first: move payday money to savings/investments before you can spend it
Cover your essentials: rent, bills, food shops, care
Look ahead in your life: social commitments, events - what spending will you expect to do
Give every penny a purpose
Set, adjust and reflect on the story your transactions tell you

The amazing thing about this routine is it stops you from living payday to payday. You start each month knowing exactly where your money's going instead of hoping for the best.

I used to avoid my bank account like it was literally going to bite me. Now payday feels like a mini board meeting with myself where I'm making financial decisions and knowing where I’ll be in 6 months instead of closing my eyes and hoping for the best.

I’m creating a full workshop to:

→ teach you exactly what to do

→ do your payday routine with me every month

→ learn tried and tested strategies to managing money (reducing overspending and saving for specific goals)

I’m making it fun, practical and EXCITING to work through. Final touches are being applied as we speak. It’s releasing next week.

If you want to know as soon as it’s out, click here! (this link is a confirmation page with more details on what it is)

A movement practice

This isn't about becoming a fitness influencer or doing hour-long workouts every day. It's about moving your body for 10-15 minutes daily, no matter what. And honestly this matters more than you think, and serves as a strong Financial Hot Girl wealth-building principle.

I used to think exercise was just about looking good, but once I lost my first 10 kilos I realised something more mental: the confidence I built in the gym literally transferred to every other area of my life. When I could see myself getting more disciplined physically, I started believing I could get stronger financially, professionally, everything.

What a movement practice looks like:

Pick one thing you can do for 10 minutes every single day
Focus on consistency, not intensity (see below for the energy matrix to stay consistent no matter your energy levels)
Track it visually (even just ticking a box)
Celebrate the habit, not the results

How to stay consistent: flex your movement practice based on your energy. This is the true definition of consistency, in that you are showing up in whatever capacity you can, not just white-knuckling 100% effort and building resentment.

Energy Level

Activity

Low (e.g. luteal phase)

Lunchtime stretch/Yin Yoga

Medium

At-home Pilates/Outdoor Walk

High

Gym/Lifting/Run

The point isn't what you do, it's that you keep a promise to yourself every single day to do it.

The real magic: People who exercise three times weekly are 24% more likely to regularly invest and 31% more likely to feel in control of their finances. Building a movement practice builds physical confidence which literally builds financial confidence.

An annual life review

This is the big one that most people avoid because it forces you to be brutally honest about where you actually are versus where you thought you'd be. But it's also the most powerful thing you can do for yourself.

Once a year (I do mine in early December when everything's winding down), I properly step back and assess my whole life. I pretend I’m a CEO reviewing their business, even though these days I kinda…. am.

What I review:

Area

Questions to Ask

Money

Am I earning what I'm worth? Where did my money actually go this year? What financial goals did I hit vs completely ignore or forget about?

Career/Business

Am I growing or just coasting? What skills do I need to develop? Is my work still serving me?

Relationships

Who adds energy to my life vs drains it? Am I showing up as the person I want to be? Have I nurtured my relationships this year?

Health

Where am I just going through the motions? Have I maintained any fitness/mental habits?

Personal Growth

What did I learn about myself this year? What patterns keep showing up? How do I feel different to last year?

Most of us go through life on autopilot. We think we're making progress, but we're actually just staying busy, whether you realise this is intentional or not. This annual audit forces you to look at the actual data of your life.

It doesn’t have to be a big process, it could be a journalling session, voice-noting yourself or done with a few friends or loved ones. But the important thing is to earmark the time and actually do it.

Last year's audit made me realise I was spending too much time on things that looked productive but weren't actually moving me forward. It was uncomfortable to admit to myself, but it led to some of the best decisions I've made, like launching and going full send with Financial Hot Girl 🫶

Money & business news dispelled to help you build wealth and have better conversations.

🗞️ In the UK, the Government relaunched The Pensions Commission (last seen in 2006). People aren’t saving enough for retirement, and the government is worried that they won’t have enough money to pay for retirements (via the state pension) given everyone’s living longer and may rely on their state pension because people are saving for their retirements less. This is a sign that our pensions system might not be reliable, and that we need to take retirements savings more seriously. (via MoneyWeek)

🔮 Phlur, a perfume brand co-owned by Chriselle Lim, sold to TSG Consumer Partners. This is such a strong example of how you can go from being an influencer and increasing your income to owning a brand and building something investable. It’s a story of how creative storytelling, community-focussed marketing and product quality can help you stand out in a seemingly saturated market, and allow you to build some serious equity. (via BoF)

🏖️ Affluent people in the UK’s ‘Palm Springs’ (Sandbanks) are nervous because Rachel Reeves (UK Labour Chancellor) is considering new wealth taxes. Some are considering leaving the UK entirely. What does this mean for wealthy or entrepreneurial people in the UK? This TikTok also had me pondering this question, albeit for slightly different reasons… but if entrepreneurship is stifled, then so is wealth creation… right? (via Business Mag)

🤖 The UK government just agreed to grant OpenAI (ChatGPT’s dad) access to government data, to test tools within education and other state services (think NHS, schools, police etc). This could mean an entrepreneurial opportunity: more demand for resources, content, training materials to help people use and understand AI here. It also means key concerns with data privacy, bias (if AI is used everywhere, and AI is already biased against underrepresented communities, that bias will grow), and digital exclusion. Either way, the UK is moving fast, and there is a strong gap both in opportunity and responsibility. (via BBC)

💄 L’Oréal announced a strategic partnership with… NVIDIA. L’Oréal is effectively trying to combine brand storytelling with tech, in going after hyper-personalised online experiences for consumers, using AI to spot trends ultrafast, and transform marketing (maybe especially for creator led campaigns) with AI-generated visuals. This is a glimpse into where future opportunities might be hiding in the fusion of storytelling with scalable AI. Creators building tools, beauty-startups that are tech-first: keep an eye out. (via Cosmetics Business)