We’re back with our second installment of the Fiscal Femme Anonymous Money Survey. Why? When I first started my money journey it was really helpful to see how much people were spending on certain things. Not because it was important to compare myself with others or that I should spend my money the same way, but more because it opened my eyes to what was possible and gave me a spending frame of reference.
Frugal joys are free or inexpensive things and experiences that make us happy. The best part about them is that we can add more of them to our lives without increasing our expenses. We can also use them to replace more expensive things to reduce our spending (without losing the joy in our lives).
Summer is my favorite frugal joy season because there are so many options when the weather is warm. Here are some of my favorite frugal joys from this summer. I’d love to hear about yours too!
In times of uncertainty, our rainy day funds become more important than ever. Why? They provide us with cash in case of an emergency - like a change in income, job loss, or unexpected expenses.
They also give us freedom to make choices, peace of mind, and space for creativity. Think about it. Maybe you lost your job and are looking for your next career opportunity. If you have a rainy day fund, you’re better positioned to pass up on a job that’s not a good fit because you don’t need the cash as urgently.
This can make a huge difference in our career trajectories, future earnings, and our overall happiness and satisfaction at work.
The earlier we start, the easier it is to save up for financial freedom—aka retirement. Why? The eighth wonder of the world: compound interest. While retirement may seem far off when we are young, compound interest (or interest on interest) makes it worth our while to start contributing funds to our retirement early on. Any contributions, including small amounts, make a huge difference when given the chance to accumulate.
New research from Affirm shows that Americans’ top goal for 2022 is to take a vacation. And it makes sense. So many of us are overdue - way overdue - myself included.
Of those who plan to travel, 80% agree that this will be the year they splurge on a bucket list vacation, but once in a lifetime vacations require money and time to plan. And with inflation, the cost of that bucket list trip has most likely gone up. Affirm found that 66% of Americans are worried that inflation will impact their 2022 goals, but that doesn’t have to be you!
As part of our Women’s History Month series, Cinneah (the founder of Flynanced) and I co-hosted a series of incredible roundtable discussions with some of our favorite women in the personal finance space with the goal of fostering rich intersectional conversations around money.
Jateria is a financial coach, travel strategist, and founder of Debt Free Travel Journey. We asked her how travel has inspired her financial journey. Here’s what she had to share. (You can watch the full recording of the roundtable discussion, Creating a Travel Abundant Lifestyle, here).
New Year, fresh start. It’s a time when many of us make new and exciting goals, including goals around our money. Yet, even with the best of intentions, as the month of January rolls on, many abandon their goals.
Study after study shows that most people give up on their New Year’s resolutions by the end of January or early February. That’s not what we want!
In theory we all want to earn more money, right? Who doesn’t? But sometimes we have deep seated beliefs about money that keep us from doing so.
If we grew up being told that having money is greedy or we saw people gain wealth and become selfish, it makes sense we wouldn’t want to have much of it. Who wants to be greedy or selfish?
2022 is right around the corner. One of the things I love about the New Year is that it is a great opportunity for a fresh financial start. I reflect on how the past year went and what I’d like to do differently in the coming year. I think about the highlights of my year - what I liked having and doing. Then I can incorporate this reflection into next year’s financial plan.
