I’ve never been big into clothes, fashion, shopping, labels, sneakers, etc. While I occasionally envy someone that can put together a great outfit or pull off anything they put on, fashion/shopping have never really been my cup of tea. Now don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with wanting to look nice or even dropping some serious cash on quality clothes; however, I can honestly say it’s just something I’d prefer NOT to spend money on. When I took an inventory of the clothes I purchased in 2017, I wasn’t surprised at how little I had spent on clothes over the course of a year. In total, I purchased 14 items of clothing: [Read more…]
Archives for 2018
Blog Income Report March 2018
Welcome to my very first blog income report! I have decided to begin publishing a monthly blog income report for three main reasons:
- To be as transparent as possible with my blog’s growth and development;
- To allow me to track my blog’s progress; and
- To show others that it is possible to make money blogging.
Save Money By Bringing Your Lunch To Work
Maybe it’s just me, but I’m noticing the older I get, the more I dislike grocery shopping. When you live in a major city like NYC, the whole process becomes a major production. There are tons of people, long lines, usually an abnormally slow cashier, items not being in stock, trying to figure out what to buy without going over budget, loading and unloading, and then losing circulation in your hand because you’re trying to make it up five flights of stairs in one trip.
Even though I have a love/hate relationship with grocery shopping because I hate the process of obtaining groceries; I love what it does for my pockets and body (I’m able to know exactly what’s going into my body and can eat healthier). I usually budget around $440 for groceries a month, this number also takes into consideration that I am a gluten free vegetarian. I break that down into two categories: breakfast/lunch & dinner. I try my best to meal prep weekly for breakfast/lunch, which I allocate $100 every two weeks. [Read more…]
10 Sinking Fund Ideas
I don’t know about you but more times than not I get caught up in the busyness of life then WHAM! I get hit with an unexpected, seemingly out of the blue expense. When in actuality, this expense occurs every year on the same day— I just completely forget and don’t plan accordingly. This is where a sinking fund comes into play. With a sinking fund, you save in advance for expected and unexpected expenses. A sinking fund can take on different meanings for each person. Some would consider very well thought out and planned sinking funds to be your emergency fund; as noted in the book “You Need a Budget.”
While others would consider sinking funds and an emergency fund to be two separate things. Personally, I consider an emergency fund and sinking fund(s) to be two separate things. I like the idea of having targeted savings goals while also having a fund that can cover the things I didn’t think of or that come up out of nowhere. Having a few segregated targeted savings accounts plus one big general account takes the pressure off you because you don’t need to stress about having to account for every single life scenario. Sinking funds serve as mini lifelines for folks that don’t always have the cash to cover large expected/unexpected expenses all at once.
For instance, we all know that major holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving have happened on the same day, every year since we were born. So why is it that every year these holidays seem to “sneak up” on us? Leaving us scrambling, each year, to figure out how to pay for all these back to back festivities. [Read more…]
The Importance of an Emergency Fund
Can I be honest with you for a minute? February was a budget-busting month for me. There were a few back-to-back unexpected expenses that I simply didn’t foresee. Yes, even my budget can get derailed from time to time and that’s ok because I understand that, “Life” happens while we’re busy making plans. Could I have planned better? Maybe, but hell, I don’t have a crystal ball so it is what it is!
We had roughly $1600 in car repairs for Jackie (my jeep), a last-minute plane ticket home due to an unforeseen event, and another “life happens” bill that completely blew my budget. While I do have a car maintenance sinking fund, a segregated savings fund I contribute to on a monthly basis to save for predictable expenses in advance, I cap it at $500. It’s capped at $500 dollars because I figure that’s a relatively good chunk of change for a new tire, oil change, or ONE big repair but definitely not $1600 worth of repairs. So there was that and the other stuff just came out of my general emergency fund which totaled less than $700.00. Overall, however, $2,300 is a lot of money in one month for when “Life” happens. [Read more…]
What I Used To Pay Off $38,000 Of Debt in Less than 18 Months
When it comes to money and being proactive about tackling your debt, one story comes to mind – the story of The Ant & the Grasshopper – Aesop’s Fable.
The Ant & the Grasshopper – Aesop’s Fable
“One bright day in late autumn an Ant was bustling about in the warm sunshine, drying out the grain he had stored up during the summer, when a starving Grasshopper, his fiddle under his arm, came up and humbly begged for a bite to eat.
“What!” cried the Ant in surprise, “haven’t you stored anything away for the winter? What in the world were you doing all last summer?”
“I didn’t have time to store up any food,” whined the Grasshopper; “I was so busy making music that before I knew it the summer was gone.” [Read more…]
You Need A Budget- Book Review
Full disclosure: I received a free copy of YNAB in exchange for a post/review of the book.
Every year I always aim to finish at least one book a month. So far I’m crushing that goal because I just finished book number two, “You Need A Budget” also known as “YNAB” by Jesse Mecham. You Need A Budget is all about creating and sustaining a flexible budget; if implemented correctly, it can help you break the cycle of living paycheck to paycheck. I call Mecham’s approach a “flexible budget” because honestly, this is the first time I’ve seen a written approach to budgeting that doesn’t make it seem/sound so restrictive.
One of it’s main objectives is to provide guidance on how to budget with where you are in life right now. The book does a deep dive into four rules that establish a framework for how you should create and implement a personal budget. What I love about this is that it will give you the tools to create a solid foundation and have a more confident outlook with budgeting for the future. [Read more…]
Do I need life insurance or nah?
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure and disclaimer policy for more information.
I’m at the stage in my life where I am starting to wonder whether or not I need life insurance. In the past, I’ve heard my mom talk about it and some older coworkers discuss it over lunch. However, I’ve never really heard anyone my age (31) bring up “life insurance” over a cocktail or out dancing. Maybe it’s because the words “life insurance” sound so incredibly serious, that it turns my generation off because it just solidifies the fact that we are truly “adulting.”
Intimidating or not, I decided to put an end to my “wondering inquiry” and do something about it. This past weekend, I started to do a little investigative work and I thought, it would be a good idea to share with you guys what I found. [Read more…]
5 Money Questions to Ask Before You Get Married
This past weekend, my fiancé and I had “the talk.” “The talk” meaning we discussed our finances, our goals, and our financial future together. We will be getting married in less than 5 months and before we say “I do,” I wanted to make sure we had the same, clear vision on the path ahead. Finances are always amongst the top ten reasons for divorce on almost every “reasons for divorce” list known to man. According to an article from marriage.com, “10 Most Common Reasons for Divorce,” finances are reason #2 right behind infidelity. So it is extremely important to have these conversations with your partner sooner rather than later. [Read more…]
From Wall Street to Blogging Full Time Before The Age of 30
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure and disclaimer policy for more information.
A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing Leo Chan and Alicia Mara, the founders of Levitate Style, a New York City based men’s fashion and travel blog they launched in October 2013. Since the creation of the blog, Leo and Alicia have seen great success. Leo has been featured in major publications like GQ Magazine and Men’s Health, and has also worked with big brands such as Hugo Boss, Audi, Tissot, and Macy’s. Over the past three years, Leo and Alicia have had the opportunity to travel to more than 40 different countries.
Levitate Style initially started as a side hustle for Leo and Alicia, but has now grown into a full-time job for the duo. The best part of their story is that they’ve been able to find success in something they are passionate about all before the age of 30 and in less than 4 years! Their story is a great example of how, if you work hard towards something you believe in, you can turn a dream into a reality.