All in Alternative Lifestyle
Staying at home to care for children (and older parents in the future) has normally been part of the woman’s Caretaker role. In our current economy, caretaking is low-income work or unpaid. This means that when a woman takes on the Caretaker role full-time, she misses out on potential earnings, skill development, and networking opportunities. A lack of earnings means lower Social Security benefit accumulation and a decrease in savings and investments. A double whammy!
You can’t spell challenge without change.
The challenges in this list aren’t your typical save $1 on Day 1 and $2 on Day 2, although, those can be pretty helpful. These challenges are to help you see that money is an integral part of our lives, but it’s not the primary goal. You’ll learn that after doing these challenges, money and time are both important, living frugally doesn’t have to mean deprivation, you don’t always have to spend money to have a good time and that getting a community together can help with your money goals.
As it is Earth Month, I'm sharing some of my tried and true sustainable swaps. My journey to sustainability continues to this day and the biggest thing I've learned is that it is a journey, one that never ends, as we challenge ourselves to do better each day, learn more, and teach others. Sustainability comes in so many forms that we all have to do the best we can, given our resources. I've also learned that when you are kind to the planet, you also become kinder to the wallet.
It’s a new year and you’ve been inspired to start anew again. You stopped by your local Target and got a pretty 2023 planner. You scribbled a few due dates in, maybe a few resolutions, but now what? The blank pages before you seem overwhelming or you simply don’t have the willpower to continue going back to them. It can be difficult to plan productivity and that’s why many of us fail at it.
Here are some tips on how to get the most out of your planner in 2021!
"How beautifully leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days."
As the weather cools down and Instagram is flooded with all things autumn, it’s easy to want to do all the fun things too. Fall is beautiful and a lot of fun, but with all the fall festivities going on, it’s a great time to re-evaluate and think about ways to save some money this time of year. Here are 22 tips on saving money this fall.
Give a man an education and he will build a new world, but give a man a loan and you can own that man forever.
It’s been 10 years since I graduated from grad school. I still proudly hang up my diploma because it put me on a better path for my career and my income. It was also FREE. No loans, no debt, no soul to be sold. With that, I thought I might offer some ways to help reduce debt if you are a college student or have a child that is about to head to college.
This month’s book is called Die With Zero: Getting All You Can From Your Money and Your Life by Bill Perkins. In short, the book is a personal finance book, but it doesn’t talk about saving, budgeting or investing like the majority of personal finance books though. This book instead talks about using your money intentionally to fund and find fulfillment.
As individuals, we all have the power to make a change. Today, money makes the world go round. That is an honest reality that we all must face, which means we need to be more conscious about what we buy, where we park our money, what we invest in, and how we go about changing a system that relies heavily on consumption and growth.
Financial issues can affect anyone and everyone. While many of today’s financial concerns affect the LGBT community the same as everyone else, LGBT Americans can also face another set of additional issues that can pose obstacles to one’s financial wellness and planning.
In this article, we will briefly cover 5 financial concerns that the LGBTQIA+ community may face
Since it’s Earth Month, we’ve been running a #SaveMoneySaveThePlanet Challenge with our email subscribers. Sign-up here. We can’t let this month pass by without talking about fashion, more specifically how fast fashion affects our wallets and the planet and how we must all transition towards the concept of slow fashion.
You might have heard of fast fashion — clothing that can be both cheap in costs and in quality. But have you heard about slow fashion? Slow fashion focuses on the opposite, curating clothing that is more sustainable in its production and material, while having a newfound appreciation for consumer transparency, ethics, and local, artisan craft.
When I was a kid, my mom used to wake me up early on Saturdays to bring me to the local flea market or to scout nearby yard sales. I would pick at miscellaneous toys and gadgets, while my parents browsed for clothes and homeware. When we would go to thrift stores, I would quickly do a pass through of the aisles and claim that I didn’t find anything interesting. I didn’t find it particularly interesting at the time, but now, as a twenty-something year old, I realized how much fun and affordable it was. For some thrifting is new, and for others, it was an activity out of necessity. Some people prefer to thrift to find unique clothing pieces, while others do it for sustainability reasons. Regardless of your reason, here are some tips that can help jumpstart your thrifting journey:
A No-Spend Challenge is self induced commitment or challenge to one’s self to not spend money in a certain period of time. No-Spend challenges can range from one week to a month, or whatever you heart desires.
I actually did this last year, but I basically gave up online spending for 40ish days. This year, I wanted to do the same as a way to challenge myself and practice self-restraint, but also give my wallet a break.
Here are some of my observations from my no-spend challenge.
Do you love makeup and beauty products?
Makeup and beauty products typically depreciate the moment you open it. They expire and it’s hard to get your money back on them. If you use them, then you can get your dollar’s worth, but for many of us, some of our makeup languishes at the bottom of our drawers especially if we have a lot of options to choose from. That’s just the nature of a consumer product. Today though I want to introduce you to the concept of buying beauty and cosmetic stock for every cosmetic product you buy. The goal is to buy assets that have a potential to appreciate which means money in your pocket for the future.
It’s never too late to take advantage of free things in college. Whether you’re reading this as an incoming student, an undergraduate, or masters student, be on the lookout for freebies that are both physical and digital. Free things are all around, but it’s up to you to pursue them.
To be fair, are these things really “free”? Your tuition is paying for something.
I don't know how to act my age. I've never been this age before.
I turn 25 this December. I didn’t think this is what it was going to be like leading up to my 25th birthday. I feel old and young all at the same time, but most importantly I still feel lost. My mid-twenties have been thrown in for a loop, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t give up. My birthday is another celebration — another benchmark. I’m not here to tell anyone where they should be in their mid-twenties. Physically, mentally, financially, we’re all at different points. As I enter my 25th year, here are some of my goals that I’d like to meet:
“A map tells you where you’ve been, where you are, and where you’re going — in a sense it’s three tenses in one.”
Today, I thought it might be interesting to share our money maps. Basically, this is a snapshot of how we handle our money and where it’s going. Money maps provide a quick visual into the flow of your money. For someone with many accounts, this can be a good way to track and ensure things are in the right place. Money maps can and should change over time. As your money goals change, your money map should change with you.
Many Americans are beginning to receive their stimulus checks as part of The CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security) Act to relieve some of the financial pressure brought on by the pandemic.
Depending on your income level and dependents, you may have already received the money from the US Treasury. People who filed a 2018 and 2019 tax return and had direct deposit information with the IRS will receive the check first with paper checks going out in May. If you are unsure if you will be getting a check or how much, use this handy calculator to find out. Scroll down to CARES Act Rebate Calculator or check the graph.
The money is being given with no strings attached.
Here are the many ways you can use this money wisely.
“Mentors won’t make you rich. Doctors won’t make you healthy. Nutritionists won’t make you slim. Teachers won’t make you smart. Gurus won’t make you calm. Trainers won’t make you fit. Ultimately, you have to take responsibility. Save yourself.” - Naval Ravikant
With the help of one of our sisters, Elaine, who graduated from NJIT last year, we thought we would provide a few tips to help college students and more specifically, college seniors, weather the effects of Covid-19 in their future plans.
I was three years out of undergrad when the 2008 recession happened. I had just started a new job in New York City in a completely different industry when the mortgage crisis unraveled so a part of this are some lessons I learned during that time. The most important being to prepare and not let fear get in the way of action and to always think about your future self and future family.
"I've never wanted to be a lady who lunches; I've always wanted to be a woman who works."
Financial independence is about living life on your own terms. Money is a tool, it’s neither good or bad. Sometimes though, money can make people feel trapped, especially if it’s money that is not your own. If you are up on your royal family news, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, aka Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, announced that they are “charting a new course” with how to find the balance of being part of the royal family while also leading separate, independent lives. This appeared to be an unprecedented move from “senior” royal family member, basically denouncing a part of their royal responsibilities. What struck me about their decision and goal was the additional phrase that they needed “to become financially independent.”
Frugality isn’t the only way to make FIRE possible.
Today’s guest post comes from Caroline of Costa Rica FIRE. She shares her story of how she and her husband are achieving FI even though they came to it “late” by thinking and doing differently. You can achieve FIRE even in a high cost-of-living city, even when you have kids, even when you like to spend money. Frugality isn’t the only way to make FIRE possible.
