More, Personal Finance

A Roadmap to Happiness, Success, and Financial Health

The following blog post is part of the The Road to Financial Wellness Blog Tour.
Over a period of 30 days, the Phroogal team will go to 30 locations to raise
awareness about financial empowerment. Today they will be in Elizabeth, NJ!
Our goal is to help people learn about money by starting the conversation.
We understand  that local conversations can help bring
about national awareness.

I worked for forty-five years in the business world before I began writing this blog in my retirement. That’s how long it took me to put together, in a simple way, how you can achieve happiness, success, and financial health in your life by focusing on a road to that very goal. By avoiding many of the mistakes I, and many others, have made over the years, you can improve your chances of feeling that feeling that makes you a success.

A Roadmap to Happiness, Success, and Financial Health

It seems like most of us work very long, hard hours, making personal sacrifices in the hope that we will make more money and get promotions. Despite doing that, most of us aren’t really happy in our current situation. We want more, but we don’t seem to know how to get there. A big part of the equations is that we think that being financially successful makes us happy, and that monetary wealth guarantees we will have it all.Continue reading“A Roadmap to Happiness, Success, and Financial Health”

Personal Finance, Saving & Investing

Is Your Emergency Fund Big Enough?

It’s Murphy’s Law: anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. Now it might not be as bad as all that, but you never know when a crisis will hit out of the blue. And that’s why having an emergency fund is so important. Typical personal finance advice says to save approximately 3 to 6 month’s worth of expenses in an emergency fund to deal with life’s unexpected expenses. But how many people actually keep that much sitting around? Most people have some consumer debt, so if they’re focused on their finances at all, they’re typically saving up a minimal emergency fund (like $500-$1,000), and then spending the rest on paying down their bills. That seems reasonable, after all the interest you’re likely paying on your consumer debt usually far outweighs the measly 1% interest you’d be lucky to get on your savings (if you can even find 1%). But is your emergency fund big enough to save you? When it comes to emergency savings, size matters.

Is Your Emergency Fund Big Enough?
Continue reading“Is Your Emergency Fund Big Enough?”

Health

How to Save on a Gym Membership

Working out…some of us love it, some of us hate it, but almost all of us need to do it in order to stay fit despite our increasingly sedentary lives. Not only does it affect our weight and our health, but those in turn can affect our self-image, confidence, and possibilities for success in our lives.

How to Save on a Gym Membership

When I was a teenager, I spent almost every day biking, playing baseball, and generally running around and playing a variety of sports. Continue reading“How to Save on a Gym Membership”

Personal Finance, Shopping

4 Valuable Reasons to Delay Spending

Most of the time, when people want to save more and spend less, they try to reduce or eliminate their extra spending. And this is a really important part of living below your means, saving money, and reaching your financial goals. But sometimes, just delaying your spending is enough to make an important difference.

4 Valuable Reasons to Delay Spending

However, delaying your spending can also be a bad idea. In fact, sometimes it’s a really, really bad idea. If you have a medical issue, or if your car or home needs a repair, waiting can be a huge mistake. Your problem can escalate from a small, manageable issue into a large, expensive one. Plus those issues can multiply and affect your income (missing work due to an unreliable car or an illness) and now putting that spending off will cost you big time.

But if you’re thinking of spending on a purchase, whether it’s something big (like a home or a car), medium (like a laptop or smartphone) or even something small, there are several useful reasons to delay your spending.Continue reading“4 Valuable Reasons to Delay Spending”

More

Happy 1st Blogiversary to Super Saving Tips!

Well, who would have believed it? Some 70 posts and a year have just gone by in a flash. Just a year ago I was looking for something to do and keep busy in my newly retired life and little did I know then that this blog would grow into what it now has become! Originally a once-a-week project, it now is published twice weekly, usually on Tuesdays and Fridays. It continued to evolve into an interesting, personally rewarding, and hopefully beneficial endeavor.

Happy 1st Blogiversary to Super Saving Tips!

The original concept here was to write about my experiences and recommendations in retail shopping and saving money, Continue reading“Happy 1st Blogiversary to Super Saving Tips!”

Food

7 Undeniable Ways to Save at the Supermarket

In this blog I have written about many ways to save at the supermarket. You should be consistently diligent and anything but lazy to make sure you’re getting the best deals every time you shop. The truth is no matter where you do your grocery shopping, the fundamentals never change and the things you need to do to save are the same everywhere you may go.

7 Undeniable Ways to Save at the Supermarket

Some supermarkets have the reputation of having lower prices while some are proudly “upscale” and “quality” focused, but in the end they all use the same tactics to increase their sales and you should always pay attention to those details. Here are the best ways to defend your grocery budget against the supermarket strategies of the 21st century.Continue reading“7 Undeniable Ways to Save at the Supermarket”

Home

Rent versus Buy: The Age-Old Housing Debate

It’s a popular time of year for home sales, with many people looking for a new place to live, and open house signs dotting the neighborhood each weekend. Once you’ve narrowed down the area you want to live, the next big question is whether you should rent or buy. Many people point to home ownership as the American dream where you can build equity rather than renting which is considered “throwing your money away”. But financially, it doesn’t always make sense to buy over renting, and there’s often more than just financial considerations to take into account.

Rent versus Buy: The Age-Old Housing Debate

So, rent versus buy? The answer is: it depends.Continue reading“Rent versus Buy: The Age-Old Housing Debate”