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by Helen Chevreau, Hub Staff
This short and to-the-point post from Budget Bloggess is here to quell all our concerns about the millennial generation being frugal. Sure, the word ‘frugal’ may get some flack for its apparent likeness to ‘cheap’, but oh how different the two really are. If you were ever unsure as to whether cutting up your old t-shirts to use as dishrags qualified you as cheap, you can stop worrying. Thanks to Toronto-based Budget Bloggess for putting my mind at ease: I’m not cheap, I’m frugal.
We’ve probably all been told at this point in our financial journeys about the magical ‘latte factor.’ You know the one: if we just save the $5 a day we would normally spend on our Starbucks, we’ll be rich before we know it. Of course there’s nothing wrong with this tactic. However, this new post from My Money Counts will definitely help us put that $5 in perspective when compared with the “4 expenses that will steal your savings.” Those being expensive car payments, having too much house, insane student loan debt, and of course, credit-card debt. It is a well-informed look at some of the most common and burdensome factors that contribute to young peoples’ savings struggles. And, if nothing else, it’ll make you feel a little less guilty about that double mocha frappucino!
Chronic Money Stresses? Millennial Money Man’s new post is about the amount of stress that young people put on ourselves when it comes to money. I don’t think any millennial will be shocked to hear that we are more knowledgable about social media than personal finance. It’s not surprising, then, that we are stressing ourselves out about car payments, credit-card debt, and trying to save for retirement. It only adds to the stress when something goes wrong — a truth that Houston-based Millennial Money Man is quick to remind us happens to everyone. He also reminds us how important it is to help ease our millennial money stresses by setting up an emergency fund. It may not prevent bad things from happening, but it may just help us to weather the storm a little better.
A Dollar not Lost is a Dollar Earned
This new post from 20 Something Finance is a really interesting new way of looking at our savings. I had never even heard of this trick to get myself motivated to become an active saver, but it makes complete sense. Using a tactic known as “loss incentive,” our Michigan-based writer shows us how sometimes the threat of losing a potential reward is more of a motivating factor than the potential to gain a reward. Read the post, and then decide which of the two scenarios mentioned would be more motivating for your savings.
Helen Chevreau is a student teacher, blogger and global adventurer. She also happens to be the daughter of Hub CFO Jonathan Chevreau. She has a B.A. in English and has been blogging for four years. Her next stop is Scotland for postgraduate studies in education.
