Take Two: Thrive on Behavioral Budgeting and the Future of Financial Management

This is the followup to our interview with Thrive CEO and Founder, Avi Karnani and Lead Scientist, Matt Wallaert.  In our first installment, which you can read here, we talked to them about their work in financial literacy, competition with popular money management site, Mint and how they differ from other financial service companies.  In this installment, we’ll find out more on behavioral budgeting and how it works, and how Thrive is working to make banking a better service industry. Read more

Thrive on Behavioral Budgeting, Financial Literacy and the Future of Financial Management – Part 1

We recently sat down with Thrive (a free online personal finance manager) co-founder, Avi Karnani and Lead Scientist, Matt Wallaert to talk about Thrive’s offering to the rapidly evolving world of personal finance.  We met up in their office in Chinatown to discuss their recent acquirement, current work in financial literacy, and their competition with one of the most recognized financial management site, Mint.com.  Since we covered a lot of ground, we’re going to publish this interview in two parts:  the first of which is below.  [Part 2 is here] Read more

Is It Possible to Live Below your Means in NYC?

After moving to New York City four years ago, I fell into the common trap of feeling like I could participate in the city’s extravagance the way the rich and the coddled enjoy the city.  Like many others that have traveled the road before me, I had to learn the hard way that I, unlike the numerous trust fund babies and bankers, did not have a Get Free pass into the city’s limitless playground for the wealthy.  Once that realization sank in and I stopped feeling sorry for myself, I was able to settle in and enjoy the real New York City.  That is, the one without all the flavor of the month restaurants with their $20 cocktails and over-obsessed neophytes.

There are plenty of ways to take in all this great city has to offer without overextending yourself and putting too much strain on your finances.  But, in a city where it isn’t unusual to allocate 50% of your salary towards housing, is it really possible for New Yorkers to live below their means?

Anything is possible, but if there ever was a city to test this notice, New York is it.  We won’t say yes or no, since each person’s finances are different and there are far too many variables to crunch, but there are definite ways to cut costs in the city without sacrificing too much convenience or some semblance of a social life.  Here are a few ways to try.

1.  Check for a local CSA or Food Co-op in your neighborhood. There’s a comprehensive list here which details all of the CSA’s in each borough.  Most of them usually amount to around $20 a week of food, and you’ll be eating healthy and in season while saving cash on store bought goods.

2.  Hang Local. Make friends in your neighborhood and check out local watering holes.  So much money is spent on overpriced meals, drinks and cabs.  Curtail some of that spending by hitting up local establishments.  You’ll meet local people, help out local business and save money.  If; however, pricey Manhattan is your game (or your borough), find activities that’ll provide low cost fun.

3.  Start shopping for Dollar Store wares. The Dollar Store has absolutely everything — well, most things.  If I’m ever in need of a new toothbrush, cosmetics, linens — even some cheap food, it’s sure to come in under $5 and usually under $2.  There’s rarely something that I need that I can’t find at the Dollar Store or a comparable knock-off, and I’ve practically furnished my entire kitchen for less than a hundred bucks soley from D.S. and Bobby’s Department Store in Brooklyn.

4.  Take Advantage of Free Events. There are quite a surprisingly quite a few events in the city that are free of charge — music concerts, outdoor dance festivals, art exhibits, comedy shows, museums.  There’s no reason to pay top dollar for events when you can still experience the city’s vast array of cultural activities for nothing. A good resource for more stuff is FreeNYC — check it out.

Life in NY can still be had when you make pointedly less than six figures.  It may beg for more creative solutions, but the point is that those activities still exist.  With a little thought and imagination, you can create a rich city life just like the other guys.

Photo by NightLord

Monthly Mashup: November Edition

One major holiday down, one to go.  We hope all of you LifeStyler readers had a fantastic Thanksgiving Holiday (and long weekend), complete with home cooked meals and family gatherings.  Ours consisted of alternately inhaling baked macaroni and candied yams while watching old Twilight Zone re-runs on the tube.  But then we got down to business and compiled our favorite posts from the month of November in our monthly mashup of cheap, thrifty, and fabulous articles from LifeStyler and beyond the blogosphere.  Keep reading for our November Editor’s Picks.

Don’t Be a Gift-Giving Dunce – We’ve all gotten those gifts for Christmas — the ones you’re not so sure what to do with, or even somewhat repulsed by.  The LifeStyler staff recalls some of their most sucky presents of their childhood and share how you can avoid being a gift-giving dunce.

Saving on Transportation Costs in NYC – With NYC’s cost of living still at a peak and jobs being slashed in all industries, it’s important to cut costs wherever possible in your budget.  Read on for our tips for saving some dough with on your daily commute.

53 Inexpensive Christmas Gifts – David over at Money Under 30 rounds up 53 easy and inexpensive Christmas gift ideas for the cash strapped or just financially conscious consumer.

What I Learned from Damon Dash – We lowly, under-paid office drones aren’t the only ones getting ourselves into financial trouble.  Even multi-millionaires screw up sometimes!  We take a deeper look into Damon Dash’s recent financial pitfalls and see how he could have avoided this serious cash blunder.

5 Ways to Save Daily – Small steps can go a long way.  Along with making drastic changes in your lifestyle, it’s important to make small adjustments as well.  By taking a closer look at where you spend money every day, you can save hundreds of dollars a year with barely an afterthought.

Avoid the Workplace Monkey Suit - Hate the ‘ole suit and tie shebaggle every day?  Our men’s style expert, Jeffrey Wilson, shows you how to slowly integrate your own personal style — complete with t-shirts and tennis shoes — into your work wardrobe and still look polished and professional.

Cyber Monday Deals – Ditched the Black Friday madness for some Cyber Monday deals? The Budget Fashionista is keeping up with deals and will be updating this page all day to reflect new sales and incoming deals.

Lauren Unplugged – Living in a society that is hugely focused on being “plugged in” 24/7, it’s easy to forget what pure, unadulterated solitude is like.  So, when my old, tired Blackberry crapped out it’s last signal earlier this year, I vowed to end the madness and trade in the intrusive PDA lifestyle for a simpler solution.

5 Mistakes Young Professionals Make at Work – Assimilating into the workplace for the first time is no easy feat.  In a whirlwind of office culture and subsequent politics, it’s easy to make simple blunders that will spotlight your greenness.  Keep on reading for a list of the 5 most common mistakes that young professionals frequently make and how to stay on top of your game and ahead of the curve.

CNN’s Quick and Easy Budget Pie Chart

I’ve said it plenty of times before, and I’ll reiterate it again: Americans have a serious lack of budgeting skills.  That’s why I was thrilled when On The Money put up a special budgeting calculator that breaks your monthly take-home income down into down into expense categories that are based on rule-of-thumb expense allocation. Read more

Quicken Online — Free Personal Finance Manager

Quicken — the guys behind some of the most popular finance tools in the home and workplace today — has finally learned from the Internet start-ups what the people want:  Free Personal Finance Management.  And they’ve launched Quicken Online to feed the starving masses.  Read more

How to Save $10K In 1 Year

The art of saving money has become somewhat extinct for Gen Y. As young adults exploring new careers and wanting to lead “adult social lives”, there’s a big discrepancy between our earnings as a young employee and the way we perceive that we should be living – usually way above our means. Read more

Budgeting: In 5 Easy Steps

Budgeting is one of those rare art forms that a lot of people never learn how to master. And although vital to managing your money (or lack thereof), it’s become something of a lost relic when it comes to younger generations understanding and practicing budgeting at an early age. Read more