PERSONAL FINANCE, ELEVATED.
What happens when someone who’s “good at money” tracks their spending the old school way? With a pen and paper and not using an automated system like Mint? Inspired by the Man Repeller and Refinery29 money diaries, as a fun experiment I manually tracked everything I bought this past weekend. Although I’m conscious about my overall spending […]
A few years ago, my coworkers and I got a fat bonus. Unexpected, and unusually high. We all clinked our glasses of champagne, musing about what we were going to do with the money. One coworker was a Lord of the Rings fan and wanted to book a trip to New Zealand. “I’m thinking of buying a […]
A few weeks ago I found a wedding dress that fit like a dream and was a steal at $600. Yet…I didn’t buy it. I’m a month away from getting married and I still haven’t settled on a wedding dress(!). The almost-dress was by Leanne Marshall. Remember when she won on Project Runway? One Sunday I […]
To get around in New York, most days I take the train. But every once in a while I take the bus. Though slower, the bus is like the scenic route, and I notice my day gets a little bit brighter when I take in the sights along the way. Seeing the city in a […]
Last August I asked my mom if she wanted to go to Hawaii. She quickly shook her head no, “Too expensive.” “Don’t worry about the money, Mom. I’ll take care of the tickets,” I told her. A few weeks later, I booked four flights worth $3,800 for only $45. As I’m writing this right now, […]
If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I’ve set myself up for a personal finance fail: planning my wedding in New York City. Warning: Since I’m knee-deep in navigating the wedding industry and how it affects money, I can’t help it—I’m going to be oversharing my thoughts in the next few months. If this will annoy you, then you […]
One of my earliest memories is of my mom and dad at a dealership paying for their first car, a light blue Subaru, producing wads of cash from a kraft envelope. Credit cards made you overspend, so my parents didn’t have any, and stocks were the sure-fire way to flush your money down the toilet. […]
When I used to look at fashion blogs, there was always one thing no one ever seemed to talk about: how much people actually spend on clothes. These blogs would be filled with endless amounts of designer clothes with a seemingly unlimited supply of money to match. Of course I’d put my personal-finance hat on and start […]
Everyone in New York is richer than you. Or so it seems. Take today, for example: on my way to work I made note of all the usual signs of wealth. The latest Gucci fur mules on the subway. Twenty-three-year-old co-workers living alone in the Meatpacking district. Facebook friends posting pictures of dinners from Eleven Madison […]
Google ‘moving to New York City’ and you’ll come across many people who wonder, “Can I afford to move there?” In the forums or blog comments you’ll be met with the same warnings: “The average studio apartment costs $3,875. There’s no way I can afford that.” “My salary’s nowhere CLOSE to $100,000 a year. I’m […]