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    Blog Posts by Financially Fit

    • How to Go on a Financial Detox

      By Financially Fit | Financially Fit – Wed, Jun 27, 2012 7:57 PM EDT

      By Sarah Lybrand

      Think it's possible to go an entire week without spending a dime? New Yorker Natasha Huang agreed to embark on our Financial Detox Challenge, with hopes to save enough to earn herself a much-needed vacation. Here's how the challenge works…and how Natasha fared:

      Stock Up

      First, prepare for your Financial Detox by stocking up on the basics, whatever you need to survive a week without compromising your health, or your job. This includes filling up your gas tank, shopping for a week's worth of breakfasts, bagged lunches, and dinners, and filling any prescriptions. Natasha says, "I started by loading my subway card with $50 and going grocery shopping, where I spent about $50, or about $100 for the week."

      Leave your Cards and Cash At Home

      Begin the financial detox by leaving your cards and cash at home; see how it feels to go without your usual, everyday temptations like your morning cup of joe, or an impromptu happy hour.

      See also: Designer Trends

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    • How My $1,000-a-Month Shopping Habit Became a Business

      By Financially Fit | Financially Fit – Thu, May 24, 2012 12:57 AM EDT

      By Kendra Porter with Sarah Lybrand

      If you're looking for the next big idea to become your own boss...you might try examining both your strengths and your weaknesses. For one New York woman, she managed to turn an addiction to shopping into a full-fledged career.

      Kendra Porter, an entrepreneur and image consultant from Westchester, N.Y., now gets to shop full time as part of her job. There was a time, however, when her relationship with shopping was a bit more complicated.

      For her, it all started in college. Stress from a heavy courseload in engineering and pressure from her parents were taking its toll. Forget the 'Freshman 15' -- for Kendra, it was more like the 'Freshman 50'. To deal with her new body, whenever she'd get depressed, Kendra would go on shopping "sprees" -- splurging at a number of stores over the course of several days, spending sometimes a thousand dollars at a time. At the same time, Kendra was a poor college student. Guilty over how much she was

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    • Lessons from the Penny Pinchers

      By Financially Fit | Financially Fit – Thu, Apr 19, 2012 9:05 AM EDT

      By Lisa Merriam with Sarah Lybrand

      If it's possible to say that anything good has come out of the recession, I'd say it's been the impact it's had on my parenting. As a single mom living in Manhattan, I'm proud to say that I've finally re-aligned my values with the way I was raised. And Mom always taught us that every penny counts!

      Prior to 2008, my work as a brand consultant had me building effective campaigns for an elite clientele, and enjoying a lucrative career that supported a more-than-comfortable lifestyle. Back then we traveled the world, had a four-bedroom house in New Jersey, even a second apartment in Manhattan. Life was good!

      So good, in fact, that I never worried -- or even thought much -- about our finances. Like many, I believed that if I worked hard, success would always follow and so even though I earned a good salary, I never thought twice about throwing down a credit card, or cavalierly spending ahead of my income. I was confident I could always make it Read More »