5 Simple Money Moves to Make Right Now Hearing the phrase “Money doesn’t grow on trees” sure makes our blood boil. It seems the more money hits our bank accounts, the quicker it seems to vanish. For those of you who are raising their eyebrows at the word “vanish,” we mean adulting and taking care of responsibilities. Paying bills is annoying! However, it is so important to keep tabs on your spending because otherwise debt could pile up – and that would be no good. To help bring in more dinero, check out these 5 simple money moves to make right now to get more cash in your pocket. #1 Invest Your Money When you make wise financial investments, you increase your ability to add to your rainy day fund instead of dipping into it because you’re low on cash. There are so many apps you can turn to that will help you get started with investing! Some of them will round up to the nearest dollar when you spend and invest the difference; otherwise will analyze your spending patterns and invest small amounts over time. We encourage you to do your research and find which apps—and investment styles—work for you. Never jump into an investment because of a fad! Investing your money properly can provide you with major returns and lifelong wealth. #2 Optimize For Your Future Optimizing for your future requires you to take life by the horns. You might not have your dream life right now—but that doesn’t mean you’ll never have it. Picking up side gigs to get some extra dough can be a great way to optimize for your future, especially if you use that new income to pay off debt, save, and invest. As the world opens back up, there are many things people want to do—and a lot of them will be using ride-shares to do it. Sign up to be a driver and let the money roll in while you explore the city too! #3 Live for Free If you have the opportunity to live for free, do it! There’s no need to run yourself ragged trying to make ends meet if you have other options. Living rent-free gives you the luxury to stack your bread while you try to get back on your feet and pay off debt. Living rent-free can lift a huge weight off your shoulders. Paying monthly for a place to stay has its pros—but as we all know, one of the cons is that it can be pricey. Be sure to communicate clearly with whoever is blessing you with a place to stay about how you will contribute to the household, whether that’s pitching in with chores, picking up groceries, or paying for utilities. If you already own your own home and want to bring in extra money, you can always rent out some rooms! The roommates you find can pay the rent or mortgage while you build your nest egg. #4 Refinance Your Loans Refinancing your loans can result in major money back in your pocket. When you refinance your loan, the borrower replaces the debt obligation with one that has more favorable terms—usually in the form of a reduced interest rate. During this process, the borrower takes out a new loan to pay off their existing debt, and the terms of the old loan are replaced by the updated agreement. Refinancing means you can actually reduce your rate by 2% or more, which will save you a ton of money over the long haul. Some lenders say that even a 1% reduction is an incentive to refinance! #5 Track Your Money Don’t get caught letting your money slip through the cracks. Tracking your money is key to a healthy financial lifestyle. When every penny is accounted for, you’ll sleep better at night and have a sense of financial security. Tracking your funds allows you to see if you are in debt or getting out of debt. When you track your money, you’re easily able to see if another gig needs to be picked up or not. We totally encourage you to track your money—thank us later! Related: 5 Creative Ways to Make More Money Whether you are making some extra cash from sitting on your coach doing online trading or just picking up another gig, making more money is not a crime. What ways have you found to be useful in getting extra cash? Check us out on our City Girl Savings Facebook page and drop us a comment. We love hearing from you and members of the community! Follow and like us on IG and Twitter @citygirlsavings. … 5 Simple Money Moves to Make Right NowRead More »

6 Signs You’re Saving Too Much Money One of the biggest mistakes people make when saving money is saving too much of it. I’m sure you’re scratching your head and thinking, “What are you talking about, Raya?!” But it’s true! You could be saving TOO much money. Before you click away, hear me out… It’s possible to save too much money when your saving hinders other areas of your life—saving money the right way is an art and a science. The good news? Anyone can master it! Check out 6 signs you’re saving too much money and start mastering the art of saving effectively. 6 Signs You’re Saving Too Much Money #1 You’re saving money just to take it right back The first indicator that you’re saving too much money is if you’re constantly pulling money out of your savings, especially to cover bills and spending. If you constantly have to use your savings to pay for your living expenses, you were putting too much money into savings to begin with. Take a step back and review your budget. After all of your bills and expenses are covered, what amount do you have left? From that amount, allocate money to fun spending and the rest to savings. The amount that’s allocated to savings is what should be going into savings. Anything more, and you’re doing it at the expense of other bills and spending. #2 You’re saving money but living paycheck to paycheck Saving money to live paycheck to paycheck is counterintuitive. We should be saving money so we don’t have to live paycheck to paycheck! Do you find that you have your money saved, bills are paid, but have nothing in your checking account a few days before payday? If so, you could be saving too much money. While you don’t need a whole lot of money in your checking account right before payday, you do need something. You never know what bill or expense could pop up. You can try reducing how much you have going into savings, or see if you can reduce spending in between pay periods. If your spending is pretty controlled, then slightly reduce what you put into savings. #3 You’re saving and haven’t focused on aggressively paying down debt There’s a caveat to this one. You’ll want to have SOMETHING saved before aggressively paying down debt, but it doesn’t have to be a large amount. I typically recommend clients save $500-$1000 before focusing on debt. Depending on your situation, do you need a little less saved ($500) or a little more saved ($1000)? If you have well over $1000 in your savings and are still putting money in but you have debt (especially credit card debt), then you’re saving too much money. Actually, you’re losing money. You’re likely spending more on interest with your credit cards then you are gaining interest on the money in your savings account. Funny how that works. Get $500-$1000 saved and then shift your focus to paying down debt. You can get further by focusing on one goal at a time. #4 You’re in a good financial place but never spend money on yourselfHear me out. Saving money is always wise, but enjoying life (in moderation) is wise too, and makes for a happier life. You’re saving too much money if you’re in a good financial place but never treat yourself to anything. You’re a robot: Save. Spend on bills. Repeat. Sound familiar? Life is too short not to enjoy yourself on occasion. Include fun spending in your budget, so you know you can afford it and it’s already planned out. Even if you reduce your savings slightly to ensure you can have some fun, it will be worth it in the long run. You work hard for your money, so you should be able to enjoy it. #5 Your budget tells you you’re saving too much money This is probably one of the easiest signs you’re saving too much money: your budget says you are! Your budget should outline all the money coming in and going out monthly. When you know what’s coming in, you can make sure that the amount that goes out stays under that number. If your budget is telling you that after all of your bills and spending is covered, you have $500 left, then it doesn’t make sense to allocate $700 a month to savings. Let your budget dictate what you can afford to save, and you’ll find that you save exactly what you’re meant to. You can always bring in more money to put into your savings as well. #6 You have a stacked savings but no investments While I do believe investing is a form of savings, for the sake of this sign, let’s look at them separately. If you’re debt free, have money constantly going into your savings account, and have an emergency fund of 3-6 months’ worth of expenses, but nothing invested, that’s a problem. Investing is one of the best ways to build wealth, but people often avoid it because they’re scared or don’t know where to start. The good news is that it doesn’t take much to get started with investing! All, or a portion, of the money you currently have going to savings can be reallocated to investments. I think Betterment is one of the best places to start. You’ll find that investing can be more fulfilling and exhilarating than regular savings. Your money makes so much more when it’s invested. Related: How I’m Saving $1400 a Month Now do you get it? You could be saving too much money if it’s at the expense of something else (your debt, your livelihood, etc.). If none of the scenarios above applies to you, then keep doing what you’re doing! If you are saving too much money, then don’t fear! Just refer to your budget and see what’s realistic for your situation. I’d love to hear about your money-saving tips and experiences, so share in the comments section below! -Ray … 6 Signs You’re Saving Too Much MoneyRead More »

6 Things to Do Now to Get Your Budget Ready for the Holidays When it comes to holiday spending, it’s better to be proactive instead of reactive! What I mean is, the earlier you can start planning, saving and preparing for the holidays, the better. We still have a good 3 months before Christmas, and that’s plenty of time to get your budget ready for the holidays. I want the holidays to be a fun time, not a stressful, anxiety-inducing time. The best way to make it fun and stress-free is to start planning. I’m sharing 6 things to do now to get your budget ready for the holidays. The earlier you start putting a game plan in place for your holiday spending, the better off you’ll be when the holiday time comes…and trust me, it’s coming! How to Get Your Budget Ready for the Holidays #1 Sign up for the free Frugal Fall Savings Challenge! I used to struggle with preparing for holiday shopping, so to help myself and others, I started the Frugal Fall Savings Challenge years ago! It’s an 8-week savings challenge that can help you save an extra $500—just in time for Black Friday. This challenge started off by helping me and a few women, and has grown into a challenge that thousands of people participate in! The amount we’ve saved collectively over the years will blow your mind! This challenge is designed to help you get your budget ready for the holidays by making sure you have something saved to spend on your holiday shopping. We start this year’s challenge later this month, so sign up now! #2 Start thinking about your holiday spending limits It’s always good to go into the holiday season with an idea of how much you want to spend. Don’t just limit your spending limits to gifts, either. Think about any holiday parties, charities or events that will require extra money from you. Setting spending limits helps you avoid overspending. Imagine going into the holiday season with no direction on how much you want to spend! That is a recipe for overspending disaster. Start thinking about the financial limits you have with your holiday spending and then start saving to make sure you can meet those limits comfortably. Everyone’s situation is different, so there isn’t a one-size-fits-all limit amount. Try thinking about everyone you need to buy gifts for and come up with individual limits. Then, think about events or giving. Add up the total to get your overall holiday spending limit. #3 Repurpose your savings to holiday expenses If you already have automatic savings transfers set up (and I’m sure you do), consider repurposing those transfers to holiday spending. You can take the money out of your savings account and use for holiday shopping, or you can have the transfers allocated to a new savings just for holiday spending. The point is to not stretch yourself thin for the holidays. It’s great to keep up your saving efforts, but not with the risk of using credit cards because you don’t have enough for holiday shopping. Understand that this repurposing is temporary and will switch back to normal after the holidays. Make a plan to save earlier for the holidays next year. #4 Tighten up your discretionary categoriesThere’s no doubt about it: the holiday season is the costliest time of year for all of us! That means we need to be wise with our non-necessary spending. As the holidays approach, start tightening up your discretionary categories. If you have $250/month allocated for fun spending in your budget, try cutting it back to $150. This gives you some wiggle room with your spending for the holidays and helps to make sure you don’t go overboard. This is another strategy where you remind yourself it’s only temporary. Imagine getting through the holidays with no debt and money in your account! That makes tightening up the fun spending truly worth it. #5 Build up cash reserves in your account(s) I don’t know about you, but nine times out of ten, I overspend during the holidays. I set limits, I save money, and I still overspend. The magic of the season can cause some of us (myself included) to go overboard. So, to get your budget ready for the holidays, start building up extra cash in your accounts. You can do this by cutting back on bills, expenses, and spending. Reducing wherever you can will keep more money in your account. You can also build up cash reserves by bringing in more money. Can you work overtime? Can you do some Uber and Lyft rides? The more you can bring in, the more you’ll have to dedicate to holiday spending. #6 Hide your credit cards If you take anything away from this article, I want it to be this: DO NOT GO INTO DEBT FOR THE HOLIDAYS. The holidays come every single year, so it’s not wise or worth it to go into debt because of holiday spending. Your loved ones wouldn’t want that for you, and those you’re buying gifts for will be happy with anything. I know it’s easier said than done – I’ve gone into debt for the holidays in the past, so I’m speaking from experience. It’s just not worth it. Hide your credit cards as we get closer to the winter months. You don’t need them and should only be spending what’s been saved or what’s in your accounts. Related: 5 Reasons Not to Go into Debt During the Holidays While you may never feel 100% financially prepared for the holidays, the hacks listed above can help you take control of your budget before the spending chaos begins. Even if you only do a handful of items on the list, you can see the impacts based on your stress levels and account balances! Stay ahead, so you don’t have to get ahead! Do you have any pre-holiday planning tips for your budget? Post a comment below to share some things that help yo … 6 Things to Do Now to Get Your Budget Ready for the HolidaysRead More »

6 Fall Décor Ideas for Your Workspace The leaves are changing colors and the weather is getting cooler, so why not match your work vibe to the season? What better place to start decorating your office space for fall than your very own desk? Fall décor ideas on deck!Push aside your boring nameplate, your everyday pencil holder, and your summer-smelling candles. There are tons of different types of decorations you can use to help bring your desk to life for the fall season.If you don’t know where to start, the City Girl Savings team is here to help you jazz up your office space with fun fall décor. Check out 6 fall décor ideas for your workspace!#1 Desk Size PiecesChoose some small scarecrows, pumpkins, or witch figurines—they’ll be a hit with your coworkers! These desk size pieces can be found at most stores or bought direct from crafters as one-of-a-kind statement pieces.You can also get everyone in the fall spirit by filling a small candy dish with sweet treats. Keep it on your desk, put it on a table in a meeting room, or leave one in the lobby for customers!#2 Plant HolderShowcase your spooky side—and your green thumb—with a Halloween-themed plant holder. A skull is a great option for an air plant. Or you could turn your office into a cozy camping scene with a s’mores or pumpkin scented candle.While we love a good fall scent, growing live plants on your desk can provide you with better air quality while you work and reduce your stress levels! Both of those pay off when you’re in a hectic work environment or always have a lot to get done.Another simple way to incorporate a plant holder is to sprinkle some leaves around it, or hang a string of leaves over the side of your desk! Leaves are a great fall accessory and will highlight your plant and other decorations.#3 Outdoorsy ArtworkAnother good spot to consider when looking for fall décor is your office walls. There are plenty of things to hang up that will transform your workspace into an autumnal wonderland!Choosing some outdoorsy artwork will let you stare at nature during those times when you need a mental break from work.You could also opt for a fall-themed wreath! A wreath will immediately change the way your space looks, and there are plenty of DIY wreaths that will look perfect on your office wall.#4 Pencil HolderSwap out your basic black pencil holder for something a little more festive. Grab sparkly gold or orange Mason jar, then fill it up with your pens, pencils, scissors, and other office supplies.If you decide to do a DIY Mason jar, be sure to remove any labels and clean the jar thoroughly. Choose a paint or spray paint that works well with glass, and pick some festive fall colors.Put your new pencil holder next to your desk scarecrow and you’ll officially be in Halloween queen mode!#5 Decorative Paper ClipsPaper clips are a useful tool for workplace organization—but the days of boring black and silver paper clips are gone!Pick out some fall-colored festive paper clips for your next meeting agenda and brighten everyone’s day. You can find paper clips for all seasons at your nearest Staples or online.#6 CandlesCandles are a perfect year-round item, and will fit perfectly with your fall décor (as long as you can have candles in the office, of course!). If you’re working from home, you should be all set.Even if you can’t light the candle, however, candles can make beautiful decorations. Grab candle holders in dark colors like mossy green, maroon, or orange and pair them with your autumn-scented candles for a stylish look.Related: 7 Fall Candles to Add to Your HomeFall is such a magical time of the year, and decorations for fall can be just as fun! How do you like to decorate your space during the fall season?-Tael … 6 Fall Décor Ideas for Your WorkspaceRead More »