Personal Finance Blog | Money Management Blog | Financial Help

When my wife and I were married, neither of us had ever created or used a budget or even balanced a checkbook, for that matter. We were both, as Dave Ramsey says, “Free Spirits.” When I joined Finicity, over three years ago, I was very impressed with and excited about our flagship product, the Money Manager (formerly Mvelopes). So I quickly became the “Nerd” in our marriage, when it came to finances, kind of by default. It is crazy to think about how far we have come in that amount of time. Everyone wants a quick fix, that magic pill that will make all of their problems disappear into the ether. But the truth is, no matter what your problems are, or whatever it is you want to change in your life, it’s NOT going to be resolved immediately or happen overnight. Change takes discipline and continuous effort. I like the way Ramsey puts it—change is a “process” not an “event.”

Don’t get me wrong, we still have a long way to go in building our wealth, but we have made a lot of changes along the way. One of the things I was hoping would change in this process was my wife asking me (more…)

Recently I’ve been hearing a commercial on the radio from Chevron about “Better Mileage Tips.” Chevron advises,

“Simply decreasing your freeway speeds to 55 mph can increase your fuel economy by as much as 20 percent.”

I consider myself a driver who likes to keep up with “the flow” of traffic, and driving 55 mph on the freeway sounds insane! Come on–that’s almost suicide! I’ve passed cars that seem to be driving deathly slow (and they look like they’ll be driven off the road with the way everyone furiously passes them), but I would bet that even they aren’t driving THAT slowly. Maybe I’m a speed demon at heart, or just suffer from a lead foot, but when I first heard this ad I seriously thought, “Who are they kidding?” However, with the current gas prices, my more practical side wants to believe what Chevron has claimed.

I have decided to put their claim to the test! Can driving 55 mph on the freeway really save me money and better my gas mileage? We will soon find out!

I challenge everyone else out there to perform their own test and join my Finicity group, “Club 55 MPH.” I’ll post the details of my test there and plan to frequently give updates to the “Club 55 MPH” group forum.

If you want to, you can watch the video of the Chevron ad – it’s similar to the version I’ve been hearing on the radio. And here is a link to some of the other tips they’ve listed as well.

I’ll post my final results back here on the blog, so stay tuned!

Kristopher Higley, Designer

We’re excited about our new Money Trends and wanted to share our latest findings with you.

Where has personal spending been most impacted by the economic downturn?

Top 10 Most Economically Pinched States

10. Missouri

9. Illinois

8. Minnesota

7. New Jersey

6. Florida

5. Indiana

4. Nevada

3. New Hampshire

2. Ohio

And the most economically pinched state is…

1. Arkansas

Click here to see the Top 25

We’re excited to announce the new Finicity site (www.finicity.com) is officially live as of this morning. It’s been a fun journey over the past few months getting our social money management site ready for primetime.

It all started when we emailed you (our customers) a survey asking what you wanted, here’s what you told us:

First, you were interested in having personal finance experts on the site to provide articles and tips. So we’re excited to announce Laura Rowley (Yahoo! Finance columnist and well-known author) as our first expert on Finicity. Laura has a great approach to finances and to life, so we’re glad to have her on board. We’ll be announcing new experts very soon so stay tuned.

Second, you told us you wanted an online community where you could connect with other users, share success stories, offer advice and tips, and read more information on personal finance. We hope what we’ve added is a good start (support groups, user forums, money tips, money mistakes, etc.).

Third, you told us you wanted a Mentor program (experienced users helping other users). As we’ve been putting together this program, I’ve been impressed by your willingness to volunteer and help others reach their financial goals. I think this is one of the things that makes Finicity so unique…your willingness to help and support each other. When you think about reaching any goal in life, you need the right tool(s) and support system (whether it’s a coach, a mentor, a team, a support group, a friend, etc.). That is what makes what we’re doing together so powerful…so thank you and enjoy the new site!

Corey Davis, Marketing

As a longtime follower of the envelope money management method, it never ceases to amaze me of the many unintended benefits that come from practicing this concept. Recently we had a family situation come up that brought one of these benefits to the forefront to remind us of how powerful this concept really is in our lives.

My oldest child is eleven and very into technical gadgets. This past Christmas he purchased a video iPod with his savings (placed in an actual savings envelope with cash) and a few gift certificates he received from family members. Needless to say he was on cloud nine and his iPod became his pride and joy. Fast forward to summertime and our hectic schedule. Several times my son’s iPod was saved from imminent destruction after it was found in his shorts pocket prior to going through the washing machine. Unfortunately, after a weekend of camping he was not so lucky as his iPod made it into the washer for a full cycle. After trying everything imaginable, including what we found on the web, we did not get so much as a flicker of life out of the thing.

This is where envelope budgeting comes in. My wife and I implemented the envelope concept with our son when he was six or seven. One of the key things we have been able to accomplish with this concept is to instill the idea in our children that they are responsible for earning their own money and caring for the things they purchase. This includes not leaving your iPod in your shorts. Well, we thought these lessons might get seriously tested due to the high price of the item involved, but I am glad to say that our son accepted the responsibility in stride and did not expect his parents to pay for the replacement.

The real kicker in the whole situation came the next week when my son got paid for mowing one of his lawns. He brought his savings envelope into the kitchen and announced how much money he had left to save to replace his iPod and a few things he would forgo to save faster. We are now getting twice weekly updates of the amount left and the jobs he has lined up to provide the needed money. The best part of this story is that all of this was accomplished with limited discussion with his parents. The envelope concept has been a great teaching tool for us and has made it easy for our boys to grasp and use it in their everyday lives.

Richard Kuhn, Business Development

I have to admit that I am a big fan of Financial Guru, Dave Ramsey. I recently went to one of his Total Money Makeover Live events and absolutely loved it! He has tremendous passion for teaching people how to get out of debt, get control of their finances and ultimately better their lives. My wife convinced me that we could move money from one of our discretionary envelopes to purchase a few of the children’s books they promoted at the event. Now, not only am I telling my friends and family about how Finicity helps us budget with the envelope method, but my 4 year-old is too! Whenever she hears someone talking about money she has to tell them that her Daddy uses Mvelopes (we’re still working with her on the whole Mvelopes to Finicity transition thing).

One of the best results of this has been the transformation to our mornings! Leaving for work in the morning used to be a ritual of her whining and begging that I stay home and play all day with her. But now, thanks to Ramsey’s “Jr.” books, the morning dialogue with my daughter goes simply:

“Daddy, where are you going?”

“When you need money…” I say, “You gotta go to work!” she chimes in excitedly.

Then she gives me a kiss and a hug, and I’m off. Who knew that something like the “Envelope Method of Budgeting” would not only lead to financial control and freedom, but a whine-free morning!

Kristopher Higley, Designer

I sit very near our customer support department here at Finicity. I hear a lot of things from that team about our customers and how they utilize our application. Some really have a superb understanding of how Finicity works, while others struggle mightily. And the one common thread I’ve noticed that separates those who are successful with our program from the rest? It’s an overwhelming feeling of responsibility for their own finances.

I am frequently reminded of a popular sequence from the talented comedian Chris Rock where he is addressing parents and their parenting habits. He’s specifically targeting those parents who brag about taking care of their kids: “What do you want? A cookie? Your SUPPOSED to take care of your kids!“, he yells. I feel the same way about finances. You HAVE to do it. You HAVE to improve. You HAVE to make choices that will enable your future success. But I think Chris is wrong about one thing, though. As parents, you do get a ‘cookie’. It may not be chocolate or sugar or snickerdoodle, but if you do it right you get the satisfaction of seeing your kids become miniature versions of you.

It’s the same with your money. It may not feel like fun at first, but you get rewarded for responsibly managing your money. And if you do it right, you get peace of mind, security in the future and almost always more money in the long run (that’s the fun part).

So as you use Finicity to help navigate often difficult financial paths, just remember that being financially responsible now will allow you to Enjoy Your Money both now and later!

Scott Thompson, Business Analyst

We’re pleased to announce to all our users that Mvelopes is broadening it’s scope to become Finicity. The new Finicity BETA site is now open for your viewing pleasure! Expect to get an e-mail soon with more information on this exclusive invitation (although if you’re reading this, you’ve already been to the site - nice job!).

We think you’ll like what Finicity has to offer; you’ll notice a ton of new features, all of which are designed to provide support and insights into using the application and managing your money. So join a group, talk with our mentors, read the money tips and enjoy the new site!

Oh, and to access Mvelopes, just use your current username/password and login at www.enjoy.finicity.com. Once you’re logged in you’ll see the “Launch Money Manager” tab in the upper right corner of the site. Click this link to launch the application.

Finicity is still a work in progress (beta), and you can expect to see more site changes in the coming weeks. But we’ll be launching the full site soon, so keep checking to see what’s new!

The Finicity Team