Know Your Blogger Series

Fresh Life Advice

I’m here to put a fresh perspective on money and make it as easy as possible for the Average Joe to learn how to handle finances responsibly. Fresh Life Advice not only will open your eyes to how attainable financial freedom is but also make you laugh and keep you entertained along your journey. Everyone has the potential and willpower to increase his or her savings rate – it just may take some motivation and/or automation to get you on the right path. I’m here to help!
Check out our Q&A with Fresh Life Advice here.

Learn tips on how to increase your savings with Fresh Life Advice.

Each week at Personal Finance Blogs, we publish interviews from amazing bloggers from the personal finance space. This week, we are featuring the blog, Fresh Life Advice.
During these weekly features, we are hoping to provide a way for you to interact and learn more about different blogs in the personal finance space.
Below, you can read more about the story behind Fresh Life Advice, learn about the author, and learn personal finance tips from Fresh Life Advice to help you improve your financial situation.
A big thanks for Fresh Life Advice for this interview! Now, we will turn it over to the author for this interview.

Tell us about Fresh Life Advice

Fresh Life Advice has a lofty goal to help 10 million people achieve financial freedom. We want to make it the new norm!

As the writer of FLA, I am currently employed at a full time job as an engineer. However, I truly enjoy finance, music, movies, and sports as hobbies. I thoroughly enjoy accumulating wealth and promoting the concept of delayed gratification. I’m an avid learner, always curious to grow and improve to be the best version of myself possible.

Fortunately, I can assure you that you are already in a great position if you too are seeking financial advice. You are being proactive about your situation by even reading this rather than reactive. Kudos to you!

There is no perfect idealized way to make the most money possible, but I’m here to fail, learn, rinse and repeat until I reach F.I.R.E. (Financial Independence Early Retirement).

What Makes You and Your Blog Unique?

Well, simply put, I’m here to put a fresh perspective on money and make it as easy as possible for the Average Joe to learn how to handle finances responsibly. Fresh Life Advice not only will open your eyes to how attainable financial freedom is but also make you laugh and keep you entertained along your journey.

If a 20-something can save more than half of his income annually, then you certainly can too! Everyone has the potential and willpower to increase his or her savings rate – it just may take some motivation and/or automation to get you on the right path. I’m here to help!

What does “being good with your personal finances” mean to you?

While experts and the finance community could argue on this definition for days, FLA defines “being good with your personal finances” as being out of debt, continually making investment contributions, and diversifying your income streams. At the very heart of these concepts, Fresh Life Advice mainly advises you to save more than you spend. It’s a lot simpler than Wall Street makes personal finance out to be!

What are three articles people should read to get to know you and your message better?

5 Foolproof Steps for Early Retirement – I’ve spent years developing habits and routines to optimize my retirement portfolio via trial and error. When your life is already working well, it’s hard to avoid getting set in your ways. I always make sure I have a plan, so I recently outlined some steps to help the average Joe retire early or achieve financial freedom.

September Side Income Report | 2020 – Most people assume they can only make money from a full time job. FLA is here to bust that myth! Here, I show you how FLA makes money on the side. Keep hustlin’!

5 Scary Halloween Spending Facts That May Spook You – With every Fresh Life Advice article, I like to put a fresh take on each issue. This article conveys that sense that we should all be having fun along our financial freedom journey. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, and this is a fun way to talk about money with the holiday.

For someone looking to improve their financial situation, what’s your best advice?

The most basic advice FLA can give is to increase saving and decrease spending. It really is that simple! Everyone thinks they aren’t making enough money, but the truth is it’s a lot easier to save more money than it is to make more money. Saving even a few percentage points more will rapidly increase your early retirement date! Stay the course and make consistent investments, especially with your 401k if available.

What’s an area of your life which has benefited from improving your personal finances? Have there been any areas of your life which have suffered?

I believing the compounding effect not only applies to investments and interest but also to each of our lives. Once one gets his or her personal finances in order, the other aspects of your life seem to fall into place. It’s quite a magical concept.

The difference between a successful high performer and a slacker often boils down to habits. Humans are creatures of habits, but it’s imperative to make sure you are practicing productive habits.

And what’s the point of money if you’re not using it for things that make you happier? FLA suggests you spend your money on things that buy you back time – valuable time that can spend with friends and family.

Many also make the mistake of sacrificing sleep and time with loved ones for more money. Your health should be prioritized over money if you want to live a long life. Never forget the reasons why you are working so hard! Life is short. Always remember to enjoy the journey!

In your opinion, what should you do first? Pay down debt, or invest?

I’m naturally an optimizer. I believe you can do both simultaneously and effectively. Set a monthly amount with 50% allocated to the debt and the other half allocated to an index fund. Here’s where opportunity cost comes into play. Is your money better off getting you out of the hole or making more money for you to get out of the hole later? It’s a personal question everyone needs to ask themselves. Thankfully, I’m out of debt but I know this isn’t true for everyone. I’m grateful for the opportunities presented before me, but I also know how stressful debt can be.

No matter what, put your money to one of these noble causes instead of blindly spending it on materialistic items that do not provide you with long term happiness.

In your opinion, what’s better? Focusing on increasing your income, or focusing on decreasing your expenses?

As aforementioned, it’s much, much easier to decrease your expenses rather than increase your income. It’s something every single person can easily do. Trim the fat from your budget. And if you don’t have a monthly budget, take 10 minutes to outline one. It will set precedent and help you tremendously in the future.

There are many ways to supplement your income, and that’s one of the most common traits that millionaires use to their advantage.

What’s a non-money related interest you have and what do you love about it?

I love walking. I think it’s one of the most underrated forms of cardio out there! Walking in the woods and along nature trails allows you to realize the beauty on this planet. There’s no doubt that life can be overwhelming and stressful, especially in corporate America. This outdoor activity not only provides you with natural vitamin D and fresh air but also gives you a calorie-burning workout without even breaking a sweat! I would recommend walking to everyone that still has working limbs. It’s something we all take for granted.

Just get out there and get moving!

Why do you believe learning about money and caring about personal finance is important?

Whether you like it, dislike it, agree with it, or disagree with it, money does make the world go round. Whether you think money is evil or not, you’re in a far better position if you obtain enough money to provide with yourself with freedom to enjoy your time on this planet. When you have a large sum of money, you can do whatever you please; you can keep accumulating or you can give it away to noble causes or people that you think need the cash.

Like we touched on earlier, personal finance will not only help your wallet, but also provide security to your family, enhance your opportunities, and even allow you to enjoy the finer things in life.

Jason Bateman’s opening monologue from the pilot episode of the hit Netflix TV Series Ozark really drives home how important it is to learn about money:

“Half of all American adults have more credit card debt than savings. Twenty-five percent have no savings at all. And only 15 percent of the population is on track to fund even 1 year of retirement… Money is, at its essence… The measure of a man’s choices.”

How You Can Contact Fresh Life Advice for More Information

You can learn more about Fresh Life Advice at https://freshlifeadvice.com/, like them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/FreshLifeAdvice/, and follow them on Twitter at @FreshLifeAdvise.

Thank you for reading this interview, and thank you, Fresh Life Advice, for providing us with some great personal finance tips!