fbpx

Phroogal History

The article may contain affiliate links from partners. The words, opinions, and reviews are our own. Learn how we make money to support our financial wellness mission.

Phroogal was founded almost a decade ago after I embarked on a backpacking trip around the world. I initially got the idea while working at my former credit union. The idea flourished while I was away exploring different countries and cultures.

After returning home in early 2013, I began writing about what’s next in my life. Those blog posts were shared by family and friends.

Phroogal continues to evolve and grow. I’ve had many iterations. Some of which were complete failures but have recognized they helped shape the phroogal as it stands today.

Phroogal Icon Smile

April 2013
Jason began blogging about money and readership grew from family and friends to 1000 readers in a few months.

October 2013
Became the first successful financial education company to crowd raise $78,000 on Indiegogo supported by 541 donors.

Phroogal Community

March 2014
Phroogal wins the first DEMOvation challenge by Bank Innovation as voted by banking executives and conference attendees.

Phroogal Name Defined

January 2015
Phroogal is 1 of 5 finalists by IBM Watson for the Extreme Tech Challenge held at Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island.

Road to Financial Wellness Missoula Stop

June 2015
Completion of the Road to Financial Wellness, 30 days and 10,000+ miles road trip participating in 37 events in 30 states attended by over 8,000+ people. See results.

Jason Vitug Plutus Award Winner

Sept 2015
The Road to Financial Wellness wins for the Best Personal Finance Collaboration Project on the 5th Annual Plutus Awards.

jason vitug and summit credit union madison wi

May 2016
Jason embarks on a 2nd Road to Financial Wellness road trip completing 54 events in 47 states in 107 days. See results.

June 2016
Jason’s book, You Only Live Once: The Roadmap to Financial Wellness and a Purposeful Life is published by Wiley.

Jason Vitug NYTimes Reviewed

July 2016
Jason becomes a NY Times reviewed and bestselling author. You Only Live Once becomes #3 in a bestseller list.

plutus award winners phroogal

September 2016
Phroogal wins Plutus Awards for Best Personal Finance Collaboration in the 6th Annual Plutus Awards.

phroogal community grows

May 2017
Partners with 9 universities, 18 fin-tech startups, 32 credit unions, and Fortune 500 companies on financial wellness initiatives.

FinHealthMatters FB Live 2018

April 2018
The first-ever Facebook Live marathon on Financial Health and Wellness in partnership with CFSI (now Financial Health Network) and sponsored by MetLife.

Jason Vitug TEDx talk

September 2019
Jason speaks on the TEDx stage to break the social taboo about money and empower millions to live more experiential and purposeful lives through sound financial decision-making.

Want to help us break the social taboo about money? Want to interview Jason for your column, blog, podcast, or YouTube channel? Ideas to partner to help more people get on the road to financial wellness? Send a message here.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Main Menu