National Margarita Day

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What's with these national days that keep popping up?  It's like someone's at home on twitter making up whatever celebrations they can think of.  Hey, I'm not mad at that.  Every day should be a celebration if you ask me.

One way I keep from stressing, is by taking time to enjoy life with friends.  I'm meeting some of my girls for happy hour in honor of the margarita.  We'll be partaking in $2 margarita drink specials all evening.  Since I'm a lightweight I should be able to have a great time for cheap -- always a plus. 

I hope you're out there finding a fun celebration, that will help you stay present, appreciate life for the blessing it is, and won't cost a fortune.  More and more I'm realizing that when we forget our expectations and surrender control of our goals to the universe, it's much easier to work hard while enjoying the process.

Don't stress about anything today, in the name of Margarita!

xx

5 Ways To Save on Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!!  Here are five helpful ideas for showering you valentine with love sans breaking your budget.




1. Flowers


Take a trip to the flower market.  Most cities have a district or a market where the florists purchase their flowers.  You can purchase from there too and create your own unique arrangement for a fraction of the cost.

2. Chocolate

Buy a heart mold and make your own heart brownies from a store bought mix.  Buy a lovely tin from a discount store, some colorful tissue paper and package the brownies yourself for a fraction of the cost of an expensive box of truffles.

3. Candles and bubble bath

Have a nice bath waiting for your valentine when he/she gets home.  Candles, romantic music, and lots of bubbles will sweep your honey of their feet.

5. Walk on the beach

I'm lucky because I live in California only blocks from the beach.  But a romantic walk is a healthy (exercise) and free way to spend time with the one you love.

Please let me know about your own money saving valentine's ideas.  It just takes a little thought and a little effort.  No need to spend a whole lot of money on something cheesy.  Your sweetie will than you later.

How To Budget -- 7 Easy Steps

 

1. Commit

So much of life is perception.  When we commit to something we believe it and it becomes natural.  Whether it's to exercise, to eat right, or to develop a talent.  We must commit in our minds first.  So commit to saving.

2. Track Income

Total the amount of money coming in.  No matter where it comes from (wages, tips, interest earnings, social security), account for it.  Figure out how much money you're receiving each month. 


3. Track Expenses

Total the amount of money going out.  No matter where it goes (rent/mortgage, utilities, gas, car note, metro card, child support, food, coffee, movie tickets, cloth shopping sprees) On average, figure out how much money you spend each month.

4. Do the math

Your income should be greater than your expenses.   If it's not you have some reevaluating to do.  If it is, ask yourself if you can increase the difference even more.



5. Pick a number

Decide exactly how much you want to save each month.  Save means to leave untouched.   Placing that money in a savings account is a good way to keep it safe from yourself.  Most accounts have a minimum balance requirement.



6. Make Cuts

Saving requires sacrifice so give this one some thought.  Entertainment costs, cable, phone, and clothing costs are good places to cut.  Evaluate your wants vs. needs and give something up.  It can be as simple as deciding against that extra cup of starbucks each morning or only seeing one movie a month as opposed to two.


7. Commit Again

Promise yourself to stick with it.  Envision what you want to do with the money you saved and keep reminding yourself of that goal.  As soon as you decide to make a lifestyle change, don't let anything steer you in another direction.  Our minds are powerful, and it's true what they say: Once you set your mind to something, anything is possible.

Budget Blues

Last night my cousin K called me upset because her mom went off on her.  Now my cousin and her mom (my aunt) are two the calmest, chillest people I know.  So, if my Aunt had reason to get upset I knew it had to be serious.  It turns out she was pissed because at the end of each week K has been calling her asking for money.  Not much money fifty dollars here, thirty dollars there.  But it has become a habit.  And unfortunately, this is all too familiar.

K's a few years older than I am, and without revealing my age, I'll say we're both thirty-something.  We're adults.  Grown ass women.  And there's no reason for us not to be financially stable by now.  But we're not.  She's an attorney, has a job and is still finding she's broke at the end of the week.  After bills, food, gas, and daily expenses she still needs a little extra help.  I can only imagine how retired parents feel when their adult children are in need of money.  It must be scary.  They may even feel like they failed to prepare their children for the real world.  More parents are supporting their adult children than ever before.  And take it from me, a freelance writer, my mom is helping me more than I want her to.  But if she didn't, I might be homeless.  As I pursue my dreams, my mom thinks helping me is her duty.  But I can't help but feel guilty and like I've failed her.  And I'm sure that's what my cousin K was feeling when her mom got annoyed with her lack of funds.  Money worries are all too common and since I can't stand stress or worrying or fear I had a long conversation with K to help her figure out how to make a change.

Budget.  That's what it boiled down to.  K, like most people, needed to sit down and write a budget for herself.  It's all too easy to spend money without knowing where it goes.  A budget is a good way of keeping track of life's expenses.  And a good way to save.  And an even better way to avoid stress. 

So, in my next post I'll list Ten Steps to Successful Budgeting.

Welcome!

What are the two things in life that people stress about the most?  Love and Money.  Well, since I'm madly in love with the man of my dreams I have nothing to worry about when it comes to matters of the heart.  Money, however, that's a different story.

I know I'm not the only one who worries about my future, my low bank account balance and my lack of sufficient income.  So I decided to blog about it.  I see this as a place to share my money saving techniques.  I hope it can serve as a forum of sorts where I can share ideas with readers and they can share with me as well.

I'm not a financial expert.  In fact, I'm just a regular person living my life.  I make it a point to enjoy my life, not stress about the future and to live each day to the fullest.  In order to do this, I have to be smart with money.  

According to some metaphysical philosophies, we're supposed to think of abundance rather than lack.  Repeat in our heads that we have money even when we don't and it will magically appear.  But on the ground there are concrete steps we can take to be more responsible, plan for the future and, best of all, live sans money stress.

If you, like me, want to figure out what these steps are.  Please read on.  I'll do my best to enlighten you.