What the ladies want to ask the men

We all have questions but sometimes don't have the right man to ask or don't feel comfortable asking. Well submit your questions to me and I'm going to ask some of the guys. I'll be sure to get an array of opinions from men of all walks of life. 

So Ladies, what do you want to know?!

People Bingo

So while looking for a friendly work appropriate activity I came across 'People Bingo' I sent yes or no questions to my coworkers and then made a bingo sheet and they had to ask each other questions to figure out the answer for each square. The only rules were that you could only ask each person 1 question at a time and don't use your name except for the 1 question that you were the only answer to. For that question I asked each person to share one thing about themselves that not many other people may know. It was a ton of fun and a huge boost to office morale!

Tis the Season

So you can pretty much guarantee that for the rest of 2012 you will see many people campaigning and asking for donations. Times are hard but I do my best to give what I can. I went to the grocery store and there were these young girls about 5 with their moms setting up a bake table. On my way in I saw rice crispy treats so I had already decided I'd be buying one of those!

When I came out all the girls were lined up shouting 'help cure kids cancer' and it just really touched me. Not sure if its because they're kids and I have a soft spot for them or if because my sister was diagnosed with thyroid cancer when she was about 11. They gave me a butterfly flyer with the charities info and I got my rice crispy which they hadn't even put prices on. Whatever donation you wanted to give was gladly accepted. Please check out the website, its a great cause!

www.alexslemonade.org

Nachos

So Saturday rolls around and the guys are planted watching college football all day long! I wanted some nachos so we got to slicin n dicin!

Here are all the items we used.

We made guacamole and pico de gallo. Rather than ground beef I bought a skirt steak and cut it into tiny chunks.

Here is a pic of the guac before its mixed and then after.

Warmed up the cheese and started dressing our chips. This is the end product...so yummy!

Blue

I know that I can only really count on myself. It usually doesn't bother me but sometimes it really hurts. Feeling like you have no one to turn to. No one to help make life a little easier. Someone who understands your struggles and wants to help you through it. I feel like I only have me. It hurts my heart and my stomach turns to knots. Am I not what I really thought? Have I been fooling myself all this time? Time to get on my hustle and make my life easier! Buy me some nice things and head to some nice destinations. I'm just feeling blue.

Project use it up!

While reorganizing my bathroom I realized how many unused products I have! Four different face lotions, three hair sprays, two face masks and countless Mary Kay eye creams I never managed to sell plus lots of other stuff. All this stuff is a waste of space and money. So I came up with the name Project use it up! I organized my medicine cabinet with one of each essential item so it'd be easily accessible for use. If I have it or a product like it I'm not allowed to buy it.

Check out this basket of product. I have TWO baskets like this and they're both full of product.

These are some of the products I'm trying to use up first.

This is my make up bag and all the dups I tried removing from it. (No the vaseline or the hair lotion lol)

This is insane! I challenge YOU to do the same! Take pics and leave me a link to your blog or vlog so I can check it out. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

I think I just saved a small fortune!

Feeling Down

Have you ever ignored your problems until they're beating down the front door? That is currently how I feel with my financial situation. I've ignored it hoping it would get better and now I'm afraid I've really messed up! If I couldn't pay it at once I just didn't pay it when I should have been paying a little at a time at minimum.

The good news is I've made a few calls and arranged payments just gotta stick with it! I still will have barely any money but at least I have my apartment and its essentials. My part time job hunt continues! I need to get rid of some of this debt and get some money in the bank!

Tri-Color Nails

So you want to save some money and do your nails yourself but don't want some plain basic nails? Here is an easy design anyone can do. You're going to need 2 colors plus a 3rd you will use a skinny brush with. I chose some sally girl colors since they are $0.99 each! I painted my entire nail in the color shy. Apply as many coats as needed and a top coat. Let this dry completely! Then use some tape and make a V shape. You can go as close to the nail bed as you desire. Mine are all a bit different you can be more precise if you choose. Then using your 2nd color paint the V (triangle) I used the color spoiled. I used two coats let it dry and then carefully removed the tape. Apply another layer of top coat. Then take your 3rd color with a skinny brush and outline where the 2 colors meets. This adds definition and a nail salon effect. Finish with your favorite top coat! Voila!

A top coat in between colors is important to avoid the colors from blending when you use your final top coat. Trust me I learned the hard way! My white lines turned pinkish and my pale color had traces of the dark color where the brush held the color.

This way pretty simple! The hardest part for me is not doing anything until your nails dry so you don't mess em up. Enjoy! :)

Dreaming

I had a dream that I was walking down the street and it was raining.  Then I noticed it was difficult to walk because it was a dirt street rather than a paved street.  I'm walking and struggling as I sink deeper and deeper into the mud with each step and my destination seems farther away than it was a moment ago.  Then I see the sun peeking through the different colored leaves and I find beauty in that and I smile starting at the rising sun and suddenly my walk wasn't as difficult.

I hope my walk in life is about to become more beautiful and less of a daily struggle.  What are your thoughts on my dream?  What kind of crazy dreams have you had recently?

Tights!

Fall is here and I couldn't wait to try out these textured tights in a pretty fall brown with my boots. Have you pulled the tights out yet? What are some of your favorite colors, textures and brands?

I got mine from Lane Bryant originally $18.95 but I got em 50% off on an online sale.
Escape Reality 1 hour at a time with aa peaceful massage.

Stay Put Shower Caddy

I hate over the shower head caddy's because they never stay in place! I found these 'locking' suction cups to hold it in place. They were $1.99 at target for a 2 pack. If you have a large caddy I'd suggest getting 2 packs as the weight of the products you put in also make a difference. So far this works!

You pull the hook straight to remove the suction.  When the hook is folded it pushes the under lying suction cup flat against the tile.

Pinching Pennies

With adulthood comes the financial responsibility of yourself.  Depending on how big of a spender you are or how you paid for school this can start of easy or this can start of hard.

I was the first in my family to go to college so the process was new to all of us.  I ended up in a school that cost way too much money and where the advisers weren't clear on what the actual costs were.  So while this was a great learning experience its been a very expensive lesson.

I have a fascination with personal finance and am always doing research and revamping my budget.  My goal was to be financially responsible for myself and to build my credit.

I just moved into my own place a few months ago and this has been a budget challenge!  You don't realize the resources you go through or how quickly the expenses add up.  I have a few credit cards that I am trying to bring the balance down on.  With the economy you never know what will happen I'm trying to be safe and get things 'within my means'.  My goal is to have 6 months of bills in the bank and eventually work that up to a year.  This of course comes after paying of my credit cards and getting myself to live within my means.

I'm currently working on a new weekly budget to snowball some of this debt.  I have an excel spreadsheet so I can forecast in the future which makes it easier for planning for larger purchases or to reach a savings goal.

Some of the websites I have found helpful that you should check out are Quizzle & Mint.  Quizzle will allow you to get your credit score for free every 6 months.  They publish interesting articles and its a good way to find out where you are.  They do try and sell you on a yearly plan which I've never done.  I don't find that it makes sense to spend money to learn how to save money.  I can maybe see it if you are more diverse with stocks and property.  Being that I mainly just have debt there are so many other free resources out there.  Mint is a website you can use make a budget.  You can program some of your bills into it and it will send you reminders and advise you if you have gone over your allotted amount for a particular section.  They too have helpful articles and advice.

My best suggestion would be to get real with yourself.  Write down all your bills and debt and make a plan, a reasonable plan.  Don't eliminate all 'fun spending money' because if you do you will crash and burn and end up binging.  Set up a realistic budget and goal.  Allow yourself to eat out on occasion and put a cap on it.  Search the Internet for cheap ways to do the things you are wanting.  For example I fell in love with this bracelet but couldn't imagine spending $60 on so I found out how to make my own.  I had the silver bracelet (recycle your old) and bought embroidery string in 3 colors for $0.37 each for a total of about $1.25 and my time which I probably would have spent out spending money anyway. 

I grocery shop every couple of days or when needed to ensure I'm not buying food for it to spoil.  I reuse grocery bags, sandwich bags and containers food comes in so I don't have to buy these things (often).  I don't buy paper towels I spent about $10 on dish towels and wash them weekly.  Bar soap is cheaper than body wash and smells just as good and cleans better.  I make my own floor cleaner rather than those pricey mop pads.  Pinching pennies has caused me to look at an item before I toss it and think can I reuse this as is or can I transform this into another use?