06/ 14/ 2014
I didn’t actually begin sticking to a budget until my mid-20s. It wasn’t like I was completely unaware of my spending (I watched my bank account and didn’t go into any credit card debt). But creating and following a budget made me much more conscious of where my money was really going, helped me feel in control of my finances and made me better at saving money.
Let’s be clear: I am in no way a professional financial planner nor do I have any accreditations. However, I am interested in finance and have learned a little about budgeting over the years, so that’s what I’m planning to share with you.
Before I go any further, I must give a major shout out to my beautiful and patient mother—my financial guru. She’s taught me so much about managing money and much of what I’m sharing I learned from her, so thank you, mom! Here are my tips for creating a budget.
06/ 03/ 2014
I’ve developed a new method for relieving stress: “pinning” images of pretty things that I’ll never actually be able to own onto my numerous Pinterest boards. Some may call it an addiction, or just another way of getting sucked into our tech-savy world, but I deem it simple, mindless, fun.
Another thing I often search for on Pinterest our inspirational quotes, and I recently stumbled upon this gem from Oprah Winfrey:
Around the time I found this quote, I was learning a bit about relationships. I’ve been feeling frustrated with some of my friendships, wondering how and/or why I have more difficulties articulating my opinions to some people more than others. In the end, I realized it wasn’t about not being able to say what I felt—the truth is I knew exactly what I wanted to say. I was just afraid to be myself, to be truthful, out of fear of how they’d respond.
05/ 12/ 2014
In February, I signed up to run the Brooklyn Half Marathon. Running 13.1 miles in a single race while being surrounded by thousands of people is one of the most insane things I’ve ever committed to doing; however, I’ve always sort of wanted to run a half. It’s been one of those Bucket List items that I never really thought I’d get around to doing — like ever — but kept it mind. After receiving a text message from my friend Kristin letting me know registration had opened, I suddenly found myself paying the $75 entry fee while simultaneously having one of those “what the hell did I just do” moments.
I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that I was (am?) in no way a runner prior to starting my training. In fact, I hadn’t had any sort of consistent exercise routine since I left Florida (nearly 3 years ago). Naturally I selected a training program designed for a novice runner. On the first day, I had to run 2 miles and do 20 minutes of strength training, and it was awful. I huffed and puffed and grumbled my way through the run, and cursed silently after each lunge and bicep curl. After the first 2 weeks, I couldn’t possibly imagine running 5 miles, let alone 13.1.
04/ 13/ 2014
I like to feel comfortable and prefer to live in my “comfort-zone.” It’s something that I often want to change about myself, because, for me, trying something different can be an agonizing experience.
One of my greatest struggles is attempting to talk to a new person. It’s puzzling to me how anyone can just talk to someone they’ve never met before so easily and seamlessly, or how someone can ask another person out on a date. I thought that once I hit my mid-20s, this fear, this shyness, this social anxiety, this whatever it is, would go away.
Over the past year, I’ve realized that it’s not just going to go away. It’s part of who I am, so I can learn to cope with it or let it own me. I’m attempting to do the former and have decided to face the fear head on. To put it more simply, I have to practice putting myself out there.
