Budgets Suck - But This Tool Makes It Suck A Little Less

Currently, I am reading a book called "Rich Bitch" by Nicole Lapin. The budget breakdown presented in this book has been the number one best tool that I have found. I can only speak on behalf of myself, but the general percents and the explanations about each one has led me to finally set a decent budget for myself. 

I have tried to do all sorts of budgets - working backwards from what I typically spend, guessing at what my needs will be in the coming week/month/year, and all the other suggestions out there - but this one makes sense and works. 

Once I set up a spreadsheet and input my income, I was able to do simple calculations to figure out how much money I had for each bucket. Then I adjusted to make it work for me. I am fortunate enough to walk to work now, so I did not need 15% for transportation. However, my rent is a little higher than 25%, so I moved the some of the money from transportation to housing. 

I have been using this system for only a couple of months now, but it has really helped me understand my money. I have been able to set real goals and I know what my limits are. I feel empowered! 

Since I love content marketing and designing graphics, I designed the one below for my own reference. By sharing it here, I hope you will be able to use it as well. 

More about the book and the budget on Nicole's website: http://nicolelapin.com/richbitchbook/ 

Dear Future Self - A Letter Series About Lessons I Have Learned

Dear Future Self,

Over the past few months I have started a new job and, well I'm not sure if this is because of the new job or not, but I have been noticing something specific about leadership.

There are those who are leaders and those who are doers. It becomes clear who is who once you learn to see the signs. Something small is all it takes. For example, I have recently heard people ask me if they were correct. They would say something that they felt, like a bottle cap is screwed on really tight, and then say, "Don't you think so?" They ask me to confirm their feelings or opinions. These are not young people either.

On the other hand, there are some people who speak with authority. They say things they mean and if it is an opinion, it is clear that they know that. They would say, "This bottle cap was screwed on very tightly."

Leaders are never concerned with others confirming their opinions. However, if they made a mistake, they are usually the first ones to admit it.

Some people could never be leaders. And that is perfectly fine. Imagine if everyone wanted to lead! Those who are not leaders, I call doers. Tell a doer to do something and it will get done. You might have to explain exactly how and when to do the thing, but it will be completed.

It will be interesting to see if this observation holds true over the years or if I end up expanding on it. Only time will tell on that one!

Written 7/22/2015

I Want To Do This!

I just read the article 'Connecticut State Parks “The Sky’s the Limit” 2015 Hiking Challenge' on the CT state DEEP site. Now I want it to be warmer out so I can go hiking. 

Maybe I am not the luckiest person in the world, but I might win some prizes along the way, according to the site! Stranger things have happened. 

So, here is how this challenge works:

Step 1: Go hiking. There are 14 places around Connecticut that count:

1. Norfolk: Dennis Hill State Park, Dennis Hill Pavilion, Route 272
2. Groton: Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park, from the top of the monument, Park Ave.
3. Norfolk:Haystack Mountain State Park, Haystack Mountain Tower, Route 272
4. East Hampton: Hurd State Park, Split Rock Vista, Route 151
5. New Milford: Lovers Leap State Park, Scenic Vista along Falls Mountain Trail, Grove St.
6. Kent: Macedonia Brook State Park, Scenic Vista, 159 Macedonia Brook Rd.,  
7. Goshen: Mohawk Mountain State Forest, Mohawk Scenic Vista, 20 Mohawk Mountain Rd.
8. Litchfield: Mount Tom State Park, Mount Tom Stone Tower, Route 202
9. Voluntown: Pachaug State Forest Chapman Area, Mount Misery Overlook, Route 49 
10. Stafford Springs: Shenipsit State Forest, Soapstone Mountain Observation Tower (currently closed).
11. Hamden: Sleeping Giant State Park, Stone Observation Tower on the Peak of Mt. Carmel, 200 Mount Carmel Ave.
12. Southbury: Southford Falls State Park, Fire Tower, 175 Quaker Farms Rd., Rt. 188
13. Simsbury: Talcott Mountain State Park, Heublein Tower, Route 185
14. Hamden: West Rock Ridge State Park, Scenic Vista by the Upper Pavilion, Wintergreen Ave.

Step 2: Take 2 photos of yourself at each location. One with the shield sign and one in the park.

Step 3: Email photos of at least 10 locations above to deep.stateparks@ct.gov or mail them (no thanks). Info must include your name and home address.

Step 4: Wait to see if you won! Winners will be announced 1/1/16. 

More info on the DEEP site: 
http://www.ct.gov/deep/cwp/view.asp?Q=559438&A=4707

NaNoWriMo Day 16 - Staying Warm

How to keep your fingers warm during NaNoWriMo:

A. You could use a blow torch and run it over your fingers. But then again, you would probably end up with burnt fingers and a lot of unnecessary pain. So, don't do this one.

B. Moving on, you could get a cat, train it to sit on your fingers and purr while you write. But then again, it would take a lot of effort to move your fingers, slowing your typing down and causing your word count to not be where it needs to be. So, maybe don't try this one.

C. Here's an idea. Move to a state that does not get down to the mid thirties at 5PM in mid-November.

D. Or, bring a heated blanket to all your write-ins. When people complain that there are not enough outlets to plug their laptops and other devices in, tell them they are just jealous they did not think about bringing such an awesome blanket and should have thought about that before they even attended. Then again, none of us would say that. This won't work.

E. Ok. Here is it, This one will work. Order a large coffee or tea. hold the cup in your hands long enough to be able to feel the excessive heat emanating from within, take a sip, and then put it down for five minutes so you can write. This may slow down your writing a bit, but you will have the added benefit of caffeine.

F. Do they make heated keyboards yet? Probably not. Computers still have to remain somewhat cool. Pity.

G. Gloves! It may only be November, but sometimes you just have to get up to the attic or go digging in the basement or garage for an hour to find your winter outerwear. Fingerless gloves obviously work best. There are also heating options available now and they plug right into your laptop.

NaNoWriMo 2014 Day 5 - Behind & Distracted

I am 2 days behind in my word count and trying to stay focused on my story. It has been especially difficult today since today was the day we laid my Grandmother to rest.

NaNo has become a way to distract myself from the sadness and a way to keep doing something besides mourn. However, trying to focus and write is difficult since I do have all of these emotions to deal with. I find myself procrastinating by checking Tumblr and Facebook even more than usual.

It doesn't help that I have also been thinking in terms of stories (as I do every November) and have come up with another idea for another story. I want to write this new story while these emotions are fresh since it has to deal with the events surrounding my Grandmother's passing.

Instead of writing a full length story, I will attempt to write it in one paragraph:

Grandmother's Passing
My Grandmother passed away Halloween night. They say that Halloween is a special night during the year. It is the time when the vale between the living and the dead is at its weakest, making it easier for the dead to cross back into the world of the living. My Grandmother's husband and youngest son, who have both passed on years ago, realized this and came to see her. She was unsure about crossing over and they came to help her break free from the suffering of this world and join them. She smiled when she saw them and, after a long conversation, decided it was time. She was in fact done with this world and was ready to move on. That was when her journey with this life came to a close.

NaNoWriMo 2014 Has Begun - Day 2

It is day 2 and I am already behind by a couple thousand words. I can already tell this is going to be the toughest year yet. Between professional, volunteerism, and personal events and issues, I have already lost 4 days of writing. I am going to have to work really diligently to find time and always be prepared to write.

My grandmother, the relative I was closest to, passed away in her sleep sometime between 4 and 5AM on November 1st.

Living an hour and a half away, I was not able to get up there to see her one last time and will have to live with that for the rest of my life. I do not regret it and said my good byes each time I was up there over the past few months just in case. I know that she knows how much I love her and I know how much she loves me. I also understand that she would have wanted it this way. She wanted to be alone and not have anyone see her in that state.

I have not shed any tears yet, though I know I will. I have so much going on and it does not yet feel real, so I have not been able to cry. That in itself is a difficult emotion to deal with.

Last year I had to put my dog down during the month of November. It was the worst feeling ever. She was my baby and my love for her is still unmatched.

I have learned that there are many different kinds of love and none of them are less than any other. Though time might not heal all, with time comes higher levels of understanding and acceptance.

I am not excited to starting the grieving process again, but at least I have a lifetime of good memories to look back on and a better understanding of the process.

My grandmother was adopted. Her adopted father passed away shortly after she was in his life. For most of her early life, it was just her and her mother. She had two sons, though one was killed in a car accident in his early twenties. Her one living son had five children, all of whom love her to no end. She has many friends and family members now.

She was the strongest and most independent women right up until the end. Those traits will live on in me.

Grandma Margaret Niles, I love you.

Instagram Hashtags

Twitter might have started and popularized the hash tag, but many sites utilize them, to varying degrees of success.

Take, for example, the photo sharing app Instagram. I have a love/hate relationship with hash tags on this app. The more hastags I add to my photos, the more attention that photo gets. It can be a difference of 30 or more likes if I pile on the hash tags.

However, if I do load up the caption box with tags, fellow users tend to think I am being pretentious or even ridiculous.

I have heard a few of my friends talk about this issue a couple of times and can only imagine what they would have said if I was not in the room. I understand where they are coming from. Seeing lines of hash tags below a photo does tend to look like a cry for attention or just a mess.

So how do users get their photos more attention? I have been trying different approaches and strategies to get my photos more likes and get me more followers and will submit my report soon.

For now, all I can ask is for you to check out my account @sugarcursed and like the photos that appeal to you and I will do the same.

Fortunately, other sites have found ways of incorporating hasth tags into posts in ways that are not so in the reader's face. This site, blogger, is a good example. Bloggers add labels to their posts in a separate box from the body, using commas to separate each lable. In this way, the posts can be indexed with the tags without them being so obvious.