Facebook is certainly a time suck, but it can also be a fun way to catch up with old friends and even high school acquaintances. Just yesterday, I followed a rabbit hole of people I had known in high school, which ultimately led to Kimmie’s page.
Where Beauty and Fashion Meet
I’m sure you had a Kimmie in your high school. She is pretty–perhaps beautiful. She wears stylish clothes and is one of the most popular girls in high school. Her parents have a lot of money and are happy to spend that money on their kids.
The Kimmie I went to school with married her high school sweetheart, who was a popular prep himself. Thanks to their Facebook pages, I see that they now have three equally beautiful children.
What struck me most, though, was how pretty Kimmie still is. Some popular, pretty high school girls don’t age well, but at 42, Kimmie is just as pretty, if not prettier, than she was in high school. She looks like she could be a model for a fashionable clothing line. Not just because of her face, but because of the stylish, chic way she dressed.
For a moment, a part of me was a bit envious of her put together, stylish look. But that thought quickly disappeared because I have neither the time nor the inclination to be a fashion plate like Kimmie. (Besides, there’s no way I could pull that look off as well as she does!)
How Not Being Vain Has Saved Me Thousands of Dollars
Women like Kimmie make looking beautiful easy, but I know a lot of time goes into picking just the right clothes, make up, and hair styles. I also know it can be very expensive.
Thanks to my lack of vanity and acceptance that I will never be one of the Kimmie’s of the world, I estimate I’ve saved thousands of dollars.
Here are some of the ways:
Embrace the Features I Have
I would love, love, love to have naturally straight hair, but I was born with naturally curly hair that has become curlier after each pregnancy. Rather than spending time and money straightening my hair regularly, I instead bought a bottle of hair gel to tame the curls and make them more manageable. This one bottle lasts forever!
Take Advantage of DIY
My hair began to go grey when I was 23, long before I had children. By 25, I had to have it dyed for the first time to cover up the grey. I had my hair dyed professionally for about six years. However, for the last ten years, my husband has dyed it for me at home. Every time he does so, we easily save $40 to $60.
Avoid Being a Trend Follower
I tend to rely on the same classic clothes and colors. I don’t follow trends. This allows me to wear the same clothes for years without looking particularly in or out of style at any moment. This also allows me to buy classic pieces at garage sales and second hand stores for a fraction of the retail price.
A Kimmie I will never be, nor do I want to. Instead, I rely on practicality, and doing so has saved me thousands of dollars.
How do you cut costs on personal appearance, care, and grooming? If you like to follow fashion trends, how do you keep it affordable?
Melissa is a writer and virtual assistant. She earned her Master’s from Southern Illinois University, and her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Michigan. When she’s not working, you can find her homeschooling her kids, reading a good book, or cooking. She resides in New York, where she loves the natural beauty of the area.
The Olympics have been on for a week now, and across the world, young children are watching and finding themselves thinking of Olympic glory. Every time the Olympics air, young children are inspired. If they’re already in a sport, they may work harder, dreaming of Olympic gold. If they haven’t yet started a sport, they may want to begin to see if they, too, can be like their Olympic idols.
Yet, as parents, should we encourage these dreams?
The Financial Toll of Pursuing an Olympic Dream
Being an Olympian extracts a heavy financial toll on a family, not to mention the time commitment.
Is this a worthwhile dream for our children, or are we setting them up for failure?
When I was young, my teacher was friends with a family whose college-aged son was training to be a speed skater. His family had to hold fund raiser after fund raiser just to pay for his training. Meanwhile, because of the time commitment for training, he was unable to hold a regular job, so he also needed money for living expenses. In the end, he didn’t make it to the Olympics to compete, let alone try for a medal.
Was all that time pursuing his dream a waste of money and time?
The Financial Rewards of Being an Olympian
The glory, the fame, and the money from endorsements are only for those who receive a medal, usually a gold medal. Those who reach this pinnacle can expect a handsome return on their time and money investments. Take Michael Phelps, Olympic swimmer, who is reportedly worth $30 million thanks to endorsement deals. Shaun White, two-time Olympic gold medalist for snowboarding, brings in an estimated $7 million a year in endorsements (The Examiner). Yet, the chance of reaching the pinnacle of your sport is very rare.
Is this a worthwhile dream to pursue?
If an Olympian doesn’t win gold and reap the endorsements, she can often find herself able to create a job as a sports commentator or as a coach. These can be good jobs that keep the athletes in the field they love. But is all the money they spent to train for the Olympics worth the career choice? Can being a coach really help justify the money spent to pursue an Olympic dream?
Many people may argue that the point of the Olympics is not about the finances. The Olympics are about pushing yourself and trying to reach your goals. They’re about training to become the best athlete you can be.
This is a noble goal, but is it worth the expense and sacrifice to family, friends, and athletes?
A Better Way to Pursue an Olympic Dream?
If my child were to express an interest in being a world class athlete, I would encourage him to train as he could when he was young, but the goal for me personally would be for him to receive a full ride athletic scholarship to college. If he could reach his Olympic goals from there, wonderful. If he couldn’t, then at least he would have had the chance to compete at the collegiate level, and he would also have an education.
Would you encourage your child’s Olympic dreams? If so, how?
Melissa is a writer and virtual assistant. She earned her Master’s from Southern Illinois University, and her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Michigan. When she’s not working, you can find her homeschooling her kids, reading a good book, or cooking. She resides in New York, where she loves the natural beauty of the area.
In our earlier post, we talked about how debt can seem insurmountable to some, as documented in the movie, Maxed Out. Unfortunately, some people feel their debt is so overwhelming that they take their own lives. That includes a college student who owed $12,000. While $12,000 is not a small sum, it’s not worth taking your life.
Debt and Your Self Worth
Our culture recognizes that many people identify their worth by their jobs. When we meet someone new and tell them what we do for a living, we say, “I am a teacher” or “I am an engineer.” We literally take on the identity of the job that we do.
What is not discussed is that we often measure our worth by our debt, also. If you’re in debt and struggling to make your monthly payments, it’s easy to feel worthless and hopeless. When my husband and I finally faced our nearly $57,000 in credit card and student loan debt, I felt embarrassed and stupid. After all, how did I let myself get in this position?
Your Thoughts Can Determine How Quickly You Can Get Out of Debt
You may begin your debt pay off journey as I did–chiding myself and feeling like it was hopeless. How would I pay off this debt that was greater than our annual income? The whole process felt hopeless, and I wanted to give up before I even started.
But through our two year long journey thus far, I learned some things that make paying off debt easier.
Be confident. When I stopped chiding myself and instead decided to encourage myself, the weight caused by debt was lifted. Instead of thinking, “I’m so stupid for being in this much debt,” I thought, “We’ve made mistakes financially, but now we’re on the right path. We’re making strides in our debt repayment plan, and eventually we’ll be out of debt.” This encouraging self-talk increased my confidence and reduced my anxiety. I felt empowered.
Look at the little picture. Sometimes looking at the big picture–the total debt that you owe–can be overwhelming. Instead, focus on the smallest debt. If you put your extra money on the smallest debt, you’ll see progress more quickly. If you owe $60,000 but your smallest debt is $5,000, focus only on that one. Don’t look at your total debt load. You’ll feel elated as you watch your progress paying down the smallest debt.
Celebrate small victories. Encourage yourself every step of the way. Praise yourself when you’re able to pay more off in a month than you typically can pay. Celebrate when you pay off one debt. Shout in your house that the debt is gone. Share it with your friends if they know of your debt struggle.
If you’re in debt, you can either hurt yourself mentally and physically by berating yourself and wallowing in self-pity. Or, you can heal yourself mentally and physically by praising and encouraging yourself through the long journey of paying down debt. Which would you rather do?
How do you encourage yourself when paying down debt?
Melissa is a writer and virtual assistant. She earned her Master’s from Southern Illinois University, and her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Michigan. When she’s not working, you can find her homeschooling her kids, reading a good book, or cooking. She resides in New York, where she loves the natural beauty of the area.
