I'm so excited to share with you guys my new site! There's not much there yet, and I still need to go through all the posts and fix all the links, but I want to unveil it right now since I'm so excited!!!
Please bear with me through this transition - hopefully everything will be running smoothly in no time! Don't forget to update your feeds - I will no longer be posting on this site.
Anywho, without further ado, my new site is www.LisaVsTheLoans.com.
Bye Blogger, it's been real :)
Monday, September 16, 2013
Saturday, September 14, 2013
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Don't Be a Complainy-pants
I recently came across an article by Johnny Moneyseed entitled "You Need More Money? Do Something About It." I suggest you go and read that article first before you continue here.
The gist of the article is this: Johnny has tons of conversations with readers and even friends about how they don't make enough money. He goes on to suggest various solutions, such as decreasing one's expenses, cutting one's commute time, and even generating passive income streams. Next, he suggests calculating just how much more money you need each month, and he finishes off with specific ways to actually increase your income.
I'm not here to add to his list of suggestions - I think his list is sufficient.
I'm not here to disagree with him. In fact, I agree with him wholeheartedly.
I'm here to tell you to stop complaining.
"But... but... I really need the mo-" Stop.
"But... you don't know how diffi-" Stop.
Let me tell you a story.
I know someone who has told me plenty of times that he "needs a job". I've seen tons of signs on restaurant windows saying that they are looking for help, so I keep telling him about these opportunities. He responds by saying, "Oh... well, I don't want to work with food." I ask him why not, he says, "Well, I just know I'm not gonna like it, so why even try it?"
Now, I cringed at this. In college, I was a barista at a cafe on campus and I ended up being promoted to supervisor over there. The experience has taught me a lot, not just about how to make a latte, but about how to treat others and how to have a great work ethic. It was also a job that a lot of people on campus didn't want to work. Personally, I didn't necessarily want to work at a cafe, either. But I knew that I needed income, and this was the only opportunity that was right in front of me. So, I shut my mouth and applied and I never looked back since.
I'm not going to go into the full pros and cons of being in the food service, because that's not the point of this post. The point of this post is this: if you constantly complain about your situation, but choose not to do anything about it, even if the solution is right in front of your face, then stop complaining.
It's easy to talk about how you need more money, or how you'd like this, or how you want that. But it's 10x harder to actually do something about it.
I'm reminded of this acceptance speech by Ashton Kutcher at the 2013 Teen Choice Awards. If you haven't watched it yet, you should. I had to fight the urge to close the window because of all of the teen girl screams, but it's worth it, I promise.
In the video, Ashton says something that resonated with me: opportunity looks a lot like hard work. He goes on to mention all of the jobs he's ever had (carrying shingles, washing dishes, grocery store deli, etc.) and he says that he has never had a job that he was better than. Each job would help him with his next job and so on.
I don't mean to be harsh. But some of us don't have the luxury of choosing what kind of job we have, some of us just need the money to pay the bills at the end of the day. And who knows? Maybe the not-so-ideal job will teach you skills that will help you excel at your eventual dream job!
Also, I don't mean to ignore the economy or anything like that. But again, it's easy to complain about how the economy is the reason why you're jobless or not making enough. Instead, you should be looking inward and asking yourself, "Have I done all that I can (legally and ethically, of course) to earn more money?"
Naturally, I'm a Negative Nancy (not to say that all Nancy's are negative). I am one of the most negative people you will ever meet. I've grumbled and whined plenty of times that I don't make enough money. Starting now, I'm challenging myself to turn the complaints and the negativity into productivity.
So, I challenge you to do the same. The next time you complain about how little you make, be proactive and work towards/ask for a raise or look for a higher paying job. Look at the skills you have and look into how you can monetize them. Or you can take a second job. And if you are in absolute dire need of money, it's no time to be picky about what job you get - money is money and beggars can't be choosers.
Don't talk about it; be about it.
AMDG,
Lisa
The gist of the article is this: Johnny has tons of conversations with readers and even friends about how they don't make enough money. He goes on to suggest various solutions, such as decreasing one's expenses, cutting one's commute time, and even generating passive income streams. Next, he suggests calculating just how much more money you need each month, and he finishes off with specific ways to actually increase your income.
I'm not here to add to his list of suggestions - I think his list is sufficient.
I'm not here to disagree with him. In fact, I agree with him wholeheartedly.
I'm here to tell you to stop complaining.
"But... but... I really need the mo-" Stop.
"But... you don't know how diffi-" Stop.
Let me tell you a story.
I know someone who has told me plenty of times that he "needs a job". I've seen tons of signs on restaurant windows saying that they are looking for help, so I keep telling him about these opportunities. He responds by saying, "Oh... well, I don't want to work with food." I ask him why not, he says, "Well, I just know I'm not gonna like it, so why even try it?"
Now, I cringed at this. In college, I was a barista at a cafe on campus and I ended up being promoted to supervisor over there. The experience has taught me a lot, not just about how to make a latte, but about how to treat others and how to have a great work ethic. It was also a job that a lot of people on campus didn't want to work. Personally, I didn't necessarily want to work at a cafe, either. But I knew that I needed income, and this was the only opportunity that was right in front of me. So, I shut my mouth and applied and I never looked back since.
I'm not going to go into the full pros and cons of being in the food service, because that's not the point of this post. The point of this post is this: if you constantly complain about your situation, but choose not to do anything about it, even if the solution is right in front of your face, then stop complaining.
It's easy to talk about how you need more money, or how you'd like this, or how you want that. But it's 10x harder to actually do something about it.
I'm reminded of this acceptance speech by Ashton Kutcher at the 2013 Teen Choice Awards. If you haven't watched it yet, you should. I had to fight the urge to close the window because of all of the teen girl screams, but it's worth it, I promise.
In the video, Ashton says something that resonated with me: opportunity looks a lot like hard work. He goes on to mention all of the jobs he's ever had (carrying shingles, washing dishes, grocery store deli, etc.) and he says that he has never had a job that he was better than. Each job would help him with his next job and so on.
I don't mean to be harsh. But some of us don't have the luxury of choosing what kind of job we have, some of us just need the money to pay the bills at the end of the day. And who knows? Maybe the not-so-ideal job will teach you skills that will help you excel at your eventual dream job!
Also, I don't mean to ignore the economy or anything like that. But again, it's easy to complain about how the economy is the reason why you're jobless or not making enough. Instead, you should be looking inward and asking yourself, "Have I done all that I can (legally and ethically, of course) to earn more money?"
Naturally, I'm a Negative Nancy (not to say that all Nancy's are negative). I am one of the most negative people you will ever meet. I've grumbled and whined plenty of times that I don't make enough money. Starting now, I'm challenging myself to turn the complaints and the negativity into productivity.
So, I challenge you to do the same. The next time you complain about how little you make, be proactive and work towards/ask for a raise or look for a higher paying job. Look at the skills you have and look into how you can monetize them. Or you can take a second job. And if you are in absolute dire need of money, it's no time to be picky about what job you get - money is money and beggars can't be choosers.
Don't talk about it; be about it.
AMDG,
Lisa
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Weekend Recap: Koinonia
This past weekend has got to be one of the fastest weekends ever.
In my last post, I quickly mentioned that on Friday I helped set up for a local ministry event that was happening on Saturday.
This event was called Koinonia Cup and it was sponsored by my good friends at Be The Straw Ministry and Glorious Day. The word "koinonia" actually means "fellowship" in Greek! Basically, a bunch of young adult groups from all over our diocese (8 teams, to be exact) gathered to compete in friendly competitions, but the main purpose of the event is to encourage fellowship among the other young adults of the diocese. I was the head of the finance committee (surprise, surprise) so I dealt with vendor fees as well as handling petty cash to other committees who needed to make runs throughout the day. And y'all know how much I love counting money ;)
I was there from 6AM for set up to about 11PM for clean up, so this was really an all-day event for me. It was a ton of fun helping run the event. This was the second annual K Cup and it was bigger than last year! Hopefully this thing just keeps growing and growing! It's always good to be surrounded by people who have the same beliefs as you. Not to mention having loads of fun at the same time.
I wish I took some pictures of the games, things got super intense! When there weren't games happening, the teams and spectators got a chance to walk around and support some great local businesses such as a sandwich/food booth a few of my friends just started up, a boba shop, and even a taco truck!
In my last post, I quickly mentioned that on Friday I helped set up for a local ministry event that was happening on Saturday.
This event was called Koinonia Cup and it was sponsored by my good friends at Be The Straw Ministry and Glorious Day. The word "koinonia" actually means "fellowship" in Greek! Basically, a bunch of young adult groups from all over our diocese (8 teams, to be exact) gathered to compete in friendly competitions, but the main purpose of the event is to encourage fellowship among the other young adults of the diocese. I was the head of the finance committee (surprise, surprise) so I dealt with vendor fees as well as handling petty cash to other committees who needed to make runs throughout the day. And y'all know how much I love counting money ;)
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| K Cup Opening Ceremonies. Photo credit: Reggie Ballesteros Photography |
 |
| The friendly faces of the registration table. Man I am so short :/ |
 |
| 5 for $10?! Yes, please! Don't worry, I shared :) |
The weather was incredibly hot that day, so it made it a very tiring event. But honestly, it was so worth it. I love going to events and meeting new people (I just have to hide the introvert for little bit). Plus, there's just something the end of a long event when you feel like you've just accomplished something great.
So, how much did you spend?
Great question! There were tons of vendors and I was planning on supporting them all, so I fit it into my little spending diet. However, whenever I got in line for something (tacos, filipino food, etc.), someone would offer to pay for me! How do you say no to that? So I got my tacos and chicken adobo (filipino dish) for free! I did end up buying one coffee in the morning, two chicken wings for myself, and one round of boba for my and my friends (the price was just too good!), but all in all, I spent around $15 for the whole event (includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks). Not too bad... Plus, I got a free lanyard and a free shirt for being part of staff! [Note: of course, being the finance committee head and all, I know that those lanyards/shirts weren't really free, but whatever!]
As for Sunday, my BF and I had our usual practice for our upcoming gig. The gig is fast approaching (mid-October to be exact). I'm so excited to see the final product of our choreography! There's nothing like watching your hard work pay off.
Afterwards, we headed over to my friends' house where we attended another wine and cheese party! There were tons of appetizers (charcuterie, anyone?) and lots of delicious wine (who doesn't love that?). We bought some ice cream to bring over since it was so hot. Good thing it was on sale, I ended up spending $3 for one case of ice cream (the deal was 2 for $6)!
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| A nice cold glass of vino with popcorn. Hi BF! |
We played games all through the night. Have you guys played Wits and Wagers?? Sooo much fun!!
Anyways, I hope you all had a great weekend. I sure did!
AMDG,
Lisa
Monday, September 9, 2013
Links Lisa Likes - 9/7/13
This post was supposed to be up this past Saturday. Fail.
Yet another week has flown by and I still feel like I'm playing catch up. WHERE IS THE TIME GOING?!
I forgot what day this happened (terrible memory), but my friends and I did our Fantasy Football draft. I am actually last year's champ (I never played before that point)! So that means that this year, I got a rep to keep, nawww mean??? ;) Here's my draft report card:
I was always content being a B student, so I'm satisfied :)
On Friday, I helped set up for a local ministry event at my old high school! More on that in my upcoming weekend recap.
Shameless Plug:
If you haven't yet, please check out my most recent guest post on Phroogal: Saving Money on School Supplies. Current and incoming college students: I'm lookin' at you! :)
This week's Links Lisa Likes:
7 Ways to be a More Charismatic (and Generally More Amazing) Person - [The Frugal Model]
Being positive is one way to naturally be more confidant.
10 Reasons Your Time Management Must be Brave - [Time Management Ninja]
Be brave enough to put yourself first and to say no to things/events that will not bring you closer to your goals.
Friends and Adventure are the Spice of Life - [Cash Rebel]
When I go on vacation, I tend to over plan. This leads to me being stressed out, which defeats the whole purpose of a vacation in the first place! In the future, I'd like to embrace spontaneity and adventure a lot more in my upcoming vacays.
How to Choose a Career - [Luke1428]
Look at your own talents and skills when evaluating what kind of career you'd want.
How to Make a Budget Spreadsheet That Makes Budgeting Fun! - [CNA Finance]
For those who haven't set up their own budget spreadsheet yet, I highly recommend this step-by-step tutorial that Joshua wrote.
A Little Bit of History Repeating - [The Simple Dollar]
Why waste time making other peoples' mistakes? Learn from them!
The Mexican Fisherman - [Budgets Are Sexy]
Just read it.
The Real Cost of a Dog - [Christian PF]
If you know me, you're probably annoyed at how many times I've constantlywhined said that I wanted a dog. This is one of the reasons holding me back - overall costs!
Should We All Just Live Like We're Poor? - [Save. Spend. Splurge.]
One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone judges my financial decisions when I know for a fact that they haven't even begun to sort their own financial life out. For me, as long as you have an emergency fund, are paying off your debts, and are consciously spending, you're good!
What's Your Definition of Rich? - [Dimespring]
Tonya ignites a really good reflection on what it means to be rich. Reminds me of one of my earlier posts on the matter. Great minds think alike :)
I hope you all had a great weekend!
AMDG,
Lisa
Yet another week has flown by and I still feel like I'm playing catch up. WHERE IS THE TIME GOING?!
I forgot what day this happened (terrible memory), but my friends and I did our Fantasy Football draft. I am actually last year's champ (I never played before that point)! So that means that this year, I got a rep to keep, nawww mean??? ;) Here's my draft report card:
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| Like my Paint skillz?? ;) |
On Friday, I helped set up for a local ministry event at my old high school! More on that in my upcoming weekend recap.
Shameless Plug:
If you haven't yet, please check out my most recent guest post on Phroogal: Saving Money on School Supplies. Current and incoming college students: I'm lookin' at you! :)
This week's Links Lisa Likes:
7 Ways to be a More Charismatic (and Generally More Amazing) Person - [The Frugal Model]
Being positive is one way to naturally be more confidant.
10 Reasons Your Time Management Must be Brave - [Time Management Ninja]
Be brave enough to put yourself first and to say no to things/events that will not bring you closer to your goals.
Friends and Adventure are the Spice of Life - [Cash Rebel]
When I go on vacation, I tend to over plan. This leads to me being stressed out, which defeats the whole purpose of a vacation in the first place! In the future, I'd like to embrace spontaneity and adventure a lot more in my upcoming vacays.
How to Choose a Career - [Luke1428]
Look at your own talents and skills when evaluating what kind of career you'd want.
How to Make a Budget Spreadsheet That Makes Budgeting Fun! - [CNA Finance]
For those who haven't set up their own budget spreadsheet yet, I highly recommend this step-by-step tutorial that Joshua wrote.
A Little Bit of History Repeating - [The Simple Dollar]
Why waste time making other peoples' mistakes? Learn from them!
The Mexican Fisherman - [Budgets Are Sexy]
Just read it.
The Real Cost of a Dog - [Christian PF]
If you know me, you're probably annoyed at how many times I've constantly
Should We All Just Live Like We're Poor? - [Save. Spend. Splurge.]
One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone judges my financial decisions when I know for a fact that they haven't even begun to sort their own financial life out. For me, as long as you have an emergency fund, are paying off your debts, and are consciously spending, you're good!
What's Your Definition of Rich? - [Dimespring]
Tonya ignites a really good reflection on what it means to be rich. Reminds me of one of my earlier posts on the matter. Great minds think alike :)
I hope you all had a great weekend!
AMDG,
Lisa
Thursday, September 5, 2013
August 2013 Net Worth
I swear, 2013 is the fastest year ever. August wasn't really too good to me health wise, and I also hinted that it wasn't to good to me financially. Well, without further ado, here it goes:
Overall, my net worth increased by $789. Sure, I increased my net worth, but this is the smallest increase since I started tracking. Let's break it down.
Cash: ($623)
I usually don't touch on my change in cash, but I feel like this month I really should. Now, I have a confession to make: I've been lying to you all. I am no longer on a Spending Fast *gasp* It's funny because I know that all my friends/family probably figured this one out, but for those who don't see me on a day-to-day basis, it's something I haven't been addressing.
Now, I don't know what it was about August, but my money handling skills just completely sucked. I didn't meal plan, which meant I bought my lunch daily. There were tons of hangouts with people who were returning to school soon, so I just had to go out with them. Not to mention all of the birthdays toward the end of the month. *sigh*
Savings: ($251)
I withdrew from my emergency fund to cover my estimated eye care expenses. Even though I ended up spending less than I expected, the money just didn't find its way back into my e-fund. Instead, I used it to...
Credit Cards: ($679)
...pay off a ton of CC debt! I now have only $92 left to pay off on my last card and I'll be CC DEBT FREE FOR GOOD!!! I'm so close, I can almost taste it!
My August Spending Debacle:
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| Note: this excludes savings, debt payments, and regular monthly bills |
From now on, I'll be attempting a spending diet, instead of the fast, which is where I allow myself $100 a month to spend on anything (this is after all of my bills, savings, and debt payments). I realized that having strict rules on myself was making me feel incredibly negative and guilty whenever I slipped. This way, loosening up a little bit will allow me to splurge once in a while without the intense guilt. It allows me a little bit of wiggle room, and it also ensures that I don't go overboard (like I did this past month).
Well, August definitely hurt the bank accounts. Here's to September being the month I finally pay off all of that CC debt and move on to my other goals!
How did your August goals go? Did you stay within your budget? I hope y'all did better than I did!
AMDG,
Lisa
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Weekend Recap: Wine Not?
I hope everyone enjoyed their nice long weekend! I know I did!
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| The selection |
Saturday night was my BF's wine and cheese birthday party!
To help cut costs, we asked our friends to bring some wine and appetizers to share. Honestly, I didn't think we would have enough wine, but everyone brought tons of bottles of delicious wine! We also prepared some food: homemade bruschetta, pasta, and a s'mores dip for dessert. Our amazing friends also brought some chicken and pork meat and made us some delicious tacos, and other friends brought some cookies and fruit to snack on! If we were to have done all of that buying and prep ourselves, it would have cost us a ton of money AND time. Pro tip: when celebrating, host a potluck! It's way more time-efficient and frugal! Plus, it ensures that our guests aren't stuck with food that they wouldn't eat or drinks they wouldn't drink. My favorite part about a potluck is seeing everyone's varied tastes. There was a ton of wine that I have never heard of and would never have heard about it if someone had not brought it to the party.
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| Me & the bday boy |
At midnight we sang 'Happy Birthday' to the BF and after serving the cake, people started filtering out. I guess that's what happens when you get older - we can only party for so long! Haha. I stayed a little later than everyone to help the BF clean his house (read: I sat on his couch while watching him clean) then drove home.
Since Sunday was his actual birthday, we went out for brunch in the morning. I took him to a small place in Napa called the Boon Fly Cafe. I've only been there once, but from what I remember, their food was amazing, so I had to take him there!
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| From the BF's Instagram |
We split an order of their famous donuts as an appetizer (super delicious). I had the jalapeno eggs benedict and he had the green eggs and ham. Eggs = protein, right? Okay, but seriously, after talking about my August fitness debacle, the BF and I made a pact with each other. After his birthday weekend, we vow to prep our meals and stop eating out with each other. Instead, we will cook ourselves a healthy meal from scratch. If we do fold and eat out, we won't see each other for a whole week (except, of course, for our side-gig). Hopefully this is enough incentive to make healthier choices moving forward.
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| The two bday boys |
Monday was Labor Day here in the U.S., so I had the day off! The BF's birthday celebration wasn't over yet, so I headed back over to his house for a family celebration. His mom cooked tons of food and we had even more cake! Since his brother's birthday is also coming up, this celebration was for the two of them. His family from around the Bay Area came to celebrate and we had a great time just hanging out and catching up with everyone.
*whew* Well, I definitely had a nice long weekend! The BF is so grateful to all of those who wished him a 'Happy Birthday' - even my blogger friends :) How was your weekend?
AMDG,
Lisa
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