Tag Archives: money

Ballin On A Budget

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Ballin On A Budget

Heyyy everyone and happy Tuesday! As a college kid, I’m always looking for ways to save a buck in everything from beauty and clothes to eating out and buying textbooks. In the past few weeks I’ve demonstrated some frugal efforts at its finest in my beauty routines and now I’m here to share them with you! Let’s discuss:

1) Dye your hair at home!!!! – Back in the day, I would get my hair dyed and cut monthly. I was obsessed with keeping my hair as fabulously red as possible (I still am) and would eagerly shell out about seventy bucks per month at the salon to satisfy my needs. Once I started school, I knew that my hair dying habit had to die. I began to search Target and drug stores for the box color that would match the color I would get done at the salon the closest. Lucky for me, I found a perfect if not better match in Vidal Sassoon’s London Luxe collection. Their Runway Red box color is literally the best thing that’s ever happened to me because now I pay a whopping eight dollars per month for salon quality color!

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I went from spending over eight hundred dollars yearly to about ninety dollars thanks to using box color on my luscious locks. Every month I now look forward to my pampering time when I throw on a robe, apply my hair color, and watch the water turn red as I wash it out. There’s nothing better! And the sweet smell of savings and freshly dyed and washed hair ain’t too bad either!

Have makeup free days: In the past month, I’ve spent at least twelve days makeup free. These are the days when I’m working on school work from home, when I’m having girl time with my best friend, or hangouts with my boyfriend (because if he can handle my bad breath in the morning he can handle seeing me makeup free, damnit!). I used to do my makeup every day no matter what but then I realized that it’s kind of silly to do that when no one but your family is going to see you in it. Now I only apply my makeup on days that I know for a cold hard fact I’ll be going out and about running errands, to school, or date nights with my beau.

By not using my makeup every single day, I’ve been stretching out how long the product lasts. My black eyeliner, for example, usually needs replacing after one month but as November comes to a close, I still have a little less than half of it left. This has dwindled down my spending at Target significantly because I no longer have to go to the store to do my monthly stock ups. Yes, I’ll be buying the products eventually but if I decrease the amount of eyeliner I buy per year by three, that’s saving close to twenty dollars! And that doesn’t even include mascara, eye shadows, blushes, and whatever other products you might use! My makeup free days have been stretching my dollar for this month which means more moolah to spend on holiday shopping!

ryan

^^^ Thanks, Ryan. ❤

So there you have it, just a few of the ways that Lil Red is Ballin On A Budget! What are some of your money saving secrets? What box color do you swear by? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Monday Update: Christmas Wish List Edition

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Monday Update: Christmas Wish List Edition

Heyyy everyone and happy Monday! Christmas is quickly approaching and you best believe that my wish list has been written! One would think that I’m relatively easy to shop for – but I’m far from it. I have such a distinctive taste in clothing/shoes/jewelry/literature/movies/everything else that I just need to go shopping for that kind of stuff on my own. So lucky for my family, I composed a list of exactly what I want for Christmas to keep things nice and easy for them. Let’s discuss:

Things that beautiful Sarah wants for Christmas (I really did put that on the list):

    Miscellaneous:

  • Cash money
  • An oil change (I felt like such a grown up writing this one!)

The Body Shop:

  • Vitamin C Skin Boost
  • Nutriganics or Vitamin E eye cream
  • Blusher beads Ref. #63691 (because god forbid someone gets me the wrong shade!) 😉

Target:

  • Cheap moisturizer (emphasis on cheap)
  • Cheap facial scrub (double emphasis on cheap)
  • Box of hair dye (a years worth would be nice!)
  • Covergirl Flamed Out mascara (in the darkest shade of black)
  • Rimmel London Scandal Eyes eyeliner (also in the darkest shade of black)

  Hot Topic:

  • New bellybutton rings (I’ve been wearing the same few pieces of jewelry since I got my bellybutton pierced SIX YEARS AGO…I think it’s time for an upgrade!)

Aerie:

  • New panties!!! (Hey, a girl has needs.)

Victoria’s Secret:

  • New Dream Angels demi bra (Hey, a girl has needs.) 😉

Now you guys are probably thinking, “that’s the most boring Christmas wish list ever”. And guess what, you’re right – it really is. BUT, almost everything that I wrote down are things that I use in my every day beauty routine so it would be nice to be restocked in all of those items. I would love to find a bunch of new clothes for me under the tree, but the fact of the matter is: no one gets my taste in style right so everything is going to end up getting returned anyways. That’s what the cash money is for – some to save and some to shop the after Christmas deals with!

What really killed my charming young at heart persona this year was writing down that I wanted an oil change for Christmas. Haha, but the Little Red Love Machine is going to be needing one soon and the literal last thing that I want to do is sit in a stupid car repair shop where I’ll be:

  • A) Reading old magazines
  • B) Getting low-balled by the mechanic who will more than likely tell me that everything and the kitchen sink is wrong with my car because I’m a clueless girl who doesn’t know otherwise. Well, I am. And this happened during my last oil change and I did NOT appreciate it!

So yes, an oil change that I don’t have to be there for would be fantastic. Dad, I’m talking to you on this one!! ❤

So there you have it, this week’s Monday Update: Christmas Wish List Edition! What is on everyone’s wish list for the holiday that they’ll be celebrating this season? What was the best or worst gift that you’ve ever received? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Letgo App

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Letgo App

Heyy everyone and happy Saturday! Usually I’m not big on “apps” or technology in general (ha!) but I found a handy little download for smartphones or iPods that has proven to be very beneficial in my effort to clear up some closet clutter. I decided to give the app, Letgo, a try after my semi annual closet clean out. The app is basically like an online garage sale where you can post pictures of your items, a brief description, and price, then whomever is interested in buying it can message you to make an offer.

I’m not really keen to going to resale shops like Plato’s Closet because I feel like you never get enough money for your items and they often pass on some really nice pieces. I also felt like I wanted to give making some money off of my more used items a shot because despite their wear they were still in fairly good condition. I like that this app lets you control how much you would like for each product you list and gives your not so “next to new” pieces a chance at going to another owner.

Thanks to the Letgo app, I was able to get rid of five pairs of shoes yesterday that have been sitting in my closet for months waiting to go to a new home. I had a brief meeting with my customer in Starbucks where she looked at the shoes that she was interested in from my listings, picked the ones that she wanted, and paid me the price that I determined. I made some quick cash (much more than I would ever get if I brought them to Plato’s), eliminated some clutter, and met someone who wanted to meet up again to look at more of my items. Score!

I’ve always toyed around with the idea of selling items online but I never knew how to go about doing it. Letgo makes the selling process so simple because your listings are shown to people who are within a 15 or so mile radius from you so it’s easy to find a good public meeting spot that is within a short driving distance for the seller and customer. I drove about seven minutes to meet with the darling lady and her daughter that I sold to yesterday and made enough money that the trip was worthwhile twenty fold. You can’t beat that!

I can’t recommend Letgo enough and you can download the app on their website at: http://us.letgo.com/en !

^^^ It seemed appropriate!

I hope all of you are having a great start to your weekend so far! Has anyone used the Letgo app or anything similar? What was your best purchase or sale story from a resale shop or app? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Casino Adventures

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Casino Adventures

Heyyy everyone and happy weekend! I’ve been having the best outings this week following the travesty that was my birthday and last night was no exception! As a birthday treat to me, my lovely and astoundingly pretty friend Danielle took me to the Horseshoe Casino in downtown Cleveland. It was….quite an experience. Don’t get me wrong, I had the best time hanging out with Danielle and I loved her company, but I don’t think her or myself will be hanging out in a casino again any time soon! The casino in general was just very very overwhelming. It was seriously gigantic – every time we were walking around I felt like we were in an area that we hadn’t been in before, but in all reality we walked past it countless times. It was so hard differentiating all of the different casino corridors because they all looked exactly alike. It felt like every time we walked away from something and eventually came back to it the initial area changed into something completely different, if that makes sense? It was seriously the strangest sensation I’ve experienced in ages. It felt like the casino was shifting and redecorating with every step we took like a giant labyrinth. So on top of being in this enchanted casino it was fairly crowded and the music that was playing was loud so it was total sensory overload. And don’t even get me started on the games! Danielle and I stuck to the “easy” games like the fruit slot machines and whatnot, but unfortunately, we both weren’t very lucky. It was so frustrating, because even if we won something in the game it still didn’t make up for what we initially spent to begin with so we were losing money. Danielle was so sweet because before we got into the casino she had me pull a piece of paper from her beanie and on the paper was the amount of money that she would supply for the games and after we reached that limit we were donezo. It was such a generous thing to do which I was so blown away by and it was also a really great idea to give ourselves a spending limit. Like I said earlier, we weren’t very lucky at the games and our limit was well spent after barely over an hour…But in that hour I can totally see why gambling addiction is a thing. Danielle and I experienced that “just one more try” mentality first hand and it was quite off putting. Like, we knew we were losing money but we were both so convinced that just one more spin on the game would result in some winnings no matter how small. The Horseshoe was the only casino myself or Danielle has ever been in, but I’m assuming they’re all set up very similarly – multiple bars, loud music, and dim lighting. All of these different elements really do make up the perfect concoction of a place where you could lose track of yourself very easily. That “club” like environment seemed to hook everyone in the casino because every time Danielle and I walked around all we saw were blank faces in front of the machines and people absentmindedly placing their bets no matter what the cost. That type of thing is obviously what some people like, but it clearly wasn’t mine or Danielle’s cup of tea. On our way home from Cleveland we talked about how we were glad that we got the casino experience out of our systems to at least say that we did it, but we both agreed that it will be a long time before we step foot in one again. Despite our bad luck at literally every game we attempted, it was still a super fun evening and I’m so glad I got to share in a casino adventure with Danielle!

horseshoe

^^^ Lol this song seemed very appropriate to include in a post about casinos! I’M SO CLEVER! 😉

So there you have it, my Friday night Casino Adventure! I hope all of you are having an awesome weekend so far, I know I am! Have any of you ever got your gamble on in a casino? What was the most that you lost or won? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

PS: If gambling addiction is something that you or a loved one struggle with, I urge you to seek help – whether that be confiding in a counselor, friend, or even a complete stranger. You can check out this article on responsible gambling and there are multiple different helplines that you can call as well, one of them being the hotline through the National Council on Problem Gambling. Here’s their website: http://www.ncpgambling.org/help-treatment/national-helpline-1-800-522-4700/