Greetings from the Windy City! When you live a super busy and productive life, it can be hard to fit a vacation into your schedule. I’ve become a huge fan of Staycations and weekend getaways to get all of the benefits of a vacation without investing as much time and money.
Over the years, I’ve learned a thing or two about efficient packing. Whether you’re spending a weekend in Chicago or two weeks in Europe, here are my essentials for carry-on packing:
You know when you have a really difficult decision to make or a project to start and you just can’t seem to get it? Procrastination can be a debilitating thing and leave you stuck for too long. I recently got turned on to a life-changing (and free!) app called “Unstuck.” This amazing iPad app is like having a life coach in the palm of your hand! It can help:
For the whole summer, everyone is daydreaming about jetting off for a beach getaway. I bet very few of you dream of staying near home for your vacation, but don’t sell it short! In hindsight, it’s easy to overlook all the bad parts of a taking a trip – the delayed flights, missed connections and lost luggage.
I thought I knew a fair amount about how to have healthy finances. I know how to make money, save it and spend it…so what else is there to know? Apparently a lot! A fellow blogger and friend, Scott Gamm, just wrote a book called “More Money Please: The Financial Secrets You Never Learned in School.” And he’s only 21! Yes — that’s right!
The book is written from the perspective of a college kid who knows more than most about finance. Scott started a blog called HelpSaveMyDollars.com for young people to get their money issues under control. Many people struggle to save and often run out of money quicker than they make it. Anyway, this book is geared towards 20-somethings, however, I think people of all ages, including parents and professionals, can benefit from reading it. Here’s some of what I learned: Read more
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I’m done with my holiday shopping and plan on enjoying Christmas music, movies and all the food, family and festivities that go along with it.
Shopping App
Over the past few months (I start shopping for the holidays in August) I’ve already cashed in on some great deals thanks to retailers like Ann Taylor, Banana Republic and The Limited running amazing promotions for up to 40% off! I’ve also used some online auctions and if you want to learn more about them, check out some dealdash reviews. But not everyone wants to watch and wait for deals. Now you don’t have to! There’s a fabulous new site called Hukkster.com that will do it for you. There are so many sites similar to Hukkster that uses the impulsive buy tendency we all have, and it’s great, especially when you are shopping for holidays!
The site was started by two former J. Crew merchandisers who wanted to help people save money, clear clutter and save time. Katie Finnegan and Erica Bell just launched this site to the public but I’ve been using the beta version for a bit and I’m really loving it.
Here’s how it works:
1. Do a little online holiday shopping on your lunch break
2. Find something you love but don’t want to pay full price to purchase
3. “Hukk it” using their handy bookmarklet
4. Get an email notification when that item goes on sale
5. Save money
6. Cross another person off your holiday gift list! Read more