Maxilicious!

Dearies
Now I don't want to confuse you! I do not consider myself a fashion blogger in any way although I love posting about fashion..... But it has been AGES since I posted anything remotely fashion related! Well maybe not ages, as I introduced you to my amazing Oak Mulberry Bayswater recently. I am such a drama queen! But lucky for you then that I was contacted to do a little piece for Yahoo's new fashion website Style it Light on My Fashion Treasure. Exciting? DEFINITELY!! 

SO I asked forced dear hubby (DH) to get the camera and take some snaps before a friend's birthday party a couple of weekends back. Now I am very IMPATIENT and so is DEAR HUBBY so this turned out to be quite a chore TORTURE! But we did manage to get some so-so pictures which I am pleased to share with you today. Here we go! A running commentary is also included.


Disclaimer: I, Caribbean Princess will not be held legally responsible for any permanent damage done to your eyes as a result of viewing these pictures.


First attempt

Now will someone please explain why DH has decided to include the empty wall basket in my picture! I mean, why is it competing with me for the limelight? WHY???

Second attempt

Another lovely pose by moi I think! But wait, the falefelling EMPTY wall basket is still in my picture! Come on DH. What the falafel are you doing? Concentrate!

Third attempt

OK so the wall basket is finally OUT OF THE PICTURE! But wait? What is this? Now we have the DEAD POTTED PLANT stealing the limelight! Just to show everyone that I am the LEAST GREEN FINGERED person on this planet! Arrrghhhhhhhh! I may be smiling but I am weeping inside!


Fourth attempt

Finally! Fourth time lucky! A half decent picture! And I thought physicists were clever? Hmmm! 


So my friends I wonder if any of you noticed that this dress matches a particular filofax than I own? ;-)


Anyways this is probably my first and last attempt at an outfit post as having to do this more regularly would certainly send DH and I towards DIVORCE! Although maybe I could learn to ask him nicely! 


Also please leave a comment to let me know what you think of the maxi dress, whether you would like more outfit posts (although I can't promise this) and which of my many filofaxes this outfit matches!


Have a wonderful day! Hope you can still see!


P.S. I will let you know when my article is featured! Also I have turned word verification back on for my comments as I was getting a ridiculous amount of spam. Will try to turn it back off soon I promise!

Inspirational quotes: Life

For some Saturday inspiration!

True words, no? Have a lovely day!

Frugal is Fabulous Challenge Day 5: The Personal Selection Project

This is Day 5 of the Frugal is Fabulous Challenge. Read the official launch post to get started. Or check out the Fabulously Frugal page. Relevant tweets will have the #fabfrugal hashtag and don't forget to check out the associated facebook page for even more discussion.

Clutter Image

Hello wonderful people
How are we feeling/doing today? In today's challenge we shall continue with another chapter from that Fabulous ebook by Meg Wolfe A Minimalist's guide to having it all. I received a couple of emails from you saying how useful you were finding it so I decided to continue with the chapters! I know some of you eager beavers may have read it all! So if you have well done!


Today I want to talk about the second chapter- The Personal Selection Project. She refers to it as Keep the Best and Get Rid of the Rest. Such a catchy mantra.... I LOVE IT!! This chapter is all about creating a suitable environment for your living space, which basically means getting rid of stuff that you don't like, don't need or don't use (or all of those options). 


Some months ago and before I had even read her ebook I decided to give my closet a clear out. I wrote about it in this post 'Cleaning out my closet, four easy steps to wardrobe bliss'. I ended up with 3 bags full of great stuff to go to charity (I am ashamed to say they are still sitting in a shed but I plan to do something about that THIS weekend) as well as some lovely new items that I know will make great gifts for my family or friends. I also noticed that I started wearing a lot more of my things, as it was easier for me to locate them! I was actually able to 'shop' my wardrobe!  However more recently I have realised that I still have A LOT of items that are new or unused; or lovely things that I have realised don't quite suit me after using them once. This made me feel really sad as it hit home that even after de-cluttering I am STILL hanging on to a lot of stuff that I probably don't need. I will definitely be addressing this in the future.


Meg is ruthless when she talks about getting rid of clutter! She says


'If you haven't worn or used something in the past six months, that's a good sign it isn't working for you, no matter how 'nice' it is or how much it cost or who gave it to you. There are seasonal exceptions of course, such as camping gear and holiday decorations.'  


She also wants us to focus on three rooms that have the most impact on us.
1. Bedroom - our clothes
2. Bathroom- our personal grooming products
3. Kitchen- our cooking/dietary arrangements


Without a doubt my problem/ weak area is No 1 (The bedroom). I definitely don't have an issue with personal buying or overbuying grooming products and DH and I always use ALL of our groceries each week; we never have to throw anything away. We also have a very reasonable grocery bill. Remember that each of us will have our own problem areas. I would suggest that we start with these first!


Your task today
1. Read Chapter 2 of the ebook - Keep the Best and Get Rid of the Rest: The Personal Selection Project


2. Identify your main problem areas from among Bedroom , Bathroom and Kitchen. Don't be embarrassed if it is all three!


3. For Bedroom, sort all of your clothes into Keepers, Maybes and Outtaheres. The Maybes should go into storage for some months until you re-visit them. Get rid of the Outtaheres! It is very cathartic I promise you!


4. For Bathroom, identify your best and most relevant grooming products. Get rid of cosmetics that have expired or were mistakes, throw out expired medicines, organise your first aid box and medicine cabinet etc. 


5. For Kitchen, follow the Personal Selection steps on pg 29. If you have the time then do the radical de-cluttering. Also work on planning your meals for the week, makings lists of grocery items that you do need, and budgeting your grocery spend so that you don't go overboard.


This task is not an easy one and in order to do it properly I will give you all a couple of weeks instead of 1 week. Therefore I will not post a fabfrugal challenge next week. 


As usual share any of your thoughts in the comments. What are your problem areas? Is it Bedroom, Bathroom or Kitchen? Also which steps did you find most helpful? I would love to know. 


This is Day 5 of the Frugal is Fabulous Challenge. Read the official launch post to get started. Or check out the Fabulously Frugal page. Relevant tweets will have the #fabfrugal hashtag and don't forget to check out the associated facebook page for even more discussion.

The Outstanding Osterley Filofax.... and a reader question

Hello Dear-hearts
This week is your lucky week! After my amazing reveal on Tuesday I have another bit of eye candy to share with you. Unfortunately this bit of loveliness does not belong to me. But the lovely K from Canada was kind enough to share with me some drool worthy pictures of her grey Osterley Filofax. She also has a couple of things she needs your help with. So first up, I will share the pictures. Then we can move on to the questions :-)

Front view. What a stunner!

Inside view. It lays flat right out of the box!

Week on one page diary with Day Planner inserts. 

Crocodile print and smooth print leather.

Back view.

According to the filofax website,  the Osterley is made from luxurious crocodile print Italian leather. It really oozes class and elegance, doesn't it?


But on to the next important part. K has a little bit of a dilemma. Here is what she wrote to me


'I am not sure how to set up my planner.  I am the type of person who needs to see my entire week at once.  So I have included a picture of the inside with the week on one page (3rd picture above).  However, as a teacher I always have 'to do' lists.  I was not able to order the 'week on one page plus notes' for 2011 from the Canada/USA site, so I ordered the week on one page and got the 'day planner' sheets instead to place on the opposite side (as you'll see in the photograph).  I would love to hear other suggestions on how to set up my Osterley. I know I actually enjoy seeing how other people set up theirs!'


Ok people, so do you have any ideas for the lovely K? Please post in the comments. She would greatly appreciate all of your help!

A reveal: My lovely Oak Bayswater

Lovelies
So last week I listed 12 reasons why a filofax is better than a significant other. Yes, I compared my lovely husband of almost 4 years to a DAMN FILOFAX!! And to make matters worse, the filofax came out on top. Yes, I am a HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE woman. So why the sudden repentance? Well last week Friday, my dear, dear husband (notice how I am sucking up and I have changed my tune......) sent me a text at lunchtime saying. 'I have a surprise for you, later'.


Now as I said before my DH is not a man of many words. I mean, what kind of falafelling, uninformative text message is that? How on earth was I supposed to concentrate on my work for the rest of the afternoon (I was working from home). So I immediately called him up to find out what was going on. His response was 'I have a meeting now and I will be busy for the rest of the afternoon. I will see you later. Don't forget to microwave the leftovers for dinner.'


Arrrgh, lots of words by DH standards! But nothing that gave me ANY MORE INFORMATION! Why was he so evil? And there was no point in calling him again (I tried on several occasions... well 5 times! but it went straight to voice mail). So I had to wait. And you know how impatient I am! But I waited. I even put dinner on! And finally when he arrived back home, this is what he had brought back!


So do you want to see some pictures?








Or shall I make you wait?








Well allright then I will be nice.......








Here we go..........










They're coming now I promise!

Is it what I think it is?

Again the branding, just so I am sure

This should give it away!

Finally, I own a Mulberry Bayswater! Her name is Oaky.

Sly Fox wanted a picture too. 

I thought she deserved a throne.
All she got was an Ikea chair!

The only branding on the outside so not too bad!

So folks, my wonderful husband (who is now better than a filofax of course, I never said he wasn't) went and got me my coveted Mulberry Bayswater. Why? He says he would like some peace and quiet and would like me to STOP TALKING ABOUT IT! hahaha! He also pointed out that it would be my 4th wedding anniversary present, plus birthday plus Christmas! :-( But you know as well as I do that I will manage to wrangle something out of him for Christmas or my birthday. I am VERY persuasive! I am sure you are glad you aren't married to me now!


So there we have it! Just for the record, DH doesn't often buy me such expensive gifts handbags, although he is quite generous and will fund trips to Trinidad for me to see my family or Singapore so I can keep him company. Personally I think he wanted to give me a big treat after my little health scare and to cheer me up as he will be in Singapore for 3 weeks in August which means I will be home alone and oh so lonely. To be honest, I really don't care what his reason is/was! But I am extremely thankful that he has been so lovely. 


He is so much better than a filofax. Don't you think?


And just to show that we really do inhabit two different worlds, when I gave him lots of hugs for the lovely gift, he said grumpily to me 'Why on earth are you so excited? It is just a handbag! And a rather expensive one at that! I am hungry.' 


But he did look rather smug for the rest of the weekend!


Have a lovely day :-)

Inspirational poems: Grief

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I am sure that I am not the only one who has been shocked by the terrible tragedy in Norway. My prayers and thoughts go out to the friends and families of all those who were affected.  And since I cannot find the words to express this sadness, I will share this with you instead.

I measure every grief I meet Emily Dickinson
I measure every Grief I meet With narrow, probing, eyes –  I wonder if It weighs like Mine –  Or has an Easier size. I wonder if They bore it long –  Or did it just begin –  I could not tell the Date of Mine –  It feels so old a pain –  I wonder if it hurts to live –  And if They have to try –  And whether – could They choose between –  It would not be – to die –  I note that Some – gone patient long –  At length, renew their smile –  An imitation of a Light That has so little Oil –  I wonder if when Years have piled –  Some Thousands – on the Harm –  That hurt them early – such a lapse Could give them any Balm –  Or would they go on aching still Through Centuries of Nerve –  Enlightened to a larger Pain –  In Contrast with the Love –  The Grieved – are many – I am told –  There is the various Cause –  Death – is but one – and comes but once –  And only nails the eyes –  There's Grief of Want – and grief of Cold –  A sort they call "Despair" –  There's Banishment from native Eyes –  In sight of Native Air –  And though I may not guess the kind –  Correctly – yet to me A piercing Comfort it affords In passing Calvary –  To note the fashions – of the Cross –  And how they're mostly worn –  Still fascinated to presume That Some – are like my own –

Be safe.

Guest post: On having short hair.........

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Today I am pleased to feature a guest post by one of my lovely readers, Kathleen. She was really passionate about sharing her story and would love to hear your thoughts! 


I first cut my hair short when I was thirteen years old; I did it on a complete whim after seeing a movie on Disney Channel entitled, “Motocross”. The girl cut her hair to pass as her brother in order to enter a race, and win money (or something I can’t remember) for her family. Not only did I think that the haircut was great, but the liberating message that girls/women should not be judged on the basis of their looks (in this case length of the hair) was amazing to my thirteen year old brain! Well, after that cut I let my hair grow out, and decided on another whim when I was eighteen to get it cut into a pixie style again. From then on, I have had variations on the cut with my hair never being longer than my eyebrow, however, it has been so short as to have been buzzed for charity. However, I have noticed that I do not get much male attention with my short hair. Men either assume I am gay, or am recovering from some type of disease for which one’s hair falls off. The latter is nothing to deal with, it does not hurt me. The first issue is the painful one!

I have read two articles over the past few years that have made me question why people think that short hair is such a big deal on women. An article in the Daily Mail details that some psychiatrists have linked women with short hair and a lack of sexual drive. Dr Pam Spurr is quoted as stating, “It's symbolic, in the sense that shedding their hair is like shedding a part of their old life: and yes, that can include sex. The woman who has been dissatisfied with her sex life, and decides she no longer wants to have sex, uses the power of the haircut as a sign to show she's reclaiming power in the bedroom. Or maybe if she's been unhappy in her relationship, by cutting her hair she shows she's going to stand up for herself and become more self-reliant.”

The other article I read was in Elle magazine citing the author’s personal experience with her short haircut, “... for the next two years, when I would experience what it feels like to be consistently passed over by a majority of men simply because they, like him, believed they could never be attracted to a woman with super-short hair. “When I see a woman with short hair, it’s off-putting,” a male journalist in his late thirties tells me. “She’s making the statement that she doesn’t have to do what everyone else is doing.” Perhaps, the most disheartening part of the article was this, “What’s more, not a single one (of the men dated since the cut) cupped my face in his hands and said, “Go for it. Cut it off. Long hair, short hair— you’re beautiful, no matter what.” Instead, all I got were nervous stammers and “I’m just not into it” vagueness.”

Unfortunately, I have yet to have this experience with a man that I have dated, although, I have not dated anyone since I broke off an engagement at seventeen. However, that is not for lack of trying, I’m just more “old-fashioned”. I won’t ask out a man, yet I don't need one to support me - financially, emotionally etc.

Anyway, it is these two articles that I have been mulling over for the past few weeks. I have tried to grow my hair out various times, but have always failed. Perhaps, it is because I (secretly ... sort of) love my short hair. At times, I love my short hair, at times I hate it, at times I am neutral to it. I have always had this love-hate-love-hate relationship with my short hair, because whenever I have had long hair, or any length past my chin, it has always been a “hot mess”, with my hair being in a ponytail 99.9 % of the time, and me looking like a fifteen year old, and not my age.

I am speaking out, because I am angry about the way women with short hair are portrayed in society. Now, don’t get me wrong, there are great short haired women role models for women. For example, Halle Berry, Audrey Hepburn, Evan Rachel Wood, Jean Seberg, Audrey Tautou being just a few. Yet, just because a woman has short hair does not mean she is gay, “gone off sex”, lazy, or has some penchant to look like a twelve year old adolescent boy (all of which have been personal experiences of mine).

Perhaps, it simply means that she does not want to follow the crowd of women who simply have long hair for whatever their reasons may be. Please do not misconstrue what I am stating, but it has been my experience that some women with long hair tend to keep it because they are looking to hold onto some aspect of their youth, or are afraid of the social stigma that , as discussed, seems to be associated with short haired women.

All in all, my experience with my short hair is an interesting one, to say the least. Do I think my experience with short hair is typical, or off the mark? You tell me.

Thanks Kathleen for sharing this with us. OK lovelies, have you experienced something similar? I would love to hear some male opinions as well. Please share in the comments and have a wonderful day. 

Related articles

♥ Does a short haircut mean women have gone off sex? 

♥ Do haircuts affect your love life?

Inspirational quotes: shopping

Some quotes to make you smile! Have a great day!

Frugal is Fabulous Challenge Day 4: Becoming a mindful consumer

This is Day 4 of the Frugal is Fabulous Challenge. Read the official launch post to get started. Or check out the Fabulously Frugal page. Relevant tweets will have the #fabfrugal hashtag and don't forget to check out the associated facebook page for even more discussion.

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Hello lovely people

Welcome to Day 4 of the Fabulously Frugal Challenge. Today's task is going to be different. In today's challenge we will move away from budgeting and spreadsheets and all of that fun stuff. By now most of us should have a good idea of what we spend and how we spend. But why exactly do we spend? What exactly are we trying to achieve when we purchase yet another filofax, that must have gadget or luxury item? I am not talking about the necessities of life that we need such as food, water or shelter. It is all of the extra stuff, the stuff that ends up cluttering up our homes and lives, that sometimes don't even get used. 

In an earlier post I mentioned this fabulous ebook, A minimalist's guide to having it all. Seems a contradictory title, no? But trust me when I say the author, Meg Wolfe breaks it down soooooooooo nicely. (The ebook is free, but you can make a small donation if you like here).

On page 2 she talks about what the phrase 'having it all' means in popular culture. She describes it as being associated with fame, fortune, happiness, abundance, achieving our dreams. But what does that mean exactly? Well she sums it up really nicely in this line......

 

'To one extent or another, “having it all” has meant having a great career, the perfect mate, perfect children, living in a dream house, affording luxuries, having optimum health, and looking like a fabulous model—all at once.' 

But can you see any problems with this definition? Well for one it is all about appearances and status; it is more about keeping up with the Joneses (or the Kardashians) than about doing what is right for us or achieving our own inner contentment. She makes the point that having it all cannot happen unless we are content, and differentiates what contentment is and is not. 

In the first chapter of the book she goes on to describe the Stop Shopping Project. Now lovelies, this is exactly what we are doing in FabFrugal! Aren't you excited? 

The Stop Shopping project is basically about stopping shopping. Duh! Lol. It simply means that in order to understand what we really want from our lives we need to step back from buying mindlessly and filling our lives with 'things' only. Meg suggests that we need to stop shopping for fun, for recreation or out of boredom. Eeeeeek! Why do we need to do this? Simply so that we can break out of the shopping habit. Which as I am sure everyone doing the challenge has realised requires some effort!

Now I really want to just go on and on raving about this book. But let's get on to today's challenge!

Your task

1. Download a copy of the ebook A Minimalist's Guide to Having it All.

2. Read the Introduction and Chapter 1- Becoming a Mindful Consumer: The stop shopping project.

3. Write down which situations encourage you to shop (in your fab frugal journal of course). Is it going to the mall, while grocery shopping, from reading magazines or online browsing (this is the bane of my existence)?

4. Think about how you can avoid completely, or limit your exposure to these situations. Does making a list of what you need help, or maybe using cash only, unsubscribing from marketing emails, cancelling magazine subscriptions etc? 

5. What are the key points from the chapter for you?


Please feel free to share any of your thoughts on the chapter or on the task in the comments. Enjoy your day!

This is Day 4 of the Frugal is Fabulous Challenge. Read the official launch post to get started. Or check out the Fabulously Frugal page. Relevant tweets will have the #fabfrugal hashtag and don't forget to check out the associated facebook page for even more discussion.

 

What's on my iPhone 21/7/11

If DH were actually romantic he would write a song like this for me. Alas he isn't. So I shall have to settle for Bruno Mars ;-)

This song always makes me feel good. I hope it brightens up your day too!


Lyrics here. 


Enjoy your day! And remember tomorrow is FabFrugal Friday!

I have a Mulberry!

Dearies
Some of you may have recognised that I have a love obsession for all things Mulberry! So have I decided to scrap the Fabulous is Frugal Challenge and part with my hard earned cash? Well no actually...... The title is a little bit misleading (ha I am evil!)Why? Because.....


1. I only had it for a day
2. It is not the glorious Mulberry Bayswater
3. It actually belongs to my friend! :-)


So my lovely friend and colleague CC loaned me her Mulberrry filofax for a couple of days so I could take pictures and share them on the blog (yes my work mates know and accept my unique version of crazy!). It was actually a present from her Mum for her birthday since her pocket Classic Filofax was literally falling to pieces. But enough chitter chatter from me. Here are the photos. And I have to admit that it is lush!

In its box.

Double fastener allows for adjustment to how stuffed it is! Clever!

The Mulberry logo is all over it.

Yes it is a Mulberry.

OK so did you know it is a Mulberry?
On all the pages so you don't dare forget!

Yup the logo is there again.
The printed leather is beautiful though.

Black beauty!

In its original box!

So I really enjoyed my day with the Mulberry. And I am proud of myself for actually returning it! My friend made sure to tell me me to bring it back. As if I would take it forever! Hehe (well I had no choice as she knows where I live and we work in the same place unless of course I fled back to Trinidad).  The only negative about it is the fact that I thought there was a bit TOO MUCH branding. It is a Mulberry. And that is great! But there is no need to beat me around the head with the logo for heaven's sake.


Does anyone else own a Mulberry organiser? They are very pricey, starting from £200. They come in black and brown.Please share in the comments whether you would buy one. And how you think it compares to the Filofax brand.  Personally I wouldn't choose it over my Decadent Deco Filofax and I would want more colours to choose from but that's just me!


Have a lovely day!

On trying to live in the moment........

I used to be a worrier. As a teenager I worried about losing my parents or one of my siblings, whether I would get good O and A level grades, and how I would pay for medical school. As a medical student, exams remained a constant worry, together with whether or not I could make it as a doctor, whether or not I would fall in love or get married. As time went on, and even after I achieved all of the things, I continued to worry. I was still anxious about exams (forever the bane of my existence as now I had membership exams to consider), whether I would accidentally 'kill' a patient and lose my license to practice,  whether I would be good enough to pursue postgraduate research, would my marriage work, would my chronic health condition get worse, would I be able to have children, would my parents be around if I eventually had children.......... As you could see the list went on and on.  

But then last year I decided that I had had enough. For too long I had let the present, the 'now' slip away. And it had become clear to me that even when things didn't appear to work out JUST AS I WANTED that things usually turned out JUST FINE or sometimes SO MUCH BETTER than I had ever hoped or dreamed. So although I am a planner by nature and I love organizing I learned to let go. I decided to stop living my life on hold, to stop ruminating about the past or worrying about the future. I wanted and needed to focus on the present and to enjoy the moment. I decided to start blogging (something I had always wanted to do but lacked the courage to do so), and to pick up a craft although I am all thumbs. But it wasn't easy. And earlier on in the year as I was about to start my PhD (doing this was a childhood dream which I had worked soooooooooooo hard to achieve) I suffered a crisis of confidence. I picked myself back up (thanks to all of your support, good friends and a trip back home to Trinidad) and carried on. I started to get comfortable. Things were great! Life was wonderful! And then this happened.......

My idea of trying to live in the moment, of being mindful, seemed to go into complete disarray. Now I was worrying again...... Would the lump turn out to be something nasty? Did I have a future? And I felt a bit sorry for myself. Why me? I thought. I haven't done anything wrong. This is so unfair! But this was totally counterproductive. None of us have any control over what happens in life. Even if I were in perfect health, I could be here today and gone tomorrow. So to be honest, nothing had changed. And this was the best time to savour the moment. To stop worrying about the tests and the investigations as they would come and I had no control over what they would find. But I did have control over my thoughts and actions right NOW. Whenever I felt my thoughts wandering back into 'I wonder what they will find' territory I repeated 'NOW, NOW, NOW, focus on the NOW' to myself. And although I am by no means an expert in mindfulness (I am a complete novice), in the days leading up to my clinic appointment, being more aware of the present helped me to be calm(er) and to remain sane.

So lovelies, how do you cope with stressful situations? Do you find it easy to live in the moment? To be a mindful person? Or do you struggle with the concept? Please share your thoughts in the comments. 

And for further reading, have a look at some of the great articles Angeliki shared in her blog RePsych here.

Have a wonderful day! 

P.S. I am planning on opening a shop to sell off some of my items (for all of you who aren't doing the FabFrugal Challenge of course). I own so many lovely items that DO NOT GET USED!! It is time to let them go to happy new homes where they can be appreciated! Who knows, I may even sell off some of my filofaxes!! ;-))

Guest post: 12 reasons why a filofax is better than a significant other

Lovelies
This is a short one today! Please go on over to Typecast and check out my guest post (click here).
What do you think? I made sure I vetted it with DH first! hehe.
Have a great day!

Frugal is Fabulous Challenge Day 3 : Budgeting for yummies 102

This is Day 3 of the Frugal is Fabulous Challenge. Read the official launch post to get started. Or check out the Fabulously Frugal page. Relevant tweets will have the #fabfrugal hashtag and don't forget to check out the associated facebook page for even more discussion.

Money, money, money!

So we are now onto Day 3 of the Challenge. And so far we have covered the basics of budgeting including why budgeting is important, tracking your income and expenditure and reflecting on why and how you spend. In addition to your estimated monthly expenses and income, from Day 2 you should have a clear idea of your weekly outgoings and your essential and non essential spend. But now we have to move on to the nitty gritty. It is great to know what we are spending on. But now we have to CHANGE HOW WE SPEND. And in order to do that, we can't work on just estimates, we need to be much more ACCURATE and the best way of doing that is to use an actual online budgeting tool (thanks to Alannarama for this link).


Today's TASK
Before you start gather together ALL OF YOUR PAPERWORK! This includes all your bills and receipts, in addition to your payslips, bank statements etc. You should also have an idea from previous tasks the type of things that you spend your money on.  

This free budget planner (click BUDGET BRAIN) has the following categories


A. What do you earn?
This includes employment, self employment, gifts from family and friends, benefits, income from savings and investments etc


B. What do you spend?
This can be divided into
1. Home
Examples include mobile phone, home phone, electricity, gas, water, council tax, internet, tv license, home insurance, life insurance, food and household shopping, drinks for home etc. You can add other sub categories as well.


2. Motoring and Public Transport
This includes petrol/diesel, parking, car insurance, car tax, car maintenance, rail, bus, taxi, breakdown cover.


3. Debt repayments
Examples include credit card repayments, store cards, hire purchase, personal loans, mortgage, car loans etc. This is an EXTREMELY IMPORTANT section and is one that you must get right!


4. Savings and Investments
This includes pension payments, shares, ISAs, regular savings etc.


5. Family
This is another very important category if you have children, pets or other dependents. It includes pet food, pocket money, school trips, playgroups, dry cleaning, babysitting, cleaning etc


6. Entertainment
Examples include days out, cinema, eating out, books, dvds, cds, hobbies, drinking out.


7. Clothes, health and beauty
This is also not a spending category that can be ignored. Often we forget to include money spent getting our hair or nails done, buying clothes, gym membership, medical and dental insurance, optical bills etc.


8. Education and courses
Includes university tuition fees, private school fees, adult learning etc.


9. Big One offs!
Often this gets forgotten which can cause serious problems. Examples include birthdays, weddings, funerals, holidays, Christmas, new tv, sofa, computer etc!


10. Odds and sods
These are the little costs that can add up over the year. Include your Starbucks coffee, newspapers and magazines, meals at work, sandwiches, snacks, smoking (say it ain't so!) 


C. Check your spend.
The free budget tool gives you an opportunity to check your spend and to ensure that you have not missed anything before the end!


D. The Results
Uh-oh, this is what we have been waiting for! The answer to the question DO YOU SPEND MORE THAN YOU EARN? It cleverly gives you a graph showing the breakdown of how you spend. And allows you to click a slice of the pie chart to see the details of how you spend. There are also links back to the budget to allow you to decide 'desired' spends so you can see where you could cut back. There are some more money makeover tips and other tools. You can do these if you like. But we will cover all these topics in future Fabulously Frugal Challenges.


Ok lovelies, well done for taking part in today's challenge! I hope it hasn't stressed you out completely. I may mix it up a bit for next week. But of course, you will have to tune back in to find out!

Enjoy your day!


This is Day 3 of the Frugal is Fabulous Challenge. Read the official launch post to get started. Or check out the Fabulously Frugal page. Relevant tweets will have the #fabfrugal hashtag and don't forget to check out the associated facebook page for even more discussion.

Inspirational quotes: Life

Just a little something for you to start your day right! Look out for Day 3 of the Frugal is Fabulous Challenge tomorrow! 

Have a lovely day!

Thank you :-) And I LOVE the NHS!

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I already told you guys that you were awesome. I just wanted to thank you again for all of your support over the last couple of weeks regarding that thing. I got the all clear yesterday and I am really delighted. I still have my chronic health condition but that is ok, as I know the ropes of that (we are old friends, well maybe not friends). So all's well that's ends well. Yay!



Priorities Thank you...
for thinking of me
and then wondering
how you could help.
Thank you...
for doing what you did,
instead of being too busy,
or just forgetting about it.
Thank you...
For inking me
on your priority to-do list,
when you have
so many other things to do;
I am honored;
It meant a lot to me.
Thank you. By Joanna Fuchs

Oh and I should also mention that ALL of the doctors and nurses involved in my care were absolutely wonderful. And although I may sound socialist  I LOVE MY NHS!!! Everything was free at the point of delivery, everyone was extremely professional towards me (and it wasn't because I was a doctor either). At a time when I was anxious and a little scared at no point did I have to worry about health insurance, bills or anything else. I know the NHS is not perfect. And a lot of work still has to be done........


But I will fight tooth and nail to protect these services in the UK so that all of us are able to access good health care when we need it most, often when we are at our most vulnerable!


Have a wonderful day lovelies.

10 things to do when you are feeling down

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Lovelies
In the last few weeks I have had lots to deal with. But even outside of that, we ALL have times when we just don't feel our best. Sometimes we are feeling run down or tired because of work, illness, family issues, that time of the month, whatever. For many people these times pass, although if you have been feeling very low you should always see your GP to make sure that you are not suffering from depression. 


Today I just wanted to share with you some of the things I did to keep me feeling upbeat. I hope you find this list of 10 things to do when you are feeling down useful. 


1. Go easy on yourself. I told myself that it was ok to feel like this. And because I am a strange person I gave myself an allocated period of 'feeling sorry for myself' time (about 2-3 hours). I even set my iPhone to be my timer! I cried, I snoozed, I did absolutely nothing but wallow in self pity! By the end of 30 minutes I was bored of doing this and set off to find positive nice things to do! I also realised that I had an entire afternoon for me time. I couldn't let that go to waste!


2. Write. I enjoy writing. I find it really cathartic. And things always make more sense when I write them down. So I did a blog post. And I wrote in my happiness journal. I felt so much better after that! 


3. Do stuff! It is tempting when you are feeling down to stay inside and mope. Unfortunately that won't make you feel any better. If you go to the gym, do it. If you scrapbook, go to your meet. Don't avoid your hobbies or you will feel worse.


4. Spend time with people. I was lucky that my friend and hairdresser had planned to come over the same evening I discovered the lump. It was really nice to catch up with her and it turned out to be a very girly weekend as DH was away!


5. Watch a feel good movie. Or do a moviethon (movie marathon)! There are certain movies that ALWAYS cheer me up! One of them is Legally Blonde! Luckily for me DH had bought the box set with part one and two (I had never seen the latter). I had a great time watching both of them. And I felt much happier!


6. Listen to great music! There are certain artists and songs that are a life saver for me when I am feeling down. These include Michael Jackson, Bob Marley, Aerosmith (Don't Want to Miss a Thing), Outkast (Hey ya!), Cee Lo green, anything by Beyonce and Destiny's child, Trinidadian calypso/soca music, Jamaican 'old school' dub, etc, etc........ Play it loudly (or use headphones if you have neighbours). And DANCE!


7. Read! I find that becoming immersed in another world/ viewpoint can sometimes take my mind off whatever is bothering me.


8. Share your feelings. Most of us do not whine or complain all the time. So if you are feeling down, phone a good friend or family member. And talk about it. But don't forget to find out about what's going on in the other person's life as well. So be sure to also let them talk!

9. Be thankful. Make a list of all the positive things that are going on in your life. Or put a positive spin on the negative event (I am aware this can be hard to do). For example when I was feeling sad that I had to be referred, I thought about the positive aspect of this (I was now going to be investigated and know exactly what was going on). It may still be helpful.


10. Cook your favourite meal (or even better get someone to do it for you). Maybe I am just greedy, but if I cook something like Trinidadian stewed chicken I feel soooooooo much better. Don't overindulge but enjoy your food!


There are lots of other things I could have added here such as meditating, praying, going for a walk or run etc etc. For more ideas check out these other useful posts.


♥ 100 things to do when you're upset (the sad thrombone list)


♥ Feeling down - 7 ways to pick yourself back up


♥ How to find Joy in January
  
Have a great day! And please share in the comments any tips that you have for making yourself feel better. 


P.S. Today is my clinic appointment. Wish me luck!

Update I have been given the all clear and I am delighted! :-)