Give Yourself Some Credit

Doing it all means that you have to be fiscally fit.  With the economy the way it is, it is harder to get credit and buy the things you want and need on someone else’s dime.  Like Dave Ramsey, author of The Total Money Makeover, I don’t endorse spending money you don’t have.  But, unlike Mr. Ramsey, I believe credit has its place.  Financing transportation, your home, and even a credit card for emergencies are all financially responsible debts to have.  Unless you have credit and pretty darn near perfect credit these days, it is hard to get a loan or line of credit.  So before you go applying for your first mortgage or get a credit card, here are some things to consider.

Two to Ten Years

Credit history lasts longer than most Hollywood couple’s relationships.  A simple late payment stays on your report for two years.  And, it can sometimes do more damage than a bankruptcy.  Bankruptcies stay on your report up to ten years and paid charge off (accounts that went to collection and the company wrote of as an expense) stay on for seven years, even after they’ve been paid.  It is imperative that you pay on time to keep your score tip-top.

Early isn’t Always Best 

While most companies would love for you to pay your monthly bill early, some won’t give you credit if you pay too early.  Most credit cards have a window in which you can make your monthly payment.  So not only is it bad to wait too long to pay your tab, but you must read your disclosures or talk to an account rep to make sure you don’t pay too early.  They’ll credit the principle amount, but not your monthly payment and you’ll stay a month behind racking up the late pays on your credit report.  

Free Credit Report

We’ve all heard the catchy jingle sung by the cute guy in a pirate hat, but there really is a free credit report and not one that you have to give your credit card number in order to get the “free” service.  Annual Credit Report.com is a free site that will give you your three credit reports for free, for real.  

Different financial institutions use different credit bureaus to judge credit.  And, the three reports may have different information.  Once a year you get a free look at your credit.  In the past you only got a glimpse of YOUR credit either by buying the report or being denied credit.  You can still get a copy if you’re denied credit and Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax would all love to sell you their services.

Anti Theft Device

Not only will checking your credit once a year help give you an idea on where you are credit wise and what you need to work on, but it also is a good idea to check for mistakes and accounts that aren’t yours.  If you see something that is not yours, such as a credit card account that you’ve never heard of, dispute it immediately.  

You can dispute it through the credit bureau’s website or you can contact the merchant directly.  Going through the bureau, the merchant has thirty days to either correct your report or give evidence that you opened the account.   Most credit card companies and banks have fraud specialists who will gladly help you resolve any issues.  They should have policies in place to quickly resolve the problem.  They don’t want to lose any money either, so they do all they can to cover themselves which helps you at the same time.

Banks are really buckling down to whom they lend money.  Know your situation.  Don’t spend more than you can pay.  And finally, be a responsible consumer.  Loans are not bad, but getting over your head is hard place from which to dig.

 

Guest Post- Eating Healthy by Yalda Taghizadegan

 So, you’re juggling full time school, a full time job, homework, tons of extracurricular activities and you think that there is just no way. No way you can eat healthy and on a budget. Well, think again.

I am living proof that being a healthier college student is possible. With full time school, homework, a full time job, a sorority that requires community service, and the literature magazine on campus, I am always running around and eating on the run. If I can manage to do it all with a super busy schedule, so can you; after all, the biggest issue is time management.

The cost, Literally!           

            Eating at home is always cheaper and healthier than eating out; no ifs ands or buts, it just is. Eating out three meals a week for about a total of twenty dollars can buy almost a week’s worth of groceries, that’s breakfast, lunch and dinner along with some snacks for in between. Plus, this way you know exactly what you are putting in you body. 

 

Here are some examples:

A hamburger meal with              around $5.00      A turkey sandwich with an              around $1.50           

fries and a soft drink                                                    apple, chocolate pudding

 

A crispy chicken salad with            around $7.00              A tuna salad a granola bar               around $2.00

ranch and a yogurt parfait                                      and low fat yogurt

 

A bag of chips and soda            around $2.50              A bag of homemade                          around $1.00

                                                  trail mix and fruit juice

 

The Time

            Eating healthy and at home doesn’t have to be excruciating or complicated, all it takes is grocery shopping once a week and about 5 minutes a day. Just think how much “drive through” and wait time you will save in the long run. The key is to always have “good” food around, so that you never go hungry. Here is a list of items that I usually buy and just throw together in the mornings before I leave the house. Most of these items are also easy to keep if you live in a dorm room; and there are alternatives to cooking, like prepared grilled chicken and meats if you don’t have a kitchen available to you.

 

A loaf of bread or a bag of tortilla bread

A couple bags of prepared salad

Lunchmeat

Tuna

Seasoned frozen meat (chicken is the easiest)

Cheese (low-fat, or non-fat)

Cut veggies (frozen bags are easier to make and keep)

Canned Veggies (not as good for you)

Peanut butter and jelly

Eggs

Plain or flavored yogurt

Small pack of granola bars

Apples

Peaches

Grapes

Carrot Sticks

Fruit cups

Cheese sticks

Dried fruits and nuts (you can also add chocolate chips or M&Ms)

 

Ok, now that you’ve got all your groceries, you’re on the right track. A good turkey sandwich only takes about two minutes to make, and if you’re really ambitious about making it a healthy lunch, you can throw on some of your prepackages salad. A handful of carrot sticks and ranch makes a great side dish, and low fat pudding can be desert. For your mid morning or afternoon snack you can grab a cheese stick, a yogurt cup or separate some of your dried fruits and nuts into a small zip lock bag. Of course, you can always mix it up and pick and choose depending on your own preferences. If you think about it, this morning process takes less time than sitting through the busy McDonalds drive through during lunch, and it’s a lot better for you.

 

Dinner is just as easy. I usually prepare some sort of meat, soup or chili on the weekends and make enough for the whole week. For dinner I like to just kick back and relax if I can, so a hot bowl of soup or turkey chili and salad, or chicken and veggies usually does the trick. It’s simple and only takes a couple of minutes to heat up.

 

Healthy Snacks

            Fresh fruits, veggies, and dried nuts make for great snacks and if prepared ahead of time, are just as easy and fast as the bag of chips in the vending machine. I usually keep lots of dried fruits and nuts around and even in my bags just for those times when I have to skip a meal or just get hungry. Fresh fruits like apples, peaches and bananas are also easy to just throw in your bag in the morning and peanut butter or yogurt can be eaten with just about any fruit you like. Dark chocolate is also a good comfort snack, but moderation is key.

Now that you have all the tools, eating healthy shouldn’t seem as scary and time consuming as before, so no more excuses! You can be a busy college student with a hundred things to do, but also treat your body well, because you deserve it. 

Visit Yalda’s Extreme Sports blog- http://oxyaldaxo.blogspot.com/

 

Make up in Minutes

 

When you’re a woman on the go, doing it all, it is easy to let yourself go.  It is easy to justify that you want to be known for who you are and not what you look like.  It’s great not to be wrapped up in the superficial, but you feel better when you know you look great.  It’s not always possible to do full hair and makeup, but here are some tips that you can do in your car before going into a meeting or at your desk, if you get to work before your co-workers.

Start with a Great Foundation

Foundation covers up any imperfection and gives your skin a nice even tone.  Most make-up experts would cringe if you didn’t moisturize first, but this is make up on the go!  If you don’t have time to moisturize or put on foundation, at least use some concealer for any blemishes and under your eyes to reduce the appearance of puffiness and dark circles. 

Mascara is a Must

For me, mascara is a must. It opens the eyes, no matter how tired you are.  It is quick, easy and if you have time for nothing else, it is the one cosmetic that can pull you together the quickest with the least amount of effort.

Double Duty Lipstick

Use a subtle lipstick to give you some color and liven you up.  It can be used in a pinch for cheek color, as well!  I often use it when I’m a little pale, but don’t have my full bag of tricks with me.  A little goes a long way, though!

Hopefully you either have time to be well put together at all times or have great skin and need minimal or no make up.  But, if you’re like the rest of us, hopefully these few tips will give you some options when you’re running late or stuck with only a few cosmetics and not your full bag of miracle serums, powders, creams, etc.

 

How to work and make no excuses to…

Does your job get in the way of your dreams?  You can have it both ways- a job to pay the bills and still do that other thing that you don’t have time to do.  Whether it is going to school to finish your degree, starting a family, writing a novel, auditioning for commercials or films, you can do it without getting a new job.  

I have a corporate job, but still go to school, write plays and movie scripts, and have started a family without using my very limited vacation time.  I am a contractor for a major communications company and only get five vacation days a year and no sick time.  Here’s how I do it all.

Getting Edumicated…err…Educated

When I first went back to school, I took night classes and on-line courses.  This didn’t interfere with work at all.  But, as I got closer to graduation, there were less night and correspondence courses.  I needed a new plan, so I found classes around my lunchtime.  I made a schedule that showed how I could still work full-time and take classes.  It showed a longer lunch period to fit in my classes and drive time and an earlier arrival time to make up the long lunch.  I asked my boss for a meeting to discuss options.  I showed him my schedule and showed him how I could fit in class and work.  He agreed that it was doable, made a few adjustments and my school schedule was set!  Plus, I didn’t have to take away family time at night to attend class.  

Maternal Instinct

Being a contractor, I had neither maternity leave nor sick time.  I couldn’t take off and not get paid.  My husband and I depended on my steady check and couldn’t live on just his.  Again, I made up a schedule and came up with a game plan to present to my boss.  I asked him if I could get a company lap top and work from home so that no one would have to fill in for me.  He agreed that we didn’t have the resources to replace me for three months, so he let me work from home.  I actually worked the day I went into labor, a Thursday, and worked on-line the following Monday.  It would have been great to have no worries, but this was a workable solution for all of us.  Plus, I worked during the 2AM feedings and slept when the baby slept.  That is time management.

Acting bug

I recently caught the acting bug.  Well, the writing/directing bug anyway.  I was forced into acting (twist my arm!)  I managed to produce my show while working full-time and going to school.  I worked with one of my professors to make my play festival an independent study.  I got college credit for doing what I loved.  I worked on this on the weekends and used a vacation day to load into the theatre the day before the show opened.  

There are no excuses to pursue your passions.  Your job is not an excuse.  I had a jerk of a boss, but the opportunity to travel to India came about.  Even though I didn’t have the vacation time, he still worked with me so that I could go on the once-in-a-lifetime trip.  Jerk bosses aren’t even an excuse!  There are limits and you won’t always get your way.  But, with a little creativity and a lot of drive, you can do anything with NO EXCUSES.

Recap of how to do it all:

• Take night and correspondence classes
• Go to school during lunch
• Work on a creative schedule with your boss
• Work from home on a lap top
• Use your passions as an independent study to earn college credit 
• Show your boss the pros and your creative schedule and discuss options
• Communicate and get creative!

Recipe of the Week:

Low Fat, Low Sugar Oatmeal Cookies (Yes they taste good!)

            1 cup no-added-sugar apple sauce (I use Grandma Hoerner’s)

            3/4 cup brown sugar

            2 eggs

            1/2 cup 2% (or skim) milk

            1 3/4 cup flour (I use unbleached)

            1/4 teaspoon baking soda

            2 teaspoons baking powder

            1 teaspoon cinnamon (omit if apple sauce has cinnamon)

            1 teaspoon nutmeg

            3 cups quick-cooking oatmeal

            Dried fruit- I use 1 cup dried cranberries

Pre heat oven to 400 degrees.  Cream together applesauce, brown sugar, and eggs until light and fluffy.  Stir in milk.  Mix dry ingredients and add to wet mixture.  Stir well, but don’t over mix.  I use a wooden spoon to mix the dry ingredients into the wet and an electric mixer to cream the wet ingredients.  Spoon balls of dough onto a baking stone or greased cookie sheet two inches apart.  Bake for eight to ten minutes.  Cool slightly and remove from pan.  Enjoy!

 

The “no excuses” way to do it all

We all make the excuse of being too busy to do, well, anything and everything.  ”I’m too busy to go back to school, so I’m stuck at this desk job.”  ”I’m too busy to play tennis.”  ”I’m too busy to write, read, excercise, do anything other than work or watch TV.”  

In addition to my domestic, scholarly, and financial duties, I am a writer.  In additon to being a writer, I am currently producing a play festival.  I am doing it all with no excuses.  Through this process, I am learning when enough is enough, though.  Doing it all is not always graceful or done well.  There are times that my plate is too full and I am grumpy to those I love (or with whom I have to work!)  Below are some tips and real life examples from some professors at UT Dallas.  

Allocate some chores

Married?  Or do you have a roommate with whom you can split domestic duties?  Make a list on a dry erase board so everyone knows which chore is theirs.  There is now no excuse not to help.  Use a different color for each house hold member and write down the chores on a dry erase calender.  The calander can also be used to write down the family schedule so you always know who needs to go where.

Ask for help

I get so mad at my loved ones for not helping me when I need it most.  I have finally figured out why they don’t help.  They don’t know that I need it!  To them, I appear to be fully handling things myself and don’t need any help.  If I needed it, I’d ask, right? 

Learn when to say no

Out of guilt, obligation, self worth issues, whatever, we often take on more than we can handle.  I hate letting those around me down, so I often take on way more than I should.  Turns out that saying no is one of my professor’s tips to doing it all.  Professor Janet Johnson gives the following example as to how saying no helps her do it all.

I have learned to say no. I learned not too long ago after two parents fell ill at the same time that school, caretaker, and student were not working. I put my own school on the back-burner and proceeded more slowly than what I would have done a few months before. I remember trying to cook, clean, act as a nurse and running to Denton to teach at UNT. I knew that I could not keep up the pace. I hated that I couldn’t do it ALL! But I started asking for help and when I needed help– I need to slow down and reassess the situation to try to keep myself sane. I remember more people were worried about me than about my parents. I really wore my body down mentally and physically. There are just not enough hours in the day. But in the midst of crisis I ended up passing my doctoral qualifying exams. Don’t ask me how–I just did it. And that’s the secret–just do it, but don’t try to do it all at once!!

Make Time for your passions

There is never enough time in the day.  You have to make the time.  Professor Gary Swaim gives some tips on making time for his (and my) passion, writing.

Most important is the matter of making room for those things for which you have a passion.  I think every person, especially writers and teachers, must do what they do because of passion.  As to writing, in particular, I think it important that you make yourself sit and write, wherever you might be taken. . .then stop your writing at whatever time is of greatest interest to you so that you’ll have no difficulty starting your writing the next time your seat is in the chair.  You have a restarting place automatically.

Know when enough is enough- STOP taking on more!

It is easy to keep taking on more tasks.  This is different from saying no.  This is saying no to yourself which can be just as difficult as saying no to a loved one, friend, boss, teacher, etc.  This is knowing your limits.  This one is difficult for me.  Dr. Swaim says the following about knowing when to stop.  I wish I would have gotten this advice a few weeks earlier!

I quit taking on more tasks when I find myself pulled away from the things that feed my soul.  Enough is enough when family, writing, reading, teaching, travelling, tennis, and/or golf have no breathing room.  I read every night before going to bed.  It feeds all of the other passions wonderfully well and places a perspective on the whole of my life.

“Think about one task at a time. Don’t go crazy trying to multitask.”

Professor Johnson says it best in this final tip.  You can do it all, but don’t do it all at one time.  Multitasking causes many tears, frustrations, stomach aches, and premature balding.  Not good.  Make a list and prioritize.  Don’t beat yourself up if you can’t do it all in one day.  At least the most important tasks will get done.  Tomorrow is always another day!

Not making excuses and doing the things you love is what life is about.  If you dream about computer science, persue it by taking classes or playing around with it.  If you want to act, take an acting class or start auditioning for local shows.  If you want to cook, get a recipe and play with your food.  The only thing stopping you from happiness, your dreams, fulfillment is your excuses.  Like the old Nike ad, “just do it.”

 

Fast Food

Dance lessons, soccer practice, overtime at work, picking up the dry cleaning- fast food seems like the only solutions for dinner.  Or, if you want to save money or eat healthier, it’s easy to pick up a meal kit like Hamburger Helper or those frozen crock pot meals.  But are those healthier than fast food?  

 

Procrastinator’s Tip- Below is a general pantry/refrigerator staples list. To make a quick, easy meal during the week, any of the following can be combined for a healthy, QUICK meal.  Google the ingredients you have on hand or go to your favorite recipe site (I like FoodNetwork.com) to find a quick meal idea.

• Frozen chicken breasts
• Whatever fish you find on sale
• Ground beef
• Onions
• Garlic
• Can of crushed tomatoes (can be substituted for other tomato products)
• Potatoes
• Carrots
• Celery
• Lettuce- chopped is easy and convenient and a head will keep longer
• Rice
• Beans
• Cheese

Prepared food vs. preparing your food

Prepared food can be a time saver.  However, you must read the labels to make sure you’re not getting more than you paid for!  Look at some common convenience foods.  Crazy how much extra “junk” is in them! 

Yo Baby by Stonyfield Yogurt 4 oz- 13 g of sugar. 2.4 times the sugar in the same serving size of a Coke! 

Original Chili Cheese Hamburger Helper- 1 cup 580 mg salt VS. One McDonalds hamburger- 520 mg sodium 

Here’s a quick healthy alternative that’s family friendly:

Taco Salad

• 1 pound lean beef
• Lettuce (pick up chopped for a short cut, or a head for longevity in the fridge)
• chopped onions
• chopped tomatoes
• Shredded cheese to taste
• Sour cream

Brown meat and drain fat.  Make your own taco seasoning by mixing seasoning salt, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper to taste.  (McCormick’s has 300 mg of sodium!)  Plate the lettuce, meat, cheese and top with tomatoes, onions, and sour cream.  This can be made in 15 minutes and you control exactly how much fat, sodium, etc is in it.

Easy Baby Food

• Bake 3 sweet potatoes for 30 minutes at 350 
• Shut off the oven and let the potatoes sit over night in the oven
• Slit the potatoes and fold them inside out- insides just fall into bowl leaving peel to be tossed
• Mix in an equal amount of PLAIN full fat yogurt (I prefer Greek style)
• Add 1 C baby oatmeal
• Mix in baby formula, breast milk (soy milk or other milk when baby is older and okay with Ped) to consistency baby likes
• For ease, I use travel containers that have a snap on lid and are about 1/4 c and divvy up the mix

Procrastinators Baby Food

• Mash up some bannanas with a fork (2-3)
• Mix in some yogurt (1-2 cups, depending on thickness desired)
• Mix in some cereal (1 cup or until desired thickness)
• Split into containers

In less than five minutes, a few days of baby food!  Almost as easy as opening a jar with who knows what in it!

You can eat well and eat quickly.  There is no excuse, even for the procrastinator, to not eat healthy and at home.  Save eating out or ordering in for the nights when you have over extended yourself or need a treat for doing it all with grace and style.