About Carrie Pink

Hi my name is Carrie Pink and I'm a reformed shopaholic and money MIS-manager. I'm not here to tell you save every penny or only shop Goodwill, since my taste is still champagne & croissants (lol) I just know how to balance saving, spending & investing and isn't that what we all need to truly be financially happy?
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5 Simple Steps To The Financial Freedom

Cheers to another installment of your frugalous lifestyle transformation. Remember, You CAN blur the line between frugal and fabulous!  All it takes are the right money concepts to improve your financial relationship!

Financial Freedom Feels so Good

5 steps to Financial Freedom

Here’s the game plan to  detox yourself from bad financial habits and start living. oh so frugalously!

  1. Unsubscribe from mailing lists. This includes your favorite stores, living social, and groupon. Until you learn will power to say no even when you can afford to say yes, you need to remove the temptation. The latest and greatest sale of the season will not help you get a hold of your money! Out of sight out of mind.
  2. Identify unintended purchases by printing your last 3 months worth of bank & credit statements.Yes the latte, those cute shorts, impromptu drinks with friends, the extra massage this month. Ready for some sticker shock? Now add it all up. That’s the total options you purchased.  Compare to the amount you saved in the last 3 months. How did you do? Don’t even tell me, I know, that’s why you’re here.
  3. Check yourself, before you wreck yourself. If you spent more on options than you saved in the last 3 months then guess what… you’re grounded for 30 days! I know you’re going to go through social/sipping/shopping/ Starbucks withdrawal.. But trust me this will be worth it!! You need a system that will get you saving and fast!
  4. Figure out how much you can save by taking the amount you spent in options over the last 3 months..
  • Divide that number by 2
  • Then divide it again by three.
  • The answer you get is what you will commit to saving for the next 3 months.

Set it up as an automatic deposit straight from your paycheck to an online savings account…. This way its hard to access,withdraw and you can’t forget to do it!

Ex. if you spent 1000 in the 3 months divide by 2 would be 500, divided by 3 is $166 which you would commit to saving a month. And you still get to live, a little.

5.Time for a Budget Scrub! Sort of like going to spa except when you’re done your bank account will be saying ahhhhhhh!

Now the point here was to get you savings something systematically..since we did that in step 4 let’s just see if that number actually fits into your budget. (your 3 months statements will help you with this!)

  • Identify all your fixed expenses, rent, mortgage, utilities, student loans, credit card bills, insurance
  • Add your new savings commitment to your fixed expenses
  • Identify all sources of discretionary spending, this is where the lattes, hair appointments, brunches, lunches and other go!

If it all works and you still have a few pennies left over then great you’re done!

But, if doesn’t…look through your discretionary list and see what can be reduced or eliminated.  Premium cable that you don’t watch?  All access gym membership you never use? Cell phone bill discount you never activated?

You want to get your budget to work without eliminating your savings commitment, do all that you can to keep that automatic deposit intact! Reduce it if you must, but never, ever eliminate it.

Is Financial Freedom one of your goals? How do you keep your finances in check? Let us know in the comments.

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Contributor | Carrie Pink
A reformed shopaholic, money MIS-manager & Chief Mom. Her taste is still champagne & croissants with balanced saving, spending & investing. Follow her recipe to true financial happiness!

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How To Be Frugalous!

Was Holly Golightly Frugalous? | www.thebudgetsocialite.com

Last time we chatted, I introduced “Frugalous”– a hybrid lifestyle between frugal and fabulous (If you missed that post you can check it out here).

The secret revealed to being “Frugalous” was to balance all the fabulous things life has to offer while still maintaining a nice cushion for ourselves. Sounds good so far right?

So, how do we get it?

How do we maintain a happy dose of fabulosity without depriving yourself of everything you love? Well I’m glad you asked.

Let’s first start by repeating our new money mantra.

“Money is a valuable tool and resource that allows me to explore my options and opportunities”

That’s the foundation to us fully adopting frugalous. Which is more than just a new lifestyle. It’s about embracing a whole new type of relationship with money, one that is healthy and leaves us in control. Not the other way around.

Lets break it down even further.

What does this mantra really mean?

I’m sure we have heard on every major talk show, a psychology expert saying our thoughts are more powerful than we think. Although I am no doctor, I believe this is an absolute fact in our dealings with our money.

If we believe money is the root of all evil, it will be. If we are convinced it burns a hole in our pocket… Then burn baby burn it will do, right through our skinny jeans!

If we want to improve our financial relations, we first have to improve our relationship with our finances. Did you get that? Let me repeat it..

If we want to improve our financial relations, we first have to improve our relationship with our finances.  – Tweet this

Money is not the root to all our problems, it’s the solution. We can solve more problems using our money effectively than ineffectively.

Money is valuable, which makes it something important to have in our everyday lives.

Money is a tool, which means we have to learn how to use it, just like any other tool in a toolbox. Yes that means acquiring the right skills, right here, right now! (you wouldn’t just jump onto a construction site and try to use a jack hammer would you?)

And lastly, money is a resource — which means there is a limited quantity in our possession. Therefore, like any other limited resource we should strive to conserve some and account for every other dollar exhausted.

Mmmkay valuable, tool, limited resource. The solution.

You with me so far? Great!!

Let’s keep going.

That allows us to explore Options and Opportunities. Carrie, now what does that mean exactly?

Well to put it in terms we can all understand: Those super HAUTE Jimmy Choos are an option.. The 70% sample sale that only happens once a year but, is already on its third rotation is an option. Starbucks lattes twice a day are an option.

Can you go to paris on a whim? | www.thebudgetsocialite.com

Your bestie needing a last minute travel buddy for a 10 day trip to Paris, Nice, and Monte Carlo because her beau has strep throat? That’s an opportunity!!!

Moral of the story?

Stocking up on too many options leaves you unable to take full advantage of unforeseen opportunities.

Sip on that until next month, when I bring you tried and true strategies to keep you financially prepared for both!

Let’s talk! Do you leave room financially for options as well as opportunities? Or do you need the cheat sheet? Let us know in the comments below!

(Image Source: Breakfast at Tiffany’s  |  Paris)

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Contributor | Carrie Pink
A reformed shopaholic, money MIS-manager & Chief Mom. Her taste is still champagne & croissants with balanced saving, spending & investing. Follow her recipe to true financial happiness!

{Living}

Blurring The Line Between Frugal and Fabulous!

frugal and fabulous | www.thebudgetsocialite.com

When you start talking personal finance, saving money and living a frugal lifestyle there are usually a ton of groans that follow.

Everyone wants to live the fabulous life of their dreams… But our pockets are always that unpleasant reality check we don’t want to cash.

Everyone wants to save money.. but our desire for a fabulous lifestyle and the reality of our pockets + bills often leads us to believe that saving is IMPOSSIBLE.

Then you hear the words “Live a Frugal life” and you cringe, don’t you? There is nothing fabulous about being frugal or so you think. But its been my experience since welcoming frugal into my vocab, this misconception is so far from the truth. Frugal is one of those words often misused as a synonym for cheapskate, but it isn’t just some secret code word for self deprivation. It simply means you aren’t wasteful with your resources and boy-oh-boy, you hate being ripped off!

Frugalous!

How does one blur the line between frugal and fabulous? Well that’s what The Budget Socialite is all about! Creating that hybrid of frugal and fabulous! Adopting a new lifestyle that I like to call… Frugalous!

The secret? Being “Frugalous” allows you to enjoying all the fabulous things life has to offer while still maintaining a nice cushion for yourself. I mean what else would you expect from a blog called The Budget Socialite.

Can you still go shopping? Yes! Brunch with friends? Absolutely! Happy Hour? *raises glass* Yes!

Drinks with friends | www.thebudgetsocialite.com

Notice we haven’t deprived ourselves of anything we love yet! Yippee! *throws pink confetti*

There is only one major concept you have to adopt to live the Frugalous Life though.. what??? You thought there weren’t going to be any requirements?? C’mon! But it’s pretty simple!

 Money is a valuable tool and resource that allows me to explore my options and opportunities. Tweet This

Take that mantra and really let it marinate in your mind. Read it again, come back tomorrow, print it out and hang it on your fridge, your bathroom mirror and in your work cubicle. The moment it clicks for you, that’s the moment you will be on the road to being Frugalous!

When you enter the world of the frugalous you will realize instant gratification is short-lived and often ends with the trend, fad or season. Remember those trucker caps you bought? Boot cut jeans, cool lots? Where are they now! Stuffed in the back of your closet right??

Less is more, really…

The more stuff we buy the less resources and space we have. It clutters our closets, apartments, minds.. Yet empties our bank accounts. George Carlin once said… A house is just a pile of stuff with a cover on it. Seriously. Think about it.

As a monthly contributor to The Budget Socialite I’m going to help you create and understand your financial goals. We’re going to write them down and make them real!  We’ll also create a timeline of when you’d like to accomplish said goals. Giving yourself a deadline will help you commit to your financial goals and the more you value your goals the less self deprived you’ll feel for random STUFF! You’ll understand that budgeting for the things you want and can afford means you can still be as fabulous as you want to be without ever compromises your goals.

Are you ready to became frugal and fabulous? Frugalous! Have any tips to share? Let us know in the comments. See you next month!

(Image Source: Daily Cup of Couture | coutureeventsbylottie)

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Contributor | Carrie Pink
A reformed shopaholic, money MIS-manager & Chief Mom. Her taste is still champagne & croissants with balanced saving, spending & investing. Follow her recipe to true financial happiness!