Tag: Pynk Magazine

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By Christen N. McCluney
September 13, 2011

Everyone can’t afford to get away for a vacation. Time constraints, budget issues or other life obligations may keep us from traveling the way that we want to, but a “staycation” is a great alternative to have a little break without going far from home.

When planning a staycation one of the first things to do is set your parameters and figure out what your budget is for the weekend and how far you want to travel (under 50 miles is usually a good distance). You can start looking on sites like travelzoo or even living social to see what types of deals are in your area. Many hotels offer great deals if you plan ahead and some even offer discounted rates for in-state residents.

If you decide to venture out plan your weekend like you are a tourist. In most places there are plenty of attractions and activities that often get overlooked because we are so set in routine. Tourism sites offer ideas on a multitude of attractions and activities that are right outside your door and many sites even have sections telling about free events going on.  Sites like zozi.com offer deals on local attractions and adventures that you may normally miss out on.

If you decide to stay at home and not go the hotel route make sure to treat it as a vacation. Don’t do laundry, pay bills or check up on email. Do something outside of your every day life like having a private film festival of all the movies you wanted to see in the theater or spend the day in bed with books and magazines or have a traveling spa come over and give you treatments.

Whatever you decide it’s easy to relax, relate and release without having to travel far or spend a lot of money.

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By Christen N. McCluney
September 6, 2011

It’s a new month and a great time to plan for the rest of the year. Here are five financial to-dos as we kick off this month:

  • Check your credit score. Doing this at least twice a year will make you aware of changes in your score, see if there are any errors and can help you decide if you need to make changes in your spending habits.
  • Clean out your closet. All the clothes and even electronics you have laying around that you don’t use can be donated to charity. Giving these things away will produce a nice write off during tax season. Just make sure you get a receipt so you can itemize your donation when tax season comes around.
  • Start thinking about holiday plans. If you know you are heading home for the holiday season start checking out prices on flights and hotels now. The closer you get to the more prices will start to increase. Even if you only browse now you have an idea of how much you need to save.
  • Think about your budget and gift ideas for the holiday season. Having a plan in order will prevent you from overspending and will keep you alert in case you see an item ahead of time.
  • Write a financial mission statement. This statement lays out what you want in the future and how you plan on getting there by investing, saving, giving to charity or simply spending less. Having a clear statement written down (and posted) will keep you on track in your financial decision-making.

What can you add to your financial to-do list?

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By Christen N. McCluney
September 2, 2011

 

As fall approaches and the humid days of summer disappear some of us natural ladies like to wear our hair in straight styles. As versatile as natural hair can be one of the biggest issues when wearing a straight style is worrying about it reverting while working out.

According to a study done on 103 African-American women by the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, thirty-one percent of the women surveyed admit to exercising less because it may mess up their hairstyle.

Having your natural hair blown out or pressed shouldn’t prevent you from getting a good work out. Here are some tips to help maintain our heat styled tresses and our health.

Use anti-humectant products. Anti-humectants are designed to repel moisture and help prevent frizziness in your hair. . Aveda Anti-Humectant Pomade is a great product to protect your hair from the elements. Sabino lok and blok is also another product designed to seal in moisture and block out humidity.

Put your hair up in a high bun or ponytail when working out. This keeps your hair out of your face and keeps your ends from coming in contact with sweat.

Protect your edges. Hair sticks are great to keep your edges smooth. They are designed to slick down hair and also add a protective coating against sweat. A favorite is Luster’s Renutrients Slick Stick, which can be found online and in stores for about $5.  Other good wax sticks are: Tancho Stick, Keracare Wax Stick and Bed Head Hair Stick.

Wick away moisture. Tie a satin scarf or use a moisture wicking headband around the hairline while working out to prevent excess frizz around the edges. If you leave the scarf in place until the hairline dries your hair should stay smooth.

Using some or all of these tips can help you keep your style in place while getting fit.

What do you do to maintain your natural style while working out?

 

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By Christen N. McCluney
August 22, 2011

 

Owning a car is big responsibility. Between insurance, gas and regular upkeep it can be an expense that totally taps into your budget. As a driver I’m good with filling the tank, getting it serviced and keeping it clean but us ladies tend to get a bad rap when it comes to taking care of our cars.

By following a few tips we can keep our cars running smoothly and cut back on major costs and repairs:

Keep your tires properly inflated. Getting a flat is never fun, especially when you are rocking a cute outfit and your favorite heels. By checking your tire pressure regularly you can help prevent unexpected flat tires. Most service stations have tire pressure gauges located on air pumps, or you can pick up one at your local hardware store for a few bucks and keep it in your car.  If you don’t know to check your pressure ask a car care professional to show you or check out this how-to video from Edmunds.com.

Check your fluids. Just like it’s important for people to stay hydrated, cars also need fluids to keep going. Have your oil changed and also get your radiator, transmission and windshield wiper fluid checked every 3000 to 5000 miles. If you really want to be budget friendly learn how to do it yourself. It’s really simple and only takes a few minutes.

Pay attention to warning signs. Often times smells, sounds or leaking fluids coming from your car are indications there are bigger issues. If something seems abnormal take your car in to get it checked. Acknowledging that tiny squeak when you first hear it could save you hundreds of dollars in the end.

By following these basic tips and driving with care you can help reduce major repairs and know your car is operating the way it should be.

View Article on Pynk’s Site

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By Christen N. McCluney
Monday, August 15, 2011

Budget.

For some of us ladies that is a dirty word. Even for me whenever I think about having one I tend to cringe a little bit, but during these trying economic times in order to stay ahead creating a budget is an absolute necessity.

If you are living paycheck to paycheck, whispering a prayer while your credit card gets swiped in your favorite boutique, or stacking up overdraft fees, then a budget will definitely be your salvation. Even if you have a little something left over at the end of the month having a plan will help you be mindful of what you spend and may even add a little extra to your savings or to pay off debt.

Having a budget doesn’t mean you have to give up your social life, quit shopping or even deny yourself anything fun. What it does mean is that you have to sit down, look at what you make and figure out a way to live within your means without relying on plastic.

One of the first steps to take is rather simple. Pull out your pay stub and look at your net income. Some of us have this big number in our head and in the world of direct deposits and e-banking many of us never take the time to really see what we make. If we actually look, we may be slightly shocked to the see the number that appears after taxes, insurance, savings plans and benefits are subtracted.

Once you’ve checked out your pay stub look at your monthly expenses. It’s always good to start with your fixed ones such as rent, car payments, savings, insurance, debt and student loans. From there look at your other expenses that may fluctuate, such as your utilities, cell phone, cable, groceries, entertainment, etc.

A great way to get an estimate on what you are spending is to pull up your bank statement and look back over the past few months to see where your cash is really going. When I did that I realized that happy hours, dinner with friends, vintage shopping and trips to my favorite red and white box store put a dent in my expenses.

Now that you’ve gathered all this info take a moment and do some good old-fashioned math. Subtract all your expenses from your income and you will come up with either a positive or negative number. If you have a positive number you actually have money left at the end of the month. If you have a negative, I’m sure you already know that you are spending more than you earn. But the great thing about having a budget is you can recognize how you are overspending and turn that around.

Growing up I saw my dad do his budget the old fashioned way with a pen and paper, but now there are many software programs and resources online such as mint, LearnVest and bundle, where you simply plug in your information, connect to your accounts and they do the calculating for you. Some sites will even send email alerts if you go over the amount you allot for that area in your budget.

One of the biggest things budgeting will help you do is recognize the difference between needs and wants. Needs are your basic necessities like food, clothing, shelter, and basic transportation. Wants are things that we may dream about having but aren’t essential to our survival, like wanting shoes with a certain color sole as opposed to ones that may be more economical.

Looking at what you really need can help you trim several expenses. By evaluating my spending I eliminated extra cable channels (that I never watch), started packing my lunch daily and started taking care of some of my own beauty needs. I also cut back on dining out, and began using sites like open table, living social and groupon to find deals on my favorite places to eat. I even stopped buying as many books and started visiting my public library, which surprisingly had many new releases along with e-books.

Just by taking a little time out of my schedule to create I budget I now have extra money to pay down debt faster and increase my savings. I even created a splurge fund so that when something seems too good to miss I don’t have to destroy my budget to have what I want.

View Article on Pynk’s site