Tag Archives: Budget

Eating Smart in NYC

As I sit deciding what I am in the mood to eat for lunch today, I consider the many food options New York has to offer. Of course, when living in the city, I am trying to eat smart for both my health… and my wallet. So what’s to be considered when “meal prepping” in Manhattan? Heres my two cents!
Whenever I am picking something to eat, I know I want it to be clean food, or as clean as possible. I never revert to fast food, although Big Macs are always tempting. What gives fast food appeal is usually how cheap it is. However, there are ways to keep a budget while eating clean.
Whenever I can I always purchase groceries. Cooking is always the cleaner option over any type of pick up food. Now of course, the groceries I purchase are not a week’s worth of frozen pizza; I try to buy healthy, perishable and frozen food so, no matter what I decide to make, it is fresh and a healthy option.
The times I decide to eat out, I opt for the healthy menu item/healthy add ons. Let’s say, for example, I decide to go to the deli and grab a sandwich. Rather than italian bread, I will put my sandwich on whole wheat toast or a wrap. Little changes in your eating can make big changes in the long run. There are so many places to eat in the city that finding a healthy alternative to “junk food” is very doable.
Lastly, I always am looking for a student discount. Many places offer a student discount, but may not have it advertised. Whenever I am eating somewhere, I ask to see if they offer a discount. Usually around a college campus area, small businesses may offer a discount.

These are just a few ways I try to keep healthy on a NYC budget. How do you go clean?
Until next time,
Annmarie X

Staying On a Budget

Hello there!

Hope you all had a great start to the week. I know when I first arrived here in New York, I literally wanted to buy everything I saw. It was so hard not to spend money, because there were so many temptations… Coming from such a tiny village, where there is only a grocery store and nothing else, the big city was a frightening place for my wallet. But eventually I managed to control myself and came up with a few tricks to keep me on the right path, when it came to saving and not spending every cent I had.

Start a Budget spreadsheet That’s how I started to keep track of my spendings. I would write down how much I earned and how much I was spending, with details of what it was exactly. At the end of each month I had an overview of what I was spending, where I was spending the most and it helped me cut out on unnecessary thing. For example I used to drink two lattes every day (which is ridiculous) and making that spreadsheet made me realize how much I was spending on coffee. Now I make coffee at home and my lattes are a special occasion.
Walk instead of taking the Taxi/Uber Even if it’s just once a week, it adds up at the end of the month. If you live in the city, it’s really not that bad too walk for 30 minutes (I do it twice everyday and it gives me an excuse to wake up earlier). Considering you’re at school or work for most of the day, it’s really good for your head and body to take a walk and have some fresh air. But if you’re really not into walking take the subway instead.
Don’t eat out! Obviously I’m not saying you can’t go out at all. But make it a special occasion, like once a month. It really makes a big difference, if you start cooking for yourself. Start planning meals and shopping ahead. You’re wallet will thank you! I know eating out is really convenient, but we’re still students and we can’t really afford to go out all the time.
And lastly spend less than what you have/make! The best feeling is when you look into your savings account and you have money saved up. Start making it a thing to put aside every month half of your income, you never know when you will need it. And it’s really good to have some kind of financial security once you get out of school.

Hope these tips were helpful! If you have any tips you want to share leave them in the comments below.

xoxo

Zorya

Crafts on a budget!

So in my last entry I told you I was learning how to crochet, it’s so easy to learn! I actually taught myself off of You Tube. If you follow the link below it is the exact one that I used. Crocheting for beginners

If you’re brand new to crocheting, the wide range of hooks, yarns, and patterns are definitely overwhelming. What I learned is that the hooks, do make a difference once you learn more, but starting out use whatever hook makes you feel comfortable( I started off with a hook called an H).To start off you’ll need about $15 dollars to get everything you need, or extra of whatever yarn you decide to use.

One thing I learned is that when starting on a project, I’m excited about how it will turn out and start to move too fast. Or I get thinking I have to get through this project quick as I have 20 other projects I want to complete. I get into a rush. And because of that, I start to get sloppy. Getting sloppy can change your entire project and make all that work not worth it in the end,. I still mess up all the time. I’ll get to the end of a project and see that I missed a loop or made a large hole, ugh! But give your work a little stretch this way or that, and it can often make it all work out, evening things up. This will keep happening until you get really good or you understand what your doing wrong.

Another thing that matters is where you position your yarn in your left hand . As you pull the yarn through each loop for each stitch with the right hand, you are holding on to the other end with your left hand. It matters how tight or loose you hold that yarn in your left hand and you need to have consistency. Otherwise you’ll get a piece that has 2 rows in the middle that are super tight or super stretched, depending on how tight or loose you were holding the yarn. You’ll start to get it and it will become natural.

The last tip i have is where you keep your yarns or projects! I’ve just been sticking them in my bag for school lately and then i get frustrated when they get messed up. So make sure you keep your crocheting things in one place it can be a little makeup bag inside your purse or back pack or just put it in a plastic bag after all this work you don’t want it to get messed up!

So I want to hear from you! What tips can you give me that might help my projects? Or what questions do you have while your beginning. Show me your projects I always love seeing what others are doing!

Xoxo Kailee