Posts made in March 2017

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We all want to look our best when we head out into the world. But, when you’re living on a budget or trying to stay frugal, that can be quite difficult. Those beauty products don’t always come cheap and if you’re looking at beauty treatments you could be spending hundreds of dollars each month. Then there’s fashion that adds onto that budget too. Staying fashionable can be expensive, particularly if you want the latest designer wear. Still, there are ways to cut down the costs and here are the best options.

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Home Tricks– You can head to salon to make your hair look beautiful and shiny. Or, you can get the same effect at home and spend as little as five dollars. We are of course, talking about the tea bag trick. Using teabags you can naturally give your hair a naturally, glossy shine and shimmer. The trick here is to make sure that you are heating the water to the right temperature and using a couple tea bags. Once you’ve soaked your hair rinse it and then let it dry naturally. After doing this a few times in a month you’ll start to see a gorgeous effect. Have a look at http://www.urbanbushbabes.com/benefits-of-black-tea-on-the-hair/ for more info.

Another example would be teeth whitening. We all know that white teeth are linked to the ideas of beauty and youth. But to get white teeth, you don’t have to buy an expensive cosmetic procedure. Instead, you can get the effect simply by using baking soda and lemon juice. Mix these two together and spread it across your teeth. You’ll see effects in three months at the most!

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Buy The Beauty Products– When you head to a hair salon or a beauty treatment, half of the price is due to the products those ‘experts’ are using. Instead of bothering to pay them, buy the products and complete the job yourself. You’ll save a lot of money on hair straightening by checking out products on a sites such as https://www.testingteam.net/best-hair-straightening-cream. Have a look at the reviews for the products you need and kit out your home, getting the perfect look for less.

You can also think about purchasing natural beauty products that might not have the big brand attached to them. Using natural products, you can usually get a better effect. For instance shampoo filled with bamboo oils is perfect if you want thicker, fuller looking hair for a budget price tag.

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Watch Out For Sales– There are plenty of fashion sites online to buy great clothes that you can use to slay. Most of these will be offering the top designer labels that you may not be able to afford at full price. Luckily, all these sites have sales through the year. As such, you can make sure you can get a fantastic wardrobe of designer clothes without any of the expensive price tags.

As you can see then, there are lots of ways you can look incredible without spending a fortune. Whether you’re using home beauty tricks, buying the products yourself or just taking advantages of fantastic deals through the year.

 (All posts may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy)

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As parents, it’s within our instincts to want to do things for our children. We want to nourish them, make sure that they have their every whim and need catered to. The idea of relinquishing some of that and letting your children be more independent is worrisome. Not only are we concerned with the idea that they will do something incorrectly, but there is also the nagging fear that they are growing up too fast and we’re going to lose our babies.

Of course, this is an understandable sentiment. Nevertheless, it’s one that has to be batted to the side. For the sake of their development, children need to be able to learn and adapt for themselves. As for being concerned about the idea of them doing something incorrectly… well, that’s kind of the point. The only way to really ensure children understand the consequences of their actions is for them to live with the consequences.

Whether you’re an old pro at encouraging your children to be more autonomous or are now just attempting to make a start, there are a few ways you can go about doing so.

Give Them Responsibility For… Their Bedroom

The idea that kids have untidy bedrooms is such a cliché – but it’s predominantly a cliché because it has a tendency to be true!

Tidying your room seems like a mundane chore when you’re a kid. Even if as an adult you understand the reasons why it has to be done, you can still remember the way you rebelled against the idea as a kid.

The best way of them learning the importance of tidiness is to let them see what life is like without it. After the third time they lose their homework or their discovery of a forgotten bowl now complete with mould growing on the surface, they will quickly learn that tidier is better.

Give Them Responsibility For… Your Family Pet

This needs to be monitored fairly closely for the benefit of your pet, but if you do that, then everyone wins.

To kids, a pet is a wonderful, fun creature they love to hang around with. They don’t often see the less thrilling side of having a pet: the vet bills, the regular wormer and Frontline for dogs and cats purchases, the nail and claw trimmings and the bathing duties. So introduce these one at a time. Encourage your children to monitor a schedule for when worming and fleaing needs to be done, when claws are due a shortening, and let them get involved in the bath time process. They’ll soon learn the ins and outs, while still getting all the benefits of having a pet.

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Give Them Responsibility For… Plants

If your children are younger or you don’t have pets, it might be an idea to start with plants. Try and choose hardy plants that can handle a bit of neglect if they forget: the common spider plant is a good starter, as are succulents like aloe vera. 

Give Them Responsibility For… The Food They Eat

Learning to eat a healthy diet can never start too soon. Try and involve your children in meal planning, right down to letting them pick recipes and come with you to the grocery store for the ingredients. As a side benefit, this kind of involvement might also discourage any picky eater tendencies. 

 (All posts may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy)

Home design and renovation is an expensive task. There’s no point trying to sugar coat and pretend it isn’t: it costs money. As yet, humanity has yet to evolve the ability to envision something, snap our fingers and poof! It appears in front of our eyes like magic. (Come to think of it – we should really get on that…)

You know when you embark on a home improvement project that it’s going to cost you. It’s going to cost you financially, as you wave goodbye to hard-earned dollars in the worthy pursuit of a pleasurable home. It’s also going to cost you in terms of time and potentially in terms of your peace and quiet – there’s also no sugar coating that the process is pretty stressful.

Whether you’re improving a new house you just moved into or adapting your same old abode, you acknowledge the cost and then… you fight back. The first time you glance at the price of materials, you recoil from the figure that is far higher than you were anticipating.

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Still, you’re modern. You know you can use that new-fangled computer box thing to hunt down some quick fixes and cheaper options. You might even be tempted to DIY things – after all, it seems everyone online is doing it, so why should you be any different? You can save yourself a fortune!

Or… maybe not.

1. Cutting Cost Means Cutting Quality

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While the above is not always a hard and fast rule, in many cases, it will apply. Say you’re looking for new kitchen countertops. You might be tempted to try and make them yourself or to go for a cheap option, figuring that you can cope with the difference in quality in exchange for the lower cost.

And sure, you might be able to – but it’s a big chance for a big ticket purchase. If you find you can’t cope with the lower quality, then you’re going to find yourself in the hole for a lot more than the original price you ran away from. If the original countertops you liked were $1000 and you bought a budget version for $500 and you then decide you hate them, then you’re going to wind up paying $1500 in total.

For items that are frequently used – hardwood floorings, countertops, bathroom cabinets – then it’s best to spend more… but only have to spend once. It’s with smaller items that are less frequently used – such as shelves, decor, wall art – that you can cut the costs.

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2. Think Health

Health considerations might not be at the top of your list when renovating, but it’s another area that you can’t afford to ignore.

When an item looks identical to another but has a much lower price tag, your first question should be: “why?”

There are non-nefarious reasons why it might be lower, of course – but there are also some unpleasant side effects. For example, they might have used chemicals that other, more ethical, companies would avoid due to known health issues. Mattresses are a great example of this; some of the fire-proof chemicals used by cheaper options are known to be hazardous. So always do your research and don’t be afraid to query a manufacturer to find out why they’re cheaper – genuine retailers should be willing to explain.