60+ Birthday Discounts & Freebies

It's Cancer Season and guess what? It's my BIRTHDAY!! If you've had the pleasure of knowing a Cancerian then you know that we enjoy our space and can be very emotional at times (water signs are typically ruled by sensation and feelings), but are usually the most thoughtful and caring people you know. To celebrate, I'm sharing my wishlist (lol) and some of my favorite birthday discounts and freebies...

Finance: Save On Everyday Spending

This post contains referral and affiliate links.

As we get close to the end of the year, reevaluating my spending and saving habits is something that I look forward to and is what lead me to this post. After all, using available resources and cutting costs whenever possible is how the rich become wealthy, right? 

Finance: Best Online Support Groups for Improving Your Finances

I’m not an accountant or financial advisor, information that I share here are things that have helped me while on my personal financial journey. It’s important to do your own research and figure out what will work best for you and your personal needs before adopting any new financial practices. Now, let’s talk financial resources…what are your financial goals for the new year? Do you need help with getting your finances in order? 

Mental Health: Tips For Surviving a Toxic Workplace Environment

Butterflies, unless you were born into money chances are you’ve had to work for it. The side effects of a toxic work environment can wreck havoc on your personal life if you let it. Staying focused and remembering what your ultimate goals are is how you push through it. 

In honor of World Mental Health Day, below are a few resources for surviving a toxic workplace:

Music: The Ultimate Hustler Playlist

Butterflies, April is National Financial Literacy Month and today (April 26th) is National Hustlers Day. You know what I love just as much as minding my money? Music! So to celebrate making smart money decisions, here is a list of some of my favorite money-ish songs...what are some of your favorite songs to listen to when you’re trying to get your creative juices flowing?

Finance: Texas Sales Tax Holidays (Tax Free Weekends)

Did you know Texas has several different no tax weekends? Texas Sales Tax Holidays (Tax Free Weekends) are designed to benefit businesses and consumers. Shoppers in Texas can purchase select items during the designated sales tax holiday with zero sale taxes. For more information on sale tax holidays in Texas please visit the Texas Comptroller’s website. Here are some of the Texas Tax Holidays:

Life Love & Relationships: Alternative Commitment Jewelry

Butterflies,  how do you feel about traditional wedding rings? I enjoy and respect tradition but, I also enjoy and love being myself and making my own choices. I love to see people choose non-traditional wedding jewelry or no jewelry at all. I think getting matching tattoos would be a fun alternative to wedding rings and exchanging gifts that build wealth like stocks and bonds would be a smart alternative to traditional wedding jewelry, not to mention it would also be financially beneficial to you and your partner’s future. 

Exposure Business Magazine Panel Discussion | Women in Corporate America & Business Owners

Exposure Business Magazine is hosting a Panel Discussion with Women in Corporate America & Business Owners. Click here to RSVP.

Business Tips: 7 Tips for Branding & Marketing Your Small Business While on a Budget

Hey Entrepreneurial Butterflies! Since it’s the beginning of a new year and I’m in the process of refreshing a lot of my marketing related stuff for the new year, I thought I’d share with my fellow go-getters a few simple, low-cost but effective ways to market your brand. It’s extremely vital to your brand that you stay up to date and continue to evolve your marketing techniques. Branding yourself and or your company is necessary if you want to get to your next level of success.

Visiting Texas: Hurricane Harvey Thoughts + Ways to Help & Resources

Hey Butterflies. This past week has really tested my patience and my faith. As I prepare to start my day, I can't help but reflect on what's been happening here in Texas. Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Rockport, Texas which is about thirty minutes from Corpus Christi on Saturday August 25th leaving a huge mess across all of Southern Texas.

I've never wanted the rain to stop so bad in my entire life, it poured rain nonstop for days, causing life threatening problems for all of us. My guy was stuck at his job for five days, my sister's home was flooded and they had to be rescued, my cousin's home was flooded, and I was trapped in my neighborhood surrounded by water, unable to get to my loved ones, work or anywhere else. It's still all unreal to me, it's like something you see on the news and you feel bad for the people going thorough it but until you actually go through it or a similar situation..it's hard to truly understand.

‪Finance: 3 Simple Car Buying Tips to Save ‬Time

Sponsored post.

Hey Butterflies. Purchasing a new car can be an exciting but also very stressful and confusing experience. Cars.com is a great place to start when shopping for a new car. Providing expert content, on-the-lot mobile app features, millions of new and used vehicle listings, a comprehensive set of research tools and a large database of consumer reviews; they help shoppers buy, sell and service their vehicles. The Cars.com digital automotive platform, connects consumers with local dealers across the country and helps car shoppers and owners by guiding them through the car ownership process. Taking the proper steps is vital to having a successful car buying experience.

7 Fun & Budget Friendly Things To Do In the Summer

Aloha Butterflies! What's your favorite season? I personally prefer the fall because the weather is usually just right and the holidays are approaching but, as much as I love fall, I'm not ready for summer to be over just yet. I mean who does when there's just so much fun to be had in the summer months, from cookouts, to water-parks, to festivals, and concerts. Last summer for my birthday I shared with guys "31 Birthday Freebies & Discounts", this year for those who haven't made time to partake in any #SummerFun, I'm sharing a few fun summer activities.  Below is a list of my favorite budget friendly things to do in the summer.

Bargain Shopping: Save with Groupon Coupons

This is a sponsored post. All opinions are mine.

Butterflies, so you guys know how I love saving money and how Groupon has been a big part of some of my coolest memories. Well, did you know Groupon has coupons? I didn't, I literally just discovered Groupon Coupons and thought I'd share it. I've already been using Groupon to save money when I dine out locally, treat myself to spa day, and for discounts to local attractions for years so being able to use Groupon when I shop will help me save even more.

Groupon Coupons has coupons from some of the most popular retailers and service providers like Macy's, Charming Charlie, Victoria's Secret, Charlotte Russe, GNC, Dick's Sporting Goods and Edible Arrangements just to name a few; some available both online and in-store.

Life Update: Setting Realistic Goals for the New Year

Happy New Year Butterflies! We're more than half way through the first month and I hope everyone is having a good 2017 so far. As for me I've just been kind of taking it easy; I'm always super exhausted after the holidays but now it's time to refocus. Like I often do, I'm keeping this year's list of goals small and realistic so that I don't become overwhelmed and give up. I've done this for the last two years and it works, I felt so accomplished each time I reached one of goals I'd set for myself, it's a wonderful feeling. For 2016 my main focus was my finances, I had planned to double my savings but that didn't work out. However, remember how I told you guys I decided to be more financially responsible after watching this Mark Wahlberg movie? Well I've been really staying focused on my financial journey and because of that my credit score has increased over 100 points since this time last year (insert happy dance).

Plan Your Next Adventure With Groupon Things To Do

This is a sponsored post, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Hey Butterflies! Since I started on my journey to be more financially responsible I try to avoid spending money unnecessarily for the most part but still like to treat myself every now and then. The problem with being on a budget and having an adventurous soul is it seems like finding something new, fun and relaxing to do that's also affordable is becoming more and more challenging every day but with just a little research there are many was to save and still enjoy life. One of my favorite resources for finding new things to do is Groupon. I discovered Groupon many years ago but lately it's become my go to site for finding new and exciting things to do. 

Groupon Things To Do has a ton of offers for discounted entry into local guided tours, movie theaters, museums, sporting events, concerts, festivals, and several leisure learning classes like painting, dancing, archery (I tried it) and many more. If you're looking to plan a fun family outing, or a romantic night on the town with your partner or just want to enjoy some me time to yourself locally or while traveling, I definitely recommend checking out Groupon Things To Do before finalizing your plans. It's a great way to discover new things while saving your hard earned coins. Go find your next adventure!

Finance: Best Sites to Earn Cash-Back on Shopping

Hey Butterflies! There are tons of shopping websites out there that offer customers cash-back on their purchases and I've been meaning to share with you guys my favorite websites for getting cash-back when you shop. If you've been following me over the years or know me personally, you know that I try to save my coins every chance I get; the sites I'm sharing are designed to help customers save money and if you have a rewards checking account or credit card then you can save even more money when you shop. How awesome is that? I've been a user of these sites for many years, these are my preferred online shopping websites and I think you'll like them too.

Movie: I Went to Studio Movie Grill and Got Inspired Financially

Butteries, I wrote a post a few months back expressing my desire to check out Studio Movie Grill...yea that didn't happen until yesterday (lol I've been busy). Anyway, it was a really cool experience! The best part about SMG is being able to pick your own seats...I freaking love that! Not having to go on a scavenger hut for seats in a pitch black theater is an amazing feeling. The seats are very comfy and the food and drinks at SMG are great and well worth the price. The only thing I wish SMG did differently is open a few more locations and add a few more movie choices. On a different note I really enjoyed the movie (The Gambler) and not just because Mark Wahlberg is one of my favorite actors but because it had a really positive real life message. Without giving away the movie I must say the most intriguing part of the Gambler to me is when Frank played by John Goodman shared some wisdom with Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) about life, finances and being self efficient. If you know me, I mean truly know me you know I'm hardly ever the one to depend on anyone so you can understand why that part of the movie really stuck out to me. So with that being said, as you read this I'm working on a master plan to one day have "Fuck You Money". If you've already seen the movie you know what I mean and if you haven't GO SEE IT!

Finance: Got the Textbooks Blues? Checkout CampusBookRentals.com & RentBack.com

 

We're about two weeks into the fall semester and I know a few college student that still have not purchased their textbooks :( and trust me I know what it's like. It's like do I use this money for food/gas or do I buy my textbooks?! LOL! Anyway just wanted to remind you guys about CampusBookRentals.com and introduce to you RentBack.com.

RentBack is new initiative that allows students to rent the textbooks they own - to other students... which is awesome because it makes them 2-4x more money compared to what they'd make through buyback options! (selling their books back at the end of the semester) Awesome right?!

How does it work?:  

Renting Perks:
 

-save 40-90% off of bookstore prices

-free shipping both ways

-you can highlight in the textbooks (my favorite)

-flexible renting periods

-they donate to Operation Smile with each textbook rented

-etc...(you can find more perks at on their website :) 

 

 Campus Book Rentals donates to Operation Smile with each textbook rented.

Small Business Tips: What is Small Business Saturday?

For the past three years American Express has helped celebrate the powerful impact local small businesses have on communities and on our nation as a whole by hosting Small Business Saturday, a day reserved for consumers to #SHOPSMALL by go out and supporting local small businesses. As an entrepreneur and as a consumer I think this movement is wonderful thing to take part in. It's amazing to see the interest in mom and pop shops grow and grow over the years and that's why I am encouraging all of my readers to get involved. On Saturday, November 30th, 2013 please be sure to stop by a few of your favorite local gems and show your support. To learn more about Small Business Saturday and how to join in on the movement visit www.smallbusinesssaturday.com.

Also, check out some of my favorite small business in Texas.

Happy Shopping!

Butterfly LifeStyle | HAEVP

Finance: Card.com Prepaid Visa Card w/ Designs | The Bancorp Bank

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post.

CARD.com, a Bancorp Bank company offers prepaid Visa cards with personality and I must say I really enjoy using it. To me the best part was how easy the getting started process was and looking through all the cool designs they have to offer (which made it very hard to decide). I didn't have any trouble getting the card, the only issue I had was trying to access my account online after I set it up. I thought I created a password for my account during the setup process but apparently I didn't because my password was still set to the pre-selected one, so I had to request a reset (which was very quick and easy) to access my card history and account information online. In general I think it's a good product and a very nice alternative to a traditional checking account. If you know you'll be direct depositing at least $800 a month I would defiantly recommend this company.

Getting Started

To get started you just go to Card.com, browse through all of the card designs they have to offer and select the one you like most. I went with the "Made in the 80's"design because.... well, I was and I liked the retro look. Once you have chosen your card the next step is applying for your card and setting up your account and that should only take a minute or so. They do require a valid SS# to get a card so be ready to enter it.. After that, your card will be processed and shipped to you if there are no issues with creating your account. 

Receiving Card

The shipping for the card was simple and really quick! It took less than a week (which is really good compared to most card companies) for me to receive my card and there was no issues with getting it delivered. The card comes in a very discreet envelope with all the information you need to know about using your card including a semi-pre-filled direct deposit form.

Activating & Using

There is a easy to use 800 # listed on the card for you to activate your card. You may also go online to active your card but I chose the phone method. Just like with a regular bank, the card comes with a checking account # and a routing # (cool right?). There is a $6 monthly maintenance fee for having this card which is waved each month if you have a direct deposit of at least $800. Also you can load funds to your card using the Card.com website, Western Union or Green Dot MoneyPak.

Some Card Features

• No overdraft, late or penalty fees
• No minimum balance
• Access to ATMs worldwide
• Free direct deposit
• Funds are FDIC Insured