As I type, I am the Coco Beach bar at Coco Beach in Oyster Bay. I am going to be meeting up with my friend later for an evening of gossip & catch-up. I just asked for a Coke and ice.
They did not have ice. (Hold on, a bar that does that have ice???) Continue reading
I think as we get deeper into our working lives, money tends to crop up more in external relationships such as friendships. I never really thought about the effect money has on relationships but as I am getting older, I am realising it does have an effect.
How occupation colours my view on money
I am now a debt marketing specialist which means I help companies, small businesses who work in the debt markets such as the loan & mortgage industry come up with copywriting & marketing strategies to attract more customers/consumers/clients. Because I read about debt, mortgages, money management and general credit market news everyday, I am becoming used to the idea that money is critical in how people live their lives.
How I think friendships can be affected by money
I do believe that the friendships which are meant to last in this life will last regardless of how much you earn. However, I definitely think there is a change in the tide with some of my friendships which are definitely becoming more affected by money in terms of comments.
I think you can tell a lot about a friendship judging by the types of comments friends give each other about shopping. Ask yourself this, do you have one friend who is commenting on how much your beauty/fashion purchases are, always in passing? Chances are, you probably have a friend who is affected by how you spend your money.
My personal view on it is I do not care whether my friend is buying a $1m Lamborghini, they are adults so I assume they have taken care of themselves and their dependents (if applicable) before buying the car. It’s not my place as a friend to say oh that’s so expensive but you are paying so much! If they have worked hard for it, they deserve whatever they want as long as it is not hurting anyone.
I think the moral of what I think here is – don’t count other people’s money especially your friends. Enjoy what each other has to offer in friendship and don’t let your friend’s purchases affect how you two interact.
Note: I am a little biased because I do love the idea of buying a Mercedes SLS AMG when I am all sorted out financially!
What do you think?
Do any of you have a favourite wild animals? One of my favourite is the wolf. I find them fascinating especially how they work in a pack. There is always an alpha female wolf who works in a team with the alpha male wolf. In other words, the alpha female wolf is handling business! This is exactly what I need to be doing.
Positive aspects of my personal finance situation as of January 2012
Despite these good upsides of my personal finance situation for now, I am still bad at being systematic by paying my overdraft back. It still stands at £1,999 and it is interest free until July 2012.
I just don’t know how to attack it.
I know I can do it, I just don’t know how I can and there is nothing more than me wanting to achieve it. My savings account is unique in that I do not have online banking for it which I think has been good because I just put money away and do telephone banking so I have noticed it grow.
One idea I had for attacking my overdraft was asking one of my clients if I could amp up the number of articles I write for them. At the moment they give work when they can but I really think if I think of it in terms of article writing, I could do it. I worked out that I would need to write 690 articles for them in order to pay it back. They are a client who pay on time for all the times I have worked for them, so the fact the rate is not high is not an issue because it is a means to an end and I am grateful for that.
Box braids are cheap to get done, they don’t take a lot of time and provided you wear a scarf, they can last for at least a month. Moneysaving factor guaranteed and you can use synthetic hair to save even more money. Continue reading
Looking into his mocha-coloured eyes and whispering sweet nothings is lovely in the first stages of a relationship. But when I found out that money was the main reason why couples split up, I realised that if I am going to ever find the love of my life, after such a bad breakup that I had last year, I need to know what his financial priorities are. As 2012 comes into full swing, one thing I am thinking about for the future is financial compatibility if I do happen to fall in love again. One thing last year told me was that I definitely like being in a relationship with someone who I am financially in tune with. Here are my 3 tips that I use to see if I can work financially with a potential romantic partner. As young women heading to our late 20s, I think it’s important to use the following tips.
[All thoughts below are just my opinion. I am not a fashion designer or a stylist, but I do understand the business side of fashion so here are my thoughts]
While I have a business in marketing, I am someone who follows the business aspect of fashion. I was talking to a friend of mine yesterday about the business side of fashion and we are both fashion lovers, and I was talking about how French designer Roland Mouret actually lost the rights to his own name when he exploded onto the scene a few years ago. He’s back now, with his own name after having to wrangle it back. I always liked Mouret’s work, so I was sad to hear that he is one of the designers who was obviously naive but maybe to a certain extent taken advantage of. This brings me to the crux of my post today – there are so many young black people who adore fashion and want to make a. The popularity of black fashion blogs such as the Fashion Bomb, Street Etiquette and black fashion magazines like Fashizblack highlight that actually there is a massive market for fashion & beauty that is targeted to young affluent black people across the world.
This in turn has led to a big rush in the number of fashion brands created by black people, which can only be a good thing – or can it? Here are seven reasons why anyone who wants to create a fashion brand or thinks they have what it takes should not. Continue reading
Yes, I WANT some new heels. Yes, I WISH I could get those $165 heels. But do I NEED them?
This is a question I ask myself often when I’m shopping. I know we all have WANTS and WISHES, but do we actually NEED these items. Believe me if it was up to me I would love to add another shelf of heels to my already existing ones, but my main priority are my finances. I think when it comes to material items and finances, black women are more likely to spend on material items over their financial priorities. Sometimes we may splurge a little too much, which I think has happen to us at all least once but constant spending of what you don’t have does not add up. Here are a couple of things I do before spending: Continue reading
My new assistant starts tomorrow and he will be a mix between a social media assistant and affiliate marketing assistant for one of my business, the career website, which is going through a massive rehaul after it was attacked. He will be representing the social media side for the moment until I sort out the website.
He is going to be temporary for 5 weeks, working 5 days per week. He needs to execute for me, but moreover it is also a test to see whether my business website can work with someone else working on it.
It is going to be such a huge relief to know that he is working on it. One thing I will say is getting a Tanzanian person who is up to scratch for this temporary role has been very hard for me because quite frankly, many people are not good and I received at least 50 applications from people who were not serious. He got the job because he was serious and he followed up many times.
Whether he is a good investment remains to be seen, but I am looking forward to seeing what he can come up with. No more excuses – time to start making success happen day by day!
What are your business/career goals for the year?
One of the biggest themes in 2011 for me has been trying to build wealth. I finally got out of credit card debt, and all I have to do is attack my overdraft.Here are 31 things we can do in order to be better – me included! Continue reading
Me and my friends were at the Hilton Doubletree earlier this weeks for chatter, magazines and socialising. Total spend was around 30,000 TZS (£12.10 – $18). Having fun and keeping an eye on finances are my new passions!
What do you guys like to do for fun?
