New Years Eve on a Broke Girls Budget

This past New Years Eve was the cheapest one that I've ever experienced. I spent exactly zero dollars, which I think is pretty impressive.

I'm not going to lie…this was kind of a fluke, but it's a fluke that I'm very happy with.

The week before New Years Eve I did go through the mall searching for a beautifully sequinned dress or a big, glitzy headband or necklace to try to make the night feel special but nothing seemed up to par. I decided instead to use things that I already had and I felt every bit as fancy!

If you want to make it through New Years without breaking the bank follow these commandments:

THOU SHALT NOT BUY A NEW OUTFIT
I wore a dress that my mom bought me as a gift last year, a necklace that I got as a Secret Santa gift in high school and a feather headband that I've had for a few years. It didn't bother me one bit that my outfit had already seen the light of day. I actually felt better that I wasn't going into the New Year wearing something I wish I hadn't bought!

THOU SHALT DRINK WITHIN THEIR BUDGET
All of my alcohol had been given to me as a gift during Christmas so I was able to get through the night without spending a single cent to drink! I find this pretty awesome seeing as I actually had champagne on a beer budget (har dee har har)

THOU SHALT NOT PAY TO GET INTO AN ESTABLISHMENT
We ended up going to a friends house party so we were able to forgo paying cover to get into a bar or club and got to skip the temptation of buying drinks while we were there. I'm personally a fan of house parties over bars or clubs anyways and we were able to see more people we knew and not have to worry about the possibility of not getting in or waiting to get in in the cold.

THOU SHALT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF FREE PUBLIC TRANSPO
The boys wanted to take a cab but we convinced them to take public transportation because it was FREE. It may take longer but you can't argue with that. We also may have gotten a little lost thanks to me but we figured it out eventually! We did end up taking a cab home but the boys offered to pay for that so we made out alright.

Follow these commandments to the best of your ability and next year you can start your year off on the right foot.

Sidenote: these rules may also apply any time you go out.

From the desk of:

Taylor Brown
Champagne Drinker (If It's Free)

Christmas on a Broke Girls Budget

Christmas has to be one of the most expensive holidays. It drives me nuts thinking of all of the things that people waste money on when I think deep down that everyone knows that they would all just rather spend time together than race around a mall for a month.

I didn't let myself stress this year because I knew that I could do everything on a budget and could avoid all of that lousy pre-christmas chaos (I work in the mall so that was enough for me!)

When buying gifts I:
- Tried to go in with other family members to give more bang for our buck
- Always bought all my wrappings at the dollar store
- Baked instead of giving small and meaningless gifts
- Shopped ahead of time so that I could stretch my money out more

My most expensive gift (besides the gift for my parents) was the one I was getting for my boyfriend. The boy definitely didn't need any material gifts and we had talked about seeing a play in Toronto before. The Evil Dead was made into a musical and we had commented before on seeing it. The tickets were pretty expensive ($165.00 for both of us) but I was willing to buy them to get a gift he'd enjoy. When December hit he started stressing about what to get me. He would send me ideas and they usually had price tags I was uncomfortable with for something I didn't really care about. After thinking I approached him with the idea that we should both just buy our own ticket to the musical. We've never been a couple who cares about giving gifts to each other (last year we even decided to forgo the gifts because we were going on vacation) so we decided that instead of wasting our time stressing over gifts every year we should use our money to do something together. I love this idea and suggest it to couples!

Not only was I smart about what I got others, but I was smart about what I asked for.

When asking for gifts I:
- Asked for things I wanted but wouldn't usually spare the cash to buy for myself (like a gift certificate to get a manicure or clothes)
- Asked for things I needed but hated to buy (like laundry detergent and things like that)

All of these little moves left me with a stress-free Christmas. Keep these in mind next year and you can actually enjoy the holiday the way that it should be enjoyed!

And don't worry: I've got a NYE on a Broke Girl's Budget coming soon!

From the desk of:

Taylor Brown
Stress-free Shopper

2013: A Year in Review

Wow. Another year is almost over and it feels like it went by so fast and so slow at the same time. Thinking of the year it feels like so much happened…and then it also feels like I was celebrating New Years in Jamaica just yesterday.

This was the year that I became an aunt. The year that I moved out of my parents home. The year that I finally made my way to the big city. The year I learned all about independence and paying bills. The year that I finally finished college. The year that Jordan and I decided that we were ready to move in together (but who knows exactly when that will happen!). The year that I got to move in with my best friend. The year I pushed myself outside of my comfort zone and refused to let myself wonder "what if…"

I've learned so much this year about who I am and what I want and what being in the real world is really like. I hope next year leaves me feeling as accomplished as this one.

I'm also happy to leave this year behind. I've found a lot of things that I don't like and I hope to reconcile those in the new year.

Here's to opportunities to make a change and another year on the horizon.

From the desk of:

Taylor Brown
Resolution Lover, Fresh-Start Appreciator

Home is Wherever I'm With You

I've always been someone who has had big dreams for myself. When I was in the 8th grade I was convinced that I was going to move to New York City one day and be a big city girl. When I was in high school I got accepted to Carleton University in Ottawa and excited by the idea of some kind of city life, I moved 6 hours away from my family. Unfortunately, I became very homesick and although I met tons of amazing people and had some amazing experiences that I wouldn't trade for anything, I made the decision to transfer to a school closer to home.

My need to be near a city never faltered though and that is why I moved myself to Toronto this year. What I didn't realize though, is that while I've always had something inside pulling me away, I also have something inside me that pulls me back home. I know that it's because the people I love are there. It's hard because I've finally gone off and created something for myself in Toronto but I also find myself missing home and the people I love a lot. Thank god I brought Erika here with me or I'd probably be a mess.

These feelings are pretty confusing for me. Right now I'm chalking a lack of love that I'm feeling for Toronto up to the fact that I work too much and the fact that it's too darn cold to go anywhere! This leaves me with a lot of questions of what I want to do/what I should do when my lease expires this year. I know that when September comes I'll make the decision that's best for me but boy, it sure is hard having your heartstrings pulled from far away.

From the desk of:

Taylor Brown
Big City Girl with a Small Town Heart

The Holiday Season

I've told you guys before that I can be a bit of a holiday Grinch but if you know me then you may know that I can also really get into the holiday. The biggest problem this year is that I work retail and that really sucks the love out of Christmas for me, not gonna lie. But good always comes with the bad so I thought I'd make a list of the pros and cons of the holiday season this year.

Let's start with the cons because everyone knows that you should always save the best for last.

Cons:
- I have to work basically non-stop every day that isn't a national holiday
- People are generally pretty darn rude at the mall this time of year
- I am cold all.the.time
- It's hard to get around in the snow
- I have to buy gifts for lots of people aka spend all of my money

Now for the pros because, contrary to my above complaints, I actually have tons in my life right now.

Cons:
- I have a job, two actually.
- I'm going to have lots of money by the time this is all over and have had enough money to buy everyone gifts this year.
- There are also nice people this time of year who say "Merry Christmas" and let you in front of them on the road (Oh, and you can be one of those people too!)
- I actually have a home to go to so I can get warm
- I have a car until Christmas so I don't have to take the bus
- I've gotten the chance to be creative with my gifts like learning to make peppermint bark and I've had fun wrapping and decorating gifts

There's a lot of beauty in this season but I think we forget to stop for a second sometimes and check it out.

Here's some of that beauty that I've found lately:

 << Coffee is my favourite source of warmth >>

<< My street is mighty pretty all covered in snow >>

<< My wrapping this year was pretty spectacular. This is before I even got my hands on the bows and other decorations >>

Enjoy these last moments of 2013. Put something glittery on, catch a snowflake on your tongue and give someone a gift just because you want to, not because you have to.

From the desk of:

Taylor Brown

Lucky but Very Cold Lady

Life Around the Apartment: December Edition

Another holiday is on it's way…which means there's another reason to decorate the apartment. I can get really corny like that but hey, it's that kind of stuff that make a place feel like home.

December is barely here and it's already been pretty hectic. It's been go-go-go around here at the apartment. One of my roommates is gone until the beginning of January to Australia and my other roommate and I are basically speed trains passing by each other every day. It's a busy month.

I've found myself with a Sunday off today and I handed in the last project of my undergrad on Friday so hopefully things will slow down a little bit (especially because I'm sick!) but I doubt it.

This is what life around the apartment is looking like these days:

 << I put this baby tree up the second the calendar said December. It's pretty wonky but I love it anyways >>

<< I also made a Christmas garland for our kitchen. I found the kit in the $1 section at target! >>

<< This is just me on my way out the door as usual. On this particular day I had just finished editing for the day and was on my way to quickly grab groceries before I had to run to my retail job. The fun just never ends >>

<< This apartment is on a real pomegranate kick these days. We're kind of obsessed >>

<< So obsessed that I made pomegranate bark. It's BEYOND delicious! >>

<< And don't think I forgot about Christmas music. It just completes the experience. I danced around to this while cleaning this morning >>

That's what life has been looking like around the apartment. I guess that even though I tend to dislike the silliness that comes with Christmas (money spending, stress, crowds) that I do enjoy getting into the spirit…at least around my home!

From the desk of:

Taylor Brown

Decoration Enthusiast

Christmas on a Budget

I'm not gonna lie…I'm kind of a Grinch when it comes to Christmas…or I have become increasingly more Grinch-like as time has gone on. Christmas is just not as fun when you get older. It just starts to become an expensive holiday that stresses you out and leads to you getting pushed around whenever you actually work up the courage to navigate your way through the mall.

That doesn't change the fact that Christmas does come…every.single.year.

This year I'm on a tight budget…and thus I've even become a little Scrooge-like.

Here are some tips to facing Christmas while on a budget (hopefully this can keep you from becoming a big scary Scrooge/Grinch combo like myself :)

1. Plan Ahead
    The best way to stay away from Christmas stress is to plan ahead. Instead of starting your shopping on December 20th, try buying a few things here and there each paycheque leading up to Christmas. This way you won't need to stress yourself out with a long list and only a little time.

2. Suggest Not Exchanging Gifts with Some People
    Okay, this may sound a little harsh but it's actually something that can save you and someone else a ton of stress. Sometimes exchanging gifts becomes a little bit silly. Really, you're just exchanging money with someone. They buy you a gift card, you buy them a gift card and everyone ends up on the same playing field. Why should both of your stress about getting a gift for someone when in the end you both would probably rather keep your money and save each other some time? I suggested this to my sister last year and we've both been pretty happy with the arrangement. We both have one less person to buy for and one less person to stress over.

3. Try a Secret Santa
    Me and my two best friends usually all buy each other something but the last couple years we've done a Secret Santa. This way we only have the buy for one other person instead of two. It's not always about saving money, sometimes it's about saving yourself stress. Now I can focus all my energy on finding one perfect gift instead of two.

4. Try being more creative than spendy
    There are tons of amazing gifts that you can get for less money that will actually mean more. Try going to a site like etsy to find a personalized and special gift that won't break your bank. You could also make handmade cards instead of buying expensive store-bought cards.

5. Remember what the holiday is really about
    In the end, we tend to forget what Christmas is about and get focused on the consumer aspect of it all. I've been known to go with the mantra "one for you, one for me" when buying Christmas presents. This is an expensive way to Christmas shop because I'm buying things for others and for me along the way. This holiday is about family and selflessness. Focus on those you love, not on yourself and if there's no other gift that you can give, you should give people your time and love. This isn't about material goods. A simple kind gesture or heart-felt note is a beautiful gift that someone in your family will appreciate, especially if they understand your situation.

Don't let your heart grow four sizes too small this year!

From the desk of:

Taylor Brown
Scrooge/Grinch Combo