Secondhand Jewllery. Where's The Value?

When I had money to burn and shopping for designer luxury was my only purpose, dropping a few grand on a Tiffany watch was never a problem but when I was starving, a few years later, I discovered something that became a massive problem. " What do you mean my Tiffany watch is only worth £100 quid" I said to the greedy secondhand dealer, ready to offer me a fraction of what I paid for it new, only one year earlier.
When I found myself starving and broke in LA, I had to sell all my collected designer trinkets, in order to keep afloat and was horrified by the inequity in selling my stuff, when my back was up against the wall.

So where is the value in that?

You cannot eat a Tiffany watch when you are starving, so buying something expensive when you cannot afford it, just to look like someone, is not only stupid but also a shock when you find out what it is really worth. You never know when the tide will change and sweep you out to sea, in other words, losing your job, sudden illness or unexpected financial problems, so saving your money, even if you think your comfortable, is critical for a rainy day.

A budget lifestyle is all about living within your means, debt free with a nest egg, just in case things change and little desire to buy stuff you might want but don't need. What is the point in buying clothes that don't fit and never will or a flash fast car, you cannot afford to put on the road or a lavish ballgown when you have no ball to go to, leaving you stuck with stuff that has not changed your actual life.

I still love clothes and still love shopping, who doesn't but these days I follow the mantra, buy new and the jokes on you because I got savvy, cured my self of status anxiety and now buy secondhand or recycled clothes, given up to charity by shopaholic women.

Who cares and who in reality knows whether what you are wearing is new or secondhand because style is unique and how you wear it with confidence is the key to pulling it off, as well as saving you a tidy fortune in the process. One mans trash is another mans treasure, so no matter how broke you are, there is always a way to get the look you desire for less and if you get into swapping clothes with friends and family, you get a brand new look without spending a single penny.

Stop shopping and start swapping if you are struggling and don't just swap clothes, try DVDs, household goods like cookers, hoovers, TV's, even books and CD's, making use of stuff you don't want anymore but someone else might need.

How Do I Stay Young

How do I stay young, is the most asked question by Women suffering with Status Anxiety, forever looking outward for the instant fix, the miracle cream, the magic lotion, powerful potion or plastic surgeon but in reality, we are what we eat, so beauty comes from within. If you spend your life obsessed with how you look, you will never be happy because the more you fret about what is wrong with you, the less time you have to nurture what is amazing about you.

When I had it all and could buy myself anything I desired in order to get noticed because in reality that's why we do it, always caring too much about what others think, I was still miserable, regardless of how many Chanel suits I owned and yes I did get attention but it was always the wrong attention. These days I still love to look younger but I prefer to feel younger and that comes from designing the perfect healthy lifestyle, you can afford and easily stick to.
You don't need to be a Millionaire to pamper yourself, you just need to understand what you need to eat in order to get amazing results on the outside and the great thing about this lifestyle plan, it comes cheap because what is from the earth, as I have said before, is the greatest of worth. What we put in our bodies as our fuel, is what we become on the outside, so if you truly desire fabulous skin, shiny hair and a slim firm figure, all you have to do is eat the right food. Just because you are living a budget lifestyle does not mean you are poor or have to eat poorly.

Fresh fruit, vegetables, pulses, nuts, avocado, fish, soya, the colorful food group, all can be purchased from the local market in abundance for cheap, so there are NO excuses. Anything you put in your body that is white, like bread, rice, potatoes will not give you the fresh faced and fabulous firm slim body you desire, so cutting them out is essential if you long to look healthy, fresh and younger.
Dry skin is never going to make you look younger because you will appear dull and lifeless, so you must always everyday use a moisturizer on your face and this does not need to be expensive or a brand, try nivea or dove, they both work just as well. Keeping your eyebrows plucked and tidy can also take years off the way you look, so have a go yourself and see how you get on.

Walking everyday is the perfect way to keep fit, young and healthy and if you can slot in a yoga session twice a week, something you can do at home and is free, you will not only look 10 years younger but you will feel it too because when we work on ourselves, we get results. Drinking lots of tap water and little, if no alcohol, is also another very good way to clear out any unwanted toxins you have, keeping your kidneys functioning properly, helping your body work in the way it should in order to be the best you can be.

Learning to truly love yourself is the key to staying young, so get rid of the past and begin to recognize you are fabulous, fun and passionate because unless you believe it, how can anyone else! I had 10 years without any money and in this time I was forced to find really cheap ways to keep on top of my personal maintenance, which in reality is quite easy when you are broke because you cannot afford to do all the bad things like smoking and drinking, so end up by default looking and feeling fantastic on a shoestring budget.

 

New Year New You?

Starting off the New Year feeling happy, relaxed, full of beans, ready to continue your life journey to Success?

If this is not how you are feeling right now, then you have to accept that maybe you have over indulged in something over rated, for a little too long, especially if you could not really afford to do it in the first instance. Status Anxiety is causing many people to over indulge through massive personal pressure, subliminally surrounding us all with a clear message to shop, buy stuff, eat more food, drink, spend and for what? One day in the year which has now turned into an expensive, undefined event no one truly understands anymore?

This might sound like Bah humbug but sadly it is true, when 60% of families had to take out a pay day loan to pay for Christmas this year.
Shopping for a life you cannot afford, even if it is Christmas and everyone else is doing it, is stupid and will not make you happy or rich in the long run because at some point you will have to pay for it, one way or another. 

Living a budget lifestyle is all about surviving within your means and sustaining a lifestyle you can afford and are happy with, always. It is really pointless and not very good for your health  and well being to over stuff your face with food and drink, then after the event make yourself miserable because you have to then go on a diet, give up drinking for a month and not have any spare money to spend on things you need. This kind of Yo Yo behaviour will play havoc with your mind, body and wallet, so next year don't put yourself under such pressure to follow the pack, stand alone and do something different.

This is a time for reflection and change in your life. I repeat, it is not money and stuff which makes us feel happy long term, only in the moment because today after the big event, you still feel miserable, depressed, broke and wish you had not bothered. My advice is simple, its too late to do anything about it now because you have already bought in and the damage is already done but you have the future and you have 12 months to make a plan and stick to it. Visit http://www.venuscow.com/ and discover simple common sense ways to prepare for your life ahead, ensuring you never feel like you do right now, ever again.

How To Be Happy Without Money

Embarking on a budget lifestyle plan is all about learning how to be happy living within your means and not off high interest credit cards or loans. If you spend your life paying for stuff you cannot afford, just because that’s what is expected of you or because everyone else does it, you will never be rich or happy. You may find the idea of an instant money fix quite a relief when thing are getting you down but if you stop and really think about what impact that quick fix will have on your life in the future, when it comes to paying it back, you will avoid being tempted at all costs.

A pay day loan or a short term high interest loan to help you through a financial crisis can sometimes be the only route, especially for those who need help with medical problems and additional costs. A recent survey for the charity CLIC Sargent found families can struggle to meet the extra cost of accommodation, childcare, food and travel, which is such a sad state of affairs but very real in this current financial mess we all find ourselves in right now.

To be truly happy, you have to take money out of the equation and feed your soul, not your addiction because you may believe you need a new sofa, top of the range TV or luxury 5 star holiday to be somebody but you would be very wrong. Life is about striving for the simple things like good health, inner peace, lots of laughter and not being sucked into the idea, what your own, makes you who you are.

Its all well and good saying this to you because I am sure you all feel trapped and pressured in to participating in keeping up with the Hiltons, the new Jones but you have to grow up and get real. Living beyond your means will only leave you miserable and buried under a mountain of unnecessary debt. There is absolutely no point in having a 100 pair of designer shoes if you never have the money to go anywhere to wear them.

So learning to live within your means may not sound very exciting, be what you want to face right now or be what you have become accustomed to but it is essential if you are ever to find inner happiness. I have had many times myself when I have longed for a new life with all the trappings to go with it but then I remember back to when I thought I had it all and have to remind myself, it was not money or the flash lifestyle that made me truly happy inside.

Here are some simple ways you can begin to learn to live within your means and start to face your reality, which if you are healthy and strong, is a blessing on its own and something we all take for granted, so be grateful, I say.  

Save up for what you want.

Buying unnecessary stuff, like another top you won’t wear or another bottle of wine, you don’t need because you have already had to much, is a great way to save cash for a rainy day. Try and put aside something each week you would normally spend on an instant fix and learn to change your bad habits into good ones.

Stop relying on your credit cards.

Using credit cards to get by, is not living within your means, so never include your credit cards when planning or budgeting your finances because these cards can be stopped or maxed out very easily, without warning.

Learn to spend less than you make.

When we use our credit cards to purchase stuff, we don’t feel like we are actually spending real money because we don’t physically see it changing hands, it’s a virtual exchange. I strongly suggest from now on you only work with real cash when you are learning to live within your means, you will be so shocked at how far your money actually goes when you are in control. Once you know how much you make, then you can focus on bringing you’re spending within your income. Use a budget to plan your monthly expenses then use it to keep your spending on track.

Boost your income.

If once you have done your budget lifestyle plan and you are living within your means but still long for an instant fix, recognise in order to get what you think you want you have to be able to afford it, so get a little second job or find another way to earn extra cash for extra luxuries.

Life is not always about getting what you want but getting what you need.  

How To Change The Way You Think

When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.
Life to me is like a book and we all read it. Happiness is a true blessing and we all need it.

Happiness comes from escaping your denial by learning to smile because we are all here for just a while.

Life is never about fitting in it’s about being your self. The past can reflect who you are today but may not reflect who you are in the future because it’s not always about how long you try but about how hard you try.

If you spend your time around wise people, you will become wise. If you spend your time around people who are rich, you will become rich. If you spend your time around people who are stupid, you will act stupid.
Happiness is never stopping to think you are.
If you take a look deep inside your soul, you will simply find what you need to fill the big black hole.
The only reason to look down on someone is to help them up.
As Gandhi once said “an eye for an eye and we are all blind”.

A budget lifestyle is all about changing the way you think in order to pursue happiness by recognising, material wealth is not the key to reaching your goals. Only true personal happiness poor, will help set you free from tradition, the human condition because when we are financially poor, we have no choice but to look deeper for the meaning to life.

We only know what we know, until we know something else, so if we begin to change the way we look at our life, our life will change. We have to do the work, no instant fix, payday loan, Chanel bag or cream cake will make you happy long term because the more you have, the more you want, and it’s a treadmill.

Once we know something else, we have choices and choices give us options. Ask yourself this question. Would you be happy if you got a call to say you had won the lottery? Now ask yourself this question. Would you still be happy if they rang back and said they had made a mistake and you had not won the lottery? If you believe that money and shopping will bring you instant happiness, you have got it wrong, trust me I know. Of course money is a necessity in this World we live in but it is not the main ingredient we all need to be happy or survive, that comes from giving more than we take. We have to always learn from our mistakes in the past, to help us do better in the present, to succeed in the future.
The biggest mistake we all make is lying to ourselves about who we are and what we want. Its so easy to convince yourself when you are thinking about making personal changes, like going on a diet because you are fat and your health is at risk, to leave it until tomorrow but remember tomorrow never comes, so you will always be fat.

Its time to take back control of your life before its to late and start to get real about what you really desire. You will always think you are happy if you constantly live in the moment, the instant fix but you have to remember whilst ever you are stuck, you are not moving forward.

Feed Your Mind Not Your Addiction

As a Nation we are constantly bombarded with subliminal messages encouraging us to shop till we drop because this is what we believe will make us all happy, be accepted by others and help keep the economy boosted and moving. As consumerism becomes a measure of our social worth, we need to face it, we have all been lead up the wrong garden path because living your life riddle with constant debt worries, is just not sustainable or healthy for happiness. Happiness is not getting what you want but still wanting it after you have got it.

Compulsive shopping is a way of escaping your deep rooted negative feelings, like depression, anxiety, boredom, self-critical thoughts, and anger but unfortunately the escape is always short-lived. The purchases are often simply hoarded unused, and compulsive shoppers like I used to be, will immediately begin to plan the next spending spree in order to get the instant fix, just like a drug addict.

A budget lifestyle is not something to be ashamed of or even be depressed about because living within your means in reality, is your truth. Anything you purchase on credit, buy now pay later, is never going to make you happy because you will be constantly broke and resentful at having to pay for something you are over, dislike and never needed in the first place. If you think shopping is the best feeling in the world you have to face the fact you are a shopaholic and being a shopaholic can have serious consequences, especially if you are living beyond your means.

I remember when I was very rich and could buy anything I desired, I would often completely forget an important purchase made for someone else when checking my credit card statement, thinking my credit card must have been stolen. This kind of selective memory loss is common among people with addictions because we do not connect ourselves with the person who is often out of control. Anyone who considers material possessions to be central to their life and their identity, especially if you cannot afford it, is brainwashed and sadly delusional. We have to stop looking outward for the answer to our changing moods and instead take a peek inward to discover who we really are and why we feel the need to buy stuff we just don't need or will never be satisfied with.

So how do you do this? I can tell you from my own personal history of a serious shopping addiction, money, shoes, exotic travel etc may seem to be the answer in the moment but is never the key to self worth, that only comes when you have nothing but your behaviour and values to go on. A budget lifestyle allows you to work out what you can and cannot afford to survive, in other words pay the bills and trust me there is nothing more satisfying and rewarding than saving up for something you truly love and desire. We don't always get what we want but we must always strive for what we need.

If you spend your life worrying about what others think of you based on what you have, you are never going to be happy but if you save your hard earned cash and budget your lifestyle, when you do have some spare cash to splash, you will find, you make much better choices when it comes to spending it.