Do you love looking your best but find yourself with limited time and resources? If so, you could benefit from some creative beauty hacks! Beauty hacks are a great way to get glam without spending a lot of time or cash. Take a look at these 7 creative beauty hacks that you can start implementing into your daily beauty routine today!
7 Creative Beauty Hacks
1. Use your lipstick as blush.
Many blushes are of the creamy variety these days, much like lipstick. When you're in a bind you can use lipstick as blush just as easily! Start small as it is easier to add then to take away. Just dap a little lipstick on your fingertips and blend into the apples of your cheeks. Perfect!
2. Use Dawn dish soap to clean brushes.
Dawn dish soap is gentle on your brushes yet still cleans away make up, grease, and bacteria. Create a dish of warm soapy water, let your brushes soak for a few minutes, then rinse clean and allow to air dry.
3. Dry nails with ice.
A quick way to set nail polish is to dip your fingers in a bowl of ice water. The nail polish will quickly harden, reducing your drying time drastically. The polish may still be soft to the touch, so take caution. It will however be dry to the touch and won’t transfer.
4. Make faux eyelashes last longer by cutting them.
Chances are, faux eyelashes are too long for your eyelids. Instead, snip them in half and just use the segments on the outer corners of your eyes. Not only will you get two pairs out of one, but you might find this method looks more natural.
5. Behold the power of coconut oil.
Coconut oil is fantastic for removing eye make up, moisturizing skin, soothing rough feet and elbows, and it can even be added to your hair conditioner. Keep a jar of coconut oil on hand for these beauty uses and many others!
6. Reduce eye puffiness with hemorrhoid cream.
This is an old beauty pageant trick that works great! Add a few dabs under puffy eyes in order to soothe swelling and reduce redness. You will notice results quite quickly. Just take care to avoid getting any of the product in your eyes.
7. Use lemon juice.
Lemon juice can help lighten and brighten skin, lighten and brighten nails, and even lighten hair. Add a few drops to your moisturizer or hair products to achieve these results over time.
Keep these creative beauty hacks in mind when performing your daily beauty routine. You should find that they can come in handy often!
Do you have any creative beauty hacks you can share in the comments?
We’ve got a big one we’ve been saving for for quite some time now. A house! We’re hoping to put a large down payment on a house that’s a bit bigger than what we have now. 🙂 (more than two bedrooms…ha!)
I’m Wondering: What are you saving for in 2016? What are some steps you plan on taking to achieve your goal(s)?
Have you found yourself short on cash? Are you looking for quick ways to make a buck or two? Whatever the case or circumstance may be, there are plenty of legit ways to make some fast cash. Take a peek below at 7 items you can sell for cash right now, so you can have the money you need for your next utility payment, car payment, or whatever the case may be!
7 Items you Can Sell for Cash Right Now
1. Scrap jewelry.
Do you have broken or unused gold and silver jewelry? Gather it up and take it to your local jewelry store. Most stores will weigh it for you and make you a cash offer for it. It doesn’t matter if it is broken or unsightly, they just want it for scrap. So gather up that jewelry and see if you can get some cash for it!
2. Scrap metal.
Scrap yards pay for all sorts of metals these days. You can take your empty soda cans; scrap copper, aluminum, even silver flatware. They will weigh it and make you an offer, and you not only free up some space at home, but gather some cash as well. See what scrap metal you may have in the garage or shed that you can scrap and trade for cash.
3. DVDs, Video Games
Are you done watching some of the DVD’s in your collection? Are you tired of some of your video games? Pawn shops take both of these items and will offer you cash. You can even sell these items online via Ebay or Craigslist, or take them to a resale shop that specializes in their sale.
4. Old toys.
Many old toys are worth cash these days. Old dolls, Barbies, doll clothing, old board games, old metal trucks, cars, and a host of other toy items are worth cash. Sell these items to a collector via Ebay or Craigslist, or you can even take them to an antique shop to see if anyone is willing to make you an offer on them.
5. Old paper items.
Would you believe that old postcards, old photos, magazines, cookbooks, maps, and other paper items are worth cash? Collectors go crazy over these items and are always on the prowl for them. Sell these items to a collector via Ebay or Craigslist, or you can even take them to an antique shop to see if anyone is willing to make you an offer on them.
6. Designer accessories.
Do you have designer shoes, bags, belts, sunglasses, and other accessories? If so, savvy shoppers are looking for them! Sell these items on Ebay or Craigslist and see if you can’t get a few bucks for them. It will help if they are in gently used condition and accompanied with any paperwork that authenticates them.
7. Electronics.
Your old cell phones, televisions, and computer parts and pieces are worth cash. I've seen many people have success selling their old cell phones in Facebook buy & sell groups. Pawn shops and resale shops are always looking for televisions and computers, so consider those options as well when you need to make some quick cash.
The next time you find yourself in a bind, take a look around the house to see if you can find any of these 7 items you can sell for cash now. You might find that making a few extra bucks isn’t hard at all, plus you get will be getting rid of clutter in the process!
If you're like most people, you're probably trying to save some money this year. To make saving money easier for you, I thought I'd make a list of some items in life that you really don't have to pay money for. How does that sound?
Check out these 10 items you should stop paying for. It’s always nice to get free stuff from time to time, am I right? 🙂
eBooks
Believe it or not but there are TONS of eBooks you can get for free every day. You just have to be smart about when you get these eBooks. Amazon is my go-to place for getting free ebooks. Check out this postfor tons of other ideas on where to get free ebooks.
A Meal/Treat on your Birthday
Always be sure to sign up for the Birthday Club at all your favorite jaunts. So many places offer great birthday freebies. Ranging from free dessert, to cosmetics to meals. You should be able to find something that strikes your fancy for free! (Check out this list of Canadian Birthday freebies to sign up for.)
Water
Stop buying bottled water and use your tap water! You can buy a cheap filter if you’re worried about contamination or taste.
Gym Memberships
Stop forking over dozens of dollars each month for a gym membership, you can exercise right at home for free. Or if you need the accountability, find a group of friends you can exercise with or an online accountability group.
You probably get a ton of plastic bags when you go to the grocery store, instead of throwing these away re-use them around your home! I like to put them in the garbage cans in our bathrooms.
Books
Your local library has so many books that you really never need to pay books again! While you won’t be able to keep them forever, you can still enjoy them while you have them.
Movies
Speaking of the library, you can get free movies there as well. Again, you can’t keep them, but you also don’t have to pay to see them. 🙂
Car wash
Stop paying $8 for a car wash when you can simply do it yourself. You may even be able to pay your kids in cookies to wash the car for you. 😉 And the same goes for vacuuming your vehicles, you can also do this at home.
Clothing
Set up a clothing swap and stop paying high prices for items your family uses every day! This could especially work well for kids clothing.
Keep in mind that when you don’t pay for an item, you are able to put that money somewhere else. Whether that's for something else you want to purchase or into your savings account. It’s always nice to be able to save a few bucks when you can!
What items do you try to get for free? Let me know in the comments!
Being a stay-at-home mom is such a rewarding job! Unfortunately, while it pays in many immaterial ways, being a stay-at-home mom doesn't come with an actual salary. If you want to be a stay-at-home mom, you need to prepare for the financial changes that come with quitting your job and taking care of your kids all day instead. These tips will help you discover ways to Financially Prepare for Becoming a Stay-at-Home Mom!
How to Financially Prepare for Becoming a Stay-at-Home Mom
1. Lower Your Expenses
The number one thing you need to do to financially prepare for becoming a stay-at-home mom is to lower your expenses. Right now you're used to being a dual-income family, and your current budget may be working well. But, will it still work once you remove your income from the equation? Run the numbers, and then see what expenses you can lower or cut out completely to make everything balanced again. If you haven't been practicing frugal living before, this would be a great reason to start!
2. Save More
Less income means less money instantly available for emergency expenses and less money going toward long-term savings goals. If you want your family to be financially sound while you're a stay-at-home mom, then you need to make sure plenty of money is set aside in savings. Ideally, you'd have enough money saved that if all your current sources of income disappeared, your family would be financially fine for at least 6 months.
When you financially prepare for becoming a stay-at-home mom, don't forget your family's debt. When you're a stay-at-home mom, debts will have to be paid without any help from your income. Make things easier for yourself later down the road and pay off as much debt as you can now while your income can still contribute. That way, when your family is working off a single income, your monthly payments toward debts can be much smaller.
4. Practice
Practice makes perfect! To financially prepare for becoming a stay-at-home mom, make a practice budget excluding your income. Then try to live through a week or month with that budget. This will let you see first-hand what lifestyle changes you may need to make, and expenses you may have to cut. When the practice period is over, you'll be able to make a much more informed budget that will actually work when you make the switch for real!
5. Find Ways to Make Money at Home
Just because you're a stay-at-home mom doesn't mean you have to feel left out from bringing in some supplemental income! Depending on how much time you expect to have each day, consider starting a freelance career, or selling on eBay, or just doing some surveys for money each day. There are lots of ways to make money from home, regardless of how busy you may be! (Check out this post for more ideas on ways to make money from home.)
Have you ever been a stay-at-home mom? How did you make it work financially?
I’ve got a great question for you today from Cindy! She’s wondering:
I’m wondering if the new online shopping and picking your groceries up at the store is a good money saver? (Click & Collect.) I might be able to save money on groceries by only picking out online what I need for the week without the in-store distractions of other items I don’t necessarily need being on sale. Has anyone given it a try at Superstore?
Have you got something you’ve been wondering about that I could feature in a future I’m Wondering post? Submit your question to me here!
