Motivated Monday - Don’t call it a comeback!

Hello lovies! I know you’ve missed your daily dose of the Bougie Budgetista because I know I’ve missed you too. In my writing sabbatical, I’ve come to experience many things and meet some AMAZING people. My vision has had a few revisions and now I’m back and better than ever! As some of my readers would say, I’m “down right motivated”!

So here’s the scoop – I met an amazing writer named Ashley Cisneros who has, for lack of a better phrase, lit a fire under my butt. She, like so many others I’ve come across, risked it all for her dreams, leaving a secure position in her field to explore new, more fruitful ventures. She’s now her own boss working on her own terms. A perfect portrait of a hustler, if you ask me. She has encouraged me to get back on my rock star status and write, write, write my way to my goal of working in my field while pursuing my passion in the fitness world. This project works in phases.

Phase one: Take your vision and make revisions

I had the opportunity to sit down with Ashley for brunch and just talk. Granted, we talked about everything from school to weddings to business ventures, successes and failures, and (most importantly) the lessons learned from it all. During our talk, I learned the importance of the “Everything but the kitchen sink” resume (officially known as a curriculum vitae, for you fancy folks) and tailor each resume to the position you’re applying for. Make your experience align with the job description to give yourself a leg up against the competition. Needless to say, I smacked my forehead and thought, “Now, why didn’t I think of that?” You know you can do it. You know you have the knowledge and skills to make that happen. Now think about all the qualifications you have to help you achieve your goal and put it on paper. Think about all the necessary steps you’ll need to take to get to finish line.

Phase two: You better (Net)Work, Honey!

I’ll admit, I’m not the best networker in the world. But I know people who are! And, believe you me, knowing is half the battle. Ashley, on the other hand, is a master at this art form. So, whether you’re a wall flower like me or a social butterfly like Ashley, the one thing we both recommend you do is get some business cards. You can make them yourself at home or have them professionally done. If you’re going to go the print route, I must recommend VistaPrint. They have amazing deals and wonderful customer service. Plus, what makes a bigger impression – ridges on your flimsy card and off center print, or 500 uniform, print quality cards that you only paid shipping for?

Phase three: Lights, Camera, and Plan of Action

Once you’ve figured out all the steps and possible side steps needed and met some key players in helping you achieve your goal, you now have to put your plan into action. Don’t have an action plan? Make one! Be it a vision board or a business plan or a mantra on a post-it on your bathroom mirror, you MUST have a visual representation of what you’re working towards. It’s a constant reminder that every single day, what you’re doing is getting you closer to where you want to be.

Through Ashley, I’ve met some wonderfully talented people. Where I lack, they have and vice versa. There is the potential for some seriously successful partnerships to flourish. But right now, I must focus on my writing. After all, that was step one in my master plan. If I am going to touch as many people as possible with my story and my passions, then I must write. 

♥  - The Bougie Budgetista

Time Out Tuesday - Reflecting On The Past Few Weeks And Revising My Vision

I’ve been in a bit of a funk lately, lovies. I haven’t even been in the mood to write, which is wretched, considering that it’s one of the few things that makes me feel fulfilled. I look around to other writers that I admire and I ask myself, how do they do it? They come up with original material every day, and often material that leaves me smacking my forehead wonder why I didn’t think of that. I’m not quite sure what happened. I was on a roll. The daily posts flowed from my mind through my fingers onto the computer screen effortlessly. I provided readers with everything they asked for (for those who asked, anyway). But then, I hit a wall and I couldn’t figure out how to get around it. This was the most intense writer’s block I’ve ever encountered. Nothing could pull me out of it. Not a single idea I came up with could manifest itself into a full, coherent article. I began to doubt my abilities as a writer. Seriously. I could no longer do the one thing I KNEW without a shadow of a doubt that I was good at. What on earth was wrong with me?

A new passion has been consuming my life. As much as I would love to make a living writing and styling, the fitness world has filled me with an intense joy that is incomparable to anything I’ve ever experienced. Maybe it’s the endorphins, I don’t know, but it feels really, really good. As you all know, I got my Zumba certification and shortly after met a woman who has inspired me to push myself even further in the fitness world. Her name is Leslie Davila, co-founder of No Excuses Fitness and Dance, and when I tell you this chick is a hustler, it’s no joke. She is on her grind, teaching 10 classes per week and changing so many lives in the process. Her energy is addicting, her smile contagious. And her story touches you like none other. I feel blessed that she’s taken me under her wing and is showing me the ropes of what being a successful fitness instructor is all about. She’s also inspired me to pursue my Personal Training and Group Fitness Certifications. If you’re going to do something, do it right. Go balls to the wall and be a close to a subject matter expert as you can be. Like Leslie says, “No Excuses.”

So now, here I am, the Bougie Budgetista, lover of all things fashion and frugality related, obsessed with fitness. One day dedicated to the subject matter just isn’t enough! We’re going to have to re-evaluate the direction of the blog and make it fit my passions… Yes, passions, PLURAL. In the process, I hope to be able to inspire you to get up, dust yourself off, and make a plan of action to making your dreams come true. Anticipate posts by fellow fitness lovers, shoe addicts, foodies and more. I’ll be introducing you to some really special people who have fresh takes on the world around us. And I’ll be encouraging you to try new things, read new books, watch new films, and think outside the box. The goal is to live a fabulous life without breaking the bank, right? Well, my fabulosity doesn’t just stop where my closet begins. It’s time to rethink what a fulfilled, fantastic life looks like. And as much as Red Bottoms are a part of that vision, it’s not the only vision dancing through my head.

 

♥  - The Bougie Budgetista

Calling All Bloggers!

Hello, loves! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I’d like to take the time to invite me fellow writers to be a guest on my blog for what I’m thinking will be called “Time Out Tuesday”.

If you’re interested, shoot me an email and we’ll make it happen!

♥  - The Bougie Budgetista

Fashion Friday - J's Everday Fashion for the Everyday Fashionista

Happy Friday, lovies! It’s the beginning of the month, spring is nearly here (if you’re in Florida, like I am, it’s been here for a while, but that’s neither here nor there), and it’s time to put the sweaters and coats and scarves away for the year! Aren’t you excited? Bright colors. Breezy sun dresses. Linen pants. Wait. You don’t have any of that in your closet? It doesn’t fit anymore because you’ve been sticking to your workout plan? Buying a whole new wardrobe isn’t financially feasible? Are you kidding? As a Budgetista, I can’t even think of those words without shuddering. Where there’s a fashionable will, there’s a fabulous way. And I have found just the remedy for that problem.

A few weeks ago, I came across a blog and instantly fell in love. J’s Everyday Fashion helps women just like you and I, who know that the world is our runway, make financially savvy decisions on what to stock our closets with and how to put ensembles together that look effortless yet fashion forward. I love how she takes looks straight out of the fashion magazines, recreates them, then tells you where AND when she got the pieces (because I always wonder if it’s still in stores), how much they cost, and how to edit them to suit you. She outlines how to take a look from day to night with a few simple swaps. And best of all, J thinks outside the box. Some of the things that are hot on the runway have probably been sitting in your closet for a few seasons because you have no idea how to work it into your wardrobe. It’s as simple as taking what you already have, adding a few inexpensive pieces, and viola! Your closet has been transformed. It’s all around fabulous! I could learn a lot from her… And so could you! Check her out!

♥  - The Bougie Budgetista

The Bougie Budgetista Wants Your Feedback!!

I want to know what you think. If you like a post, click on the title in the column on the left and let me know! If you don't like a post, click on the title in the column on the left and let me know! Do you have questions, comments or concerns? Click on the title in the column on the left and let me know!

I want to give you what you want, but without feedback, I can get a little stuck sometimes. So help a Budgetista out!

"If you want it, you can have it, all you gotta do is reach out there and grab it" - Weezer

♥  - The Bougie Budgetista

The Budgetista Is M.I.A No More!

Hello, lovies! Last week was rather hectic, so posting wasn’t my main priority. For those of you suffering from Budgetista withdrawal, I have a week of thrifty deals to share with you. We’ll be talking about accessories, electronics, and an AMAZING blog I just came across. Also, for our weekly edition of Work It Out Wednesday, we’ll be discussing the dreaded plateau.

I hope you all had a happy Monday and may the rest of your week be simply fabulous!

♥  - The Bougie Budgetista

PSA: Schedule Change

Kids, I have an announcement to make. I've been watching the numbers and I've noticed that there not many folks care to read the weekend posts. From here on, The Bougie Budgetista will be running from Monday through Friday. Does this mean I won't be writing daily? Absolutely not! I'm still going to be writing, getting a leg up on the week and preparing pieces advance. If you want weekend blogs back, ask for it! But be prepared to ask for what you'd like to see, because, sometimes, writer's block gets the best of me...

♥  - The Bougie Budgetista

This I Promise You...

Ok, loves, so I know I've been M.I.A. for a while. For that I sincerely apologize. I've had a lot on my plate lately. But with all the craziness, I've lost sight of what I love most - writing.

This year flew by. It feels like yesterday that I was ringing in 2010 with new hopes, dreams, and wishes for the new year and the new decade. All of the sudden, here I am making resolutions... No, scratch that... making commitments for 2011. It's going to be a huge year, boys and girls. Great things are happening for so many people. The energy buzzing around feels amazing and I am so ready to embrace the changes that are coming.

So with that said, I'd like to make a promise to you all, but mostly to myself. The Bougie Budgetista will be blogging daily in the year 2011. Yes. DAILY! I'm excited about this venture and I most certainly hope you are too. This year I am claiming success and growth as a writer. Happy New Year, my darlings!

♥  - The Bougie Budgetista

The Late Bloomer

Once upon a time, there was a little girl. She loved sitting in her pretty pink princess room playing pretend. One day, her mother watched as the little girl diligently covered one of her dolls in gauze. Her mother laughed quietly, amused by the determination on the child's face.

"Sweetie, what do you want to be when you grow up?" the mother asked. And without giving it a second thought, the girl replied, "A doctor."

The next day, her mother watched as the child neatly lined up her teddy bears in several rows, then took her place opposite them by her easel. She took a red crayon, drew a big letter 'A' on the paper, and proceeded to give her toys a lecture on all the words she knew that started with the letter 'A'. Her mother patiently waited until her little one's lesson was over to ask, "Honey, now what do you want to be when you grow up?" And again, without hesitation, the little girl matter-of-factly responded, "A teacher."

Every day that passed, that little lady explored new adventures and new possibilities. She wanted to be a chef, a lawyer, an astronaut, a police officer, an artist, a garbage collector, a circus performer, and a ballerina.

Twenty years later, the little girl became a woman - a fabulous woman, if I do say so myself - who still didn't have a clue what she wanted to do with her life. However, of one thing, she was certain: she wanted to live the good life.

That woman, ladies and gentlemen, is me. I am a twenty-something year-old who, until recently, was just floating through life. I left college only to find that the grown-up life wasn't as glamorous as they make it out to be. Jobs were scarce so, I interviewed for and accepted dead-end gigs out of desperation for a paycheck. Though it was tough to truly become stable on an income of peanuts, I found that there was something truly pleasant about being an adult. Okay, so, no, paying bills isn't fun. Neither are student loans, balancing a checkbook, rent or car notes, for that matter. But at the end of the day, I walk into my apartment and smile because I'm surviving on my the grown-up life on my own. The only problem is that I wasn't happy. The daily grind wasn't leaving me fulfilled. I craved more.

Lately, I've been cruising through life on auto-pilot. One day to took a moment to compare my life to the lives of those around me - friends, acquaintances, co-workers - and I noticed something remarkable. They were making their life happen while I was just letting my life happen. From quitting their stable, well paying full time job to be an adjunct professor of theater at a community college to waiting in the scorching Florida sun for a bus in a town not known for its public transportation just to get their vocal lessons to agreeing to walk down a runway half naked for free in order to gain, these people had goals and dreams and would stop at nothing to reach them.

And still, there I was with no dream, no mission. I toyed with several ideas, but, just as when I was a child, nothing stuck for too long. In high school I was Editor-in-Chief of my school paper and loved every minute of it, especially writing. But by the time I got to college, I realized that most journalists, except maybe Katie Couric, lived below the poverty line. So I opted to pursue Advertising instead. And since it was still in the Journalism and Mass Communication school, I could at least feel like a journalist by association. The day came for us upperclassmen to declare our major. Much to my chagrin, there was a waiting list for the Advertising program. So I went on to Plan C: Telecommunication Arts, the most misunderstood major on the planet. Don't bother asking me what that is because even I couldn't tell you.

To employers, "Telecommunication Arts" meant "Telemarketing and Sales" which to me meant "Torture." But hey, it was a job, right? After three years, I was burnt out Corporate America. My best friend and entrepreneur (an early bloomer) suggested I try different things until I find what fits. So here I was, feeling like a little girl playing pretend. One day, I was a baker, making mountains of homemade cookies, muffins and cupcakes. It was fun, but it just wasn't me. Too messy, I think. Next I tried on modeling for size, and let me tell you, it is NOT as easy as it looks! Can you "smeyes" without looking like you wanna punch someone in the face? No? Didn't think so. I entered a model search and that didn't fare well. Nor did being a make-up artist, a "romance enhancement expert" or a party planner. But one day it hit me - I was always myself when I wrote.

Years ago, I turned my back on being a journalist in hopes of getting a bigger paycheck. But sometimes you come to the realization that the smile on your face and they joy in your heart is worth far more than any amount of money in the world. So my suggestion to all my fellow late bloomers out there, it's okay to not know what you want to do with your life just yet. But what's not okay is giving up on your search for your passion. Go back to being a kid playing pretend. Try on every career "hat" under the sun. Eventually, you'll find the one that you'll never want to take off.

♥  - The Bougie Budgetista