For the month of November I have focused my happiness project on finances. So far I have worked on setting a budget, making charitable donations, and eliminating debt. For this last week of November, I am going to finish out the financial part of my happiness project by focusing on savings. Most people would agree that it's important to have a savings fund set aside for emergencies. I've heard a lot of advice about how much to save and it seems to vary from 3-6 months of living expenses. It's pretty overwhelming to think of saving even 1 month of living expenses, and especially overwhelming when you think of 3-6 months. I've decided to start small and set up a recurring transfer to my savings account each paycheck. Once the money is in the savings account it will be un-touchable unless there is an emergency. I've heard the experts say that this is the best way to grow your savings account because you can get the money straight into a savings account and try to forget about the money all together. The automatic transfer makes sure you stick to the plan and then you just have to exercise self-control and not touch the money. So that's it for my financial happiness. I feel better now that I have gotten a good look at my budget and have laid out a plan for paying off debt as well as beefing up my savings account. Next month's focus will be working on my spirituality. I don't want to push my spiritual beliefs on anyone, so I will keep the posts relatively short and non-denominational.
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My new obsession with makeup has resulted in a huge increase in my makeup collection and I realized that I needed to get organized. I watched a lot of YouTube videos about the best ways to organize makeup and it seems that almost everyone has acrylic drawers by Muji. I ordered mine and they just got delivered today. Above is a before picture of my makeup collection (minus all of my lip products that live in my purse). Below is what this huge mess looked like once it was organized into the Muji drawers. 
And here's a look at my finished makeup organization: 
For good measure, here's a look at my makeup bag I use every day while getting ready. I found it at the Coach outlet in a weekender travel set. 
And lastly, here are all my lip products that I keep in my purse in the Sephora makeup bag I recently got that had a gift set of samples. I've also got a couple of rollerball perfumes in the bag in case I want to put on a scent during the day. 
I'm curious, what is your favorite way to organize your makeup collection? Please share in the comments!
As I mentioned in my "Sephora Haul" post, I have recently become obsessed with beauty and makeup. One of the main reasons for this new-found obsession is because I found some YouTube channels that focus mainly on beauty and makeup. My very first YouTube beauty channel was for Jaclyn Hill (shown in the pictures above). I started by watching a tutorial she did on smokey eyes and have not stopped watching! She is definitely my favorite!
Here are some other YouTube channels I can't get enough of: So if you're interested in finding some new channels to subscribe to, check these out and let me know what you think! 
This week for my happiness project I am going to focus on eliminating my debt. Like most Americans, I have fallen into the rabbit hole of credit card debt. I thought I'd turn to one of the experts, Suze Orman, in order to figure out how to get out of my credit card debt.
I went to her website and followed the links to find her "Paying Off Debt" advice. Here are her 10 tips to paying off debt:
Now that I know what steps to take, I am going to implement her advice and make my own debt repayment plan based on her steps. Next week, I will start looking towards the future and make a savings plan to follow.  "No one has ever become poor from giving." I've seen this quote attributed to both Anne Frank and Maya Angelou. Whoever said it was entirely correct. As part of the focus of this month's happiness project, I've been thinking a lot about money and finances. I truly believe the quote above and also think that the way to become truly rich, in terms of living a fulfilling and abundant life, is to give to others. That is why I've decided to add a charity donation to my monthly budget. I have many causes I'd like to give to, so I've decided to spread the love and give to a different charity every month. Here are some of the places I'll be donating to:
All of these places have touched my life in one way or another and I'm looking forward to giving back in some small way. What are some of your favorite causes or charities to donate to or volunteer for?
 For my second month of my Happiness Project I am going to focus on money. I will take a close look at my finances and figure out where I can make some better decisions on spending. I am also going to make a plan on how to get myself out of debt and start a savings plan. Unlike the picture above, I do not want money to control my life. I'd rather get a plan in place that runs smoothly on its own so I can live my life but still spend wisely.  In order to start making financial plans, I need to know where I stand. In order to get a good picture of my money situation, I am going to use Mint.com to track my spending. Their tagline is "It's easy to understand what's going on with your money." They pull all your financial accounts into one place and let you use that data to create budgets and track your goals.
They have a great mobile app that you can put on your phone so your financial information is always at your fingertips. Now it's time for me to get tracking! 
I'll admit it...I've recently become addicted to Sephora. I've always walked past the store at the mall and wondered what the appeal was. But now I have found my love for the store and can't stop shopping there! It doesn't help that they have amazing deals that are emailed to me almost daily. Yesterday I received an email telling me that I could receive 8 free samples in a cute clutch if I made a purchase of $25. 
This is the set I chose. It's called Holly Jolly Nourishment. Here's what it includes:
In order to get this set, I needed to spend $25. I was debating over a few items until I got another email today with some awesome holiday sets. Here's the one I bought, it's called the Sephora Favorites Glitz & Glam: 
Not only do I absolutely love the bag, but I'm also really excited about everything that comes in it! Here's what you get for $45 (a $159 value):
Of course, I was only $5 away from getting free shipping, so I had to buy one more thing! 
This is the Sephora Collection Mirosmooth Luminizer in Light Beam. Here is how the website describes this product: MicroSmooth is made with ultralight, micronized advanced pigments that blend effortlessly into the skin to enhance your skintone and give a flawless no-makeup look and feel to the skin. It adds a natural, seamless luminescence to cheeks, temples, and browbone for a healthy-looking, radiant, and gorgeous glow. The breathable baked formula applies smoothly while the unique, airy texture perfectly melts into skin for a natural finish. After hitting the $50 minimum for free shipping, now all I have to do is wait patiently for 3 days until my order arrives! I'd say that I made quite a haul for a total of $63 including tax. I'm getting 17 different products along with two clutch bags!
Now I'm curious about everyone else's favorite products at Sephora. Please share in the comments section! |
AuthorMy name is Beth and I live in Denver. I am a single lady in my 30's and wanted to start sharing my awesome and amazing life through a blog. Categories
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Photos used under Creative Commons from pj_vanf, catulle, AJC ajcann.wordpress.com, frankieleon, Kuster & Wildhaber Photography, Mufidah Kassalias, mypubliclands, Skakerman, David Jones, WordRidden, Meredith Bell, BillDamon
