The Tipping List
5 Ways to Save Money and Lose Weight
Is it really possible?
-Megan Southwick
I ask myself, have I died and gone to heaven or discovered a secret wonder of the world? Every day I'm bombarded with ways to lose weight OR save money.
How come no one has thought of a way to combine the two?
Now, I'm not saying you are going to grow wealthy by implementing these tips - goodness knows I haven't. But, all the same, it feels good to know I'm caring for myself and my bank account when I live in this manner. (And, okay, I also feel a little like I'm sticking it to the Man, and that satisfies the vengeful side of my heart.)
1. I no longer frequent Starbucks, Caribou or even my local coffee shop.
Although I am a devout coffee drinker, when I visit coffee shops, I tend to treat myself, even if it's my fourth time that week. This means I go all out: double-caff, full-fat, white-chocolate, 600-extra-calories-I-don't-want-to-know-about lattes. That is a lot of extra calories hitting my already thunderous thighs. And at $5 or $6 a pop (plus the tip I feel compelled to leave), that's also a lot of money each week. Just by cutting out those visits, I have either an extra $100 at the end of the month in savings or I can actually afford to get my hair cut and colored. And I'm pretty sure my thighs aren't sobbing over the missing cellulite. Read more about saving money and losing weight...
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In Her Words
Car Alarm
Bad cops don't always have the final say
-Melina Gerosa Bellows
Doing my part for recessionista chic, I take my pressing need for a new car and journalist's budget to Craig's List, where I score - ta da! - a Mercedes-Benz. An ancient black sedan with more miles (and less body work) than Bruce Jenner, but so what, it's cheap, and now it's mine!
A new old car virgin, I check the Washington D.C. DMV Web site for first-time vehicle registration. It states: "If a vehicle has tags from another jurisdiction, vehicle may be taken directly to the inspection station. Once the vehicle has passed inspection, it may be registered at a DMV." Read more about bad cops and the DMV (with photo)...
Scoop
Celebrity New Year's Resolutions
Wear bras, quit blabbing and more shower scenes!
-The Bettys
Cameron Diaz wants to start wearing a bra. Tori Spelling wants to improve her posture. Chris Cornell wants to continue travelling and present his music to a global audience (is someone itching to be the new Bono?).
All of those are, of course, VERY noble goals (especially Cam - seriously, the braless days are long gone, hon). But here at Betty, we thought a few other of our celebrity friends could use some help deciding on a resolution for the upcoming year.
BritBrit - Resolve to stay the heck on track and get your babies back! A lot of us out here are rooting for you! -Joseph
Hugh Jackman - Resolve to never again appear in a film without a shower scene. Once you go Australia, you can't go back. -April
Read more about celebrity New Year's resolutions...
Betty's New Year, New You Series
The Bettys' Career and Money Resolutions
What are YOUR resolutions when it comes to work and finances?
-Megan Southwick
At this time of year, everyone starts thinking about her resolutions for the next year. I get a little bit neurotic about mine and separate them by category: Work, play, money and so on. So, this year, I polled my fellow Bettys to find out what THEY were thinking about for the upcoming year in terms of work and money. Would it be to work less? More? Find a new job? Put more money into your savings? Here's what they had to say:
Candace: My primary resolution regarding finances is to continue to look for new, cheaper ways to get the quality that I want. Examples: Fancy skin creams or Banana Republic/Anthropologie/Ann Taylor goods? eBay. Organic anything? Costco. Internet purchasing? Get a coupon through Google (almost every site has some sort of coupon that's applicable at any given time). And this doesn't even touch on the idea of reusing what is still in good shape: Mom-to-mom sales (basically, kids' clothes and sundry items for a pittance), garage sales, Craigslist or Freecycle.org (although I'm always a bit hinky about buying and selling through those two sites, because it necessitates an in-person meeting - is a bargain worth that?). Why not use something that has a lot of life left in it rather than buying something new - and perhaps of lesser quality - for more money?
Tip Sheet
New Year, New Investments?
It's almost 2009, do you know where your 401(k) is?
-Megan Southwick
Dear, dear 2009,
Now that 2008 is ending, I am, as many of us are, hoping that you will be a much kinder year - especially with respect to our finances! The topsy-turvy stock market action of the past year has been enough to make anyone's stomach churn, not to mention watching out retirement funds slowwwwwwly disintegrating into nearly nothing. Some of us lost more than 25 percent of our retirement in one week! Seriously? We have to do better than this.
While you are pondering that, I'm taking some action on my own - and reviewing my 401(k) to see if it might be time to shuffle things around for better odds this coming year. So here's what I'm looking at, while you are working on your end of the bargain:
