Thrifty Thursday: Tips for a Great Credit Score

If you’ve applied for an apartment, car, or loan you know how essential having good credit is. In fact, last week (was it really only last week?) when I applied for my awesome new eastside apartment, I was approved instantly solely based on the fact I have awesome credit. Same thing happened last year when I decided to lease a car – I think the qualifier’s exact words were, “An 815 credit score and you’re twenty five? That’s unheard of!” I felt pretty awesome, and now have a great car and great apartment because of it. Now, before you go thinking I’m the ultimate saver and financial guru, let me assure you that is far from the case. In fact, my mother will be the first to admit my biggest problems is indulging on shopping sprees. But, here are some tips to ensure good credit:

1. ALWAYS pay on time. Even if it’s the minimum amount. Set an alert to remember. If you’re late more than 30 days on a payment, your score will take a plunge. Plunge.

2. Try to pay more than the minimum. It will help you pay off your debt faster and help you incur less finance fees.

3. For vendor credit cards (like specific stores i.e. Victoria’s Secret, Best Buy, etc) try to pay off the full amount. In my experience, these cards tend to have a higher APR, and you don’t want to get stuck paying for a $150 bill for the rest of the year. A trick I’ve learned, when you charge on these accounts treat it like a debit card transaction. If you don’t have enough funds, don’t spend.

4. Try to have no more than 5 credit cards. It’ll keep you debt down, but it also proves to creditors that you’re capable of paying things off. I have a main card that I keep some debt on, and 3 vendor credit cards.

5. Do not start applying for a bunch of credit cards at once. It sets off a red flag that you’re stocking up for a reason.

6. Do not cancel credit cards – especially ones that you’ve had forever and especially ones that don’t incur a fee. Just don’t use them.

7. Keep balances low. If you’re more than half your credit limit, you’ve gone too high.

8. Check your credit score about once a year to make sure it’s airtight.

Follow these tips and you could be on your way to a great score. 

Wellness Wednesday: The Power of the Handwritten Note

I think we underestimate how important it is to do something for ourselves every day – and I’m talking little things, a five minute chat with a friend, taking a nice, long bath, reading a chapter in a breezy book, tapping our toes to some new music. These little things make us feel less overwhelmed and more in tune with ourselves. It doesn’t hurt they also put a smile on our faces.

But what are things you can do to perk someone else’s day up a bit? They do say the easiest way to put a smile on your face is to put one on someone else’s, right? Well, here’s an idea: how about a good old fashioned letter?

In today’s day and age when people communicate via text, email, twitter, even gchat, we hardly take the time to really express what we’re feeling with an actual pen. I mean, when was the last time you opened your mailbox and received a handwritten letter from someone (other than a wedding thank you gift.) It’s probably been a veryyyy long time. And yet, it’s so much more meaningful to receive a handwritten letter, isn’t it? You actually have to do some work for it.

There was a time that I used to try and write someone a letter every week – whether it was to thank them for being a great friend, or to remind them how wonderful they were. Everyone who received a letter was extremely grateful. Plus, it gave me an excuse to buy some really cute stationary and practice my penmanship. I’m going to try and get back into the habit of this. There’s so much I have to be grateful for and it’s time to start spreading it around. Who knows, maybe a letter will be coming your way…

Happy Wednesday, friends. 

Tasty Tuesday: Rasberry Thumbprint Cookies

If I had a signature recipe, this would be it! I’ve made these delectable treats for every family event in the past four years, and every time I get compliments and they’re gobbled up. So, you should feel very special I’m sharing my secret recipe with you. Ladies, I even got marriage proposals from these!

RASBERRY THUMBPRINT COOKIES

1	cup sugar
1	cup butter or margarine, softened
1	teaspoon vanilla
1/8	teaspoon ground nutmeg
1	egg
2 3/4	Cups all-purpose flour
½	teaspoon baking soda Rasberry Jam
½	Cup white chocolate chips Sprinkles, if desired

1. Preheat oven to 375

2. Beat sugar and butter with electric mixer on low speed or with spoon until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla, nutmeg and egg. Stir in flour and baking soda. Shape dough by teaspoonfuls into balls. Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

3. Using thumb or handle of wooden spoon, make indentation in center of each cookie. Spoon about 1/4 teaspoon jam into each indentation.

These are about to become delicious!

4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 5 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

5. In small microwavable bowl, microwave baking chips on High 1 to 2 minutes or until chips are melted; stir until smooth. Spoon melted chips into small resealable plastic bag; cut small hole in corner of bag. Squeeze bag gently to drizzle melted chips over cookies. Sprinkle with colored sugar, if desired.

Foibles and Flaws

A lot of what this blog is about is making the most of your twenties and turning into the best version of yourself. We do a lot of growing up between the ages of 22-27, for better and worse. I personally have worked especially hard in the past year to grow and improve (which like I said, has come with it’s amazing rewards and sad consequences.) Even still, none of us are without flaws – and I’m a perfectionist, so that’s tough to admit. But, it’s the truth. Here are some of my biggest flaws that I’m okay with admitting:

*I am extremely critical – not only of myself and others. Basically, if I don’t like something I will call you out on it. Most of the time it’s because I think I’m trying to help, but it’s still annoying and I’m sorry

*If you’ve pissed me off, I’ll get over it, but I’ll remind you about it constantly. I usually do it in a joking type of way, but it’s still irritating. I’m sorry again

*I’m super competitive. Even though I’m getting A LOT better about this one, I tend to compare myself to others and try and top other people. It’s led to nothing good, I promise.

*I can be condescending and act like I’m on a high horse. A product of working really hard on myself has led me to get really frustrated when people don’t see my point of view. So, I can be bratty and act like a know-it-all. It comes off as smug, but really I think I’m trying to help by imparting wisdom that has helped me.

*I try to be perfect. This is by far the hardest one to conquer… and one that I’m not sure will ever go away.

What are some of your biggest flaws?

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

For the past two days I've been sitting in near agony waiting to hear about my acceptance into a program that could be an amazing opportunity for my career. Needless to say, I haven't accomplished much other than refreshing my gmail browser over and over and over and over again.

And yet, more than ever I have so much to do!

I started the apartment search yesterday. I always feel so hopeful in the beginning with the browsing craigslist and padmapper, but by the time I've entered my credit card info into westsiderentals.com, a new set of panic sets in. I'm not high maintenance by any means (well, maybe I have high maintenance tendencies... completely different), but finding your home is completely different. I mean, it's your home, so it's got to be perfect - or nearly. 


Here's what I'm looking for in my new casa:


-Someplace on the Eastside, in a safe but walkable area close to my good friends


-Someplace that will house my adorable 15 pound pooch (you'd be surprised how many places are totally down with cats, but scoff at a well behaved bundle of joy)


-Laundry facilities, dishwasher, patio or balcony and an ample cooking space - these are basics, right?


-Prefferrably a 1 bedroom, but a studio will do if the rest of the area is lovely


-A bathtub - I simply refuse to live in a place that doesn't have a bath


These aren't crazy parameters, right? 

June Gloom: My Summer Wishlist

June gloom is definitely in the air in sunny socal, but it's got me thinking that summer is just around the corner and there's so much I want to do. Here's a sampling:

*Pool Party at the Standard - does it get anymore socal than lounging on an outdoor rooftop pool and sipping slightly sweet overpriced cocktails? I don't think so

*Tim Burton exhibit at LACMA- It's supposed to be great, and LACMA is always amazing. No further explanation needed

*See live shows often - I checked out The Belle Brigade at Satellite last week and was reminded at how awesome live shows are and how lucky I am to live in LA where there's multitudes of great bands and venues. Next up: Sonos at Hotel Cafe

*Movie Nights with friends - Starting with conquering my E.T. fear in a couple of weeks (that's a post for another time)

*Hollywood Bowl - picnic foods, music, wine... I'm in

*Plan an awesome trip - There's a chance I may get to go to Australia for work, but if not, I'm going to plan something epic for myself

*Rock being a Bridesmaid - My dear cousin is getting married in september and there's going to be plenty of wedding related activities over the summer that I can't wait to be a part of

*Move to the Eastside - I love living in West LA, but most of my friends are Los Feliz dwellers now and that part of town has really grown on me. I'm just so excited to have my own place and decorate the hell out of it!

What are you summer plans?

Monday Goals

I returned to work this week, so things are about to get real hectic again (I'm going to miss my time off.) Fortunately it came at the perfect time so I was able to focus on some great writing projects and the turmoil that has been present.

I'll keep this entry short and sweet.  Instead of focusing on a ton of goals, I'm going to limit it to one goal in each major category of life, for example: job, writing, weight, apartment, personal (good place to start, right?)

Job Goal: Get back into the swing of things and create show binders for my boss

Writing Goal: Finish act one of my new pilot

Weight: Fill out a myfitnesspal entry M-F (at least)

Apartment: keep dirty dishes out of the sink (I mean, I have a dishwasher!)

Personal: Do something for me every day (bath, reading, phone dates)

Oh, and as a personal favor to me I have a big, exciting interview tomorrow so if people can send good vibes my way tomorrow morning, I'd be very appreciative!

Have a lovely and productive week!

And! Don't forget about the hair!

I actually went through with cutting my hair! I'm not going to lie, when he applied the scissors to my ponytail a moment of panic fluttered through me. But, I'm happy and lost close to 2 pounds as a result. Hooray! Oh, and I think it looks pretty good too :)

My former long locks. That's a whole lotta hair!

The new short 'do! My allergies have been a mess lately, so please excuse my weird winky face :)

Lust vs. Must: Book Review of "Bitter is the New Black" by Jennifer Lancaster

Now that summer is right around the corner, I’ve been stocking up on my poolside reading. I had the pleasure of reading Jen Lancaster’s HYSTERICAL memoir, “Bitter is the New Black – confessions of a condescending, egomaniacal, self-centered smart-ass, or why you should never carry a Prada bag to the unemployment office” (see the humor already?!) Basically, the book is her recounting of being a high-powered executive at the turn of the century and pretty much acting like a stuck-up bitch as a result of her fortune. Then, the whole economic crisis happened and she found herself without a job and thus having to skimp on all her normal essentials – including prada and (gasp) professional cuts and color!

Not only was the book laugh out loud funny, it was heartwarming (a tough feat to pull off considering she comes off as such a bitch in the beginning), and extremely resonating. I’m not going to lie, I grew up in a really wealthy town and my family took care of a lot for me (um, I got a brand new car when I was sixteen – thanks Grandpa!) But, thanks to my mom and dad’s determination to make my brother and I appreciate the value of a dollar (along with that new car I  was encouraged to get a job to pay for gas and to keep the car looking pretty). As much as I proclaimed my parents as “like, so unfair!” thank god for that! It is so easy to overindulge, especially when you’re used to it, but you also have to ground yourself otherwise things can spiral out of control.

One of my favorite parts of the book is after her unemployment checks run out, she goes through her closet and starts comparing her upscale items to utilities she could’ve paid for instead. Fortunately I’ve never been in fear of not making a payment on something, but I’m sure we can relate to going through our bills and expenses at the end of the month and wondering – hmm, did I really need those black wedges (and it’s ok if sometimes the answer is yes). But, in today’s economic world we should be thinking about what we can skimp on. I know I’ve made a serious effort to not get my nails done every month and to try and do them myself (and they aren’t half bad!) It ends up saving me close to $60/month which is close to $720 a year!

So, I gotta ask: What are your “must” items that you’d be better off giving up?

Pause Buttons and Haircuts

I love the start of the month. It’s like taking an eraser to a whiteboard – the residual marker dust is still there, but you essentially get to start clean. Last month was a difficult one for me (with some AMAZING things were sprinkled in!), but it made me have to pause and reevaluate things for better and worse. Since most of my readers are friends of mine, you no doubt know what I’m referring to, but for everyone else let me offer you this: if you have any doubts about a direction you’re going in life, it is so beneficial to PAUSE, re-evaluate some things, and make a new plan. Sometimes this pause is momentarily and I’m talking like ten seconds. Sometimes it can linger a little longer. Unfortunately, I’m in the little longer stage so I appreciate your kindness, patience, and support.

It's okay to take a break!

Anyway – maybe because of this new chapter (but mainly because I’m short, it’s getting ridiculously hot outside, and I’m sick of seeing long disgusting strands of hair in the shower), I’m cutting my hair. I think it’s the longest I’ve ever had it in my life, and truthfully it’s been awesome! My hair styling as of late has been shower, shampoo, apply product, and out the door I go (rinse, repeat). Cutting my hair is kind of a big deal to me. My darling dad has always been anti short hair – and anything shorter than grazing your backside he considers short (which is funny because my mom whom he loves dearly has NEVER had long hair!) I guess the marvelous thing about hair is it always grows back (and especially mine!), so I’m excited for the change!

Hopefully this entry marks my return to the blogosphere. And I promise, not all posts will be this personal! Have a lovely Wednesday and Happy June!