Wednesday, July 13, 2011
"That's so ______!"
Some have used the phrase "That's so gay" intending for the word "gay" to mean "dumb", "stupid" or anything derogatory when one dislikes or is critical about something or someone. But just like comedienne Wanda Sykes says in this ad, it's insulting!
Have you used this phrase before? Have you called something "gay" when you really meant it was dumb, stupid, or anything like that? If you have said this phrase, why did you? Peer pressure? Homophobia? Is everything stupid "gay"?
If we apply the current mainstream definition of "gay" to the little chef statue mocked in this ad, then I'm curious: What is so homosexual about the statue?
If we apply the original definition of "gay" to the statue, then I can agree that the statue appears happy...ecstatic even.
Here are other ways this phrase can be used:
"That's so blond."
"That's so jock."
"That's so nerdy."
They sound ridiculous, don't they? And the list of substitution possibilities becomes endless.
So really, why use that word? What does it accomplish? It helps desensitize the majority from a minority's real plight.
When you speak this way, do you realize what you say? Do you realize whom you're hurting?
Knock it off.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
My spending fast...6 months later
Do you make resolutions each year? Most...well...some people do. The bigger question is, how disciplined are you to actually follow through with it? That's the whole point of a New Year's resolution. You resolve to change, start, or stop a behavior or activity. Whatever it might be, our culture temporarily glorifies resolutions.
Common resolutions are health related.
Speaking for myself, I'm 29, and I can't remember the last resolution I made. If I did make one in years past, I'm sure I didn't keep it. This year, though, is different. I made a resolution, and I've forced myself to keep it. My resolution was to go on a spending fast.
It all started with following my financial institution - Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union - on Twitter (@RBFCU). The very kind and informative RBFCU rep who tweets for them posted a tweet about a woman who went on a "spending fast" where she spent the entire year buying only necessities. She denied herself outings to the movies, cable TV, eating out, and other wants. By the end of the year, she had saved herself thousands of dollars, and tremendously reduced her consumer debt.
That inspired me to do the same thing. It is VERY easy for me to justify frivolous purchases. I'm a teacher, and if my teaching pay didn't last me the entire month, I'd end up charging all kinds of things. My credit card debt is higher than it's ever been. Right now the best part of it is that I can still pay my monthly card payments.
So, as inspired as I was about that other lady going on her spending fast, I resolved to do the same. I pay 5 regular bills each month:
-mortgage
-car
-student loan
-cell phone
-credit card
The money left over is for gas and groceries (primarily), and other necessities that may arise, like car maintenance, etc.
But my fasting hasn't stopped there. I've gone a step further and have tried to limit how much I drive. If there's a trip I really don't need to take, I shouldn't go. The more I drive, the more gas I use. The more gas I use, the more frequently I have to fill up. The more frequently I fill up, the less money I have to last me through the month. The less money I have, the more my chances increase of having to use the credit card which increases my debt which defeats the very purpose of this resolution! I've extremely restricted myself in eating out, especially fast food. The only time I'll do it is if I NEED to eat something, and I have no time to stop at a grocery store, or go home to eat. That's happened maybe 2-5 times. I don't really know. I haven't kept count.
So.
It's now July 6th. Being a teacher, I'm on summer vacation. I'm spending a LOT of time at home maintaining the house and yards, taking care of our dogs, watching Ellen Show reruns, watching Whoopi, Joy, Sherri, Elisabeth, and Barbara share their opinions on The View, and refreshing Twitter and Facebook constantly. Oh, and blogging. Yes, I'm reading, too. A little.
Honestly, it's been a day-by-day event. I have no way of calculating how much money I've saved through this spending fast, but I can tell you this much: I've missed 3 concerts I really, REALLY wanted to go to (Michael Bublé, Katy Perry, and Lady Gaga), I've refrained from buying movies, music (especially all the new Glee albums, Katy Perry's and Lady Gaga's new albums, and several other things). It's not fun, like, at all. I've had to tell myself "no" many times this year, and it's not over yet. In fact, I'm thinking of extending the fast into next year, too.
There were 2 credit cards on which I owed BIG balances, and in an attempt to save money on interest, I've transferred BOTH balances to another card with a high enough limit that also had a balance transfer promotion at 0% APR until March 2012.
This fast is literally one financial decision after another.
So, I'm now more than 6 months into this resolution. I don't know how much money I've saved, but I have to keep going. I'm intent upon keeping my resolution.
The most exciting thing is that next summer my car will be paid off. Once it is, I'll use that money to pay off other debts.
One thing's for sure: Christmas is probably gonna suck this year.
*sigh* I've come this far disciplining myself financially this year. Six more months to go.
Common resolutions are health related.
Speaking for myself, I'm 29, and I can't remember the last resolution I made. If I did make one in years past, I'm sure I didn't keep it. This year, though, is different. I made a resolution, and I've forced myself to keep it. My resolution was to go on a spending fast.
It all started with following my financial institution - Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union - on Twitter (@RBFCU). The very kind and informative RBFCU rep who tweets for them posted a tweet about a woman who went on a "spending fast" where she spent the entire year buying only necessities. She denied herself outings to the movies, cable TV, eating out, and other wants. By the end of the year, she had saved herself thousands of dollars, and tremendously reduced her consumer debt.
That inspired me to do the same thing. It is VERY easy for me to justify frivolous purchases. I'm a teacher, and if my teaching pay didn't last me the entire month, I'd end up charging all kinds of things. My credit card debt is higher than it's ever been. Right now the best part of it is that I can still pay my monthly card payments.
So, as inspired as I was about that other lady going on her spending fast, I resolved to do the same. I pay 5 regular bills each month:
-mortgage
-car
-student loan
-cell phone
-credit card
The money left over is for gas and groceries (primarily), and other necessities that may arise, like car maintenance, etc.
But my fasting hasn't stopped there. I've gone a step further and have tried to limit how much I drive. If there's a trip I really don't need to take, I shouldn't go. The more I drive, the more gas I use. The more gas I use, the more frequently I have to fill up. The more frequently I fill up, the less money I have to last me through the month. The less money I have, the more my chances increase of having to use the credit card which increases my debt which defeats the very purpose of this resolution! I've extremely restricted myself in eating out, especially fast food. The only time I'll do it is if I NEED to eat something, and I have no time to stop at a grocery store, or go home to eat. That's happened maybe 2-5 times. I don't really know. I haven't kept count.
So.
It's now July 6th. Being a teacher, I'm on summer vacation. I'm spending a LOT of time at home maintaining the house and yards, taking care of our dogs, watching Ellen Show reruns, watching Whoopi, Joy, Sherri, Elisabeth, and Barbara share their opinions on The View, and refreshing Twitter and Facebook constantly. Oh, and blogging. Yes, I'm reading, too. A little.
Honestly, it's been a day-by-day event. I have no way of calculating how much money I've saved through this spending fast, but I can tell you this much: I've missed 3 concerts I really, REALLY wanted to go to (Michael Bublé, Katy Perry, and Lady Gaga), I've refrained from buying movies, music (especially all the new Glee albums, Katy Perry's and Lady Gaga's new albums, and several other things). It's not fun, like, at all. I've had to tell myself "no" many times this year, and it's not over yet. In fact, I'm thinking of extending the fast into next year, too.
There were 2 credit cards on which I owed BIG balances, and in an attempt to save money on interest, I've transferred BOTH balances to another card with a high enough limit that also had a balance transfer promotion at 0% APR until March 2012.
This fast is literally one financial decision after another.
So, I'm now more than 6 months into this resolution. I don't know how much money I've saved, but I have to keep going. I'm intent upon keeping my resolution.
The most exciting thing is that next summer my car will be paid off. Once it is, I'll use that money to pay off other debts.
One thing's for sure: Christmas is probably gonna suck this year.
*sigh* I've come this far disciplining myself financially this year. Six more months to go.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Shut up and do it!
We all have our inner demons. One of mine is following through with plans I come up with. In my case, I struggle most with having a goal in mind, having done all the prep work to make it happen, and then all that's left is the leg work to achieve the goal. And that is where laziness sets in and takes over.
For instance, as of May 2010-June 2011, I was an Independent Beauty Consultant for Mary Kay cosmetics. I had signed up to be one because a very good friend of mine has been selling MK products and making a killing. She was frequently informing me about how much money she had made, and went on and on about all the successes she was having with her business. She's been with MK for over 3 years, and naturally, has built a decent clientelle.
Attracted to the opportunity in making extra money, I very curiously and open-mindedly signed up to sell what I still believe are among the highest quality cosmetics and skin care products available (for women and men). The most ideal way to make the money is to hold skin care classes. These are "parties" and you get a hostess to host the party (class) in her home. The guests attend, and they get a free facial with high quality products, and pretty much get to give themselves a make over with all the samples available. Hopefully, one of the attendees will want to host a party as well and invite more friends, and the growth of the business blossoms from there.
When it comes to sales, I'm very shy. I don't like convincing people to buy things. I think the problem I have with doing that is that I'm a marketer's dream client; I'm easily sold. I don't know how to say "no" very easily when being sold something, so consequently, I want to make it easy for a customer to tell me "no". It was my hope that I'd tell people I sold MK products, I'd give out cards, and send them catalogs, and the orders would come in just like that.
I was wrong.
It didn't work that way for me. So, I had an idea...buy a bunch of business cards, and walk around my neighborhood placing them in door hinges. This way, when neighbors would get home, they'd see the card, get interested, and a party would be setup for hosting where I could make some money.
What did I do instead? I bought the cards, and kept telling myself, "I'll go on such-and-such-day, distribute cards, and just wait for e-mails for phone calls from prospective customers." Yeah, that never happened. I got lazy, I got shy, and so nothing ever came of it. The cards ended up sitting in their little stack on my desk in my room.
All that being said, I no longer work for Mary Kay. I don't think I'm the type of person suited for direct sales.
I'm facing a similar internal predicament with piano lessons. Frank helped me put together my ad for lessons. It lists my credentials well, including my Bachelor and Master's degrees, my Kodály certification, my years of piano experience, etc. I even went to a local music store and bought 4 lesson books: 2 for kids, and 2 for adults. All I need to do now is make copies of the flier, distribute them, and start scheduling lessons with interested prospective students.
I feel like, aside from the basic leg work I have to do in promoting the lessons, my only concern is that if parents want their kid to perform in a recital, where would the recital be? I have no clue, right now. My initial guess would be in a local school. Frank has even suggested I contact the schools that are close by to see if the music directors know of any students who want lessons, and that way I can start building my studio that way, by networking with the local music teachers. Have I done that?
No.
Why not?
Because I'm...scared?
Shy?
Embarassed?
I just need to put my money where my mouth is to accomplish my goals. It's the biggest hurdle I need to jump. I need to stop talking about plans if I have no intention of putting them into action. I am my own worst enemy.
For instance, as of May 2010-June 2011, I was an Independent Beauty Consultant for Mary Kay cosmetics. I had signed up to be one because a very good friend of mine has been selling MK products and making a killing. She was frequently informing me about how much money she had made, and went on and on about all the successes she was having with her business. She's been with MK for over 3 years, and naturally, has built a decent clientelle.
Attracted to the opportunity in making extra money, I very curiously and open-mindedly signed up to sell what I still believe are among the highest quality cosmetics and skin care products available (for women and men). The most ideal way to make the money is to hold skin care classes. These are "parties" and you get a hostess to host the party (class) in her home. The guests attend, and they get a free facial with high quality products, and pretty much get to give themselves a make over with all the samples available. Hopefully, one of the attendees will want to host a party as well and invite more friends, and the growth of the business blossoms from there.
When it comes to sales, I'm very shy. I don't like convincing people to buy things. I think the problem I have with doing that is that I'm a marketer's dream client; I'm easily sold. I don't know how to say "no" very easily when being sold something, so consequently, I want to make it easy for a customer to tell me "no". It was my hope that I'd tell people I sold MK products, I'd give out cards, and send them catalogs, and the orders would come in just like that.
I was wrong.
It didn't work that way for me. So, I had an idea...buy a bunch of business cards, and walk around my neighborhood placing them in door hinges. This way, when neighbors would get home, they'd see the card, get interested, and a party would be setup for hosting where I could make some money.
What did I do instead? I bought the cards, and kept telling myself, "I'll go on such-and-such-day, distribute cards, and just wait for e-mails for phone calls from prospective customers." Yeah, that never happened. I got lazy, I got shy, and so nothing ever came of it. The cards ended up sitting in their little stack on my desk in my room.
All that being said, I no longer work for Mary Kay. I don't think I'm the type of person suited for direct sales.
I'm facing a similar internal predicament with piano lessons. Frank helped me put together my ad for lessons. It lists my credentials well, including my Bachelor and Master's degrees, my Kodály certification, my years of piano experience, etc. I even went to a local music store and bought 4 lesson books: 2 for kids, and 2 for adults. All I need to do now is make copies of the flier, distribute them, and start scheduling lessons with interested prospective students.
I feel like, aside from the basic leg work I have to do in promoting the lessons, my only concern is that if parents want their kid to perform in a recital, where would the recital be? I have no clue, right now. My initial guess would be in a local school. Frank has even suggested I contact the schools that are close by to see if the music directors know of any students who want lessons, and that way I can start building my studio that way, by networking with the local music teachers. Have I done that?
No.
Why not?
Because I'm...scared?
Shy?
Embarassed?
I just need to put my money where my mouth is to accomplish my goals. It's the biggest hurdle I need to jump. I need to stop talking about plans if I have no intention of putting them into action. I am my own worst enemy.
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