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Monthly Archives: February 2012

OMG! Laugh With Me Moment #2: Grandma is a Hustler

Posted on February 29, 2012 by takemyfoolishadvice

I was leaving my house to run errands yesterday when I see an elderly women standing on the corner trying to get my attention. There also happen to be a rush of ambulances and police cars racing in her direction. I quickly thought that she was in need of medical attention.  I was wrong. They passed her location and she was still trying to get my attention.

I pulled up alongside her and she was hot and sweaty. She explained that her car broke down and she called a taxi but it never arrived. She asked if I could give her a ride to Wal-mart for $10 bucks. I agreed. She climbed in and we shared pleasantries and small talk. I mentioned to her that “God was good because I happened to be on my way to Wal-mart.” She smiled. Shortly before our arrival the skies opened up and it began to rain.

I pulled up to Wal-mart and she asked to get out of the car while I parked. Before I could even stop she jumped out of the passenger seat never to be seen again. She took off with the $10 she promised me like I was going to rob her. LMBO. This lady was like in her mid to late 50’s or early 60’s. I was like… “What in carnation?…. Lady you are too old to be trying to hustle people!!!”  LMBO. Crazy part is she said she had lung cancer. I’ve never seen someone with cancer move that fast. Silly rabbit, tricks are for kids! Crazy old lady, I wasn’t going to even take the money.

You want to hear something even crazier. After she jumped out the way she did I could hear Jay-Z voice in my head saying “Imma hustla, Imma Imma hustla homie.” LOL

Beloved,

AWalk

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Dating Deal Breakers

Posted on February 28, 2012 by takemyfoolishadvice

So I wanted to share details of a dinner conversation I had with a close friend of mine and her boyfriend who sometimes refer to himself as a “relationship guru”. Even though we talked about a slew of other topics, the most entertaining was dating deal breakers for 2012. Now for those of you who don’t know I am single and NOT ready to mingle but I was curious to see if my perceptions about dating were still valid for the times. I have been referred to as an old lady by close male and female friends so I put myself to the test.  I personally think people are more judgmental then they have ever been. But I understand they have a lot more to lose. How man and women even make it to the “boyfriend/girlfriend” stage and beyond is interesting to me to say the least. Below is a short list of deal breakers that we had a good laugh over. They apply to both sexes!

Deal Breaker: Unemployment, YES
Reason why: You don’t have to have a 9-5 but having a steady and consistent flow of income is required with the exception of pyramid schemes. LOL

Deal Breaker: Having a child(ren), YES and NO
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Money Lesson #3 Plan when you’re BROKE!

Posted on February 14, 2012 by takemyfoolishadvice
Money

Use your tax return to fund a side hustle!

One of the key concepts to planned spending is planning! The “when” in when you plan is equally important. I often hear people say “I can’t make plans for such and such because I don’t have any money.” Noooooo that couldn’t be more false. Plan when you’re BROKE!

If cash is low to nonexistent right now, it’s the perfect time to develop a plan of how you will spend your money ONCE you have it. There is something very sobering about considering the things you absolute need when you can’t afford to buy them. Suddenly you become more focused and realistic about your needs vs. your wants, and most importantly the meaning of the value of a dollar changes. Might I also add that when you take a planned spending approach you are less likely to spend wastefully when you do have disposable income and more likely to save and make sound investments.

So let’s get started. I want you to grab a sheet of paper and begin your planned spending approach today… now… this very moment!

  1. Fold an 8.5×11 sheet of paper in half vertically.
  2. On the left hand side create a list of all the things you absolutely need for the next year, no matter how trivial or small.
  3. On the right hand side create a list of all the things that you want to have for the next year.
  4. Once you have everything written down go back and assign a cost to each thing on the list and a location where you can obtain the item, try to be as exact as possible.
  5. Now realistically look at everything in your “need” column and ask yourself, “How am I functioning without this item right now?” If you have been able to get by fairly easily without this item then move it over to the wants column.
  6. You are almost done. Now you have a complete realistic list with financial and time expectations assigned.
  7. Let’s wrap it up by creating short term on ways we’re going to fund your planned spending initiative. Here’s a tip, you may want to use your tax return as funding. Check out this idea in more detail here.

#takemyfoolishadvice I have been practicing planned spending for years. This type of documented financial journey has helped me make financially wise choices as well as identify decisions that lead to huge loses.

Beloved,

AWalk

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Posted in Girlfriend Chat, Money Lessons, The Parenting Village, Uncategorized and tagged , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Tax Return = Side Hustle Funding

Posted on February 13, 2012 by takemyfoolishadvice
English: Suze Orman addressing a Senate Committee.
Image via Wikipedia

So a few TMFA readers asked what they should do with their tax return this year. If you recall I gave some investment suggestions here and here but I wanted to follow-up with a few more ideas on a smaller scale. As most of you know I am a strong advocate of planned spending and investing. If the government can invest your money all year long to make a profit then you should do the same to build your own wealth.

Suze Orman recently addressed the financial state of the USA economy on the Piers Morgan show. There were a few things she said that I took note of but one piece of advice in particular resonated with me. She said that in order for the United States to rebound from this recession more individuals would have to become entrepreneurs and create their own job and jobs for others. WOW!

CALLING ALL ENTREPRENEURS: If there was every a time in history to hit the ground running and get your business, it’s now!

With that being said, #takemyfoolishadvice and use your tax return to fund your side business until it can become your full-time business. Apply these simple rules: 1) Develop a solid game plan for your business to turn a profit and recoup your initial investment in the immediate future. 2) Allocate a maximum of $500 to your business start-up cost and not a penny more. 3) If you can’t fully fund your side business with $500 then move on to something else. Remember this is just a side hustle with the sole purpose of creating additional income not a new financial burden.  4) Be fully committed to putting in the work required to turn a profit and be successful.

Side business ideas: Baby sitting, enjoy cooking? start hosting classes or catering for small social events. Love to workout? Become a personal fitness coach. The key is figuring out a way to let your talent/skill produce an income.

Another planned spending investment opportunity is having your vehicle serviced. Throughout the year major car repairs can be very costly and temptingly avoidable once minor repairs are made. But your vehicle IS also your money-maker. It allows you to get to and from that job or job interview, you need it. Furthermore you’re shelling out money on a car note, car insurance, annual registration, and high priced gas. #takemyfoolishadvice get your car serviced and fixed. Take care of problems now while the funds are available and before they become unmanageable. Think about the cost of losing your reliable mode of transportation AND having to buy/lease a new vehicle.

Remember the goal is wealth building not just savings. Let me know what you decided to do with your tax return in the comment section below.

Beloved,

AWalk

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Posted in Girlfriend Chat, Money Lessons, Professional Advice, The Parenting Village, Uncategorized and tagged , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Featured: Meet Andre & Coline Harriott

Posted on February 7, 2012 by takemyfoolishadvice
Andre & Coline Harriott

To kick off the new “Featured” series on takemyfoolishadvice I turned to two amazing young professionals that have an even more amazing story to tell. Meet one of my favorite young, black and married couple; Andre and Coline Harriott. These two brought the fairytale, boy meets girl… girl falls in love with boy… boy marries girl, to life. Andre and Coline met on the campus of Florida International University when they decided to pledge the brother and sister organization Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc. and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc.

At first Coline’s rough exterior kept Andre at bay. Back then as a college sophomore I encouraged Andre to #takemyfoolishadvice and snitched on everything I knew about Coline. I knew Coline was really intrigued by Andre and once she let her fully equipped military covert operations special forces guard down, she wouldn’t regret giving him a chance. Once the cat was out, Coline was caught up in love. The two married in beautiful Miami in June 2008. On their honeymoon to the captivating country of Ethiopia Andre and Coline were in enthralled with an experience of a lifetime and felt a vibrant connection to the land, its people, and a mission.

The happy couple on their wedding day.

 This New Year marked a lot more than New Year’s Resolutions in the Harriott household. Andre and Coline packed up all their belongings, kissed their family and friends goodbye, left their respective jobs in the construction management and healthcare industry to be missionaries in AFRICA. Check out my exciting interview with the couple and why you will be inspired to do more with your life below.
The Harriott’s leaving for Africa Jan. 2012

Meet Andre & Coline Harriott
February 2012

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How to teach your child about God

Posted on February 2, 2012 by takemyfoolishadvice

As my son got older I struggled with creating different ways to teach him about God. I didn’t just want to teach him but rather show him how to develop and nurture a spiritual relationship with Jesus. I started off with prayer, which we know is the single most important form of spiritual communication with Christ. I would encourage him to not only pray but to speak and give praise during his daily communion with the Lord. As he has grown I feel that the seasons are changing. About a year or two ago I introduced animated videos depicting amazing stories of the Bible. Now that he’s an avid reader we watch those videos and compare them to the literal stories in the Bible to identify differences and variations. This shift in teaching has been monumental, it’s a higher level of learning.

Prayer is a lifeline, that's the least you can teach them.

My son is engaged because it’s an animated film depicting a complex story in laymen terms. Now he’s able to take what he’s seen and put it into proper contexts when reading the Word. He is also learning to test biblical tools against the Word, the main source, to identify discrepancy. The Bible teaches us that in the end days there will be false prophets and false doctrines so it is vital for His people to know and understand the Word.

As a parent I do feel pressure at times to be a positive spiritual role model as well as teacher. I also want to be the type of parent that is a “doer” of the word, not just speak of it. Jacob knew who God was solely because of his father. He didn’t have a Bible like us; he had a parent that knew, trusted, and loved Christ. From that relationship alone Jacob knew that he should create and maintain the same type of relationship. That is what I want for my son.

#takemyfoolishadvice it’s never too late to teach your child about Christ and if you don’t know where to start, start with prayer. Then escalate to reading famous stories from the Bible and when you child is ready, encourage them to interpret what they understood from their lesson. This could be a reenactment through a short dramatization, a drawing/painting, or a story in their own words.  The most important thing is to simply start.  

Beloved,

 

AWalk

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Posted in God Given Purpose, Kids, The Parenting Village, Uncategorized and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.
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