Bring your lunch to work and loose weight!

This is a simple idea yet seriously good for your budget! Taking into account a few weeks of vacations if you eat out everyday for lunch at work at $6 a meal then you will end up spending around $1,500 a year! This doesn't even include that daily soda or coffee habit. That is a lot of money you could be setting aside for emergency fund or investing. The other bonus is if you plan ahead you or much more likely to make healthier choices and your waist or rear will also benefit! So, with at that said packing a lunch is good for you!

 Sandwiches galore!   I am a huge fan of the sandwich as you can stuff a ton of your favorite ingredients between two pieces of bread and slather on your favorite sauces from pesto, olive tapenade or a delicious aioli and you have lunch. I also love that Any meat or vegetable that prefers will work. Some of my favorite sandwiches are creations created by one of my favorite cafes: Pillow Cafe, Brooklyn NY. There secret is definitely the sauces and just by adding pesto or olive tapenade their creations become phenomenal.

hummus sandwich: Homemade hummus served on toasted multi-grain bread & topped with olive tapenade, avocado, tomatoes, cucumber & mixed greens
 

Salads!   This is much the same idea as the sandwich and you should pack in as many of your favorite vegetables, meats and cheeses as you like in order to keep it interesting. Experiment with salad dressings or rotate a few of your favorites. Don't forget about chicken, egg and tuna salads!



One of my favorites because of its simplicity and it's tastiness is a pesto pasta salad made of pasta, pesto, pine nuts, and black or kalamata olives.

protein salad (also from Pillow Cafe) Mixed greens, tuna, avocado, tomatoes, capers sliced egg, onion & tomatoes with a citrus vinaigrette dressing.

 

Snacks!  Protein bars (make sure they are low in sugar), mozzarella sticks, mixed nuts, seed mixes (buy in bulk and make your own mixture) and homemade air popped popcorn with a dash of salt all make delicious afternoon snacks to tide you over. 

Bring a container for water and viola you have saved yourself a ton of money and eaten a healthy lunch.

Excercise is free! (or really cheap)

It is amazing that we have all been raised with the notion that to be able to get into shape we have to join a gym. This means shelling out real dough every month. I too have fallen for this notion and spent hundreds of dollars on a gym. Here are some great and mostly free alternatives to the gym.

Go for a run! Running is free and a fantastically healthy way to get your heart rate going and build lean muscle. I find that running in the morning is the best way to insure I stick to a routing. All you need is 30 minutes four to five days a week and you will be in fantastic shape and you won't have spent a penny (unless you need new running shoes of course). You will also save lots of time by not having to drive to and from the gym. Additionally, getting out in nature or at least outside can be much more refreshing than staring at a bunch of TVs, while running in place and trying to ignore the person next to you.

  

Hiking!  If you live anywhere with open space or large parks then a  super fun way to get some excercise is to grab a friend and go for a hike. This can also be a an opportunity to catch up with a friend and as you work on your gams. Time can fly while gabbing with a girlfriend and you will find you have just spent over an hour exercising!

Bike Ride!  This can be a great way to stay in shape on the cheap and a bonus is that you will also save money on gas. You can buy a decent bike off of craigslist or at a local garage sale for under the price of just one month at the gym. I recommend attaching a basket so that you can get your weekly exercise while running small errands such as picking up milk, going to the post office, meeting friends for brunch. etc. Riding a bike is such a fun way to get in shape and make even small outings an adventure!

*If weather doesn't permit outside activities because it's either blazing hot or super frigid then you can by a health magazine such as "In Shape" or go online and find a strength training routine. Or you can splurge and for $20 or so dollars you can get a great strength training DVD such as Pilates. Amazon has them used for even less.

Hair coloring

Before I get into it I must admit that because I am a brunette this posting is going to be biased...

I find that brunettes can get away with an all over color or a "single process". And for those of us that are graying we have to keep up the coloring at least every eight weeks or so just to keep the darn gray at bay. Having your hair colored in a salon every 8-12 weeks gets very expensive and would blow many of our budgets. The solution dye your hair at home! With the right product and tools it can look almost as good as a super fancy salon. I have tried out many of the available products available at local pharmacy's and all though I have been disappointed a few times my persistence has paid off and I have saved a ton of money while still getting great results. Here are some of my helpful hints for dying your hair at home!

1. Look for ammonia free and peroxide free brands as this is what turns brunettes "brassy".
2. Stick with the "C" (cool) coded colors if you are trying to steer away from that brassy/red color or that "she obviously dyed her hair at home" look.
3. Choose a shade one step down from what you want. The color always seems to come out darker than it says it will.
4. If you have gray hair even just a little leave it on for the longer amount of suggested time. (Gray hair is stubborn)!
   
5. I also have an inexpensive comb that I use to brush the hair color through my hair so that it gets spread evenly.

*My favorite (so far) is Clairol-natural instincts brass free 5C.

Tights & Leggings

As far as leggings or tights go any girl living in an area that gets blustery in the winter knows that they are an important part of our wardrobe. They are expensive though and usually last one season or till something snags them (tree, friends cig etc.). They also show their wear and tear with those darn balls. A few ideas is to make the most out of them.

1. turn them inside out. The inside usually shows very little wear and those darn balls are usually non existent.

2. cut off the feet and you have a great transitional pair of leggings to wear during the spring and fall months with your favorite pair of heels.

*also leggings and tights are meant to be hand washed just as are grandmothers did. to get that authentic vintage feel to the scenario one should hand wash these in a bathtub wearing a silk slip listening to jazz with curlers in your hair.