So you’re going to be a bride! Congratulations! I bet you’re giddy with excitement; the man of your dreams wants to be with you forever, all your friends are ecstatic for you and all the future in-laws are beaming with pride. If you are still so happy with life that you want to dance and sing all the time, my guess is that you haven’t entered the wedding planning stages yet. Once you set the date, the wedding planning starts – immediately.

If you are planning to have a large wedding you need to give yourself at least a year to pull everything together. Churches are usually booked for the next ten to eleven months; halls are booked twelve to eighteen months in advance. Then there are the ‘little’ things; getting the right wedding dress, bridesmaid dresses, invitations, the cake, favors, colors and flowers. You will quickly find that your budget (no matter how much you have) is not sufficient, so you will need to either ‘scale down’ or get more money!

Flowers are one of the wedding items that can be very expensive. Even if you live in an agricultural community that has its focus on flowers, you will still have to pay quite a bit for wedding flowers. For instance, if you are planning a ‘winter wedding’, I doubt that you want to walk down the aisle with a poinsettia for your bouquet! This means that you will have to pay (dearly) for out of season flowers.

Another much less expensive option is to get silk wedding flowers. Silk flowers are rapidly becoming the number one choice for weddings. They look real, they won’t wilt or fade, they are beautiful and they will last forever! You can order silk wedding flowers well in advance of the wedding and store them until the big day. Getting silk wedding flowers will ‘expand’ your budget while removing one of the more stressful aspects of wedding planning.

One thing for you to remember; once you take that first step down the aisle, all of the stress, bickering and sleepless nights are forgotten. This is your day; it will remain in your heart and your mind forever.

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I’m one of those lucky people that usually have a good experience with plants. In fact I have started a really nice container garden in my apartment so that I can enjoy some fresh vegetables this year.

Now I know I am one of the lucky ones and I really don’t recommend you waste your money on plants if they just keep dying. Using plants like indoor trees is a great way to add something to your space, but if they die that does not add any appeal either. That is why I love artificial trees and the good news is that todays artificial plants are not what they use to be. Now they really do look amazing and unless someone walks up to them to see if it’s real they would never know!

Now I know some people still think that having silk trees or other silk plants is just silly, but really research has shown that having plants real or silk in the home can make your mood improve. We once were after all outdoors and living in caves. another thing is that green goes with everything!

So please, if you do not have a green thumb but love the look of plants, don’t waste your money on something your going to throw out in a few months or weeks. Either because you forgot to water it or gave the poor plant too much water! Invest your money in a smart way, with silk plants that only require a bit of dusting, but will make your home feel and look wonderful.

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When it comes to a small business there are so many way to keep track of your income. I use a spreadsheet as I find its easier to manage my many endeavors. If I had a bigger income and did more I would probably want to get a very good bookkeeping software.

Now, most people would just assume that if you have a small business you should by an expensive accounting soft wear, but there are many available out there that could help you. One I have found that is made for small businesses. Outright.com is a very simple site to use that will help you consolidate your small business finances.

What I love most about Ourtright is that it works with Paypal, something I use for all of my blogging and some of my other businesses. Many accounting programs have a problem with Paypal and it makes it hard to use them. I also love that it shows what you need to be paying in estimated taxes. Something I normally don’t pay as I never know what to pay or do. This program makes it very easy and maybe next year I’ll get money back instead of having to pay in.

Check the program out for yourself, it’s really a very cool program and it’s free!

Disclosure: I was compensated for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own unless otherwise stated.

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I am really thinking about buying a home within the next 5 years or so. I am hoping to be in a place where I can buy a home and right now I’m taking some steps to do this. One I have opened a savings account and am hoping to be able to add a little money here and there to it so I can save money for a down payment. I’ve also been looking at helpful websites like Aurora loans to get advice and ideas on how to save and get that home I want.

Another thing I am doing is looking at and following the housing markets in areas I would like to live in. It’s always good to know what areas are increasing in growth and what areas are declining over time. Maybe an area with good school a few years ago, doesn’t have great schools now. Maybe the value of the homes in your perfect neighborhood went from increasing in value to decreasing due to homes going into foreclosure. Maybe you want that foreclosed home to make a profit down the road and you can get approved for a great mortgage just for that type of home.

For me I would love to buy homes I need to fix up, but at the same time home in a good area is a big need for me to as I would be living by myself. For me though my perfect home would still need a little work, would have at least three bedrooms and a nice yard for a flower and vegetable garden. I think the reason I have decided to start saving now is that I’m in an apartment and I can’t have a garden. I love to garden!

What about you? Are you looking for a home or did you just buy one. Share your experience.

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I have moved a lot in my lifetime and I know I will be moving again sometime soon, but not too soon I hope as I just moved a few months ago. One thing I have to say I hate most about moving is packing. It’s annoying trying to find all of those boxes to put things in. You also have to make sure that everything you pack is actually things you want to take with you. This is made more difficult by people helping you pack. This is why I usually try to pack by myself.

Another fun part of moving involves furniture. Shipping furniture can be a hassle if you don’t know what your doing or at least do some research. I moved everything with some friends so for me my move was actually easy as I have done this every time I moved, but others I have known have used shipping services that left them with less then happy results, though most people have had good experiences. I have had to ship furniture to other people and I have found that with a little research you can really find a good deal and quality service.

How do you move? Do you pack and haul it yourself using your own or friends vehicles? Do you rent a truck or hire people to move you?

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Guest post written by Kimber Staton

As soon as one of my best friends from college moved to New York City, I threatened to visit her all the time. Well, plane tickets are expensive so I haven’t exactly been visiting her every month or anything, but I decided a few months ago that I would schedule my first visit to her around Fashion’s Night Out. I thought it would be a really great way to experience the fashion side of the city and also get some free swag. There were also tons of celebrities and designers out then too.

I did so much research with my Clear Dallas on all of the events going around NYC on Thursday night that my friend didn’t have to do hardly any work for it. Besides, I knew what she would be interested in doing.

We went to this one Fashion’s Night Out party where you could get your hair braided for free with ManRepeller, who’s this hilarious fashion blogger that I always follow anyway. Granted, I didn’t get to talk to her but it was so neat seeing her!

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You know there is a huge market for homes out there and if you have the credit or the time you can find a great home for a very small amount of cash. Maybe you want a great deal on Hawaii Real Estate, look online and see whats out there. Maybe you will find the home of your dreams at a price you can’t pass up.

If you live in my state, Michigan you can find homes for $1,000 if you can pay cash. A friend of mine just bought a $100,000 home for about $25,000. It’s in a nice area and it’s a short drive from great shopping and restaurants. Everyone talks about how hard the market is and that no one is buying, but think about this. about 85% of the population is employed. If you fall into this group and your credit is not too bad and you looking into a new home, now is the time to do some research and buy. That will help us to get out of this mess, not wealthy people, but average people looking for a good deal.

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Shopping smart is not always about finding the best deals, steals and discounts, but keeping your credit and identity safe from people who would make it harder for you to enjoy your shopping, that is why I have been looking at IdentityHawk a company that will help you make sure that your identity is safe and if it’s not give you advice on fixing it.

I know many of you are thinking this will never happen to me and more then likely it will not, but think about something, how many times have you lost your purse, wallet or anything containing identification? Do you carry around your social security card? Do you even know where it is? I thought about it and I’m not even sure where my card is sitting, though I have an idea of where it is and plan on looking for it, but I never carry it anywhere with me.

Identity theft is a huge problem right now as the economy struggles to get better and people become more desperate to get things they want. I do recommend you look at identity theft protection and find a plan and company that works for you and your needs. It’s the best way to make sure that you stay safe, keep your belongings, home and sanity and be able to continue shopping for years and years to come.

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Nowadays everyone knows there is a credit crunch, but if you know your credit score and know how to get a good deal you may just find that the credit market will open up for you. Now I’m not talking about getting credit cards, but home loans, car loans and business loans. I check my credit report and credit score every month and subscribe to a service so that I know what my score looks like. Though mine is not a great score I do know how I can improve it to make it a better score and get better deals when I go to buy a home or a new car.

Did you know you can get a free credit report and a free credit score online? You just have to know where to look. It’s always a great idea to search around for a credit score company that fits your needs and wants. I have used a few sites before I found one I liked.

Now I’m working on building my score back up so that I can save money on future purchases. It can be a long hard road to good credit if you messed up in the past or lost your job, but it is possible and maybe you and I can get back on track.

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Sometimes you just want to be able to get away from it all, but you also still need to feel secure that is why many people who spend money on home entertainment and electronics also tend to spend money on home security as well.

Having a large TV and a stereo system is really an invitation for someone to break into your home, many people though do keep their shades drawn and watch what they do, but maybe your worried enough about it to buy a home security system. Sites like home security chateau allow you to see what kind of security you can get with ADT and how much you will pay. These type of sites can be helpful as it makes it easy to compare packages within a company or within a few companies.

Of course if your into entertainment I hope you have checked out http://www.localtv-satellite.com that can also help you get a great deal on Direct TV. The point of all of this is that you can find some great deals on things for you home if you just look around for it. The internet is full of great deals and steals for anyone who will look for them.

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