The Frugal Files: Springing Ahead in our Budgets

Hey frugal folks!! It's March!!

We've seen snow, but it's almost time to Spring ahead in the time change, so we should get ready for Spring and make a financial change too!! Are you on track with your initial goals for 2012? We're at the end of the first quarter, so if you're off the path, it's a great time to saddle back up to finish this period. It's almost time for the next few goals.

I've been learning about couponing and getting FREE items!! However, I still haven't gotten a grasp on teaching it locally or getting my church's pantry fully stocked. I am creating a specific goal plan and putting it in place this month. See, we all have work to do.

For March, I thought we'd focus on Spring cleaning, so topics will include budgeting, credit reports, paying off debt. Don't worry, I'll still be blogging about couponing on my personal blog at Frugalicious Diva Then, in April, Belle Noir has a surprise in store for you, so stay tuned!!

If you've been following this blog weekly, then you know I've always thrown around the "B" word. You know, BUDGET!! What did you think? LOL Anyway, if you were reading then you know it's not a word to be feared and it's not a word meant to deprive us of what we want out of life. It's an assistant of sorts. It helps to guide us around as we maneuver our money. Sometimes it says we can't have everything at once, but it allows for us to have what we want with just a little creativity, patience and compromise.

I realized I always talked about creating a budget for ourselves, but never really expounded on how to take on such a task. Over the years, I have met with individuals looking to get their money in check. I personalized budget sheets and guided them through the physical and emotional process of using what they have and sticking to their budget. So, let's begin this class. I'll begin by describing the type of budget sheet I personally use. It's easy and I have committed to using it. I've tracked my spending since 2006, so it's safe to say, I know where my money is and where it's going.

The simple rules are write down your goals, everything you earn and everything you spend. My budget sheet is two sided. The first side is the Projected Monthly Budget side and requires a little bit of prep work on your part. It may be a little difficult the first 1-2 months, but it will get easier as you continue, if you're committed. This side is broken up into four boxes:

#1: Expected Income

Here you list what you anticipate earning or receiving for the month. There's a space for your Current Balance, so you'll know the amount with which you're starting off the month. Then there's other spaces for Employment, Business Income (if applicable) and two other "streams" of income. These can be spaces for gifts, another business, sales, etc. The Frugalicious Diva is about wealth, so multiple streams of income is a must!!

#2: Fixed Income

This area is for your Housing and Debt amount you expect to pay this month, including categories such as Rent/Mortgage, Utilities, Phones, Credit Cards, Car Maintenance/Insurance, Layaways and Auto draft savings plans like Mutual or Emergency Funds. Whatever applies to your household that you MUST pay monthly will go here. For those of you who pay tithes at church, this is where that category goes.

#3: Variable Expenses

These are expenses you may or may not have every month, but if you do, the amount vary based on your needs for the items. Here is where you'll place items like Groceries, Dining Out (which should be separated), Clothing, Gas for your Car, Toiletries and Entertainment. In light of our couponing efforts, the amount we spend for groceries/food should decrease since we're getting items for less and cooking more, as we have food at home. There are usually "Other" boxes for extras. In those months you know there are birthdays, you're taking a trip or attending a special function, you can budget your amount here.

#4: Totals

Total Expected Income (#1) - Total Payments (#2 + #3) = Ending Balance

If your ending balance is over $100, then adjust your payments. Perhaps you can save more or, better yet, pay more on one of your debts. My advice is to leave about $50 in the Ending Balance box, just in case of incidentals. If there are none and you stick with your budget, you can carry that amount over to the next month. Again, if there's extra, consider paying off more debt next month.

The back is the Actual Budget; where the rubber meets the road. This is what you ACTUALLY spend and every category from the front is on the back, waiting to be filled in. At the end of the month, tabulate the amounts across and down; the ending numbers should match. The result is your Actual Total Saved/Lost. After evaluating your budget sheet, go back to the Projected side #4 and in the Comments, write how you can improve for next month.

See, it's not bad at all. You can find a slew of budget sheets online, but I would love to share mine with you. if you want a copy of it, feel free to email me at FrugaliciousDiva@yahoo.com. I can also be reached on Facebook: Frugalicious Diva and be sure to connect with me on Twitter at @FrugaliciousDva

Enjoy and Happy Budgeting!!

Frugalicious Diva

We're Normal Too!

I love seeing my fellow plus size sisters on TV. When Big Sexy premiered on TLC last year, I was so excited that there was a show that would be showing plus size girls who live in the city and **gasps** actually live their lives like their skinny counterparts. However, despite this great change, I am still left to feel like I want more. I feel like while we are moving in the right direction, we are not there yet. While Big Sexy was a great show, the girls cast in that show don’t represent all plus size women. I didn’t identify with anyone on that show at all.

I often wonder, why is it that lately every show that has a plus size woman in it features her as one of the following:

• Unhappy with her size, has low self-esteem and spends the TV show trying to lose weight or being depressed about her life.
• Overeating and making jokes about her size where the show is centered around her as the butt of jokes.
• A plus size model or stylist

Now while I have no problem with plus models, not all of us plus size women are models. Some of us are teachers, writers, lawyers, housewives, even activists. As a matter of fact, I would LOVE to see a reality show featuring some size acceptance folks and what they go through with actively protesting and speaking publicly about size-related issues. But I digress…

I just feel like we are being labeled and put in this box as far as TV is concerned. We’re normal too! It’s as if we’ve gone backwards in relation to plus size women on TV because of the rising popularity of reality shows. Remember Camryn Manheim on The Practice? It was a great show where she was playing the role of an attorney. She was the only plus size woman on the show but she was still treated just like everyone else and her size was not something that was emphasized.

Drop Dead Diva is another show that has a plus size female character in the lead role. What’s great about Drop Dead Diva is that it does not shy away from the real issue that we, as plus size women, face daily…the stereotyping and loathing from society. For those of you that have not seen Drop Dead Diva, the premise of the show is inner beauty. An inspiring thin model dies in a car crash and comes back to life in the body of a plus size lawyer. Being in this new body teaches the model that outer beauty isn’t everything.

I remember looking so forward to when Living Single aired because seeing Queen Latifah and Kim Coles on a sitcom was wonderful. I can see myself in those characters and they were normal women, living life. It was empowering and inspiring to see these characters on TV.

However, TV is now overloaded with reality shows. I will admit that I am guilty of watching some of them. And I will also admit that when I see a plus size woman on a reality show, I get happy. I root for them. Especially when she is on a show that does not cast many plus size people or she is doing something that is deemed impossible for a plus size woman. One of my faves is Cirie Fields, who was on the show Survivor three times. Yes, three times. Homegirl played one of the best social games ever. And it’s not just me saying that – many viewers and fellow castmates felt that way also. She represented an average woman who had a real body that was not rail thin. She was not obese but she was not super thin. The first time she was on Survivor, she was underestimated because of her being overweight and not athletic. However, she proved them wrong and became a fan favorite. Despite making it far in the game and not winning, she won a car due to her popularity via an online poll from viewers.

While I loved Cirie on Survivor, I have to admit I was not a fan of Dance Your Ass Off on the Oxygen network. It was nice to see plus size people dancing and being active, which goes against the stereotype of us sitting the couch, eating a gallon of ice cream and not moving whatsoever. However, that premise was ruined by the fact that these people were not just dancing because they loved to; their main goal was to lose weight and they even stood on a huge scale on national TV for the world to see their weight and progress. I don’t know about you but that did not make me feel compelled to support those people or that show. Yes, I think it was a great thing to help them become healthy but the show was set up in such a way where it was sending the message that you have to lose weight to be normal and dance well.

I just think that these shows are so humiliating for the people on them. Instead of trying to convey a message of loving yourself as you are and that you are normal no matter what your size, it is giving off the message that you should not like yourself this way. That you need to lose weight. You’re lazy and you won’t be happy until you lose weight. These people are put on display and don’t realize the message they are sending.

I do have hope. I look forward to seeing the new show with Stacy London on TLC where she gives plus size women makeovers and helps them feel better about themselves. The show is being filmed within a plus size boutique in Brooklyn and seems to be a show that is headed in the right direction. I’m so done with shows where the focus is on a plus size woman who feels so crappy about herself that she thinks if she loses weight, everything will be amazing.

I want to see shows where a plus size woman actually is confident and is living a normal everyday life. Sure, she may want to lose weight but that doesn’t mean she hates herself now. She just wants to improve her already beautiful self. That is the message that needs to conveyed.

That will spark a self-love revolution that will empower all women to be healthy. Shaming and putting low self-esteem on display will not. It will just continue to validate the very stereotypes we are trying to fight against and make some plus size viewers who already feel low about themselves feel even lower. And on that note, I am going to put my Adele CD on and look at the latest issue of Vogue where she is on the cover. Adele is someone I admire and see myself in because she makes no apologies for her size and loves herself regardless. And I think we all need a little Adele in our lives at this point.

Facing Facts: Black Women Are "Heavy & Happy"

Washington D.C. based Fitness Instructor Michelle Gibson is phat, fit, and fabulous!
Photo credit: washingtonpost.com

I am sure that many of you have seen the recent article in The Washington Post about black women being "heavier and happier with their bodies than white women". The data comes from a recent survey conducted by The Washington Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation.

[The survey]...focused on African American women. The poll found that although black women are heavier than their white counterparts, they report having appreciably higher levels of self-esteem. Although 41 percent of average-sized or thin white women report having high self-esteem, that figure was 66 percent among black women considered by government standards to be overweight or obese. - from WashingtonPost.com

The article also discusses what we, as Black women, have known for some time: the media tends to not portray us, and when they do, it is often a poor representation of who we truly are. Therefore, we have not relied on what the media and society has to say about us to uplift us.

What I personally applauded and shouted "YES!" to when reading the article was the wonderful interview with D.C. Area fitness instructor Michelle Gibson, a plus size woman of Color herself, who stressed that the ideas of health and fitness for black women have for a very long time been different than those white women.

Her rule: “Do you,” Gibson says, “and be okay with me being me. I can never be mad at this thin person. I say, ‘You’re sexy, you’ve got it going on. But don’t think for one minute that I don’t feel the same about myself.’ ” - from WashingtonPost.com

For me, the only raised eyebrow was a comment from a woman whom I admire so much, Michaela Angela Davis:

But Davis acknowledges that with fewer cultural deterrents, black women are more likely to slip into obesity, and that’s not celebrated. In 2009, black women had an obesity rate of of almost 43 percent, compared with 25 percent for white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As a result, African American women suffer from higher rates of diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and other serious health problems.

“We’re not saying its super fly to be super fat. We’ve never said that,” Davis contends, but unlike in white culture, “black women are not criminalized for it.”

This statement, unfortunately, continues the stereotype that plus size women beyond a certain "acceptable" plus size cannot possibly be healthy and not be suffering from diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, etc. And while black women within our community are not "criminalized" for being "super sized", there is not only often a disconnect within the plus community between what is accepted and what is not when it comes to images of models that are used, but also an acceptable practice of plus size women (usually portrayed as a large & sassy black woman) being made the butt  of jokes.

What did you think about the article? Do you feel that black women are "heavier and happier"? Do you think that all black plus size women are being equally represented in this article?

Let's talk about it ladies!