I get a ton of emails offering guest posts, and most of them are really horrible. Usually it’s the quality of the post, and other times the typos drive me mad. And then sometimes, I get an email with a post like this. How could I turn this down? It has that touch of personal that i just love. Enjoy!

I don’t know about anyone else, but supermarket shopping puts a bigger hole in my monthly budget than any of the other purchases I have to make in a month. I couldn’t figure out why. I only have a small family consisting of a husband, 2 kids and myself. None of us are big eaters and we’re not above having hot dogs and fries, home cooked mind you once in awhile. So why am I blowing my food budget week in and week out?

After some really careful thought and soul searching I came up with some really good answers, and some innovative ways to overcome the problems. I thought maybe some of you may be in the same circumstance and might want to save a few bucks.

Don’t go grocery shopping after work
Big mistake! My usual pattern was to go grocery shopping on Thursday nights on my way home for work. It is my payday so it makes sense to get this chore out of the way. Here is what I discovered:

First of all I am really tired. It’s towards the end of a grueling work week. So my mind set is to grab foods that basically take no, or at least very little preparation. There is no question that these kinds of foods are more expensive because of the convenience they offer. 

The next issue with shopping at this time of night is I am starved. We all know that when we shop for food when we are hungry, we end up buying a lot more than we need because everything looks good.

Finally, the third issue is I just want to get out of the store, go home, get a quick dinner together and get my feet up! So do I take the time to bargain shop? Nope! Whatever is closest to the end of the aisle is good enough for me. It just means one less aisle to walk down. You can imagine how much money alone I saved when I put this practice to an end.

Don’t take the kids with you
Quite often I would get my youngsters to meet me at the grocery store to help load the shopping into the car. Needless to say with three pairs of hands filling the shopping cart it didn’t take long for the bill to add up.

Delegate your shopping authority
I found that the kids were beginning to get a bit picky at some of the food choices I was making. So I made them a deal. Both my kids are teens, so now is the time for a lesson in life. I gave them the choice to each plan a meal for a night. They were given a certain amount of money to do this with. The bonus was whatever was left over from their shopping they got to keep. It had to be a healthy wholesome meal however. I had to say I was quite impressed with the money they managed to save for themselves. Plus, it put the complaining to an end as well now they had a chance to see how expensive food can be.

My husband’s delegated duty was to shop for the sale items each week. This worked out really well. He drives right by the supermarket on his way home from work. He would just pop in and pick up the specials that we were interested in and nothing else. Not only did we get a good selection of what was on sale, but we saved a good amount of money by taking advantage of the daily and weekly specials.

Just by changing these few things and putting some innovative ideas in place I managed to not only stay within my grocery budget, I cut it down by a third.

This was a guest post written by Lior who works for company that sells nursing tops and also advises to a task management startup.

Remember “Sally” from a few months ago? She was rejected from a job because she asked her lawyer father for legal advice. How dare she! Anyway, she’s back with an amazing story about how hustling can get you pretty damn far. In her own words…

Since my first day of Kindergarten, my parents, teachers, and counselors all emphasized that if I tried hard enough, I could achieve anything. Hard work and determination would land me at the front doorstep of my goals.

My mother always told me to eat a good breakfast, and I would succeed. I listened, ate up, and succeeded my way through graduation. My parents took pictures of me smiling on the front steps of the library, and we all thought I had really done it.

So how did I go from graduating from the Honors program at the University of Maryland with a 4.0 GPA, Phi Beta Kappa to scooping dog poop, waiting tables, and house sitting?

After graduating last year into one of the toughest economies, I was sent with my newly printed resume to pursue hundreds of coveted entry-level positions in disinterested offices. They had bigger fish to fry, and bigger, more experienced fish in the sea swimming by me with their tentacles out. As I pitched my talents to interviewers (if I was lucky enough to get that far) and explained why anthropology was such a great choice in major, I saw in their eyes what every one of them was thinking: “That’s cute.”

After a couple of months of wasting away my funds on an apartment I could not afford and work clothes I certainly did not need, I put the box of tissues aside, squeezed my stacks of cover letters into a large storage unit, and took to the streets. I put on my walking shoes and begged for jobs. You need a waitress? Well, here’s my resume. I’m an anthropology major.

I house-sat, waitress-ed, office managed, and found my not-so-true calling in dog walking. My sixteen hour days included three changes of wardrobe, bad tips, and all the joys that come with dog walking. I never imagined having to clean up after dogs after getting a college degree, but it paid enough to keep my checking account positive. I was still sending out resumes somewhere in between my odd jobs. In a bad economy, people still need to eat, their dogs still need to go to the bathroom, and I needed to keep moving.

Finally, in April, I applied and was accepted to the University of Pennsylvania’s Masters in Social Work program. I don’t see it so much as running from the job market as much as I am using the knowledge I gained while being ostracized from it. I was forced to finally think about where I really wanted to send my resume, instead of just what looked good. I learned that success was measured by more than good grades, and I figured out what personal success really meant to me. Take that recession.

There are 359 hits when I search my Gmail account for sent resumes over the past year. Granted, many of these are What-Am-I-Doing-Wrong-Emails, but they are still a testament to the amount of personal manpower required for this task. I cringe at the thought of how many of these embarrassing emails were actually read.

At the end of it all, I think mostly to another poster in an 8th grade science room of a cartoon frog in a pelican’s mouth. The pelican is nearly swallowing the frog whole, but that little frog keeps its hands wrapped tightly around the pelican’s throat in a death choke, with a quote under it reading, “Never Ever Give Up.” I always related to this more than the Little Engine That Could, although the message is clear from both. Stick to the golden plan even when things look down. And in the meantime, pass the Cheerios.

Celebrity Advice on how they Stayed Afloat before Success

Jerry Seinfeld, the multi-millionaire of the “Seinfeld” fame, was a light-bulb salesman before making it as a celebrated New York stand-up act.

Amy Adams, like many other aspiring actresses, was bussing tables as a hooters waitress before being an academy award nominated actress.

Madonna, the queen of pop, was making ends meet by working at a Dunkin Donuts while waiting for her break.

Ozzy Osbourne, the consummate rocker, got his musical break while working at a slaughter house in England.

Tom Cruise, the famed superstar/actor from “Top Gun”, Risky Business” and jumping on Oprah’s couch, was a Bellhop at a hotel.

America’s sweetheart, Jennifer Aniston, did quite a few odd jobs to support herself like waitress-ing and cleaning toilet bowls before she became the movie-star she is today.

Tom Hanks, one of the most recognizable and loved movie-stars across the globe, had humble beginnings selling popcorn and peanuts at a coliseum in Oakland.

Hugh Jackman, the talented Tony winning actor and movie star, earned his living as a party clown before making it big.

The notorious hunk Warren Beatty was a professional rat catcher before making it as a hearth throb of millions.

The golden boy living the all American dream, Brad Pitt, was once a limo driver in Hollywood chaperoning and driving strippers across town.

These are only a few of the plethora of celebrities that have had to keep afloat doing odd jobs whilst they were looking for their proverbial “big break.” If it was easy to live a life of fame and comfort wouldn’t everyone have it but as we all know that is not how it works. There are a lot of blood, sweat and talent involved in getting to a point of prestige in a culture and society.

There are a number of us going through the same struggles of making ends meet like the glitterati did when they were living anonymous lives and they did. Unless you are born a prince or a princess, you need to learn to struggle to make your dreams come true and have your talent recognized. Survival of the fittest is more a testament of the practical world that we would ever like to admit.

To keep them motivated and focused on a life of success that was yet to be most celebrities had to put up with buildings of cards stacked against them. This is why we have put together this article to give you an insight into what these celebs did to keep it together and what will help you to.

What these famous faces did to beat the drone of a 9 to 5 job might just be what you need to get through the days before you become a fixture of popular society. Some nuggets of advice that celebrities have shared through interviews and other forums have all been concentrated to give you a comprehensive look at what it takes to make it.

1. Motivation

The single most important thing, we found, that kept the now famous celebrities going was the right motivation. Motivation drives a person’s belief system and their confidence to achieve amazing things at least that is what celebrities tell us.

Take Sarah Jessica Parker, she started her acting career early, starring as Annie on Broadway she says that ever since she got that first taste of fame it drove her through years of hard work to get to her goal of becoming a successful actress. If that is not motivation, what is?

The famous rapper Eminem, even tried killing himself after his first album bombed but his motivation came from giving his daughter a better life than he had. That is what drove him to pour his frustrations in “Slim Shady” while supporting his mother, daughter and then girlfriend Kim Mathers.

Motivation is a powerful thing and working a lot of odd jobs to make ends meet so that you can make your dreams come true is a small price to pay. Just keep yourself motivated and know what you are doing all the work for.

2. Talent

A critical self-assessment of talent and your strong points is a must if you are to succeed at achieving any sort of fame. As an illustration, imagine taking expensive vocal/singing lessons and not getting anywhere after auditions when your real talent lies in dancing or playing an instrument can be detrimental to both your career and your self-esteem.

One of the biggest names in pop music for decades Madonna, her name synonymous with success in the music industry says her fame is based on both her talent and her personality. In her own words, “If I weren’t as talented as I am ambitious, I would be a gross monstrosity.”

3. Confidence

“I am beautiful, famous and gorgeous.” – Anna Kournikova

You might have heard, “confidence is sexy” in many movies, TV shows and commercials and there is a lot of truth to that. Confidence is a very attractive attribute to have in your arsenal when you are starting out. Its just not enough to have talent, to be successful in a dog eat dog world you need to believe in that talent and your ability to make it.

Though most celebrities think it’s a tight rope between confidence and humility that is both admired and often meets with success. Fame is not for wall-flowers and Lady Gaga in all her glorious outrageousness is testament to that. Using Madonna as a guru on fame we will quote the famous diva here, “I’m tough, ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a bitch, okay.”

Bottom line is, confidence is what takes your fifteen minutes of fame and stretches it out to a lifetime. So, believe in yourself and no matter where you are in life right now have a quite confidence that you will one day be all that you ever hoped.

4. Focus

Driving focus to your ultimate goal as a career and a lifestyle choice will help you stay both motivated and driven. Working long hours, endless meaningless chores and general exhaustion in life can make you often question what the point of it all is.

When you are happy just enjoying your days in the sun, why struggle for something else and that is where you will have to, like many celebrities, tell yourself what the end-result is. If you have an audition and a great catering gig for a night you will have to decide which to take based on that very driving focus.

In an interview with a magazine, Jennifer Aniston said that she did not mind being a waitress while she was waiting for her break but she added “people used to say to me, ‘You need to focus on having ambition,’ and I guess sort of following that advice allowed a lot to come to me.” Often criticized for her awkward nose and physical appearance the Model turned actress Jennifer Aniston never gave up on her dreams and look at where she is now.

Having focus in your life will see you through a lot of tough decisions and the strength of that focus will determine where you end up in life.

5. Resilience

“Don’t wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what? Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.” – Mark Victor Hansen

The art of brushing yourself off and getting back on a horse that is hell bound to throwing you off again is resilience. The business of getting rich, making it big in any industry will have you kiss the ground several times before you are accepted as a member. Paying your dues in life take more than just cash, it takes a lot of heartache, tough decisions and a lot of strength of character.

Hearing one no after the other can be and is damaging to anyone’s self-esteem and that is where your quite self confidence like that of Marilyn Monroe will come in. If you truly believe you have something to offer the world, keep knocking on doors till one of them opens.

6. Support

Having a loyal support base is crucial for anyone going through a tough time in their life and the search for riches and fame is just that; a tough road. Having friends or family support you during your time of need even if by just lending an ear will mean a great deal.

If you plan on beating out the competition it will be a great confidence booster to know that you will have someone to celebrate this once you get there. Even when you are running short on time take the extra minute to talk to a confidante it will see you through many hours of struggling ahead.

If you follow the advice of the celebrities you might have an easier time getting to the top and what they did isn’t rocket science its just common sense. Believe in yourself and have a great work ethic and you will get the respect, fame and riches you deserve.

Like this post? See more like it at Letitflow.com – your one-click stop for all the latest news on celebrities, fashion, high-tech gadgets, luxury cars, exotic travel destinations, and much more!

This is a guest post from Money Beagle, who writes about personal finance with a focus on the personal side of things. Please check out his blog for thoughts on saving money, reducing debt, shopping, and more.  If you like what you see, go ahead and subscribe to his RSS feed and spread the word!

Staying fit is important.  After all, we only get one body, so it’s important to keep it in tune.

There are many ways to have a healthy body.  Today I’m going to focus on the exercise portion of it.

I’ll start off by saying that I’m not, by any means, an exercise nut.  I enjoy exercise but I’m not disciplined or motivated enough to do things like run or lift weights every day.

Still, I have found that there are enjoyable ways to get exercise that don’t cost a lot, and can even be free.  See if you can spot a theme as you read through some of the ways that I get my exercise for cheap!

• Morning walks – I recently discovered that getting out of bed and taking a nice walk through the neighborhood is a great start to the day especially with warm weather.  There’s just something about leaving the house when it’s dark and seeing the day light up that is pretty cool.  If you do this, try to walk in areas with sidewalks and wear light clothing.
• Walk the dog - We don’t have a dog but I’ve seen so many people walking their dogs through the neighborhood that I thought I’d throw it in there.  Give your dog an extra long walk every once in a while.  Chances are, they’ll love you even more for it, and it’s great exercise too.
• Walk with the family – Last item about walking, I promise!  But, our family often goes out for a short walk after dinner.  It’s relaxing.  It gives us a little time to talk about our day.  It helps Baby Beagle see things (he loves pointing at every tree he sees).  And of course, it gets you exercise.
• Bike rides – We love taking our bikes out.  In past years, we’d often take our bikes through the neighborhood in place of walks.  We still need to get our bikes ready for the season, as well as add something that Baby Beagle can sit in to tag along, but we’re looking forward to our bike rides.  On weekends, we plan on taking our bikes to nearby parks for some extra long rides.
• Call a friend – Some time getting some exercise is as simple as calling a friend and trying to get together.  Instead of meeting for a drink or dinner, try meeting somewhere for a walk, a bike ride, a round of golf (no fair using golf carts), or some other activity that you both enjoy.

There you have it.  These are some great ways that you can get in some exercise all while spending little or no money.  None of these involve anything too strenuous, but hey, if it gets you moving anymore than you are today, every little bit helps, right?

Oh, and I mentioned that there was a theme.  Did you spot it?  Every one of the items involves doing something else besides exercising that brings enjoyment.  In the items I listed above, you’re watching a sunrise, walking the dog, talking with your family, seeing nature in a park, or spending time with a friend, and exercise just happens to be a side benefit.  That’s the key: If exercise alone isn’t doing it for you, find something that does interest you and figure out a way to sneak in some exercise.

Your body (the only one you have) will thank you for it!

Image from danagraves

This is a guest post by Forest Parks, author of the frugal living and personal finance blog Frugal Zeitgeist.

I am no where near where I aim to be when it comes to fitness but I do consider myself fit and I keep pushing towards my goals. My financial situation shares a kind of parallel with this in the fact that I am doing ok with my finances but still have long way to go to reach my goals.

Asides from the well known metaphors between fitness and finance I think there is a lot more to be said about using fitness in your life to further your ability to budget, save and pay off debt. I am singling out Yoga in this post because Yoga is an amazing exercise that improved my discipline in life greatly.

The story starts about 1.5 years ago when I was living in Montreal, Canada. A bad habit of eating out and drinking randomly through the week was starting to take my physical shape down a slippery path. I did go to the gym but it was sporadic and when I did get a chance to go I would randomly wander around only using the machines I decided I liked on that particular day…. I used to say to myself “at least I am doing some exercise, keeping myself in reasonable shape, right?”…. I was wrong, yes I had some fitness, I could run a few miles but my body, like my finances and general life schedule at the time, was all over the place.

I don’t remember the exact day but I remember feeling like I had been walking around with a “kick me” sign on my back and people had been obliging, I felt like cr*p! I was out of shape and stiff…Some may call this ‘feeling old’ but I was only in my late 20s!

For years I had been wanting to at least try Yoga but like most people it just looked like silly stretching for old granola eating folks and strange people who lived on Mountain tops. For the hell of it I made the decision to take a Yoga class at the local YMCA.

So I checked the schedule and saw that various levels of Yoga classes ran throughout the week. The next class was the following day, was suitable for beginners and around lunchtime (shortly after I planned to wake up!). I arrived at the class a little weary and my fears felt like they were immediately realized…It was full of wrinkly old women and was fronted by an overly friendly, overly made up, skeleton of a woman, the kind of woman who you fear as a child because they might want to give you a big sloppy kiss!

These wrinkly old ladies whopped my ass when it came to holding strange poses, the hour of Yoga ended with them jovially chatting and me bent over gasping like I had just run a marathon…How could simply stretching do such things to me? And it was a beginners class!

I hurt for a week, I hurt like hell had just spat me back out, and I felt like I could see my daily life with a new clarity. Some may call this enlightenment. It was like an Ebenezer Scrooge moment…The ghost of fitness future had shown me what my future held if I did not get my physical self back into good shape. In the future even a simple walk down the road may leave me feeling like this…So my love of Yoga began!

I changed classes to better fit my joke of a schedule (wake up late, work, eat, work, eat, drink blah blah blah) and started on the Monday night Astanga Yoga class for all levels. I thought the wrinkly old ladies class hurt…this class was like being nakedly dragged along the highway by a Ferrari at top speed, but everyone else there seemed ok…I was determined to join the ‘Feeling OK’ crowd and prove to the cool and calm instructor that I was not one of those “Stiff People” that he seemed to hold such disdain for! I wanted to finish at the end of the 1.5 hour session and say “oh that was tiring, I noticed my downward dog is getting a little more sturdy”…not “oh my god, I am going to die, please, please kill me now so I don’t have to endure this pain any longer.”

As the weeks went by, I got stronger, better, more flexible and further away from being a stiff person. I started swimming 3 times a week as well, building up to 1 mile each time. Most importantly of all, I became disciplined. My week revolved around how well I was going to do in my Yoga class and how fast I would swim a mile, this silly little stretching class was giving me something to look forward too. You know what? I noticed something else extremely important, this discipline had covertly wormed it’s way into all other parts of my life too. I didn’t randomly drink and eat anymore, such things were organized social events, I often said no, or went out and left early to get a good nights rest. Self restrain had become easy. Financially things started to get better too. I was up to my eyeballs in debt for a million reasons, not all my fault, but I accepted this and started acting accordingly.

Yoga gave me the discipline to control all aspects of my life. I forged an aim for my fitness and my finances and started working towards them at a steady pace.

Fast forward 1.5 years to now. I don’t do Yoga weekly due to living in Egypt and not finding an affordable local place to go. My local Yoga place charges about $20 per session! However I exercise 6 days a week at home. I am currently doing the Beachbody Insanity program which brings in some small elements of Yoga. My finances are under control with my debts responsibly in a UK Government advised debt management plan and I am on my way to establishing emergency funds and savings…Like I said, I have a long way to go but I am doing all the right things.

I believe the routine of Yoga and the discipline it brings to one’s life will almost always benefit in all areas, especially when it comes to sticking to budgets, paying down debts and focusing in the right areas.

I hope you enjoyed my little story. You can follow my financial, fitness and frugal journey on FrugalZeitgeist.com. Please do come one over and say hi!