Blog Posts

How to Budget for a Successful, Fun Year

Continuing with the theme of helping you improve your life and work on New Year’s resolutions, this week the Liv Avenida blog wants to give you some pointers to budgeting that will help you feel secure and happy this year. If you keep track of the flow of your funds going in and out of your bank account, you can make better spending and saving decisions and plan for what you want to do with your money. So read on to find out how you can approach your money and have more financial freedom in or outside of your apartment in Chandler, AZ. Build an emergency fund. Emergencies, unfortunately, do come. Prevent the panicked feeling that comes when they do by building an emergency account. Dedicate yourself to putting something into that account each month, according to how much you want in the account and when you want it in by. For example, if you want to have $2,000 in your emergency fund by this time next year, you should plan on putting in about $166 each month. Decide what rate works for you and commit, even if it’s uncomfortable for a little bit. It will pay off and you will feel more secure as you do. Build a separate savings account. Your savings account should be different from your emergency and checking accounts. Prepare for a comfortable lifestyle or for your next big purchase by setting up an account for that specific thing, whether it’s a new car, a house, next year’s college tuition, or a fun trip. Making withdrawals from your paycheck automatic can help you save without even going through the physical or emotional hassle each month. Keep track of your spending. Knowing what you spend includes more than just realizing that you spent some money on gas, food, and other things. Have a place for where your money is going so you can discipline yourself on where to draw the line and stop spending. The simple concept of not spending what you don’t have (skip to 4:05 for the SNL video) can really fly over your head when you have a lot less than you think you do. Be aware so you can spend responsibly! Let yourself donate. Sure, money buys you a place to live, food to eat, and entertainment to enjoy. But despite these things, money itself does not equate to happiness. Create a secure lifestyle for yourself by budgeting properly so you can feel happy because of other things, like the relationships you build with others or the knowledge that you’re contributing to the world in a positive way by donating some of your funds to a good cause. Separate yourself from the need to hoard money by giving it away. It will bring you much more peace and happiness in the long run. What helpful tips do you for budgeting better and making better financial decisions? Share your wisdom in the comments. Thanks for reading. Happy budgeting!

Making Eating Healthy Easier this Year

Last week we talked about some general methods for keeping track of and making progress toward accomplishing New Year’s resolutions. This week we want to help you reach the goal that countless of us have of eating healthy by giving you some tips and recipes, meal by meal, for healthy eating this year, in or outside of your Liv Avenida apartment in Chandler, AZ. Breakfast Start the day off right by making time for making the most important meal of the day nutritious and delicious. Breakfast can easily be made healthy. For a simple transition, opt for skim or 1% milk, and incorporate some granola, oatmeal, and healthy cereal options in between the days of sugary cereals. If you want to take bigger steps toward upping your protein intake, check out these high-protein breakfast recipes . If you find that you’re always rushing out the door sans healthy breakfast, try these healthy breakfasts for busy mornings or these healthy smoothies . Lunch Avoid spending extra dough on going out to eat during your lunch break by preparing a tasty, healthy lunch the morning or even night before you’re to leave the apartment. Make salads exciting with this honey mustard chicken, avocado, and bacon salad , this apple pecan rosemary greek yogurt chicken salad , or this guacamole chicken salad recipe, which also promises to be quick, healthy, lean, and packed with protein. Some of these lunches could fill you pretty easily, so be mindful of when your stomach is telling you it’s full and save the rest for later! Dinner You could always finish up your lunches for dinner, but if you plan ahead as you shop and prepare your meals, you can make an even more varied, healthy, and yummy meal to look forward to at the end of the day. We think this grilled chilli lime chicken fajita salad looks promising and filling, as does this clean eating creamy sun-dried tomato chicken . If you want something without chicken, try this quinoa chili , these Mexican quinoa stuffed peppers , or this 20-minute lemon broccoli pasta . Snacks Eating healthy meals is important, but sometimes easily accessible junk food in nearby vending machines can be your downfall. Keep your eating healthy game on point by preparing some yummy, guilt-free snacks you can munch on throughout the day. Check out the ideas in this blog post of healthy snacks you can make that incorporate the best of fruits, veggies, granola, chocolate, and more. If you’re into the idea of making fries out of almost anything, try this crispy baked avocado fries recipe . When in doubt, go for natural, portable options like apples, oranges, baby carrots, or even string cheese and yogurt. What tips do you have for eating healthy? Let us know so we can try them. Good luck, and have fun!

Essential Tips for Keeping Your New Year's Resolutions

Making and keeping goals is an everyday, lifelong task that you can take on any day of the year, but what better time to dedicate yourself to success than the first week of 2017? Take out that list of resolutions you made a few days ago and read this week’s Liv Avenida blog for ways you can follow up on your New Year’s resolutions, any time in or outside of your apartment in Chandler, AZ, this year. Write them down. Writing down something you want to do significantly increases the chances of you actually doing it. It makes it more real to you than if you were to just think about and forget about it. One trick to making writing your goals effective is to make a plan that you can follow each day. Put your list or plan somewhere easily accessible, and consult it often. Check it out at the beginning of the day so you can have it in mind as you go about your day and at the end of the day so you can evaluate how you did and how you can improve tomorrow. Find something to enjoy about them. One roadblock to working on a goal is the simple fact that you don’t want to do it. Change your outlook and attitude, however, so you can work toward accomplishing your goal. One way you can do that is to find something, however small, that you like about this new task. Whether it’s the clean feeling your mouth gets when you floss every day, the rush that comes after you exercise, or the pride you get in accomplishing a craft, the after-effects of doing something good for you can be great motivators for you to take action. Just know that the process is the messy part. Don’t get discouraged if it’s more difficult than you expected. Take baby steps. Taking baby steps can change your life! If you’re tackling a task that seems bigger than you, start with something you can manage and practice until you become a master of it. Then work on another aspect of your task, just like you did with the first part. Eventually you can combine your skills together to produce a habit you have complete confidence in accomplishing. This concept can apply to getting across town if you’re nervous about germs, learning an instrument or a language, or even budgeting or running a marathon. Assess where you’re at so you can know where to start and have an idea for what you can handle in a certain amount of time. Follow up with yourself or a friend at the end of the week or month so you can find encouragement and make plans for constant improvement. What tips do you have for keeping resolutions? Let us know in the comments! Thanks for reading. Good luck!

How to Throw a Glamorous New Year's Eve Party

This week marks the last week of 2016, so get ready to ring in the new year by keeping in mind these tips as you throw your own glamorous New Year’s party in your Liv Avenida apartment, or anywhere else in Chandler, AZ. Send out invitations. It might feel daunting to pull off a party in less than a week, but if you send out invitations now, you can devote the rest of the week to preparing your apartment and your party for Saturday evening. Decide on the scope of your party and adjust your invitations accordingly. If you want it to be a small get-together, a simple mass text is sufficient. If you want it to be a little fancier, consider sending Facebook, hand-delivered , or electronic invites . Make note on the invitations how formal your party is so people know how to dress. Go all out in decorations and games. Nothing says “New Year’s Eve party” better than glitter, champagne (or sparkling cider), toasts, balloons, noisemakers , and kazoos (to name a few things). If you want, choose a theme and go all out when incorporating that into your party’s decorations, foods, and games. Socializing keeps your guests busy during parties, but to help encourage that, put on some games, like these New Year’s Eve Minute to Win It games , or encouraging people to think about their resolutions. Prepare some treats. While most party foods will please any guest, you can add to the party’s theme by making these gold glitter-dipped peanut butter Oreos or these glitter-dipped fortune cookies . To make your cupcakes more festive, try these countdown cupcakes . You can also make these “Party in a Glass” parfaits with or without the liquor. The opportunities for tasty treats and drinks are quite endless, so plan out a menu according to what you and your guests like (alcohol versus non-alcoholic, sweets versus healthy, etc.). Have a plan for counting down to 2017. Make the most exciting part of the night fun for everyone by having a countdown to the new year. If you’re going to have people toast each other after the ball drops, get the drinks ready at least a few minutes before the final countdown. This balloon pop countdown can be a fun way to make the most of the entire night, especially if kids are involved. Let your neighbors know. While many people might be celebrating the dawn of 2017 in their Liv Avenida apartments, others might be opting for an early night in. Be considerate of everyone and let those near you know what you’re planning, preferably before you set your ideas in stone so you can adjust if your neighbors need something more quiet. Healthy communication and compromise are definitely great ways to start 2017 off right! What are some tips you have for throwing a great party? What are your favorite traditions? Let us know in the comments. Thanks for reading, and happy New Year. See you next year!

Last-Minute Wrapping Tips

Last week we talked about tips for last-minute shopping in Chandler, AZ, but the gift-giving process doesn’t stop there. Now is a perfect time to think about gift wrapping, so read this week’s blog for ways you can make the wrapping process go more smoothly in your own Liv Avenida apartment, especially if you’re wrapping last-minute. Make a clean, easily accessible work space. The gift-wrapping process doesn’t always take place in one convenient weekend afternoon. If you have many gifts you have to wrap this holiday season, you may find you have to set aside a time and space for wrapping that you can access when you need to, on-the-go. Keep it separate from your normal living situation — you definitely do not want scissors lying in the middle of the sofa — so that it doesn’t clutter your living room. But keep it near enough that you can still socialize with any roommates or guests you have over. Use lists. Remember the shopping list we talked about in last week’s blog? We hope you didn’t throw that away once you bought your gifts. That can be really useful in keeping track of your purchases (how sad would it be if you forgot about a gift and it stays in storage for years?). You can check off items you’ve wrapped and make note of where you stored them until it’s time to give them away and let the receiver open them. Over-stock on supplies. Wrapping paper and tape really shouldn’t disappear as quickly as they do, but be prepared for that by over-stocking. You can never have too much: even if you have loads left over, you can always save these supplies for next year’s celebrations, birthdays, or other gift-giving occasions. Let yourself get creative, too, while wrapping, if it helps you save on supplies. Use boxes to not only be the container but also to make odd-shaped items easier to wrap. Use gift bags, tissue paper, butcher paper, and newspaper if you don’t want to buy too many rolls of wrapping paper. Multitask. If watching your favorite holiday movie helps you feel calmer and more excited to wrap, do it! It will help you feel like you’re celebrating the holidays while staying productive. It can also help the time pass a little faster. If you like having company while watching these movies or wrapping, remember to ask a friend, family member, or neighbor to help you out to make the task more enjoyable and ease your workload. What are some ways you make the gift-wrapping process easier and more streamlined? Let us know by leaving a comment! We hope you have a fun, stress-free time wrapping any gifts you have.

Last-Minute Shopping Tips

In an ideal world, everyone gets their holiday shopping done throughout the year or in an otherwise organized, planned-ahead way that doesn’t make December shopping a hassle. But of course, last-minute shopping is real for many of us. So this week the Liv Avenida blog wants to help you feel more in control of the sometimes intimidating task of leaving the safety of your apartment for holiday shopping in Chandler, AZ. Read these four tips for making last-minute shopping successful and mostly stress-free. Make a list. There’s a reason Santa creates his list and checks it twice: it helps keep everything in order, not only for making or buying gifts, but also for knowing the particulars. Whether it’s on your mobile device or a notepad, make note of how much you can spend on particular gifts and people, what sizes you need, how many things to get for different people, and where you put things afterward. This will help you avoid being surprised at the cash register and ensure you’ve covered all your bases. Research online. One of the pitfalls of last-minute shopping is it can make you feel rushed enough that you don’t have the time, energy, or thought to find the best price for your purchases. But if you research online, you might be able to find applicable coupons or a good deal at a store. If you can’t make it to that store, ask the store you are able to visit if they price match. A couple dollars may not seem like much, but it adds up! Research can also save you a trip if items at a store sell out. Ask about complimentary gift wrapping. Gift wrapping can be stressful, especially if you have to wrap many last-minute. Next week the blog is covering last-minute gift wrapping tips, so stay tuned. But the task can also be a part of the shopping process. Many stores offer complimentary wrapping or have an area where people in the community wrap presents for free or a small donation. It can save you time, effort, and supplies, so keep your eyes peeled. Also remember to keep your receipts in one place and ask for gift receipts, which can be taped to your gift before wrapping. Stay within your boundaries. To avoid spending too much unnecessary time or money in a store, give yourself a time limit and a budget. If you’re visiting multiple stores in a day, make a route beforehand so you can cut down on traveling time. Sticking to your schedule will help you avoid impulse buys and still shop successfully. While you’re making your schedule, remember to include time for food breaks, and give yourself some wiggle room in case one place unexpectedly takes up more time than you wanted. Just make it a goal to not get too behind so you don’t get burnt out! What tips do you have for shopping last minute? Feel free to share your thoughts in a comment so we can try them! Thanks for reading, and happy shopping!