Fashionable Affordable 

Posted on September 18, 2024 by msw blog

Buying clothes secondhand only. Three years in, and frankly, I no longer see the point of ever paying retail prices for new clothes. I thrift about once a week and over time have easily found everything I need. Bonus: It’s helped with sort of training myself out of immediacy/instant gratification and into longer-term planning and patience. I will buy new shoes as needed, however.”

Positively Purging-I welcome your feedbacks in the comments and your likes and passing the real life wisdom on to others as I embark on this new venture of “positively purging“, as I know each of these pieces represents something…

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Only 3 Words

Posted on September 18, 2024 by msw blog

You get to meet yourself through the decades of your life starting at 10, 20, 30, 40 and so on. You’re allowed only 3 words per decade. What are they?

Positively Purging-I welcome your feedbacks in the comments and your likes and passing the real life wisdom on to others as I embark on this new venture of “positively purging“, as I know each of these pieces represents something…

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Pool Together Kitchen Equipment

Posted on September 17, 2024 by msw blog

When I was in grad school, I lived in a shared student flat in London. I arrived a week later than my flat mates, and when I asked what I could contribute, I was surprised to find out that everyone was responsible for buying their own kitchen equipment. Too shy to suggest a different approach, I sheepishly lugged back several pots and pans from Ikea. In a kitchen that was essentially a tiny corridor with a bit of counter space on either side, this made cramped conditions even worse. For the six months I lived there, I barely cooked, hoping to avoid the overflowing cupboards and perpetual mess of cookware.

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The Thirlby: A Field Guide to a Vibrant Mind, Body, and Soul

Posted on September 17, 2024 by msw blog

Thirlby: A Field Guide to Vibrant Mind, Body, and Soul by Amila Kaking- Dodd(2018, nonfiction 195 pages). I am still unsure how this book ended up in my stack of books to read. I would qualify this as a coffee table book or a cookbook. Though nonetheless, I gave it a chance. The book is broken into three sections “Farmacy,” “Spiritual Smack,” and “Beauty Bites’‘(hello cookbook!). The book is stunning with its beautiful photographs (hello coffee table book!), and is thoughtful, informative, and discusses a plethora of topics such as healing powers of different crystals, minerals, oils, spices, foods, and more. It discusses how to use these in aiding digestion, inflammation, skincare (acne, burns, scars), hangovers, haircare, dental health, mental health… you name it! The downside of this book is Kaking-Dodd only gives each topic one page, which leads to little depth on many of the issues. I would advise anyone seeking to try anything in the Farmacy section of this book to seek out their medical provider and/or a naturopathy first. I, however, do think this is a wonderful read to get one thinking about living a more holistic lifestyle that encompasses the mind, body, and soul.

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Fraud Alert

Posted on September 16, 2024 by msw blog

Fraud alert

A fraud alert is a red flag telling creditors to contact you before new credit is opened in your name or changes are made to existing accounts. You can place this notice on your credit reports if you’re concerned you are or may become a victim of identity theft.

Pros:

  • You need to contact only one of the three major credit bureaus to set up an alert — Equifax, Experian or TransUnion. The credit bureau you contact must then notify the others to place an alert on your credit reports.
  • It’s free.
  • A fraud alert does not affect your credit score.
  • The alert lasts one year. If you want to keep it, you have to renew it.
  • Victims of identity theft can keep a fraud alert in place for seven years. To get an extended fraud alert, submit an identity theft report to the Federal Trade Commission at IdentityTheft.gov or file a police report.
  • You can add or remove a fraud alert at any time. You don’t have to remove the alert if you’re shopping for a loan.

Cons:

  • It’s easy for folks to forget to renew a fraud alert.
  • With a fraud alert, a lender is supposed to verify your identity before it issues credit. But this doesn’t always happen. “Not all creditors are going to respect that restriction,” Krebs said. “Some of them pull up your credit anyway.”
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