With summer coming, Vitamin D and vacations can subconsciously be a source of both peace and pressure. Wedding season, brunches, last minute roadtrips, and other summer activities can lead us to spend more than anticipated.
While the extra sunlight often gives our moods a boost of energy, this can also contribute to more frivolous spending with increased cycles of shame, guilt, and avoidance when it comes to your finances. So whether you're a Hot Girl, a City Girl, or on your Lizzo flow this summer (cues your summertime theme song), here are a few tips on how to maintain your cool as things continue to heat up:
Gas yourself up while keeping your cool.
GiphyIf you're hitting the road, try filling up midweek on a Wednesday or Thursday (notice any airline pricing parallel?). Simple economics (supply and demand) means gas stations have a tendency to bump up their prices on Friday when most people travel and fill up last minute. A little planning can go a long way. Want another hack when it comes to your utilities? Keeping your A/C at 68 degrees is a 60% increase in utility spending on average in comparison to 78 degrees when you leave your home. Remember to make this adjustment manually or check with your utility company about a technology upgrade allowing you to control your A/C remotely, helping you to keep your cool in more ways than one this summer.
Pay cash or use debit.
Using money you've already earned will save you a ton of money. Cash is queen (or "king" as they say) because we feel the "pain" of spending cash over a simple swipe of a card. But we also don't have a way to track what we have spent. Debit on the other hand gives us a breakdown of where we spent our money and helps us to avoid "credit card hangover" (where we tend to beat ourselves up when we make money mistakes, say we won't do it again, and then find ourselves spending more to cure the "hangover", further perpetuating the cycle). Spend with purpose and fulfill your emotional needs with awareness.
Go on a staycation.
GiphyAccommodations tend to be two-thirds of our already-growing expenses when it comes to vacationing. Add in gas, food, and fun money, you know how quickly this all adds up. On the other hand, a staycation can be lighter on our wallet but heavy in fun! Vacation rental sites like Airbnb, Noirbnb, VRBO, and Homeaway can give you more bang for your buck as well as the local feel we often crave when we travel. Pair this strategy with finding free fun, like creating a bucket list, attending free informational classes, parks, recreation, and other events, and you are well on your way to smart summertime spending with all the vibes!
Set a social calendar.
With increased events during the summer (can you say wedding/bachelorette season?) and a natural tendency to want to visit others/be visited more, setting a social calendar will help to keep your spending in check. To live with purpose and intention, boundaries are important in all aspects of our lives and it's no different when it comes to your finances. Exercise your right to say NO to avoid unnecessary stress and drama!
Make spontaneity a part of your spending plan.
Considering we are more likely to engage in random activities during the summer months, we should make sure this is a part of our spending plan (I prefer this phrase over "budget" because anything too restrictive can often lead to failure like a fad diet because guess what? We are HUMAN!). Ditch the traditional rigid "budget" and include the inevitable. It's okay to plan for a splurge. Your future self and self-worth will thank you!
Be less social (media).
Sis, comparison is the thief of joy so be more intentional with the accounts you are following. Keep in mind that social media is only one side of a story and everyone who appears to be happy, rich, and joyful isn't always. Sometimes the images we are being fed are simply others managing their perceptions and "doin' it for the gram." It's no surprise that depression and anxiety rates are up and directly correlated. Don't let what others are doing deter you on YOUR journey. Remember this is just a season, and delayed gratification is worth it!
Be more nostalgic.
It's time to tap back in to your inner child. You know, the younger version of you, the little girl who was full of joy from the little things where cost and impressing others wasn't a factor? Do you remember catching/admiring fireflies, being on the porch with family and friends, or playing "punch bug"? What made your summertime self sing in your childhood days? Do more of that! Be intentional. Focus on being more present which costs nothing but simply putting your phone away.
By implementing these 7 summertime strategies and putting them to good use, you will find yourself increasing your holistic health and wealth. You are deserving and beyond worthy of this, Queen. Life is meant to be enjoyed and just in case you forgot, it's not a dress rehearsal. So whether you find yourself in sundresses, shorts, swimsuits, or even sweats this summer, continue to soak in the sun, create a summer to remember, and elevate your money mindset.
Are you down?
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"At The Brand Doula, we work with companies and leaders that set out to challenge the status quo in their industries and communities. They’re here to make an impact that sends ripples across the market," she says.
"We help the problem solvers of the world — the ones who aren't satisfied with 'this is how it's always been' and instead ask 'how could this be better?' Our clients build for impact, reimagining tools, systems, and ways of living to move cultures forward."
The Brand Doula has worked with many brands, including Too Collective, to assist with their collaboration with Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty and Balanced Black Girl for a "refresh," aka rebrand. For businesses looking to rebrand, Lola shares four essential steps.
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But some good signs to look out for are improvements in engagement with your marketing, positive reviews, press and increase in retention, and overall feeling aligned with the new branding.
For more information about Lola and The Brand Doula, visit her website, thebranddoula.com.
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And although everything from age and hormonal imbalances to stress/anxiety and even low self-esteem can play a role in why climaxing can be difficult, after touring with an organization that dealt with porn and sex addiction for almost 10 years, having countless sessions with married women and also researching and writing on sex for over two decades at this point, what I realize hasn’t been discussed enough is that a lot of women can have orgasms — just not vaginal ones via intercourse (check out “Ladies, Please Stop Pressuring Yourself Over Vaginal Orgasms”).
The next thing that should be brought up more in the discourse is the fact that many women have orgasms — they’re just not always earth-shattering ones (like the ones that you feel when you have, say, a blended orgasm).
Today, we’re going to hone in on the latter point. If you know (that you know that you know) that you have orgasms yet the more intense ones don’t happen nearly as often as you would like, there is something that you can do that has been proven to help you out — and the title of this piece is a huge hint as far as what that is. #wink
How Does Weed Help to Create More and Better Orgasms?
GiphyWeed and sex being a cool combination is not something that I haven’t addressed before. A few years back, I penned a piece for the site entitled, “7 Proven Ways Weed Makes Sex So Much Better.” So, why did I feel the need to write this one too? Because I think all of us (who’ve had sex before) can vouch for the fact that you can have a wonderful sexual experience and still not have an orgasm or the kind of orgasm that you’d prefer to have. And when that is indeed the case, well, something that can help you out is yep, marijuana.
For starters, did you know that there are literal studies to support that weed can help women to have more frequent orgasms? Yep. One article that I read stated that out of almost 400 people surveyed, 52 percent said that they had trouble climaxing; however, after a bit of weed use, orgasm frequency increased by almost 73 percent, orgasm satisfaction by 67 percent, and the ability to have orgasms more easily increased by 71 percent.
And since some of these individuals deal with something known as female orgasmic disorder (FOD), because the findings are so significant, there are some states that are actually pushing for FOD to qualify for medical marijuana treatment. Yep, that’s how effective weed use is proving itself to be in this realm.
So, just what is it about weed that makes climaxing a more probable experience for so many of us? For one thing, weed is seen as an aphrodisiac by many individuals. One reason is that it contains properties that help to relax your system as well as intensify the sexual experiences that you have by literally helping to make them feel more pleasurable.
Some studies also reveal that weed use can lower your inhibitions and increase the amount of time you spend engaging in foreplay too. If you add to that the fact that weed also amplifies the sense of touch — well, I’m sure that you get how all of this combined can help you to have not just more but better quality orgasms, for sure.
How to Effectively Bring Weed into Your Sexual Experiences
GiphySo, now that you know all of this, I’m sure some of you are wondering how to bring marijuana into your boudoir in a responsibly effective kind of way. Good question. For one thing, it’s definitely best to start off in small amounts (if you’ve never experienced weed before); you can probably do this best with edibles because many of them are sold in pre-dosed amounts. In fact, although you might think that, when it comes to weed consumption, “the more the merrier,” the reality is actually that overdoing it could decrease your libido instead of elevate it.
Also, it’s a good idea to remember that while CBD is good for ointments and creams that can help to reduce anxiety before sex or enhance afterplay (check out “Sure, Your Foreplay Game Is On Point. Now What About The ‘Afterplay’?”), THC — the active ingredient that is responsible for getting you “high” — is what has a stronger reputation for making sex itself a more pleasurable experience; especially as far as women go. So, what you might want to do is start out with something like a chocolate edible (since it also is an aphrodisiac) with a low amount of THC in it along with a CBD-based lubricant.
Just make sure to keep in mind that edibles can bea bit unpredictable (as far as how high you will get and how soon along with how you will feel once you come down from the high experience), plus, their effects tend to last longer than smoking (edible highs can sometimes last six or more hours while smoking ones are around four or more) — so, if it’s your first time trying all of this out, a night before going to work isn’t a good idea; wait until the weekend instead.
On the other hand, if you’d consider yourself to be a bit of a “weed pro” at this point, you might want to experiment with some different strains of weed. Ones that are somewhat popular in the sexual stimuli department contain what is called limonene. It is actually a chemical that isfound in citrus fruit; however, when it’s combined with weed, not only can it help the weed to taste better, but it canelevate your mood, reduce your stress, andgive your libido and energy levels a bit of a boost as well.
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Listen, if there’s one thing that I’m gonna do, it’s provide a hack to make sex better for you — and there is just too much data out in these streets to not shout out weed as far as achieving quality orgasms go.
That said, if weed ain’t your thing, don’t force it to be just because you read this. There are other ways to have amazing orgasms (check out “15 Women Share Their Personal Hacks For Better Orgasms (And Sex Overall)”). Oh, but if it is (or if you’ve always been curious about it), why not approach cannabis from a strictly sexual angle? At the very least, you’ll get a bit of a euphoric feel. At the most, you’ll have an avenue to experience more of the orgasms that you crave.
Hell, sounds like a win/win to me, sis.
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