Things that make you go ..

So I was stumped into silence this weekend after picking up an email from my very talented friend Ben who asked:

“What's this nerdygirl link .. Is that you? Or a group of cool woman all contributing?”

My answer... I created the blog as a platform for myself and 3 other girlfriends to communicate our vision to save the world through the delivery of personal finance and investment education seminars targeted at teenage and young adult females throughout the GTA. While the essence of the Nerdy Girl Network has remained intact, our mission was put on hold indefinitely due to conflicting schedules, priorities and personalities.

I have since developed an affinity for this blog and it has progressively morphed into an effective outlet for my rants, introspections, many quirky thoughts and (most importantly) a retrospective account of the paths taken to create the Nerdy Girl Network.

So I guess this blog will be taking a more personal route from here on in..

Stay tuned!
xx

Old Navy Flip-flops 1 day x $1 sale

I hope everyone had a beautiful weekend - it's setting up to be a gorgeous summer which I'm uber excited for!

.

Enjoy!

To get you in the mood.. ;D

R Kelly - Thank God it's Friday
Uploaded by Brownsugar18.

P.S.

I hope this video doesn't offend anyone. IMO, R Kelly's reputation doesn't change the fact that the man is a musical GENIOUS. End of Story.

xx

Dear Michelle,

When I grow up, I want to be just. like. you.

FCUK you...PAY me.

I just stumbled upon this interesting snippet online.........

When asked about her "massive wardrobe", Miss Beyonce Knowles provides the following insight into her life away from the public eye:

“Put it this way, I’ve turned my old apartment into a closet. I probably get about 15 bags sent to me a month. Armani gave me this croc bag, which was huge - I could only imagine how much that thing cost. It would be so expensive that even I wouldn’t buy it.”

I dunno about you, but it makes me smile with my heart to read this and to see how grounded Beyonce remains considering the mega millions she's earned through sold-out concerts and multi-year sponsorship deals.
(For the record, Forbes reported that Miss Bey grossed an estimated $80 M USD btw June 2007 - 2008).

Again, you can call me cheap, frugal, spendthrift (whatever you'd like, really), but I am NOT the one to shell out upwards of $1G to rock the newest clutch or designer accessory. Perhaps it's because I'm not fazed by all the glitter and sparkle, but mainly because --and, this is exactly what Beyonce alludes to above -- the art of product placement and promotion was covered in Marketing 101.

Morale of this Story: Artist's get their swag for FREE due to their partnerships and collaborations with designers and events.

Marinate in this thought the next time you see Rihanna rocking those cute Gucci shoes, or Cassie in her Fendi shades...

As a matter of fact, Jay-Z's best friend and business partner, Steve Stoute founded their company, Translation Advertising, to "bridge the gap between Madison Ave and Urban America. When companies want to get their message to the youth they know Steve Stoute will translate that message in a way that appeals to the culture and that translates into big money."

Translation: Jay is getting dividends whenever the urban demographic runs out to purchase the high-priced swag that any of his darling Rihanna/Beyonce/Mary J Blige happen to step out on the town in. (Yes, you better believe Jay's getting paid when the designer's stock price shoots up!)

Only thing is, neither Jay nor Stoute have to worry about breaking the bank to keep up with the newest trends because the cost of their extravagant closets is nil, zilch, zip, NADA!

My thoughts on this topic are straight black-and-white:
My body is not a bill board and I don't advertise for free, so FCUK you .. PAY ME!
xx

Are you an impulse shopper?

Take this quiz over at the Globe & Mail to find out!

PSA: Canadian Tire + Home Renovation Tax Credit = SAVINGS!!

Big news for the Do-It-Yourself’r and Proud Homeowner:

Canadian Tire tops up federal Home Renovation Tax Credit with the introduction of its 'Small Jobs Big Returns' program which allows customers to save money on hundreds of eligible home improvement activities – i.e. landscaping, painting, electrical or plumbing, etc.

• Here are some examples of eligible and ineligible expenditures (source: Canada Revenue Agency website www.cra-arc.gc.ca ).
  
  

Details and Dates:

From May 9th to June 5th, 2009, customers who buy eligible home improvement products can receive $25, $75 or $150 back in Canadian Tire Gift Cards.

• Here is an example of potential savings under Canadian Tire's 'Small Jobs Big Returns' Savings Program:

The Pitch:

“Canadian Tire's savings program is a top-up to the federal government's home renovation tax credit and the weekly savings we're already offering customers through our flyer. The added bonus is that both smaller and larger purchases are eligible in our program and customers won't have to wait until tax time next year to reap the rewards," says Duncan Reith (Canadian Tire Retail).

For more information on the federal Home Renovation Tax Credit, you can visit the CRA website here!

Or, feel free to shoot me a line if you have any questions on the above tables.
xx

When did we become robots?

Ermmmm. Just asking because I can.............................. :)

BTW, I think this is the first time I’ve truly appreciated the power of free speech..........Groovy !!

xx

Tips + Tricks: Chiselled cheek bones .. ^_^

Just saw this feature on contoured cheeks over at InStyle.com!

Follow the above link to learn how you can fake Rihanna’s ultra-sexy feline look if you weren’t blessed with amazing bone structure.

I personally love this look because it is so subtle but carries such high impact! What do you think?

My tips + tricks:

• Try not to go overboard with the contouring under the cheeks .. zebra strips aren’t cute!!
• Blend, blend, BLEND the darker shade into your blush/bronzer because nobody likes to look like Raggedy Ann’s sister :I
• Part and parcel with the above point, keep the contour-shade within 2/3 hues of your own colour to avoid the ‘paint by numbers’ look. Again, not so cute.

For a night out, I like to apply bronzer on top w/ a bit of red lipstick to get the old-school ‘Hollywood glam’ look à la Kate Bosworth..


Or, if I’m staying in (or just bumming around town) I often skip the foundation altogether and go straight to the contour/blush/mascara route for a look similar to Leighton’s in the following pic.


Always remember that make-up is, and should always be, 'just for fun' -- so, no matter how you decide to work it, I highly recommend you play around with this technique and, most importantly....... OWN IT!!
xx

Quotables: Oscar Wilde

All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That's his.

...celebrate Mother's Day with the Queen in your life...

x's and oh's :)

Happy Friday!!

I'm out :):):) !!

xx

Canada nets 36,000 new jobs in April 2009!

It looks like Canadian entrepreneurs are picking up where the big banks and corporations left off! The latest economic indicators issued by Statscan shows 36,000 jobs (net) were created in April 2009! The crazy part -- all of these new positions appear to have been created in the “self-employed” category.

This boost helped to stabilize our unemployment stats, leaving the unemployment rate unchanged at 8 per cent - albeit the highest in almost a decade

The Toronto Star further quotes research performed by Toronto Dominion Bank economist Diana Petramala who analyzes the data while cautioning against a wave of premature optimism:

"It's probably safe to say that a large portion of this was likely those who were laid off and forced into self-employment, a trend that was also noticeable during the 1990s recession…”

"We expect the economy to continue to shed jobs over the rest of 2009, but not to the same degree as we saw over the last five months..”

I don't know about you, but it certainly looks like our cup is half-full to me .. this is certainly MUCH better news than our American counterparts received!

xx

Gucci goes GREEN!

CNN is reporting that the Gucci Group is going green with the launch of their eco-centred movie entitled “Home”, and shot by French aerial-photography specialist Yann Arthus-Bertrand.

The movie is being sponsored by Gucci’s parent -- France’s Pinault-Printemps-Redoute (PPR)Group -- headed by Salma Hayek’s new husband Francois-Henri Pinault. PPR has collaborated with Google to stream the high-definition movie on YouTube for 10 days beginning 5 June 2009. (U.S. residents can catch the film on Fox and the National Geographic channel.)

I must say that I love the direction the Gucci Group is heading in, and I wonder how many of their philanthropic efforts have been inspired by Salma’s contributions as a longstanding activist for women and children’s rights through partnerships with UNICEF and other global organizations.

This is yet another reason why Gucci is not only my FAVOURITE luxury brand of all time, but also the biggest selling brand in the world…………….. I have nothing but a deep, sincere admiration for the genius that is Frida Giannini!

Frida is currently the creative director for the entire brand, responsible for designing men's and women's accessories.

Yup, even Time magazine thinks she’s BAD … definitely a Nerdy Girl I’d love to meet!!!
xx

Work Nightmare No. 1…….. The VERY Bad Boss

Have you ever had to work with a nightmare boss?

I have, and believe me when I say that I seriously considered leaving my position just to avoid the day-to-day frustrations with said individual… but that wouldn’t have been very smart because then I’d be broke and living back home with my mom and teenage sisters… fun, fun!

MORALE of the STORY: Only the strong survive in the stiletto jungle... so you need to make sure your interests are being met at all times. Full stop.

Unfortunately, there are too many Nerdy Girls out there facing work nightmares due to managers and supervisors who lack the appropriate organizational, communication, or (sometimes) the basic social skills required to effectively achieve the organization’s goals. So what do you do when you find yourself in challenging situations like these?

Well, Suzy Welch provided Oprah.com a few pointers on the topic:

* Ask your boss for feedback on your performance to decide if you or he is problem
* If performance is acceptable, ask yourself if you want to work for bad boss
* Figure out if company is OK with bad bosses who deliver results
* Decide on an "emotional password" such as "Deliver and this will pass"

This is just the tip of the iceberg so if you want to read more feel free to check out the article in it’s entirety, here!

xx

* Pop Champagne *

So, today the Globe reported big news for Bay Street (akin to Wall Street for Canadians) – a celebration really – because the TSX finally seems to have regained the bounce in its step, closing above 10,000 points for the first time in 6 months!!

On the topic of sustainability, the article quotes Don Lato, Managing Director of Equities for Goodreid Investment Counsel in Toronto:

“We've come from a period of extreme pessimism, where we were basically looking at whether companies would survive,” he said. “We've moved beyond that, and we're not running for cover any more. You're always nervous when you see such big moves, and I think we're due for a short-term pullback. But I don't think we'll be revisiting the lows.”

Agreed, I’m nervous. But nonetheless, this bit of good news is more than welcome, so tonight.... WE CELEBRATE!!

.

On a separate note, I'm absolutely LOVING this Spring weather............Hope you are too!!

xx

The Elephant in the Room……..

We may post quite a bit of content on the financial crisis and current economic climate on this blog but that is because we, here at the Nerdy Girl Network, firmly believe that knowledge is the best accessory to any outfit.

That said, we do make a conscious effort to filter out the doom-and-gloom rhetoric (after all, that’s what CNN is for right?) so we can keep it easy, breezy, beautiful for all you Nerdy Girls!

xx

Are you a Trekker.. or a Trekkie?

*********UPDATE*********

Star Trek is getting rave reviews!

A million, billion, TRILLION.....

Can you count to a TRILLION?

I can't.

I resigned myself to the fact (roundabout two hundred-and-forty-seven..) that a trillion is a pretty big number.

Now, can you imagine 13 trillions?

As in $13 trn in funds (that neither you nor I could ever dream of seeing in one lifetime) spent on the credit crunch, to date. This is almost equal to the entire US budget (for one year) !!

I don't know if that comparison worked for you, but I'm still struggling to grasp the concept of a trillion -- erm.. 1 million x 1 million x 1 million................

Random fact:
One trillion seconds of clock time = ( 1012 sec)/(3.16 x 107 sec/yr) = 31,546 years!

Ok, point taken.

Girl Geeks!

My bf shared this article from the Star with me, entitled "Girl Geeks", which immediately put a HUGE smile on my face!

So, here's to paying it forward and massive 'BIG UPs' to all the Nerdy Girls out there :D !!
xx

Keeping up with the Joneses?

There is an interesting write-up in today’s Star which examines the negative correlation between saving and consumerism.

The interview looks author Judith Levine's experience over a ”year without shopping” in promotion of her newly released book on the same subject. Judith managed to save about $8Gs; paring down on her day-to-day spending by “..cutting back on things like soap, movies and clothes” and adopting non-consumerism lifestyle options.

The article caught my eye mainly because of its two (quite bold) opening questions:

1) Sickened by the overarching consumerism that drives our culture?

..... and,

2) Wish you could stop spending money on things you don't actually need?

My favourite part of the interview:

Q. I understand you dealt a lot with trying to define necessity versus want. Is that something a lot of people have trouble with?

A. Yes. In fact, studies show virtually everything people want, they define as needs. So, a person will say, "Well, our family needs three cars." Or, "How can we possibly get along without a housekeeper?" And then someone else looks at them and says, "We get along with one car and no housekeeper, what's their problem?" That's another thing about consumption: it's comparative and it's emulative. You look at other people and you live like them.

I wholeheartedly agree! Those few sentences capture the essence of my frustration with the capitalist society we live in *brace for rant*……

I remember the first time I watched an episode of the horrible, stomach-wrenching MTV creation, My Super Sweet Sixteen . I was sitting in the common room of my all-girl dorm with a few other 1st years (a few of whom were regular viewers of the show) and I literally cringed in horror for the entire half hour – I couldn’t believe how a combination of greed, mass marketing and capitalism came together to focus so intently on the formative minds of North Americans between the ages of 16-25 (yes, 25 year olds watch the show!!). I mean, what parent spends $10 Gs on a teenager's party..

To further our generation's need to keep up appearances, an on-set of social networking sites cropped up (i.e. Twitter, FaceBook ) to herald an age where the lifestyles and extravagances of celebrities and other figures in the public eye are available to us.. at any moment of the day.. feeding the need to accumulate unnecessary material items in the never-ending attempt to stay on top of the newest trends.

I could go on forever on this, but I'm curious ...How often do you find yourself performing an activity (i.e. buying something, going to an event, etc.) to "keep up with the Joneses"?

We'd love to hear your thoughts!

xx

PSA: The Tax Man cometh......

Hola Chicitas!

Tomorrow is the deadline to submit your 2008 personal tax filings to the CRA, which is a pretty big deal for all the perpetually-tardy nerdy girls out there ............... WHY, you ask?

Because the tax man cometh... BAM, BAM, BAM!!

But on serious note, all individuals are required by law to file a tax return (yes, even if you have no income in the calendar year) by the April 30 deadline. Self-employed individuals and contractors have until June 15th to submit, however the CRA calculates interest on tax payable as at April 30.

Translation: Aim for April 30th!

Check out the CRA website for more information and do not hesitate to contact a tax professional if you have any questions or concerns.

Adios,
xx

HAIR today.. gone tomorrow!

I am a girly-girl in the sense that I love to switch up my hair and look every month or so………. BUT, it really strikes a chord deep within my soul to see young ladies wasting money on inconsequential items such as brand-name clothing, shoes and over-priced beauty services.

Case in point: I was at the nail salon with my sister when a twenty-something ,Yonge & Eg’r came in and proceeded to moan and belly ache to her mom about her growing list of expenses. One such expense just happened to be a $300 cut, color and blow out she received from a shi shi Yorkville salon.

Now, I go to a salon in Yorkville and I sure as hell do NOT pay $300 for my hair treatments. Furthermore, I’m a Black woman – with delicate tresses requiring a tad more TLC than most females – so, on average, I will fork over between $80-100 to my trusted hair technician on a bi-monthly basis. This includes a relaxer (chemical straightening), deep conditioning treatment, trim and blow-out!

Call me cheap, frugal, spendthrift, whatever…….. but $300 on ONE trip to the salon? I just don’t understand!!

Anyhow, I was chatting with my co-workers about this and just wanted to share a few money-saving tips with the Nerdy Girl network.

To start, here some links to beauty schools and academies offering a bevy of talented, trend-setting junior stylists ready-and-waiting to perform hair magic at extremely affordable prices.

• Fiorio Beauty Academy
• Marvel Beauty School
• Canadian Aesthetics Academy

A few tips for the first-timer:

* Get there early and watch while you wait! While you’re there you can observe your student stylist in action to assess whether their specific hair care methodology, work ethic, and styling are suited to your tastes.

* Know what you want! It never hurts to bring in a magazine cut-out or two to provide a road map for your stylist.

* Clearly communicate your likes/dislikes! If you don’t tell them what you want, how will they ever know?

* Do your research! Get to know your hair type, what products work best for you, and understand what styles flatter your face shape and lifestyle. Unfortunately, your stylist may be lacking in real-world experience so you’ll have to be a more active participant in the process (which I loooove..)!!

Ok, I'm curious.. what's the most you've ever spent on your hair? Was it worth it, and would you do it again?

Until next time!
xx

Happy New Year to Everyone!!!

I miss my Nerdy Girls...

xoxo