Things that are making my life better and easier: Smart girl money moves

Hello, Gorgeous!

Reaching your new year’s resolutions and 2026 goals are something to work towards all year round. It makes next year’s goals easily achievable whilst also enforcing you to dream bigger. 

Here are things that are helping me reach and stay on track towards my 2026 goals. 

Simplifying everything by spending less

I stopped spending on what would normally be luxurious essentials for me, because I found affordable alternatives to keep me afloat whilst saving. 

Having a budget is one of the most luxurious things you can do, because you can indulge within your means still living a high quality life. Knowing your tax bracket will also filter out the noise and let you enjoy what you have and want. 

This brought me to the obvious conclusion that using what you have has never been so sexy. 

1. Tailor what you have 

Instead of spending on clothes for future events that may or may not happen, I go back to my closet and upgrade by tailoring. 

There are so many items I have not touched or only wore several times that I have not reached for because they are ill-fitting. 

I rather spend money on what I already have done research on and want to wear. It makes sense to make your outfits count. 

2. Reuse the same outfits

If my style appears monotonous, it is because I remembered that people do not care what you look like if they have not seen you before. 

Lately, I have engaged with so many different new people that it is the first time they are seeing me in a look. 

It creates a strong personal brand with yourself and consolidates your style with those you see on a regular basis.

3. Take care of your things

Wash your garments in delicate tumblers of cold water if you choose not to by hand and hang them up to dry on a rack or ironing board before pressing. Rotate between a lint roller and clothing brush depending on the material.

My fast fashion lounge and workout shirts from ten years ago made of 100% cotton are still being used today. Typically, workout clothes are the fastest to fall apart, but that is not the case for me.

You can shop from wherever you want as long as you know what to shop for. The point is to keep your clothes maintained so you always are put together (or at least look like it). New people who see you for the first time will not care. 

When you get bored, this can change. But get obsessed with your style and mix pieces up for as long as you can without losing your mind. If you have timeless style and know yourself, this is less of an issue.

Selectively upgrading

1. Pay for annual Apple care coverage

In lieu of obtaining a new Apple product every year to replace my devices altogether, I upgrade my Apple care. The annual plan makes everything easy, so I make the wise decision to budget for this. 

It is the only way to go with my devices always next to me whilst 

• Cooking
• doing my skincare routine (oils spill)
• and workouts. 

Also, the new theft and loss coverage is worth it in Los Angeles. 

Originally, I never thought I needed Apple Care, but since life started inevitably lifing with my devices, you truly never know. 

2. Decide whether to get a new camera or iPhone

I ended up doing both. 

The reason is because my discontinued iPhone 13 mini is glitching and overheating to the point of not functioning at all at times. Apparently five years is the new point of no return for iPhones at this stage. 

As someone who is not a fan of phones and wants to be free of notifications

I do not want to be chained to having my phone do everything. This goes back to when texting used to be excessively expensive per text growing up and was only to be used for emergencies, i.e., rideshare emergencies and maps as backup.

You should always know phone numbers and where you are going off the top of your head. Make your brain useful.

Finally upgrading my iPhone

When I set it on my magsafe dash for Carplay GPS – or simply to listen to my latest playlist – it overheats and slows down 500% when wanting to do any task. 

I opted for the iPhone 17e with 256 GB, because I thought I would use 512 GB would make sense with all the content I post. It used to, but I have been filming less and living offline as my new luxury. 

Long ago, I vowed to use my devices until they die and today is finally the day. 

Problems with my old vlogging camera

Vlogging with my iPhone alone has not been a problem until it was.

Remember: some people do not vlog to post and want to keep a visual journal. 

After saying goodbye to 8 cameras, having a GoPro Hero 10 Black is really useful when you are using it for short bursts of activity. But it often runs out of power. The front screen also turns off after a few seconds and cannot be changed in settings. 

Even with alternative batteries, I feel like I spent a fortune on at the time, everything constantly needs to be recharged. It also overheats after a little bit of vlogging before it dies. It does not last even half the day for me without the maintenance of changing out the batteries (which also die right away unless you charge them religiously.) 

The footage looks great for sports and outdoor acts of creation, but I am only beauty vlogging. The footage looks harsher than reality – my skin looks like tree bark with the amount of added unnecessary sharpness – and it is a time suck to own this camera. 

I’m a girl who likes to be prepared for everything. This camera is a lot of preparation for little reward. Weigh your solutions. 

My new vlogging camera is fabulous! 

All hail the Canon V10 Powershot.

I need to be able to see what I’m filming on a larger screen, so I got the Canon V10 Powershot. It has 4k vlogging along with 20 megapixels versus my iPhone’s lousy 12 megapixels. 

It is a Canon, which I have been familiar with as a child when I had the original Canon Powershot in hot pink gifted to me by my artist father. This is literally the brand and camera I started my first blogging with and I have not found any upgrade better till this day. 

I can only put up with trash talk for so long.

I’m kidding. It’s constructive criticism and I value it.

Though, strangers online will still complain if you have a $1,000 camera and the footage looks deep fried. 

A lot of people make comments on how out of focus and grainy my visuals are and I act like it is supposed to be that way to be stylistic. I can only carry the facade so far. 

This style of poor quality only works sporadically if you are trying to get noticed with top quality content. Yet I still see vloggers who film from handheld cameras with 2 megapixels and still have 2 million subscribers.

What I’ve learnt is to do what works for you. Not what the world tells you to is buy-able.

Stability is not an issue for me, because I actually have pretty steady hands. Thanks to a lifetime art career. I also only use it for filming with a tripod for the most part. 

Stop checking my phone first thing

This should seem simple and is something every productivity YouTuber tells you to do. 

But I have not done this. 

My original reasoning was because my apartment was a tiny box. Now that I am living in a more spacious place, I still have it at my bedside. This has changed. 

One day when waking up late, I had 45 text messages from the entire world. Responding to everything as I started my day, I was inundated with replies from everyone at the exact same time. 

The overwhelm made my stomach hurt and my brain surged with stress. Never doing that ever again.

Some days I wake up to people calling me, because my new sleep schedule was not adjusted for do not disturb times. I hate waking up to the beckon of other people’s literal calls and having the world control my body clock. 

Charging my phone outside of my room has been a saviour keeping me sane.

Respond later 

I have a lot of close friends who are almost neighbours. This includes my coworkers. Since I volunteer so much of my time as a friend, I realised I new to reel it back. 

Not cutting them off entirely is key. Keep your friendships and maintain all your relationships in a glowing manner by still being you. But set your boundaries so your life is not destroyed with other people’s requests. 

You are a cool person.

Others see that and want to be a part of your life. However, what keeps you cool is claiming your space when you need it so you can show up as your best when you offer it rather than it being requested at someone else’s whims. 

Do not respond when you want to, but when it makes sense to let others take up time. You want to build and preserve connections, but sustain them at a pace that suits you manageably. 

Slowly buying my life back

This makes sense if you do it slowly if you cannot afford to make a giant splurge all at once. You will either be in debt or sacrifice a bit to do it at once if the means are not available. 

Paying all my bills annually vs. monthly

One of my annual goals is to pay all my recurring bills annually versus monthly. This includes rent. I love seeing how much I am truly spending. 

The reason is annual plans usually save you at least two months off. It literally pays to be smart. Budget your life properly, and you will find all the things you can and want to do within it. 

There is luxury in relaxing knowing your bills are paid early and you can focus on your life right now, in the moment. 

Investing in nostalgia

Another buy my life back goal in the back of my mind is to gradually purchase all my favourite movies and TV shows I re-watch. This is a millennial thing where you bought a VHS or DVD to watch again later, for the gen z visitors. 

New shows require my full attention. This is rarely going to go towards a program and is reserved for rare moments when I want to gratify the yearning with a feature adequately in the theatre.

I love reliving past shows like Sex and the City, Mad Men, and Frasier. They are so quotable, memorable, and are stylish rituals to help me flow through the seasons. It is the gift that keeps on giving. 

Apple TV has made my life easier by literally channeling everything into one place, and I can rent or buy movies as I see fit versus switching back and forth between costly streaming services. 

Searching for things to watch is another time suck and is quite annoying when licensing deals are finished. To solve this: own the product! 

Everything is saved to your iCloud account and you can have it ready when you want it. 

How to thrive even with goal setbacks

Sometimes it feels like you are moving 2 steps forward and 1 step back. But that is because of living expenses in my case. For every paycheck I get, half gets thrown into bills and surviving. 

What makes me feel like I am thriving and on top of my life is reaching the actual goals. Hitting milestones make all the little days of habitual change worth it. 

You start stronger each time moving the needle and it gives you the will power to keep moving forward. In other words, you give yourself a new beginning each time with a spring in your step.

Live your life on your own terms and control

Ultimately, building a life that feels easier, calmer, and more aligned comes down to the small, intentional choices you make every day. When you simplify, set boundaries, and spend with purpose, you create more space for the things that actually matter.

If you’re ready to step into a more elevated, disciplined, and “it girl” version of your life, join TheItGirlSchool.com and start turning your goals into your everyday reality.

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