7 TIPS TO GET YOUR FINANCES ON TRACK

As someone who advocates for personal finance, it is still a struggle to maintain momentum. There have been times when I’ve been blindsided by bills and times when I’ve completely ignored my finances. If this has ever been you, you are not alone. The world revolves around money and it can be overwhelming to constantly think about who you owe, needing more income, whether you’ll make ends meet this month, etc. Although, we may have good intentions, our actions may not support those intentions. You may have to pause and press reset but that’s okay. Reset as many times as you need to but never stop progressing. Your finances will change as seasons in your life change, reset and adjust. To get started, here are a few tips to get your finances on track.

For more information, click here

Do you know what makes you happy?

Do you know how to spread happiness?

Happiness is more than having a positive mind/mood its more so about a sense of meaning and deep satisfaction.

There are a few rules to making more happiness. Some of them are:

1.Working on projects that matter to you.

2. Traveling to new places

3. Thinking about ideas and content freely.

4. Getting feedback from people who see your work

Apply to save money

You shop only when there’s a discount. You opt to make dinner at home rather than eat out at your neighboring restaurant. You are a student in the art of budgeting, but you have yet to be a teacher in properly saving your money. The fact of the matter is, penny-pinching is an effective method that it is also met with limitations when considering the multitude of calculations you’ll have to do. Frankly, it’s not unheard of to exceed your budget if your only scale of measurements are merely recalling numbers in your head or occasionally checking your activity log only to find out that you spent more than intended. That’s why adding applications (no pun intended) to your economic catastrophe will have you, the struggling budgeting student become the sufficient master.

Technology, rather than creep and crawl into our lives has instead lunged and jumped at us head-first. Instead of letting our techy friend crash to the ground, we should brace for impact, spread our arms and catch it. Figurative language aside, utilizing technology, namely phone applications, will serve as our money saving partner. Wired, the renowned news article, credits apps like Mint, Acorns, and Credit Karma as just a number of credible platforms for ensuring that budgets are upheld and money is preserved. Saving money is plausible, however applying applications will ensure credit certainty and an even healthier savings.

So Smart We’re Dumb?

Man has come to a steady conclusion: we are all only as great as the sum of our parts. We understand the importance of developing ourselves and being self-sufficient, but we also aren’t too proud to lean on a friend, a partner or a piece of software. Man continues to push his or her calendar of ideas, but specifically in pairs rather than individuals; however, our dependency has transitioned to favoring artificial intelligence. In a world consumed with smart phones and complex software, the onus towards our own development seems stagnant while for technology it appears to be more dynamic than ever. With our thesis of progression dependent on technology we can only ponder the limitations of our intelligence and the limitless opportunities for artificial partners.

Recently, Ray Kurzweli–computer scientist and member of Google’s staff–sought out to synthesize language with artificial intelligence as an application to our everyday life. Within the past few months, those who use Gmail (which are many) should have already encountered Kurzweli’s brain child of “smart replies,” where human language and artificial diction meet a medium. While engaging in a chain of email replies between yourself and a companion, at the end of the email you should be met with very adequate responses. Though a simple application in our everyday life, Kuezweli succeeds in blurring the lines of language as a human concept where software can simply replicate our diction and syntax with its smart replies.

We still only seem to be tapping the surface of the software we meddle in, and with such a great focus on artificial intelligence it makes you wonder if we have come to a standstill on our own intelligence. An interdependent relationship is ideal for growth and we have affirmed our relationship with technology as the current and ultimate bond of that paradigm; however, there is a fine line between interdependency and dependency. We’ll always be smart but will technology appear to be so smart that we seem “dumb” by comparison?

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The Intern Experience: EqualSpace at YouTube Space

 

I am an intern. With that said, my position is often associated with mundane tasks. If a superior asks for coffee then I should already be making my way towards the nearest StarBucks to order a vanilla latte. On the contrary, while my superiors do enjoy their daily caffeine, they do purchase it on their own their accord while trusting me, a social media marketing intern (to give you an exact title), to fulfill my duties. Whether such tasks may be writing a blog post or doing research on venture capitalists, I am responsible for crafting material that the company–EqualSpace–actually uses for the betterment of their company. There, I realized that my summer work was not going to be condensed to fulfilling errands, but rather immersing myself in an authentic work experience. My boss, Citi Medina, only confirmed my hopes for a genuine internship when he called out to me and asked, “Hey Nana, wanna join me next Wednesday when I go over to speak at YouTube?” Of course I said yes.

Medina and I met up that Wednesday morning at 9 am and set our sights on New York for YouTube studios. Medina, decked out in his swagger induced outfit, sat with me as we traveled. Our conversation began with the basics. He asked me about my school, my interests in academia and where I saw my major taking me. The small talk, however, only lasted for so long as the two of us began reviewing his upcoming presentation while progressively learning more and more about one another. If there were any previous position barriers between superior and intern present before then Medina and I had surely stripped them.
Upon finally reaching YouTube Studios and being kindly greeted, Medina and I met with his audience for the hour–the women of the BSTEM project. After being acquainted with them, he began his presentation and I was there to capture the moment. While Medina did face a number of technical difficulties, his readiness, wittiness and humor combated even the slightest technological mishap. He retained everyone’s attention and the videos and pictures I snapped are reminiscent of that. As the presentation came to a close, Medina and I congratulated one another on our work for the day and we were even gifted with a remarkable tour around the YouTube venue. But my gift was not necessarily the YouTube experience but much rather that I was asked to partake in it. Medina confirmed for me that I was not just an intern, but an EqualSpace intern and that made all the difference.

Who is Clarisa Romero?

Clarisa Romero is a teacher and coach who creates customized programs for individuals and businesses, but that is not the only notch in her belt. Clarisa helps people with business development by raising self-awareness and emotional regulation.

Romero loves to give back to the community in many ways. She regularly speaks on topics, such as empowerment, leadership and her beliefs on mindfulness.  She’s a contributor on latinasinbusiness.us and she covers mindfulness, emotional intelligence, and work-life business.

Before founding her business: Mindful Consultants, a firm that specializes in the neuroscience-based practice of mindfulness and conscious business concepts.  Romero has provided her consulting services to the Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of NJ (SHCCNJ), to revamp their public relations and marketing efforts. Clarisa Romero was a Public/Government Affairs & Strategic Communications professional for a private Public Relations & Lobbying Firm. Before working for the government, Clarisa served as the Director of Development and Community Education at Multicultural Community Services, a non-profit social service agency. She has plenty of experience with working with people and helping out her community, which is why =SPACE is excited to be hosting a fireside chat with her on July 28.

Here is a taste of what you should look forward to on Friday, June 28:

 

Positive Energy, 17.16 from Princeton Community Television on Vimeo.

 

 

Tips On Being Successful From Legendary Designer April Walker of Walker Wear

Our great  =SPACE Ambassador & Social Media Star, Chris Miss (Christina Bright), hosted a podcast with the founder of Walker Wear, April Walker. April Walker’s designs have been worn on infamous celebs such as Tupac and Biggie Smalls. She had some insightful words about success and we decided to take note of the words that most inspired us. We hope you enjoy our take on what she had to say, if you want to listen in on the podcast, click the link below!

Do you ever lose focus of your dream because of a failure?

Failure is something everybody will go through in life. Don’t be ashamed of your failures, own it. As long as you learn from it it’s no longer a failure. Don’t let the obstacles in life stop you from doing your best. There is no way around failures, so deal with it head on. A lot of the successful people today has gone through failures of their own to get where they are today. You can’t let your failures define you nor let people define them for you. 

Being confident is one step closer to being successful.  

In order for people to take you seriously you have to carry yourself with confidents more so if you’re a woman. Confidents can be as simple as having a strong handshake. Having a strong handshake will make people take you more seriously. Looking someone in the eyes and being able to speak even when its uncomfortable are signs of having confidents. Confidents is the key to getting what you want in life. 

To learn more about the conversation, listen in here:

Malimah’s Corner

Lynette Lashawn 

A Newark native who founded www.off-thehanger.com in February of 2010. She coordinated fashion shows and created fashion moments. Along with interviewing celebrities. Lynette’s boutique started off as an e- commerce but not long after that it developed into a Fashion and Decor studio that’s located Downtown Newark.

      More about Lynette and her website

    • The website (www.lynette-lashawn.com) gives tips on healthy eating
    • Offers hair care tips
    • Lynette earned several Degrees
    • She’s a Brand Ambassador, Philanthropist and Style Expert

 

 

     Anita Dickens

Anita was born in Newark, New Jersey and Graduated from West Side High School. Anita then went on to receive an Associate’s in Science from Essex County College, a BA in Science from New Jersey City University and a Masters in Public Affairs and Administration from Rutgers-Newark. In addition, she volunteered her services in the community to be apart of the local LGBT Organization.

About ANE Clothing

  • The brand caters to all Genders
  • Mainly Vintage and Classic Clothing
  • Also has accessories and home decor for sell.
  • Represents Equality, Diversity and Tolerance

 

      

Rebuilding cities

   Rebuildingcities

On Friday our founder Medina Citi had a panel about being a tech-enabled company. He had the pleasure of being on the panel with Chris Taylor  ( C.M.O of Word Press), Aisha Glover ( President of Newark CEDC) and Jeffery Robison (Professor a Rutgers business) . Tech is great to have in business but a lot of small business in Newark are not connected to the world.

75 % of small business in Newark are not connected to the internet.

There is no way these businesses could connect to anything or anyone outside of word of mouth. Being online can improve the image of your store/company. Citi Medina, Founder of =SPACE (EqualSpace),  stated that we need more of our Newark businesses to get with the program and connected to their community and the rest of the world.

 

Stats on social media and small business

Outside of Newark, most businesses need social media. 44% of business owners said they depend on social media to generate brand awareness; 41% of said they depend on it to drive revenue. 90% of local business owners said that their social marketing efforts have increased exposure for their business and 75 percent said that they’ve increased traffic, according to smallbiztrends.com.  50% of business owners that have been implementing social media marketing tactics for two years have reported improved sales. Social media marketing truly helps to push your brand out!