Every day I'm hustling...

Diva - The term was originally used to describe a woman of rare, outstanding talent. It derives from the Italian word 'divina', meaning "divine" (feminine form), which, in turn, derives from the feminine form of the Latin word divus/diva, meaning "divine one."

I am a Diva, and my brain is the sexiest part of my body. With that said, today's tip is cut from a different cloth.

Being a diva is more than just looking hot. It means you are on top of the game. YOU are in control! Today I was reading an article on the MSN Money Boards. If you're not familiar, Liz Pulliam Weston and MP Dunleavy are talented writer-divas who host a "Women in Red" series focused on helping women eliminate or greatly reduce their debt. Today's article was about becoming debt free in 1 year, and 5 steps to fix your finances. In this article there was a link to ING Direct. In case you didn't know, your bank is probably paying around 0.25% apy on a savings account, contingent upon your balance and relationship. ING is currently offering 3.45% apy. Yeah, let that sink in. Open a savings account and have at least $10 transferred monthly. You won't even miss that money but you will love it once it has grown.

So...ING has this program called share builder. This allows you to purchase a part of a share, using automatic transfers or however you set it up. Weekly, monthly, etc. You get the idea. Instead of waiting to purchase a full share, or pooling your money (like in a mutual fund, where you have no control over the portfolio), you know exactly how your money is working for you. You buy what your money allows, but it actually owns something as it grows toward the larger goal.

ex. Shares of The Everyday Diva are trading at $200 each. You are investing at $25 weekly. At the point of that investment, you now own 1/8 of a share of this stock. If the price of that stock increases, so does your piece of a share. If the stock increases to $300 a share, your $25 is now worth $37.50. Of course, you are subject to the same fluctuations of the market, but you can be a player in the big boys game.

I know this will work for some and not others. To me, it's basically foolproof. Instead of trying to save up to buy that one share, you own a piece of it, making it a more reasonable and achievable goal to get to that $200. It is an alternative to doing it the old way, which never worked for me. I could act like I want to save $200 to buy a share of something, but the reality is I will pinch off of that money. Besides, why not let it work for you? I just told you, $25 sitting in my Chase account isn't doing anything anyway, compared to that same $25 sitting at ING, or better yet, that $25 turning into $37.50, and then eventually $200.

The Virtuous Woman did more than just look good. She ran things. Ask ANY man - That is the most attractive quality of a woman...And the TRUE definition if a diva!

Ladies - this is the time to get in the game. I can't sit on the bench anymore, I want to play with the big dogs! By doing this, I am positioning myself to be an investor, and attract those type of things...because we all know, you attract what you're about.

Okay. I'm out. Gotta go set up my accounts!

***This information is not intended to be a substitute for consulting a financial advisor, nor does it imply that following this advice will guarantee any type of a return on investment.

The Everyday Divas will be taking one day next week to do a personal financial overhaul. We will let you know how that works out!

Happy Feet!

This weekend, I purchased a Ped-Egg Foot File. I saw this on an infomercial a couple of weeks ago, and when I was in Sally's last week I saw some on a rack for $9.49 with my Sally card. The TV deal is better...sort of. You get 2 for the price of one, but you also have to pay shipping. So I guess it kinda works out.

The Ped Egg is cute. Instead of being long like the Microplane (which I originally wanted) it is small, orb shaped and fits into the palm of your hand. The bottong has a little sanding pad that you use after you have scraped your feet with the Ped-Egg. All your foot dust ends up trapped in the little compartment, which you empty later.

Pros: This joker works! It worked better on my honey's heels than it did on my callouses, but at least he isn't shredding my feet in the bed anymore. All the hard rough patches were nicely scraped and buffed away. You don't even feel it, but you can certainly tell the difference afterwards.

Cons: In order for the foot dust to stay in it's compartment, you almost have to exclusively use it upside down, like working under your feet. Using it the opposite way results in the foot dust falling through the holes.

Foot dust - since the little blades are so small, they basically pulverize the dead skin into dust. It looks like Parmesan Cheese. Gross.

I vote yes for the Ped Egg and I think every American should have one. It's a nice product that does what it says it will do. I have tried many an item and never came close to these results. Try one and you will see!

Ped Eggs are available at Sally Beauty Supply for direct purchase. You can purchase online from pedegg.com and HSN. HSN has black ones also, 2 for $19.99 and they come with 10 buffing pads.

Size Matters..or does it?

Over the weekend, Marcita, Aja and I reviewed 3 fresh tubes of Mark's Make It Big Lash Plumping mascara. This product had pretty decent reviews on Makeup alley and was touted as being comparable to BeneFit Bad Gal and Dior DiorShow. I got a good deal on e bay for a few so we decided to try it out.

For those that aren't familiar, Mark is an Avon brand that is aimed towards young ladies. Lots of lip gloss, eyeshadow and eyeliner. Mostly cute stuff though.

Pros: It was cheap.

Cons: Everything. First off, the brush is HUGE. I stabbed myself in the eye immediately. I couldn't really get the brush to grab all of my lashes without bumping my eyelid. The formula is DRY. I had a really hard time even getting my lashes evenly coated and after I did, they looked dry and spiky. My lashes are short and not very full so I need something that gives them major OOMPH. I have been using Avon Astonishing Lengths for years, but to my avail it was discontinued this year. This is not a good replacement. The brush is bigger than my whole eye.

Aja: This mascara is horrible. It didn't do anything for me at all. I poked myself with that big dumb brush. I wouldn't use that again. It will not be in the "2008 Look".

Aja has very lush exotic lashes. This made her lashes look clumpy and tangled.

Marcita: It was okay but it really didn't do anything. That brush is crazy. It was so dry! I tried to work with it but it doesn't have any pop.

Marcita has long, beautiful Betty Boop lashes. On her, this looked like how her lashes normally look without mascara.

So, the consensus is, this mascara did not work for us. Obviously, bigger is not always better. Maybe we got a bad batch? Who knows. We won't be wasting the money again to find out!

-Y

Our Silver Screen Debut!

Hola, everybody!

Welcome to the first edition of The Everyday Diva! This blog has been created to share, vent, review, and entertain. We will discuss how to be FABULOUS on a budget, what NOT to wear, (more importantly) what TO wear, and everything in between.

Feel free to ask questions, give reviews, whatever floats your boat. KEEP IT CLEAN!!

And now...Welcome to...

~~The Everyday Diva~~