Have you ever wanted a guide to becoming an adult? Or more of an adult? Or even just a few hints at how one might accomplish this idealized form of being? I used to think that it was just me, too. That was until I read a review on “Adulting: How to Become a Grown-Up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps” by Kelly Williams Brown. Apparently so many other people wanted this guide that the very brilliant and hilarious Kelly Williams Brown made an entire book just for them. I ran to BnN right away and picked up a copy (actually I brought a book my brother got me for Christmas and did an exchange because he and my sister got me the same novel, thanks G!).

The chapters are divided into easy to follow sections, with quick and effective tips on how to live your best adult version of you. Also they are extremely funny and entertaining. After reading the book, I can officially say that my favorite phrase is now “failure-flakes”, which describes the black flecks that fall below your eyes from cheap mascara. Never have I ever read anything so true.

Many chapters cover usual adult life, finding an apartment, learning to cook, love and family. However, what I loved most was that she also covered topics near and dear to this blog’s heart: mental health, budgeting, saving money, and starting a career. I love this book, and highly recommend it to everyone, whether they think they are already an adult or not. I also recommend getting a hard copy for yourself and keep notes along it’s margins, there is a lot to learn from it’s comedic pages!

Here are my top 5 favorite tips from this fabulous guide to “Adulting”.

1.”Accept that you are not special” and “Appreciate those who disagree with step 1”

This section covers how there are some people who love you and think you are the greatest thing since sliced bread, (ie: your parents, friends, significant others, etc.) but there is an entire rest of the world that doesn’t even notice when you have failure-flakes all over your face. This piece really reminded me to appreciate those around me and to always be ready to cheer them on, as they would do for me. Life might start out as disappointing, but that’s ok and it is temporary. You are not a failure.

2. “Remember that the outside world only sees your outermost layer”

I’ve read this book several times, and at the corner of this page I wrote “I feel like this will be an important chapter for me… -22 year old Me” Yes mam, several years later and I still have to remind myself! This section is all about faking it till you make it. Not to be deceitful, or untruthful, but more to just train yourself and maintain a professional appearance. If you fake being cheerful and customer-servicey, you are in-fact BEING cheerful and customer-servicey. If in your head you actually want to punch them, well, at least you didn’t.

3.  “Send a thank-you note”

What? What does something my mom forced us to do after every birthday party have to do with Sugar and Savings? In this chapter, Williams Brown talks about sending a thank you note after a party, or after someone has done something nice for you. She literally gives you a template on page 76. I will never forget the moment when my incredibly grown-up friend, Jamie, told me she writes thank you notes to everyone for anything. I looked at her in awe… and confusion. Why would you WANT to do that? Well because, Ms. Adult-in-training, it isn’t about YOU! As I said earlier, I need to remind myself to be a cheerleader to the ones I love, that includes showing them appreciation when they do something kind or just because they exist. Thank you lovely human, for existing.

ALSO, because I WILL tie it back to Sugar and Savings, you should write thank you notes to those who help you in your career life too. Whether after an interview or just coffee with a mentor, thank them for taking the time to meet with you, because they didn’t have to and it definitely helped. Which brings me to-

4. Steps 136- 138 or “How to Network”

No one knows how to effectively network these days. I’ll get random friend requests from people in my “women’s entrepreneurs group” on Facebook and that’s it! No talking, no follow up, just a request from a stranger. What a waste of energy! Williams Brown’s steps are as follows: “136: Ask for a business card when the conversation is winding to a close”, “137: Follow up with people you meet” (excellent place for a thank you note in my opinion!), and “138: Ask those people out for coffee”. People love to talk about themselves and you never know what you could learn from someone who is in the position you might like to have someday!

5. “Think of shopping like drinking”

And then there was the money chapter.  This is included in my top 5 tips because I had to come to terms with a terrible retail-therapy habit. Shopping with my mom or friends made me feel happy, and if I had a bad day a trip to Target was magical. It’s not always an easy habit to notice, you don’t run around drunk from shopping, but it can still pile up and be detrimental when trying to stick to a budget. Apps like Wish make it allllll too easy to just get “a few things”, and with their small price tags it makes a hard to notice problem even easier to ignore.

There you have it! If you haven’t already got it up on the tab next to this one, here is my personal link to the book on Amazon:*

* This post contains affiliate links. This just means that I may receive a small commission (at no cost to you) if you purchase something through the links below. You will never see me post a link to a product or service that I haven’t used myself and love! Thank you for supporting Sugar and Savings!

Thank you so much, I hope you enjoyed this review of “Adulting: How to Become a Grown-Up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps” by Kelly Williams Brown.

Until next time, wishing you all Sugar and Savings,

Taylor

This week I received a great question.

“Taylor, my friend is about to interview for a new job, how should she answer the question about her strengths and her weaknesses?”

I decided to turn her question (and my answer) into another blog post to help you job seekers out there! Every interview that has ever been conducted, by a Manager reading off of the question sheet corporate gave him/her, includes the dreaded question:

“What do you think are your biggest strengths and weaknesses?”

Yeesh, that’s pretty much what you were hoping to avoid in this job search. If you LIKED your weaknesses, they wouldn’t BE weaknesses. Well here are three tips for providing a killer answer:

1. Be Honest. Your biggest weakness is not “caring too much”.
2. Frame Your Weaknesses Positively. If your weakness is “I’m not a team player” instead phrase it positively. “I am an independent and self motivated person, I’m working on my ability to work more effectively in a group setting.” Always say you are working on whatever the weakness is. They want to know you are able to take responsibility and are striving toward self development.
3. Base Your Strengths Answer Off Of The Job Posting. If they asked for someone with customer service skills, say your strength is your customer service experience and abilities. They WILL ask you to talk more about these so make sure you are honest and able to give examples.

Don’t be ashamed of weaknesses, everyone has them. I personally know that I put too much on my plate, I am terrible at saying no and I love to load up on a busy schedule. This is my weakness because other projects or responsibilities may suffer if I am spread too thin. However, I also know that this makes me a go-getter, and a motivated team player, able to take on multiple projects at one time.

If you are honest and keep a positive spin on your answer, you will do just fine!

What are your strengths and weaknesses? Comment below!

Wishing you Sugar and Savings,

Taylor

Congratulations! After who knows how many applications and cover letters, you my friend, have a real life interview. This probably isn’t your first interview, or maybe it is, regardless you want to nail it. You want to leave the meeting walking tall and thinking “Oh yeah, I got this.”. Here are my top 5 ways to kill it in any interview.

1. Re-read the Job Description.
   Re-read the job description you’ve applied for, not only do you want to use this to prepare for tip number two, but you may have applied for a million jobs and you want to be sure you remember exactly which one this is.
   While you are reading, make a note of all of the qualifications they’ve asked for and that you meet. Be prepared to talk about those as you’ll want to highlight them! They wanted someone with a four year degree? You went to the University of Blank and Such and NOT ONLY that, you ran the student organization responsible for implementing new water bottle filling drinking fountains. Take what they’ve asked for and add some personal flair, emphasizing how it makes you suitable for their position.
2. Research the Position.
   You’ve read the job description, looked up a bit more about the company (or at least you should have), now you have a vague idea about what the job would be like. Research it further, what is the job like at OTHER companies? How does the description you’ve read line up? Write down any questions that come up as you are looking around and comparing,and note the salary differences, you’ll want to have these ready later.
3. But WHAT do you WEAR?!
   I struggled with this for so long. At 16 I even went to an interview wearing my mom’s work clothes from the nineties (it was not the nineties when I had said interview).
   I was 16 years old, wearing a dated striped turtleneck and dress pants that didn’t fit me, to a pizza place. I almost wore jeans to an audition for college until a teacher said “Oh girl, no.” and then I wore my hostess outfit from work instead. I was clearly in need of help.
   Well, you’ve probably hear the phrase “dress for the job you want” -do this. This is smart. You already did the research, is this company a casual work environment? Then go for business casual. Are they a Fortune 500 Company? Then dress like you are the lead role in a movie about a multimillionaire CEO.
   If you are ever not sure, dress to impress, it is better to be overdressed than underdressed. Be comfortable, feel confident, and for the love of all that is good in this world- iron your damn shirt.
4. Be Early.
   Fifteen to ten minutes is best. Too early and you look crazy and desperate, not early enough and you risk getting lost in the parking ramp and being late. Not cool. Go early, sit in your car if you must until the 15 minute mark and make your way in.
5. Ask Questions.
   At the end of EVERY interview they ask “Do you have any questions for me?”. Do not ask “When can I start?” It’s not funny, and they HAVE heard it before, and you will not start.
   DO ask those questions you came up with in your research, and once all of those have been addressed hit them with the real deal sealer– “Is there anything about my application that concerns you? Is there anything missing that I can address?”
   BAM.
   This gives them one of two options. They can either say “No, everything looks great!” thus having them say it aloud that you’ve done well and reminding themselves of what an exceptional candidate you are. OR they can say “Well, we’re worried you don’t have much experience with blah dah blah.” and now you are free to talk about what you DO know about it and what a fast learner you are.

Ta Da! You did it! Now, bonus tip, don’t rush out of there! Take your time, be gracious and shake hands. How you leave says just as much as how you came in. Stay confident, stay pleasant, and then cry in the car if you have to. But you probably won’t, because you just nailed it!

Send a little thank you email later, thanking them for the interview and letting them know you’ll look forward to hearing from them soon.

I hope you all love these tips, and don’t forget to share them with your friends!

Sugar and Savings,

Taylor

January, the time of resolutions gone by the wayside, and binge watching Netflix in your Pjs on the couch. (And if that was your New Years Resolution, you do you- that sounds awesome.)

But a lot of us had more grandiose ideas about what 2018 could bring us. Whether it was a goal to lose weight, save more money, spend more time with family; any goal you may have set can still be a reality for you!

Here’s how:

You may have heard of SMART goals. SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. Meaning your goal must be more specific than “eat healthier”, instead try “eat veggies with two meals each day”. Then they must be measurable, you have to be able to see your results or progress! Even if your progress is just a little check mark off of your to-do list for the day, seeing your results propels you forward and motivates you to keep going.

Then there is attainable and realistic, and I’ll suggest you take these steps lightly. Fearing your goals are unattainable, or unrealistic, will stop you from trying! Now I’m not saying your goals should be “Gain 1,000 new blog followers by tomorrow” because while it is specific, it’s not something you can control. It’s not impossible, but it is unlikely and if you don’t set yourself up with easier goals to meet you’ll be disappointed and quit. Don’t let fear get in your way of dreaming big, but go easy on yourself, great stuff takes time!

And that time is very important. You also don’t want to let “someday” get in your way. If you want something tell yourself when you’ll have it by. Maybe you won’t have 1,000 new followers tomorrow, but maybe by three months from now you could!

Now that you have a goal that is SMART, here is how we’ll achieve it.

I’ll use a money saving goal as an example.

The Goal: I want to save $1,000.00 in the next 60 days.

It is Specific, save $1,000.00, it is measurable, $1,000.00. It is achievable and realistic, and timely, 60 days. So now we’ll break it down into To-Do’s.

The Goal: I want to save $1,000.00 in the next 60 days. To do this I need to _______.

When making your to-do list, don’t worry about a specific order of things yet, we’ll get to that next. Just list everything you can think of that you need to do in order to meet your goal.

• Save all change
• Set up automatic transfers to Savings Account
• Cut coupons to save at the store
• Look online for rebates
• Cash the check from Mom
• Cancel the Hulu subscription
• Clean the car for change
• Look in-between the couch cushions
• Sign up to be an uber driver, etc.

Great list! Now let’s put them in an order. None of the to-do’s above really NEED to be done in a specific order whereas other goals and to-do lists may require one item be done before you can start another. But for our example it still might help you hit those goals! For instance, maybe you cash the check first to use cash when you take your coupons to the store. Then you save the change from your shopping visit. Or maybe you want to cancel Hulu before the 5th when the next automatic payment comes out. You probably want to clean your car before you sign up to start driving for Lyft or Uber. Put your to-do’s in an order that makes sense and jump on it!

It’s very important to do a brain dump of all of the to-do’s BEFORE you try to put them in order, trust me. When you concentrate only on what needs to be done instead of WHEN it needs to be done, you’ll come up with so much more to help you. You’d hate to miss something!

Finally, don’t forget to keep yourself posted on your progress! Celebrate your victories and you’ll have more to celebrate!

Until next time, wishing you all positive motivation to meet those goals, sugar, and savings,

Taylor

xoxo