#trying to find more ways 2 get funds while balancing everything else. this is simple and fun! (i love block printing and making packages)

[gootube]

opened a small shop on my ko-fi to sell $5 prints of these linoleum block stamps i carved :3

i'm willing to ship internationally as well!

[resinatingbeauty]

I’ve had a lot of requests from various people at different times who are just learning how to use resin to create with and wanted some tips and tricks. I have wanted to make this post for a while, but I wanted to acquire more experience myself before giving others help. This first post is just going to go over some really basic tips and tricks and subsequent posts (if they’re found helpful) will elaborate. This is for all of you who are like me and get the least amount of benefit from watching Youtube tutorials these days because EVERYONE has one, and half the time they’re drawn out for ad revenue so an hour long video will only contain 20 mins worth of information with the kicker being you can’t even fast forward through what you know or rewind through ads to get back to where you need to be. So, for those of you who hate that like me, this text post is for you.

If you’re just starting, choosing which resin you want to purchase is intimidating. Craft stores like Michael’s and Hobby Lobby rarely offer more than one or two brands, typically over priced due to the fact that they’re labeled “art resins”.

Epoxy resin is by far the easiest to start with for beginners. It is the most forgiving, has the most consistent results, most brands use the same 1:1 ratio and the overall technique is the same. I am not affiliated with these brands/companies in any way other than I have used their products and have written reviews for several on Amazon.

Start with small packages (4oz-8oz kits / 8oz & 16oz hardener + resin). A quick Amazon search for epoxy resin will give you many results. This is one of those cases where you really don’t get what you pay for- boat, tabletop, etc. epoxy will yield the same results at more reasonable prices per fluid ounce than art resins. I recommend going with brands like FanAut, Puduo, Let’s Resin, Craft Daddy, etc. which often offer kits with gloves, craft sticks / stir sticks, measuring cups, and even additives at reasonable prices. All these items are things you’ll need to start off, so any extras are appreciated. I recommend Puduo, as it is relatively inexpensive compared to similar brands, yields consistent , crystal clear results, and has a somewhat faster curing time than other epoxy resins for the price. If none of these brands ring your bell, here are the qualifiers for a “good” epoxy resin:

Self Degassing- This is pretty much the standard expectation of epoxy resin and one of the reasons it is considered forgiving for beginners. When resin and hardener are combined, gases are trapped and form air bubbles which have a tendency to multiply as you stir your mixture and the combination heats up. But it shouldn’t be taken for granted that all epoxy resin does this, so try to look for “self degassing” in the item description / label.

Self Leveling vs. Doming : Doming resin is great for the magnified look on pendants and other flat projects, but self leveling resin is where you should be starting as doming requires the build up of surface tension to achieve. While “doming “ resin may achieve this easier than others without this feature, it is pretty irrelevant if you don’t know to dome resin in the first place.

Art Resin vs Other Epoxy: Art resins make claims of being ideal or a better choice for arts & crafts, but the reality is that you can achieve the same effects from table top or boat resins such as Mas- are just as capable of casting, coating, doming etc. as art resins especially if you’re looking to take on a larger project you will pay less and get more with these brands than smaller quantities of art resins. Make sure they are crystal clear, hard type, self degassing, and self leveling. Keep in mind that cure time relates to the size of your project and the ambient temperature of the environment, so don’t waste money on products that charge more for touting faster curing time.

What about 2 part epoxy in syringes? (Ice Resin, Gorilla Glue) Personally, these pre prepared epoxy resins are more complicated than they look. You can’t save combined resin and hardener, so once you mix the two or pop the seals to both you have to use the lot of it in one shot. Ice Resin in particular is quite expensive and doesn’t offer the clear, glossy results I expected it to when I used it, so I would avoid these if you are just starting out.

Additives & Extras- Don’t waste a lot of money at the start funding your would be creations until you have at least seen one entire project through from start to finish. I made the mistake of investing in silicone molds, glitters, additives like rhinestones, craft papers, transparency films etc before I really found my niche and what I was really using epoxy for the most. There are some great deals for 100+ piece silicone mold kits that include gloves, stir sticks, silicone measuring cups, and the like available cheaply for those looking to make smaller things like jewelry, keychains, figurines etc. the one I have just linked to even includes the epoxy for under $20. These kits are offered by Amazon and even Etsy and are a great place to start as they provide you with everything you would need to create at least one full project. They are also a great activity to do with your kids (ages 10+ would probably be ideal) as you can add pretty much anything that isn’t silicone, wax, unsealed paper, alcohol, or water based into resin, which opens up a world of possibilities!

Tips & Tricks That Will Save You $

If you’re itching for purchasing pigments to add color to your resin projects, try purchasing or reusing some old or cheap mineral eye shadows. Not sure if your eye shadow is mineral based? I’m willing to bet it is, though some colors may not look the same when mixed in resin as they do on the pallets, they will color it nonetheless, just pick a small amount up on a popsicle stick or toothpick and stir it into a small batch of resin to see how it turns out. Dollar Tree eye shadows will work just as well as expensive pigments, so consider this before investing in expensive mica pigment sets!

While silicone molds are probably the easiest and are reusable, you can also use plastic molds, carve your resin block with carpentry tools or by hand-or even make your own molds! There are simple recipes utilizing dish soap and corn starch out there, or you can use silicone or even hot glue! Flexible silicone molds won’t require a mold release, but plastic and other molds will or you may end up cutting your project out. You don’t have to purchase a mold release product for this, either- olive or vegetable oil spray on a paper towel will suffice, just remember to let your mold sit for a few hours to demoisturize.

Can’t find gloves because of COVID19 hype? Finger cots are even better than gloves as they allow for more dexterity even when they get sticky, are cheaper, and readily available in bulk online!

Pretty much anything compatible with homemade “slime” can be mixed into or embedded in resin, so there is that. However, be careful how much glitter, pigment, etc you add as you can throw off the chemical balance that allows your project to cure properly. Refer to the directions included with your specific resin kit as most will tell you what ratios must be maintained for proper curing.

Everyone that works with resin knows the arch nemesis that is the bubbles. There are times where it seems like, no matter what you do, your perfect clear cast of a dandelion goes to shit because of some stray air bubbles. There are a few tricks to avoid this from the start:

Use a separate cup to measure resin and hardener. Pour the combined mixture into a fourth cup after the first 3-4 mins of stirring (half time) scraping the sides and bottom. This helps what was on the bottom get integrated into what was mixed on top. Always make sure to pour resin first when mixing and mix slowly, scraping the sides and bottom, for the time listed on your instructions. You want your mixture to be almost water consistency, clear, fluid, with little viscosity, and no streaks visible. Allow it to sit for a few minutes to natural degas and get rid of the bubbles.

Use a torch or grill lighter to pop surface bubbles. You can also do each one individually (as the grill lighter suggestion may not always be a good idea- be careful using this on large projects and molds that may ignite) with a tooth pick. Using a blow dryer or heat gun will also help bubbles rise to the surface to be popped.

Make sure that you keep contact with the bottom of your mixing cup with your stir stick-try not to lift it too much as this can introduce air into the mixture (“whipping the resin”) this can also occur if you are stirring too quickly. If you notice a lot of bubbles, let your mixture sit for a few minutes and resume stirring at a slower pace.

Make sure you start your project at a temperature of 74 degrees +, if your bottles are cold to touch, place them in a plastic bag and let them sit in hot water to warm up. You can also roll them (slowly) on a counter top.

You know, if all else fails you could always make ocean or nautical themed projects :)

That’s all for now- let me know if this helped you or someone you know working with resin or experimenting. Feel free to comment with any questions you would like answered in my next post! I also recommend the Resin Obssesion blog- they have a lot of useful information and tutorials with photos that were really helpful for me starting out!

Xo Samantha

[starkerintheparker]

starker reclist - AUs

Hey guys! Welcome to the second part of my personal Starker reclist, dedicated to AUs. Last week I posted my canon-based recs, you can find them here.

I tried to incorporate as many tropes as I could, hoping everyone will find something special within their interests. There are a few a/b/o and underage fics, all properly tagged in case anyone wishes to avoid them. I also tried to highlight soulmate AUs because I reckon it’s a somewhat popular trope. Enjoy! ❤️

Last updated: April 25th, 2020. All new fics added will be marked with ***

• 007 AU by @darker-soft-starker (T, 4k, completed)

Summary: Undercover and bored at an art auction, Tony finds entertainment in Peter Parker.

Review: Look, I’m a simple woman. Daniel Craig has owned my ass ever since Casino Royale and I was reading 00Q and Hartwin before I even shipped Starker. Point is, I like spy movies, ok?! So naturally I couldn’t leave this fic out of my reclist. I you need further incentive, consider this quote: “What, a little late night espionage not romantic enough for you?” Peter retorts, whipping a pistol out from his jacket and aiming it at Tony’s chest.

• 3 Times I Told You I Loved You & 1 Time You Said It Back by @starkeristheendgame (E) background Peter/Steve, Peter/Bucky, Peter/Scott

Summary: Peter Parker confesses his love to Tony Stark three times. Once at ten, once at fifteen and once at twenty. Finally convinced that Tony will never love him back, Peter ventures out into a different path, desperate to find the love he seeks from someone else. But you know what they say about star-crossed lovers.

Review: This lovely fic holds a very special place in my heart. I’m so invested I decided to wait until it’s finished so I can read it all in one sitting. Peter’s longing and heartbreak hurt my poor soul but I trust Jensen to give me that promised Starker endgame - I know it will be glorious when it finally comes.

• A Night on the Town by @scarletmanuka1 (G, 2.3k, completed)

Summary: Nightclub AU. Years after the events of Endgame, Tony has hit rock bottom. The Snap left him crippled, Pepper has abandoned him and has taken Morgan with her, and he's feeling old and lonely. Peter arranges a night out at the nightclub that he works at to try and cheer Tony up.

Review: I love get together fics, especially if it involves oblivious!Tony getting his shit together and going after his man. Seeing him bitter and broken after Thanos was hard, but special kudos to IronBros moments because that friendship is true goals!

• Age of Adeline by @starkerforlife6969 (completed) background Harley/Peter, Bucky/Peter, Wade/Peter

Review: I’d never in a million years think about this movie as a Starker AU but gosh, this is everything I needed in my life and it completely devastated me but I loved every minute of it. As a devoted monoshipper, I was surprised to realize that I got emotionally involved with all pairings, even more so with Starker, which totally paid off. Gorgeous, powerful and heartfelt. God bless SFL.

• assume makes ass for u and me by @pretty-well-funded (M, 1.6k, completed) tw underage

Summary: In Tony’s defense, he was sure the kid was a rent boy.

Review: This 1.6k fic caught me completely off guard and now I’m crying because I need MORE. I love the premise, the dialogue is criminally good, their voices are amazing and I can’t get enough of cheeky!Peter charming Tony with his wit and filthy mind.  

• Bamf!secretary Peter by @starkerforlife6969 (M, completed)

Review: Who could ever resist some corporate espionage drama with bamf!Peter leaving Tony speechless and horny? Not me. I’d read more 30k of this verse because competent, sassy Peter Parker is such a kink, omg.

• Biker!Tony by @starkerforlife6969 (T, completed) Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Review: Same age AUs are not usually my thing but I can’t resist cute high school sweethearts written by this fandom goddess. Plus, protective!Tony calling Peter “doll” does things to my heart - and Peter’s.

• Breaking Character by @cagestark (E, 8.3k, completed)

Summary: Tony Stark, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, and spy for SHIELD. Working with another SHIELD spy, the infamous Spider, he will take down an infamous human trafficking ring in New York. But the act they have to put on will demand more from Tony than he ever thought he'd have to give. Not that he minds.

Review: The spy trope seriously needs more fic like this one, because I’ll have bamf!Peter lying back to save his country while Tony freaks out any day. Cage hits the perfect balance between plot building, fantastic sexual tension, clever dialogue and the hottest smut sequence. What a ride! (Pun intended).  

• Curiosity Killed the Cat by @areluctantsblog (T, 1.5k, completed)

Summary: Peter has been modelling in an art school for years. He's used to strangers' eyes roaming his body - clothed or naked - and he knows that it's not him they are looking at. Not him who they are interested in. He's just a model, a tool for their work. And for a long time he doesn't notice the one pair of eyes that, despite seeing him but rarely, is looking right at him.

Review: Very soft and atmospheric, this fic left me in a bit of a daze and it took me a while to realize it was over. Great writing will do that to you.

• Detective!Tony, Graffiti Artist!Peter by @starkerforlife6969 (M, completed)

Review: Oh don’t mind me, just appreciating this author’s talent at writing from the filthiest smut to the softest “Tony saves Peter in all ways that matter” like this ficlet. We stan.

• Eat at Pete’s by feyrelay + glorious art by @peachbabypie (E)

Summary: Peter gives him an unimpressed look, “If you didn’t do your work, then you wouldn’t be able to earn my time though, would you?” Pfft. “Kid, I have more money than god. I can splurge on your delicious pancakes and attention, trust me,” Tony informs him loftily. Peter smiles that wicked, crooked little smile that's just for him. It's not even and perfect like his the-customer-is-always-right one that's more frequently on offer. “I didn’t say you couldn’t afford it. I said you wouldn’t have earned it.”

Review: How can we ever say no to dom!Peter putting Tony in his place and hopefully on his dick + Tony loving every second of it?? Their dynamics are fantastic and that TASTY COUNTER DIALOGUE KILLS ME. EVERY TIME. Check it out and come scream with me: sub!Tony rights :D

• Fire and Ice by LeafyGreenQueen773 (M, 3k, completed) Soulmate AU

Summary: AU where when someone writes on his or her skin, the same thing shows up on their soulmate in the same place as a Mark that fades away in a few hours.

Review: This was the first Starker soulmate fic I’ve read and it made my heart ache so soft and good. Lovely and bittersweet, quiet and painfully honest. 

• Genius, Acrobat, Playboy, Philanthropist by @scarletmanuka1 (E, 28k, completed)

Summary: After Peter's aeriel acrobatics partner, Adrian Toomes is fired from The Avengers Circus Troupe for theft, he is shocked to discover that his replacement is non other than legendary performer, Tony Stark - the man that Peter had hero worshipped since he first learned how to tumble. 

Review: After reading this fic I realized I need more Circus AUs in my life. I could read jealous idiots falling in love while doing beautiful acrobatics for the rest of my days. Original plot, nice character development and I really appreciated how the author inserted little canon things here and there. 

• Happy to Disappoint by @deaded-blush (M, 60k, completed) tw underage, domestic violence

Summary: Adrian Toomes is in quite deep with notorious mob boss Tony Stark. But when Tony comes to collect the debt owed, he's surprised to discover Toomes has an adoptive son. The chance meeting changes the direction of both their lives...

Review: Hands down one of the best Mafia!AUs I’ve ever seen. Read it all in one sitting and by the end I was SHOOKETH and utterly obsessed with this story. Nothing about it is okay so brace yourself for whump!Peter and lots of h/c. Bonus points for an incredibly satisfying ending that will make you gasp out loud.

• Hey Baby, Slip between my Beta-Pleats and get to know my Alpha-Helix? by @starkerforlife6969 and @darker-soft-starker (E, 37k, completed) A/B/O

Summary: Even though Tony can't tell the difference between Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo, Peter really has no other choice. His heat is around the corner, so even though he loathes the party-going, booze drinking, smug playboy know-it-all that is Tony Stark. He'll just have to do.       

Review: I can’t believe life went on as we know it (or did it??) after these two geniuses wrote together. This is the Starker version of “enemies to lovers” we all wanted and deserve, where spoiled-bratty-posh princess Peter finds the perfect balance for his chaotic energy in goofy-unapologetic-charming playboy Tony. Their falling in love is just so tender, so genuine and so good, it’s impossible not to cheer for these two sweethearts through this delightful, carefully crafted story.

• If you let me by @css1992 (E, 12k, completed)

Summary: Peter had tried dating younger guys, but it just didn’t do it for him. They were often too eager, too fast, too rough. Just too young, in general. Not that older men couldn’t be too much, too, Peter learned it the hard way. The man looking back at him from across the room seemed like a good one. He knew he shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but he was gorgeous. Possibly the most handsome man Peter had ever seen in his short life.

Review: I remember the first time I read this fic it hit me in such a powerful way I cried a bit and was too overwhelmed to do words and tell the author just how much I loved it. But I never forgot this fic or the way it made me feel. It’s so evocative, so sexy, so raw, so heartbreaking, so sweet and so gentle. Great atmosphere, even greater characterization and some of the hottest smut I’ve ever read. Treat yourself and check this out right now.    

• I’ll be Home by @starkerforlife6969 (M, completed) A/B/O

Summary: The story starts when Soldier Tony comes home for a few days, and is introduced to the love of his life.

Review: Will I ever stop reccing SFL’s works? Maybe, but today is not the day. This gorgeous, breathtaking fic attacked me in my own house during Christmas day and made me cry like a baby. I’m a sucker for reunion stories - the longing, the heartbreak, the power of endurance. This fic reminded me that no matter how long or difficult the journey, love will always find a way.

• Little Spider by @stfustucky (iwillpaintasongforlou) (E, 5k, completed)

Summary: Peter Parker is one of the country's best hitmen, known in the underworld as the Little Spider. He spends his days in the lap of luxury with his billionaire fiance Tony Stark, and his nights doing dirty work for various shady characters. Life is good, right up until someone puts out a hit on Tony and wants Peter to pull the trigger. It... might be time for them to have a talk.

Review: Omg this fic was so deliciously good in a totally surprising and sexy way. Bamf!Peter took my breath away with the perfect balance between his two personas. Tony getting off on that sheer power and confidence is a BIG MOOD and my second favorite thing in this fic. The first being the badass power couple they make. 

• love somebody like you (E) by @intoxicatelou

Summary: five times Tony was Peter’s roommate and one time he was his soulmate instead.

Review: Who doesn’t love some forced proximity mixed with the unbeatable soulmate trope? This plot is the hottest take and my heart cannot handle young!Tony with his brilliant mind and sassy charm protecting and flirting with Peter, unfff feels everywhere *cries in Starker*

• Love Thy Neighbour by @darker-soft-starker (T, 2.3k, completed)

Summary: Tony's new neighbour is kinda weird.

Review: I know I keep saying that same age!AUs are not really my thing but I’m the softest bitch for feel-good, cozy domesticity, and I love how this charming story shows that ordinary life become magical when shared with someone special. I could babble all night about how eccentric and confident Peter seduces our man of science that for once has absolutely no idea of what’s going on - but you really should see it for yourself right now :)

• Mafia Boss!Tony Break Up Make Up by @starkerforlife6969 (E, completed)

Review: Man, this fic was so rude to my heart. The heartbreak, the rough sex, the guilt, the hopeful make up, the gorgeous ending. My body literally cannot take the stress, why are Mafia AUs so doomed and beautiful and more importantly, why is SFL so good at writing them???

• Microcosm Series by @bloomblood (M, 32k) tw underage

Summary: Tony and Peter become each other’s heroes after the Snap, saving themselves before they offer aid back to the world.

Review: I haven’t read many post-apocalyptic fics but this series’s raw atmosphere sucked me in. I adore the quiet intimacy, the slow and tentative healing, and all the silent and complex emotions underneath apparent simplicity. Big aesthetic mood, just as its lovely author. 

• Musechaser by @nightskygardenia (M, 10.5k, completed)

Summary: Eighteen year old art student Peter Parker is desperately searching for his muse, someone who can bring his creative skills to the next level through inspiration. Lucky for him, his next class just so happens to feature a gorgeous model by the name of Tony Stark, a man Peter's convinced is his muse, to the point of staying after class to ask for private modeling sessions.

Review: Another big aesthetic mood, this fic paints a gorgeous imagery. I love the setting, the slow pace and the building anticipation until the sexual tension finally breaks. Peter is adorable and Tony exudes confidence; their voices are spot on and their chemistry is palpable and intense.  

• My Best Friend’s Dad by @darker-soft-starker (M, 17.6k, completed)

Summary: Peter is home for the summer, back from his first year away at college. Having stayed over at Harley's house every weekend since they were fourteen, he never used to think much of his friend’s dad. A few years worth of college experience has Peter noticing Tony in a different way. This time, Tony notices him back.

Review: Turns out that Tony Stark being a dad and a daddy is too much for my body. I worship this fic. I wanna get married to it and have its babies. No words will ever make it justice *sobs* no but seriously, secret relationship is a perfect Starker trope and this one will take you to the edge of your seat until the very end. A+ characterization, lovely build up, infuriating cliffhangers and the wholesome happy ending we all deserve. This is the kind of fic that leaves you a bit depressed once it’s over, because you suddenly realize you’ll never read it for the first time ever again. So get to it and make sure to enjoy every second!

• One Call Away by @readysetstarker (E)

Summary: Tony didn’t need the phone sex gig. He was more than well off, his own sex life was in great shape, but damn, there was just something about listening to someone else get off to his voice. 

Review: Omg who could ever resist sex hotline + daddy kink + identity porn? Dev is coming after our own hearts and bodies with this hot combo. I love the balance between their cute chemistry and the hot phone sex, plus the identity porn is deliciously fun. I was so happy to know this fic is getting longer than the author had previously anticipated because I’m definitely not ready to let it go.

• Open Road by @starkerflowers (E, 2.5k, completed)

Summary: It’s not love, but it’s good. TW: implied abuse (not between Tony/Peter); bruises/violence; panic attack. 

Review: This refreshing not-quite-a-love-story will capture your heart, make it hurt, make it ache, make it hope and finally, make it heal. This fic is so gorgeously written I honestly cannot rec it enough. Yes, it’s dark and angsty, but it’s also gentle, hopeful and deeply evocative.  

• Panty Raid by @starkerforlife6969 (M, completed) A/B/O

Summary:  Imagine Tony being forced to do a panty raid as an initiation for his fraternity. So Tony, keeping up his playboy appearances, sneaks into the omega dorms. And he sees sweet innocent Peter who is so alarmed by the alphas raiding their dorm Tony can’t help but comfort him.

Review: Unf this fic is just too charming and cute, my heart cannot take it. Frat stories are so fun they make me forget my preference for age gaps and realize I could read more 50k of protective young!Tony any day, please and thank

• Pete’s Eats by @darker-soft-starker (T, 9.3k, completed)

Summary: Peter has a YouTube channel where he just drinks wine and teaches people how to cook things if they live in a mediocre apartment. While cooking and drinking he just talks about stuff like memes and school and, most importantly, his undying thirst for Tony Stark.

Review: This is legit the funniest shit I’ve ever read, everybody else can go home. I was already sold on Peter being a relatable thirsty dork, but Tony’s A+++ characterization (for a moment I thought it was RDJ on the big screen) and the identity porn side trope killed me for good. And what a way to go. I’m an angst hoe but I could read this forever and would be okay with it. 

• pondus, pondera by spqr (M, 9.3k, completed) underage prostitution but not between P/T

Summary: Peter sells his virginity for $5,000 when he’s fifteen.

Review: Ugh I’m so weak for the angsty hooker trope, I just love the potential to simultaneously explore whump, mutual pining and gentle recovery. Trust spqr to deliver it all with a carefully crafted slow burn, god-tier characterization and a heartfelt and satisfying get together. This fic is a gem.

• Powerful by @cagestark (E, 4.6k, completed) SIM!Tony

Summary: After finding out about Peter's abusive ex, Tony privately vows revenge.

Review: This fic took my breath away and made me realize that dark!Tony with a soft spot for Peter is everything I need in my life. Precious Peter being empowered by a viciously protective Tony is now my absolute jam, and it was fascinating to see see their dynamics mutually feeding each other’s nature. This fic is gorgeous, sexy and liberating. 

***Red Light District series by @starker-stories (17k, ongoing)

Summary: Everyone knows that Tony Stark is a playboy who has dozens of women passing through his life and through his bed. What everyone doesn't know is that Tony Stark is deeply closeted, longing for something he can't ever have -- a life and a love with another man.

Review: I’m completely in love with this series and not only because it explores the good old hooker trope which I’m very partial to. It’s so well written and atmospheric, if a tad bittersweet and heart-wrenching. Great narrative tension, Tony and Peter’s chemistry is insane, their voices and dialogue are amazing and the smut is looong and scorching hot *chef’s kiss* 

• Samadhi by @starkercrossedlovers (E, completed)

Summay: Tony goes to yoga to try and deal with his anxiety and ends up falling for the instructor, one Peter Parker.

Review: Okay so yoga fics are among my guilty pleasures and I can’t get enough of feel-good fics like this one. Peter’s such a sweetheart, so thoughtful and amazing with Tony. I love it when they take care of each other and find solace together, this fic made me soft :’)

• Single dad baker!Peter and lawyer!Tony by @starkerforlife6969 (G, completed)

Review: I’m not usually a fluff girl but this fic is just too wholesome to go by unnoticed. Nothing hits my soft side harder than a cynical character reaching that turning point that makes them start to believe in love. Fuck yes, YOU SHOW THAT MAN SOME HAPPILY EVER AFTER PETE

• Soft Kitty by @ko-fiandfanfiction (E, 33k, completed)

Summary: Peter wasn’t wearing something Tony would call normal, not that there was anything inherently wrong with what he was wearing or anything. It just struck him as…different. To put it plainly. Tony is not sure what to make of this new development.

Review: For those of you who love some occasional feminization, this is the perfect treat. Soft, sexy and sweet, it combines top guilty, pining Tony with oblivious idiots in love, two of my favorite tropes. Amazing slow burn with glorious sexual tension, infuriating dancing around each other and a very satisfying get together. Bonus points for including the “Avengers living together in the Tower” trope, this is the 2012 team building fic we deserved.

• Solitaire by @darker-soft-starker (M, 29k, completed)

Summary: After a traumatic experience, Tony loses his marriage and his business empire in one fell swoop. At rock bottom, it takes real change to pick up the pieces, to dig himself out of the funk he's been living in. It's not pretty. Along the path of healing Tony meets a bright young man, Peter Parker, who makes the entire journey worth it.

Review: Oh man, this was a tough ride on the soul. Few things hurt me like reading whump!Tony but his healing journey is so beautiful it’s all worth it. Top notch characterization, amazing dialogue, FEELS EVERYWHERE, and a gorgeous portrayal of loneliness, friendship, hope and love.  

• Someone Who Makes you Happy by tuesday (T, 6k, completed) Soulmate AU

Summary: Peter was born with several marks already marring his skin, including an interlocking AES over his heart. A scar-sharing soulmate AU.

Review: This fic is absolutely stunning and it makes my heart ache in all the right places. Great worldbuilding (I LOVE the scarring concept, so unique and fitting to these characters), A+++ Tony characterization (the wit and the self-hate are so spot on I could weep) and a journey full of longing, until they finally get to be on the same page. 

• Splice by Mezzymet (E, 35k, completed) A/B/O

Summary: "He's not...." The doctors polite nature and disposition hadn't been able to mask the odd tone of his voice, like he had been reading someone's death certificate. Only Peter hadn't been on his death bed. "Peter isn't like the other kids.

Review: I keep coming back to this story because it’s such a fascinating and unique take on this trope. Very well thought and put together - the world building is fantastic, the sex sequences are breathtaking, and Tony’s gentle thoughtfulness makes me wanna cry.   

• Stopover by @cagestark (E, 10k, completed)

Summary: A stopover is just a break in a journey. Tony is on the run from the organization he used to kill for, and when he stopped for gas and coffee in the small town of Stopover, IL, he had no plans to leave with anything more.

Review: *sigh* this is the mob boss!Tony fic I’ve waited for all my life. Even more impressive than the delicious smut checking all my kink boxes was the phenomenal build up, the overall urgent atmosphere that surrounds those “on the run”, combined with the gentle wonder of stealing a moment in time to find solace in the most unlikely place. Breathtakingly moving. 

• Student Body President Election by @starkerforlife6969 (T, completed)

Summary: Tony and Peter are competing for Student Body President and a smear campaign takes things a little too far.

Review: GIMME ENEMIES TO LOVERS AND ALL THE HIGH SCHOOL DRAMA. This ficlet is so fun and adorable it will make your heart smile. Great plot idea and the usual bonus points for protective!Tony being a sweetheart. Will have more 30k, pls and thank.

• Such a Softer Sin by @css1992 (E, 18k, completed) background Peter/Norman

Summary: Tony is a self-made man. Peter is a sugar baby – someone else’s sugar baby.

Review: Another fantastic slow burn that hit me hard in the feels. I love it when fics explore the characters’ personal struggles before they get together, and while the Peter!whump destroyed my heart, Tony’s parallel journey of growth took my breath away. css1992’s talent took the good old sugar baby trope to a whole new epic level. 

• Summer Daze by @darker-soft-starker (NR, 4.3k, completed)

Summary: Starker no-powers au where Peter watches construction worker Tony from his bedroom window as the older man works across the street.

Review: Ahh yes, the classic “food as metaphor for love” trope, my absolute jam. This fic is so adorable and endearing, pining!Peter in his wooing mission makes my heart ache and the sweet anticipation is so good. There’s something about this fic that gives me nostalgia; it’s as soft and warm as a summer breeze.

• Tamed by @cagestark (E, 8.3k, completed)

Summary: Tony Stark, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, and spy for SHIELD. Working with another SHIELD spy, the infamous Spider, he will take down an infamous human trafficking ring in New York. But the act they have to put on will demand more from Tony than he ever thought he'd have to give. Not that he minds.

Review: It’s no wonder this is Cage’s most beloved fic. Bad boy!Tony being all soft for Peter is everything we deserve, not to mention a mesmerizing (and HOT AF) first time together. This fic shows how rich and captivating Cage’s writing is - she’s able to transform that old basic trope into something unique and heartfelt. If you need one more reason to read this, please consider: best first bj ever :)    

• Teacher!Tony wrong number by @areluctantsblog (T) tw underage

Summary: Peter’s using a replacement phone and mistypes Ned’s number asking for help on a physics problem.

Review: I have such a soft spot for this fic! It was one of the first AUs I’ve ever read and I’m completely in love with their dynamics. Peter’s underage but this fic is carefully written and pretty tame, so I’d rec it to anyone looking for the good old “they probably shouldn’t, but then again nothing’s happening” trope.  

• The Bleedover Effect by tuesday (T, 11k, completed) Soulmate AU

Summary: The first time Tony got punched in the face by nobody there, he had a lot of very complicated feelings about it that mostly boiled down to, "I deserve this." A pain-sharing soulmate AU.

Review: Tuesday truly is the queen of soulmate AUs, we have no other choice but STAN. First of all, I adore the concept here - being such a sucker for whump, this could easily become my favorite soulmate trope. As usual, her Tony voice is perfect and his devotion to Peter hits my fragile heart every time. Kudos for the soft and hopeful ending. The series has been discontinued but the sequels are very much worth the read, if you’re up for it :)

• The Catfish Chronicles by @stfustucky (iwillpaintasongforlou) (E, 32k, completed)

Summary: Peter creates a fake profile under the name “Benjamin” trying to catch his scumbag boyfriend cheating. Tony creates a Tinder profile for "Anthony" looking for love late in life. Funny how two geniuses who fight side by side every day can only manage to fall in love after they've accidentally catfished each other. This is... gonna get awkward.

Review: My identity porn thirst might be showing but who cares, I want these two idiots pining after each other in every possible way. This was such a fun and exciting ride! The suspense had me legit freaking out and their get together was lovely and wholesome. I particularly adored how thoughtful and sweet Tony was dealing with Peter’s insecurities, that was handled really well. A treat!

• The Concept of Domesticity by @peters-tofu (E) mpreg

Summary: Tony has accomplished nearly everything he's set out to do, now he wants something different. A family of his own? Sounds easy enough. But he's far too impatient for a relationship, so surrogacy it is. Meanwhile, twenty-two year old college student Peter Parker has just volunteered to be a bearer at an agency.

Review: Can’t say I’m a big fan of this trope but since every rule has its exception, here it is! The only Starker mpreg I’ve ever read is so so good and adorable I can’t help smiling every time I think about it. I just love their dynamics, the soft domesticity, the cute bantering, and the fact that Peter has one baby daddy all wrapped around his little finger but what else is new ;)

***The Date by Neuropsyche (E, 33k, completed)

Summary: Tony has a high society gala and he needs a date.

Review: My favorite fake dating AU so far, this fic is so sweet and wholesome. Confident!Peter is my jam and it was amazing to see their sassy bantering evolving into genuine affection towards each other, not to mention the delicious hot smut with dom!Tony :D 

• The Final Heist by @starkerforlife6969 (G, 10k, completed)

Summary: Tony’s only got one more heist. He does this, he can be retired on an island in the Mediterranean in a month. All he needs is a world-class art forger. (White Collar inspired)

Review: Honestly, the amount of times I’ve mentioned SFL in this list is getting embarrassing. I must have done something really good in another life to get such a talented author writing something inspired by one of my favorite TV shows. I feel like this fic was personally crafted for me; it’s original, romantic, sexy, fun, clever and so very atmospheric. I’m a lucky hoe. 

• The Heart Benefits of Exercise by @areluctantsblog (E, 14k, completed)

Summary: Personal Trainer Tony and Gym Newbie Peter. Peter can hardly keep it together watching Tony demonstrate different exercises and lift weights. Tony is very much aware of the effect he has on his trainee, and after a session, Peter begs to be shown a whole different array of exercises.

Review: This fic was a lovely surprise, very relatable and entertaining. Love myself an adorable Peter thirsting over Tony (can’t really judge lol), especially if it comes with a good amount of pining and hot, kinky smut :D

• Tipping the Scale by JayPendragon (E, 119k, completed)

Summary: Peter has a rhythm. A system. All runs like a well-oiled machine, engineering pun intended. Every wheel of his life is churning perfectly. He doesn’t expect Tony Stark of all people to throw a wrench in it.

Review: Hooker!AUs are my kryptonite, I’m so here for the “fuck first, talk later” and the general pining + misunderstandings + h/c combo this trope provides. This amazing longfic delivers it all with a well-paced, delicious slow burn told from Peter’s POV, which is always a delight to read and makes you fall even more in love with him. If you also enjoy this trope you’re in for a treat!

•  To Catch a Spider by Thekeyandquill (E)

Summary: After the war, Peter Parker left his career as a spy behind to live a simple life in the south of France. But when someone frames him for the theft of plans for a new weapon, he must re-enter his old life and get close to the real thief's likely next target - one Tony Stark. A To Catch a Thief AU.

Review: TKAQ is so skilled their writing should be experienced like fine wine. Amazing research, top notch world building and characterization, and the loveliest atmosphere that makes you feel like you’re inside a movie. Clever, organic dialogue and a sexual tension so palpable you can almost taste it. This is a gem. Make sure to check their other works.

•  Two White, Two Black, One Pink by @starkerforlife6969 (E) poly fic: Peter/Tony, Peter/Steve, Peter/Bucky, Peter/Strange Summary: Peter has three (maybe one day: four) men in his life who mean the world to him. Review: Ugh, this fic is pure bliss. It has legit ruined me for any and all other poly fics. Words just cannot describe how gorgeous, poetic and unique SFL’s writing is, or how deeply it has affected me. So if you enjoy Mafia AUs, poly fics and soft-but-also-bamf!Peter taking care of Tony AND being taken care of by the men he loves, give this a chance and experience transcending storytelling. 

•  Uranium Heart by spqr (M, 11k, completed) Soulmate AU Summary: It’s probably better, Peter thinks, that he doesn’t know who his soulmate is. He wouldn’t want to lie to them about Spider-Man, but he doesn’t think he’d be able to tell them the truth, either.

Review: Be still my heart. This is such a gorgeous fic! Not only it combines two major tropes in a coherent 11k story, but I also appreciate how spqr explores these characters and their dynamics in a very unique and realistic way. I strongly recommend checking their other works, especially Landslide. 

•  Waiting Game by @cagestark (E, 6k, completed)

Summary: Peter hasn't seen Tony in fifteen years. Not since he had their hasty marriage annulled, graduated college, and moved across the country. Their twenty year high school reunion will find them reunited. They've both changed, but one thing hasn’t. Hint: it's their feelings for each other.

Review: This fic literally made my heart BURST WITH FEELS: the whole build up and anticipation, the slow disclosure of their past, the first uncertain moments of their reunion. I also appreciate the powerful and moving message underneath it all, that true healing comes after we overcome our demons at our own pace. A masterpiece.

•  Wooing Peter Parker by Neuropsyche (E, 62.5k, completed)

Summary: Tony and Rhodey dodge the press and sneak into the library where they meet Peter Parker - who immediately catches Tony's eye. But Peter isn't a one and done kind of guy and Tony's going to have to work for what he wants this time.

Review: This is the kind of fic that warms you all over and makes you smile non stop. It has so many elements I love in fic: cute flirting, clever banter, hot sex, soft domesticity, boys being reasonable and talking their problems out for a change. If you’re looking for something light, sweet and honest, this series is a must read!

[thoughtfulpaperback]

SPOILERS!!! Charmed 2x10 Review

Okay, y’all. . . I am seriously ticked off at the writers for a number of reasons which I will address after I go over the things I actually loved about the episode. I thought the episode was entertaining and well-paced. On the entertainment scale, it was an 8 out of 10 for me. But in case no one has figured out from my previous reviews, The way I rate an episode on entertainment is not indicative of how well written I think it is. When I rate entertainment, I think in simple terms of was I bored? Did I feel like I could look away from the screen?, is this relatively fun to watch or is it something that feels like a chore?

So for sure, this was entertaining and I was invested more so than the episode before. So anyways . . . Standard format. Thinks I liked, things I disliked, episode highlights.

THINGS I LIKED

1. Jordan and Maggie’s relationship and Jordan in general.

I am just going to say it. Jordan is the new Harry and his relationship with Maggie is what I had wanted the writers to do with Hacy.

What do I mean? Think about it. Jordan is a supportive friend, who-although doesn’t always react the best or know exactly what is going on-goes out of his way to help Maggie. He is obviously developing feelings though she is mending from a romantic loss and going through big life changes. He isn’t pursuing her, just trying to be there for her, but you can see his feelings grow the more they interact and get to know each other. Though Maggie is hesitant and not ready to be in a relationship, the foundations of her starting to care and appreciate Jordan are being set. Is this not what many of us all the way back in season 1 thought of when we imagined Hacy interactions in the future?

Anyways, I fell in love with Harry’s character based on those sorts of behaviors and of course his own personality, so it stands to reason that Jordan displaying those characteristics and being his own really good person with a magical curse on him is going to make me want this character around for a while, if not forever. 

Jordan now knowing about magic and the curse is so exciting to me, and I think he and maggie going on adventures and trying to “balance the scales” to lift his curse or just do good. It is content that I need, and it doesn’t have to even be romantic. I mean outside of his fraternization question. There haven’t been any huge romantic moments or intentions displayed. But that not bad! it actually makes it feel more realistic, that the two are building a friendship and getting closer as they grow and learn. So Just having Jordan fulfill that old Harry role and a bit of OG Charmed Morris role is compelling and interesting to me. I really hope the writers don’t screw this up, and to be clear I am talking about his character in general, not related to a romance with Maggie. Because I am definitely afraid they will try to kill Jordan off or abuse his character the way OG writers did with Morris. 

2. The ghost storyline and Maggie kicking butt

The Ghost was great and is what made the whole episode entertaining. I still think ghosts trapped in mirrors is like the most stupid movie/ghost troupe out there because mirrors BREAK!!!! So thank you, writers, for at least showing the very thing that I always bring up when ghost stories include mirrors.

The action sequences were great in my opinion, and though this episode felt like some of the video games I have played in terms of the possession and the way the scenes were staged, I liked it. If I liked the games, then, of course, I would like a show that does simpler (if not outright copies) those things. 

3. Mel and Ray’s side plot

Okay, so I want more of this. It doesn’t have to be with Ray. Mel has been the most underused and abused character on the show so far. 

Listen, I am not a person who thinks every character needs a love interest or story to be interesting. If Mel is going to be out of the game for a while that’s fine, but give me good reasons why. Don’t just tease things only to take them away. And don’t underuse a character who is supposed to be one of the Main characters.

If they had wanted to focus on character developing Mel and having her heal from everything that happened last season, and/or set her up to investigate this non-magical threat to the magical community then they should have never brought Kat in. They should have had the sisters talk about it and made it clear how Mel was planning on going about things. Then actually give her those scenes which show her struggles and character growth throughout the episodes, not in chunks every two or three. I mean they set up some Mel struggles (insecurities about not having their powers, her being the one who wanted to run the magical community, and her protection of maggie and their dad issues) but they only really showed the struggles in episode three, solve most with a mirror monologue rather than build-up to the mirror monologue. I mean really Mel only gets a couple of highlight moments every couple of episodes and when she is on screen it is actually refreshing. Getting to explore Mel’s character is great! but the writers just set up things only to pull away from them or try to solve them quickly so they don’t have to give us more. Which they should because that is what is actually compelling!

This episode with Mel and Ray was an example. I loved the mirroring of their personalities and physical behaviors. I loved that they gave her a chance to actually learn what happened between her parents. 

You guys this has actually bothered me since Maggie's parentage reveal in season 1. They never talked about how Mel might be feeling after finding out her mom was cheating on her dad. I mean even if you did resent your father and thought the world of your mother, that would be a pretty big thing to learn. They show that she is hurt by the fact she didn’t know her mom as well as she thought. Again things they teased us with but never went deeper since those and these writers seem not to know what to do with Mel (which is dumb because again they introduce really great stuff, but do not follow through). 

I want more Mel. I think the stuff with her and Ray was well done and interesting. I still think Ray is dumb and a not so great person, but he has earned a bit more sympathy from me given that, while he wasn’t a good dad, he still loves both Mel and Maggie equally even knowing that Maggie isn’t his biological daughter.

MEL IS BAE and I want to see powers in combat, writers if nothing else please give me this.

But side note, I am not upset about the Ladies or Harry using their powers a bit freely because season 1 set up that some the Sarcana wanted to be able to use their powers semi-publicly to dispense justice and it was the elders who were set against any type of exposure. The elders are gone, rules have changed, but I do hope they will eventually address this.

THINGS I DISLIKED

1. Abigael

They are ruining her for me! I actually love Abigael as a villain. She is at her best when she is ambitious and going for it. I mean they just had her lock up her brother, take over as Overlord, and manage to get at least some trust from the Charmed ones, and hinted at some bigger plans, only to have her show up this episode after SELF-HARMING to get the attention of a man!!!!

WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL?!?!? Listen, if they go the route of Abigael is being manipulative and trying to take Harry, but still going to be a badass demon boss. then fine I will buy into this for a bit. But they have made it seem like she is desperate for his affection, and I just can’t. I could never get behind Harry x Abby because of all she has already done and her manipulativeness, but I actually liked that she told Harry she thinks of him as a whole person. Someone needed to say it, but I don’t want her to turn into the “crazy other woman” stereotype. In that, her plans and ambitions get out staged by her obsession with getting the guy. I am not down for a desperate Abigael. I hate this type of troupe, so the writers better not be going there. 

2. Hacy

Julian has got to be the big bad or the one funding these collecting of magical beings and artifacts. Because if he is not, there is honestly no reason that Macy shouldn’t be with him. I mean he does seem to move fast, so maybe that could be a reason, but other than that . . . nothing. Unless she is not really interested in him. And if that is the case, this makes Macy seem like a jerk for using Julian like that. 

okay so I gotta organize this or else it will get crazy. So my biggest issue with Hacy so far, which was just brought out the most this episode, was that the writers haven’t earned the angst.

There has been very little build-up of Macy and Harry’s feelings. We got smacked with it in like the first four episodes, but at the same time were being introduced to the “distractions” or obstacles. And the truth is the obstacles are stupid. 

The first question you should ask yourself if you plan on keeping characters apart if the obstacles are valid and unavoidable. 

For example. Harry and Macy not admitting their feelings was totally valid at the start of this season. Macy and Harry both lost love interests in the season before. It has been less than a month since then when the first episode, there should be some confusion and repression over feelings. and Macy is not open at all when it comes to her feelings. All of this is valid and mostly unavoidable.

But the writers messed up. Because they have mostly glossed over everything in season 1. They have not put in the effort to show us what Macy is thinking or feeling. They have done this with Harry (well in some places and poor in others). But they haven’t done anything with Macy so far. Hints then some little moments, but nothing overt. We don’t even know what she was going to say to Harry when she had planned on talking to him before the Abigael kiss. 

And that is actually the bigger issue too. They showed that Macy was willing to talk about her feelings, though what exactly they are and what she wanted/wants is unclear. So her not being great at communication is no longer the obstacle especially since Harry does pretty much say he has feelings for her.

"Well he was kissing abigael!" So that would shut down a want to communicate. Completely agree, but he tells her that it was just a moment and granted they should elaborate on that in an actaull conversationsation. But the point it that he is showing his cards, although he definitely could be clearer. So if she wanted to communicate she could versus previously where she actually had a hard time communicating. She communicates but is angry and holding back versus just not having it in her to do it.

Although it was an argument and for sure you aren’t going to be inclined to admit you have feelings during an argument. The writers showed us that Macy had been willing to communicate, so if something has changed (I mean internally as she has moved from being closed off to just being unwilling to communicate) they should show us,because Harry basically is saying “the ball is in your court” and yet she is . . . I don’t know what she is doing.

If she genuinely has feelings for Julian and spending time with him is healing then that is where she should want to be. There hasn’t been enough build-up of hacy (and this is coming from a Hacy fan) to make me believe that enough feelings and good moments exist to beat out a genuine and healthy human connection. 

Stop telling women it is only love if it is miserable most of the time. They continually put unnecessary and totally avoidable roadblocks to Hacy and have been putting the two at odds. It's not cute or romantic. at this point it is just frustrating. So the writers need to show them bonding more. They better plan on getting them together by the end of this season and then having that healthy relationship stuff (angst and fluff) next season, because I honestly couldn’t take another season of this. I for sure wouldn’t be able to take a whole relationship like this either. If the writers can’t figure out to write healthy relationships I don’t want them near Hacy.

Honestly, I feel that they are relying on the fact that those of us in the Hacy fandom, have put in most of the work. We’ve done all the imagining, and dissecting into their actions and possible feelings, and put in the fantasy hours of how great a relationship they could be in, but the writers have actually done very little on that front. 

Now don’t get me wrong. Mads and Rupert are killing it. I think the reason I am still holding out is that they work really well in scenes together and they are great actors. I mean for the little the writers have given us, Mads and Rupert sell it. I mean the “I’ll just know”. The looks, the smiles (although rare this season), all that we have gotten so far in building that connection, is great even though compared to the angst and drama it feels like small crumbs.

For those who are trying to pick sides or claim Harry is in the wrong, or that Macy is being stubborn and stupid.... yes and no.

One of the biggest plotholes or unknowns has been what Macy does know about Harry’s feelings. At the end of season 1 suggested she found out about Harry’s feelings. But her conversation with Mel episode 8 suggested she had no idea about Harry’s feelings. 

Harry hasn’t been overt, yet I think it is obvious from the clues. Jimmy is interested in Macy and is overt in that interest. That’s a bit of a clue that Harry is possibly into her (more likely than not). Harry is obviously jealous of his darklighter and the fact Macy told him she liked him or at least him being different (although she wasn’t aware it wasn’t Harry at the time). Then, of course, Mel tells her. 

Now it would be preferable that Harry just come right out and say it. Harry has no right to assume that Macy knows exactly what he feels, although he is right to assume that she knows He does have feelings for her. He is right though to put any relationship conversation on her at this point. 

He has stated at the very least that he does have feelings for her with his “you know damn well how I feel about you” comment , even if the depth or exact nature of them has not been stated. Which it needs to be. The ball does need to be in Macy’s court. She obviously--or it just seems that way based on the writing--does not know what she wants or at least right now is unwilling to go for it. Harry being the pursuer would come off belch to me. Especially given that both are in vulnerable places right now. 

I am not sure that even if they admit thier feelings, the should or would be in a relationship. In fact I think that would be infinitely more interesting to watch. Not two people using others to deny thier feelings, but two people who decide to revisit thier feelings when they are both in better places. in the mean time they save people, heal, and carry on more healthy interactions until they are ready to be together. That’s the Slow burn I’d want to see. not two people just being angry and hurting each other becuase “welp, jealousy and love make you irrational”. Show us a different way or at least cut down on some of the most toxic portions of all this.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

1. Maggie and Swan fight

2. Jordan having a mini break down over magic and ghost reveal

3. Mel and Ray drinking coffee

4. “I used to protect you”, “Now we protect each other.”

5. Abby telling Harry she wants him and thinks of him as a whole person

but . . .

[getyourblisson]

A Look At July 2019

A Look At July 2019

July is naturally a bit disorienting.  Our mind can feel fuzzy, we can get confused easily.  This is a time of the year, where our victim patterns tend to rise, and optimism tends to fall.  For those living in distorted patterns, they tend to take advantage of the chaotic energy to gain control and to put deceptive or manipulative patterns into motion.

Due to the desire for keeping a tight grip on things; we will find that most countries were founded, government systems put into place, and “independence days” set in July. This is an attempt for those power and control systems to have strong control over their residents or subjects as the case may be.  Many of these systems fall into the energy pattern of this month to squash the freedom of people instead of protect it.

This month naturally tends to be filled with challenges, as those of a pure or kind heart become the subject of threats or being silenced in some way.  This is sometimes known as a Lion muzzled.  Overall, we are best to stay out of the drama until the smoke screen blows over.

This year there is an extra emphasis on those in power or control positions.  This year we are going to learn more about who is trying to rule and who is trying to lead.  Success comes where we have the help of those in authority positions.

Overall, the energy is a bit lighter than normal, and people have more of a drive or more energy than normal.  For those that want to step up or make progression, they will find that they can do it at this time.  This is a time where true leaders can excel; and is a time that favors working together as a group.  Group fundraisers, community events, and team activities are all likely to do well at this time.

During this particular year, there will be a few little twists from even the normal leadership energy. The focus of groups and activities cannot be all about the money.  Yes, they can prosper; but their main emphasis will need to be on the individual, specifically caring about the needs of others.  It has to support personal and individual growth and development in some way.  Those groups that are focused on helping those that are unfortunate materially will be especially favored at this time.

On an individual basis, we may see people withdrawing more.  People are looking more for personal experiences; and they are looking for things that cost very little or nothing at all to participate in.  This can be because they have a preference for simplicity, and have gained the wisdom to know that the most rewarding experiences are not the ones that we have to pay for.  It can also come from people simply not having a lot of funds to work with at this time.  Third, we may also see people struggling more on a physical or health level at this time; making it more challenging for them to do things.

The latter brings another aspect that is important to pay attention to; and that is our health.  It can be easy when mixing and mingling and being a part of groups to reach for the sugars, fats, and other quick energy sources of food.  However, this year, people will actually be seeking out more of what is light and healthy at this time.  This comes from the body being very sensitive to many foods at this time; and also for those choosing to live more simply and minimally; they just don’t want much.

What is happening is that our digestive systems, nerves, blood pressure, and sugar levels are all running sensitive at this time.  So we need to consider raw foods, fresh fruits and vegetables, and other lite fare. Those foods that dissolve easily with water or are water based; and that are nearly impossible to eat too much of, will be the best options at this time.

During the first 2 ½ weeks of the month we find that our relationship with those in authority positions and how we treat others if we are in a leadership position, has a magnified effect right now.  We need to make certain that we are bringing enough play and fun into our connections at this time.

It will also be important to do regular ego checks.  This is because the ego is going to have a tendency to be sensitive and easily wounded. It will also be important to pay attention with even friendly competitions.  There is likely to be a greater than normal desire to win and show superiority.

The best place to feed our ego from will be through making accomplishments and gaining recognition for things that we have done.  When the effects will ripple through all of your existences, then you will gain the most by getting recognized for charitable contributions of time and energy; and creating things or doing things that benefit those that are struggling to help themselves.  Our happiness comes not just in our own successes; but in how we have helped others create success in their lives.  A generous heart is one of the greatest things we can be recognized for.

During the last 1 ½ weeks of the month we open the door to helping others to succeed or getting the help that we need to succeed.  This can be a great time for learning how to generate the successes and create the life that we really want to be living; which is balanced, full of happiness, laughter, and play in addition to feeling comfortable with our finances.  It is during this time that we can expand the things that we are working on and be productive in a way that builds up people, resources, financial resources, and overall brings good business.

During this time observation will be our greatest assets.  Listen to how different people are moving towards the same goals; and learn from their different approaches.  It is important to stay on neutral ground though and not become too involved.  Just because you can get along with those that are in opposing circles; doesn’t mean that they will start getting along with each other, just because they both like you. Taking sides can put you in danger.

Nature is also likely to kick up a few unexpected storms at this time.  We may find that what is supposed to be a gentle summer rain can turn into a torrential downpour causing flooding.  It is important to stay on the side of caution where nature is concerned. Stick to shorter hikes, and things where you can get to safety easily if need be.  I would not suggest being in a canyon at this time.

It is most likely that volcanic activity will surface and increase at this time; making those in island areas more susceptible to danger.  It will also make those areas of under the ocean volcanic activity more evident, lending caution to ocean travel at this time.  While we are fortunate that there is no strong violent energy patterns at this time; the fire/water energy patterns are very active.  In addition to volcanic activity this can indicate major flooding in desert areas with monsoon activities.

Our key points this month are to focus on what you want to be successful; and engage the assistance of those in authority positions.  Focus on things that assist those that are unfortunate materially.  Pay extra attention to your health sticking to water based foods, fruits, and light fare.  Pay extra attention to how you treat others if you are in a leadership position; since the effects are magnified.  Do regular ego checks.  Help others to be successful.

I welcome you to lead or be a part of a group focused on helping those that are materially or physically challenged.

I welcome you to focus on activities that have little or no cost to them.

I welcome you to focus on creating experiences that touch the heart.

I welcome you to help someone achieve a success in their life.

I welcome you to observe how different people approach the same thing.

  Actions to focus on

This month our actions are best favored if they are centered in getting second chances or helping others have second chances in life.  This is a time where we can learn from others how to try something again; and this time become truly successful at it.  Perhaps you have wanted to be self-employed but it didn’t work out so well before.  This could be a time where you can try that again; implementing the lessons from what didn’t work before for you, so that you can create a more favorable outcome in the future.

This may also be a time where you help others that are trying to have a second chance in their life in some way.  Perhaps teaching them how they can become more independent or self-sufficient. This is a time where you can show them how to create personal successes; or connect them with others that can do that for them.

One of the big keys to creating successful second chances is balance; which means that this is the time for moving into those things that are less work and more enjoyable for us. In other words, we want to make certain that earning money comes from something that we enjoy doing.  It is also a time of making certain that we are getting out and playing in some way, having fun, and simply enjoying life and good times with others; instead of working all of the time.

I welcome you to consider trying something again, and implementing the lessons you learned from the first time you tried it.

I welcome you to help someone else get a second chance in their life.

I welcome you to take time to play and just have fun.

  What to focus your thoughts on

From July 1st – July 19th everything will be magnified.  What you do will come back much greater than what you put out. Small things can become big things, or have big impacts at this time.  This time favors independence.  Our thoughts are on what is “real” and our mind does not want to get into any heavy duty thinking at this time.

We will do best to keep our thoughts light, and on simple things.  Even the simplest of things have plenty to them.  This is not going to be the best time if we need a lot of focus. While we may have a sharp enough mind to tackle anything right now; our mind is most likely going to be thinking about what it will be doing after work or on our days off.  It wants to focus on that which is fun, playful, and getting together with others.

This is a good time to engage the mind in learning; as long as it is learning things that are fun, creative, or intellectually stimulating in a way that provides something that can be shared.  This might include a cooking class, learning an instrument, learning about a place or custom, learning about traditions, or perhaps some sort of sport or physical activity.  It will also favor learning things that assist in creating greater success and independence.

From July 20th through the rest of the month the learning for fun process continues. However, during this time the focus is about learning to be with others, or perhaps more so learning about others. This time favors considering how to bring different people together, and what it takes to be successful or a leader. Our thoughts turn to how to create success, and who can assist us in gaining that.

For those that are self-employed, there may be more thought being given to how to get recognized more.  There may be more thinking of how to engage people.  This can also be a great time to do some brainstorming with people from all over the world, and from a variety of lifestyles and cultures.  We can learn a great deal from seeing how others are doing things, or how they are implementing similar things to what we are doing.

I welcome you to pay attention to your thoughts, keeping them light and simple.

I welcome you to learn something new that is just for fun.

I welcome you to learn more about the people around you and/or those of different cultures.

  Nourishing The Soul

From July 1st – July 28th we may find that our hearts desires are a bit all over the place and unfocused.  The soul wants to explore more on what will create happiness and success.  We nourish our soul by placing our emphasis on what brings joy to ourselves and to others.  However, the key at this time is to do that in a way that is also practical and responsible.  In other words, focus on doing small things with big meanings; doing simple things that don’t cost much or don’t cost anything at all.

Incorporating as much variety as possible during this time will be more satisfying.  This is like getting a sampler platter, instead of just one thing.  Do not let others decide things for you during this time, since their decisions are likely to pull you away from your heart.  Decisions in general are best not made at this time.

From July 29th – July 31st we find the soul will be best nourished where it can live and be in the moment.  It will not want to be restrained by heavy commitments and obligations.  However, anything that we can do to meet, minimize, and reduce our responsibilities will bring greater ease and joy.

Overall, this is not the best time for making decisions; but if they must be made then do so from your own base of wisdom, and not because someone makes a suggestion or because of some form of peer pressure.  The soul is satiated where wisdom is implemented.  This can be due to meeting responsibilities before playing; or it can also be through making an accomplishment on your own.

One of our best gauges for nourishing the soul is if what we are considering aligns with Divine principles.  Does it allow us to free ourselves from cycles of challenges?  Will what we are considering bring victory over addictions or earthly things that we have given our power over to?  It will be important for us to ask ourselves if few are doing something to help ourselves and/or others; or are we doing something because others want us to, or we are simply trying to fit into a group or gain acceptance in some way.  Greater fulfillment will come from being in groups that support you in being who you are instead of whom they want you to be.

I welcome you to explore what supports happiness and success for you.

I welcome you to experience variety and try many different things.

I welcome you to consider how much you are doing because you want to do it and love it; and how much you are doing to please others or fit into a group.

The Code Journey ~ Jesse An Nichols George

[welcometophu]

Not Your Love Song: Chapter 11

Marked Book 2: Not Your Love Song

Chapter 11

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“Why am I here again?” Rory asks as Thorne holds the door to Teas Please open wide. “I’m not going to argue a meal as long as you’re buying, but isn’t this supposed to be your project?”

“It’s my maybe project, and really, it’s Kit’s project.” Thorne waves and from across the room Serina wiggles her fingers in return, then holds up one finger to tell them to wait. Thorne leans one elbow on the hostess station at the front of the restaurant. “Kit didn’t seem all that thrilled with me on Tuesday at Coven, but you talked to him after and you got along. I was kind of surprised when he emailed me, so I thought if you’re here, maybe it’ll be—oh hey, Kit.”

The door hisses softly as it closes. Rory turns and nods at Kit just as Serina comes up.

“Hi, guys,” she says cheerily. “Just you three, or are you waiting for someone else?”

“Just us, but can we get a table in the back? One of the big ones?” Thorne leans in and Serina blushes as Thorne smiles easily.

She grabs three menus, gestures for them to follow. “It’s not horribly busy right now, so we can probably work something out,” she agrees. “You just want to flirt with Nate.”

“I am never going to say no to flirting,” Thorne agrees, “but actually, I wanted to be able to spread out in case we need room if we start talking ritual.”

Serina’s eyes go a little wide, flicking from Thorne to Rory to Kit. “Oh, is this about—”

“My independent study, yeah.” Kit glances at Rory, brow furrowing. “I was going to talk to Thorne about some ideas I had.”

“Don’t mind me, I’m just along as a buffer and Thorne promised he’d feed me.” Rory can do quiet if he needs to. Besides, Kit’s already barged in on Rory’s private conversation with Pawel. Maybe this is just payback. Or balance, or something equally weirdly ritualistic.

When they get to the back, one of the two large corner sections is taken, but the other is wide open. Serina sets the three menus down. “Go ahead. If a large group comes in, I might ask you to move, though, just because… well, I know you and can push you around.”

Kit touches her shoulder, leans down as he smiles. “Thanks, Serina.”

She flushes warmly. “Any time. Nate’ll be over to get your orders. I need to… to go back to the front section. I have tables. I’ll come back and check on you.”

Thorne looks amused. “We’re not your table, though. You don’t need to check on us. Not that I mind.”

Serina’s mouth opens, closes, her cheeks still pink. Rory steps on Thorne’s foot before nudging him toward the table. “Sit down,” Rory orders, and Thorne does, sliding in on one side. Kit hesitates, and Rory sighs. “I know I said I’d be a buffer, but you two are working together, and I have long legs. Why don’t you take the middle, Kit?”

“I won’t bite.” Thorne opens the menu, spreads it out. “They’ve got that gorgonzola and apple thing on special today, Rory.”

“It’s got walnuts, but it’s Alaric that hates nuts, not you, right, Rory?” Nate arrives and slides Serina to one side, nudges her away from the table. “Go take care of your people, make sure everyone’s settled, then you can take your fifteen and come sit with your boyfriend.”

The color on Serina’s cheeks deepens. “He’s not my—”

“Did you, or did you not, go out Friday?” Nate counters, patting her shoulder and nudging her again. “Go. Do. Then come back and be social.”

Kit folds his arms on the table, his head falling forward with a thump.

“Don’t worry, she only had good things to say on Saturday morning, all of which started with I was out way too late to be here for breakfast hours.” Nate grins, holds up his pad of paper. “Anyone ready for tea?”

“Water,” Kit mutters. “And the buffalo chicken sandwich.”

“No high tea today?” Nate doesn’t start writing until Kit shakes his head without picking it up. “Okay then, Thorne?”

“I don’t think Alaric dislikes nuts as much as he likes to say he does,” Thorne murmurs to himself. Because of course he does. Rory kicks him under the table, and Thorne doesn’t even wince. “I’m doing high tea with the garden sandwich, whatever the vegetarian soup of the day is, and a scone. Just give me a green tea.” Thorne folds up the menu and hands it to Nate along with Kit’s unopened menu.

“The gorgonzola crêpe,” Rory says. “And water.” As much as he loves the dessert options, he might want to leave before then. He can always get something to go, if he’s still hungry. He points across the table, adding, “Don’t worry about splitting the check. Thorne’s paying.”

Kit looks up. “Not for me.”

Thorne pats Kit’s arm. “Don’t worry, I’m good for it. I’m not an infinitely rich pop star but I’m not broke, either. Which reminds me, Rory, did you want to do anything else for Lora’s fund?”

“I’ll put your order in and be back with your drinks.”

Rory holds off until Nate’s gone. At this point, Kit’s already heard enough that it can’t get any worse. “I think Darrik’s more interested in closure than money at this point. I mean, the money’s important; Lora’s been in a coma for months, and there’s no sign that anything’s changing. But I think if we can find a way to actually help her out, that’d be better than just paying her bills. Hopefully the benefit made a good dent in those as it is.”

“What are you thinking of doing to help?” Kit asks.

It’d be easy to go down this path now, to brainstorm with the two of them. But this isn’t about Rory’s plans for rituals or his ideas. “I don’t want to hijack your planning session,” he says. “I’m still working through some ideas, and I’m going to sit here and do just that, but you two should see if you’ve got anything you can connect on. If you’re planning on picking Thorne’s brain for your project, that is.”

“You can pick anything of mine that you want,” Thorne offers.

“I went out with Serina on Friday night.” Kit sits stiffly upright, plenty of space between himself and Thorne on the bench.

Thorne snorts at Kit’s comeback; Rory kicks him under the table again.

“Just ignore everything Thorne says that isn’t actually related to what you need,” Rory mutters. “He flirts like breathing. I’m pretty sure that if he stopped, he’d shrivel up.”

“Parts of me would,” Thorne replies.

“Too much information,” Rory says firmly. “New topic. Move on.”

“Seriously, though, Serina’s nice. Bubbly,” Thorne says, leaning back in the seat. “Did you guys have fun?”

“It was a first date.” Kit licks his lips, shoulders stiff while he leans on the table. “I think we had a good time. It sounds like Nate heard all about it. That’s a good sign, right?” His gaze drifts toward the other side of the restaurant where Serina’s cheerfully talking to a group at a table. “I like her. I’d like to go out again.”

“Then go out again,” Thorne says.

“It’s complicated.” Kit drags his attention away from her, busies himself pulling out a blue notebook, laying it on the table with a purple pen. As he flips past the first pages, Rory spots sketches of Tarot cards with carefully written notes.

“It can’t be that complicated if you both had fun,” Thorne says, and Rory kicks him again. Thorne scowls. “Stop kicking me.”

“Stop being pushy and giving advice,” Rory counters. “If Kit says it’s complicated and doesn’t want to talk about it, let it go and move on.” Because Rory gets how simple things can be complicated. Not to mention that Thorne’s a force of nature, and it’s easy for anyone to lose track of everything once he gets going. It’s not fair to Kit. “You brought me along to buffer, and this is me, buffering. Back on topic, Thorne. Bad brother, no biscuit.”

Kit laughs, swallowing it as soon as Thorne looks at him. “So.” Kit’s expression is deadpan. “Ritual.”

“That would be why we’re here.” Thorne pulls out a small stack of loose leaf, spreads it out. Rory gets his own notebook out and tries to tune them out, but his attention keeps shifting back.

He blames the fact that he’s grown up with Thorne inside his radar; he’s attuned to his brother, and always has been. He may have gotten used to feeling like he was missing a limb while Thorne was gone, but now that they are back together, Rory finds himself circling around him again. And Thorne does the same.

“What’s your goal, here?” Thorne asks quietly, voice low and intense. There’s a slide on the bench; Rory moves before Kit knocks into him as he retreats from Thorne.

Kit coughs. “I’m from a predictive lineage, but the men of my line tend not to be predictive. Which makes me feel pretty useless. I experimented with ritual in high school, but I don’t have a background in it, and I don’t have a line that tends to have a great breadth of magical Talent. But predictive ritual falls flat for me. So I’m trying to figure out how to leverage what predictive Talent I do have while learning to work with more traditional ritual.”

Thorne taps his pen against the table. Rory instinctively taps a counter-rhythm with his fingers.

“And Pawel recommended that you work with me?” Thorne huffs. “I don’t know if I’d be your first choice. I don’t see fire and prediction going smoothly together.”

“Fallen ash. Burn patterns,” Rory mutters under his breath.

The fall of ash in circles

Reminds me of the way

We burned so bright

So high, so hot

The way we burned

Just before we fell apart

The remnants of a pyre

For our love

The words drip from the tip of his pen, falling onto the page with barely a thought. When he’s done, Rory stares at them, reads them back silently to feel them in his mouth. The first two lines could be cleaned up, tightened, but overall he likes the way it tastes.

Thorne knocks his foot under the table, and Rory looks up. “What?”

“Basic ritual,” Thorne says.

Rory blinks, not following. “What?”

Thorne reaches for the paper, reads with his head tilted. “Huh.” He pushes the paper back to Rory. “Never mind, go back to the writing fugue. I’m trying to figure out what kinds of basic ritual Kit and I should start with.”

“It’s his homework assignment.” Rory smudges pencil on the paper, like a circle of ash around his words. It’s not Thorne’s problem to figure out. “Kit, don’t let him run the show. Because if you do, you’ll find yourself in Kansas before you even realize you’ve headed out for a road trip.”

“That’s a strange analogy.”

“He wrote it in a song,” Thorne says cheerfully. “My little brother was pissed off at me for railroading him into something, so he came up with every possible odd way to say it and wrote it into a song. It’s on our first album.”

Rory shrugs, because he may have done it, but Thorne let him do it and sang the lyrics when they laid down the track. He’s pretty sure Thorne’s proud of it, in his own weird way.

“I need to come up with three possible rituals,” Kit says slowly. His notebook is still blank, the pen held loosely in his hand, while Thorne has sketches on two different pieces of paper. “The concept is rituals for two people that allow me to leverage predictive Talent. Or attempt to leverage it. But my family never did anything that was traditional.”

“There are a lot of rituals that sound like they’re for specific innate Talents, and aren’t,” Thorne says, tapping one of the pieces of paper. “Rituals to call rain, rituals to bless land, rituals to bring fertility to animals.”

“Querying rituals,” Rory says, thinking of Darrik Malone.

“Predictive Talent is questioning, right?” Thorne says. “It’s asking a question and looking for answers.”

“Looking for possibilities,” Kit corrects him. He writes something down, lays the pen on the notebook. “The thing is, anything that has an answer, should have a question, right?”

Thorne tilts his head. “Go on.”

“When you’re bringing fertility to animals, you’re looking to breed them.” Kit picks up the pen again, draws circles on his paper, adding long floppy ears and fluffy tails. “If you’re breeding angora rabbits, you want them to produce more rabbits.”

“Rabbits generally are good at that on their own,” Thorne deadpans. “There’s a reason we have the phrase f—” He cuts off when Rory kicks him, ends on a smile.

“But you could have rituals to increase litter size, to encourage fecundity,” Kit says. “Or you could have a ritual which asks how you should mate them.”

“I’m pretty sure they know how to do it on their own.”

“Thorne.” Rory’s voice is sharp. It’s obvious Kit’s not interested, and Rory wouldn’t blame him if he stabbed Thorne with that pen right now.

“They don’t know who to do it with.” Kit draws lines between bunnies on the page, adds notes along the way. “If you encourage A and B to breed, maybe you get a large litter, but the fur isn’t great. Or they don’t live a long time. But if you switch to B and C, the litter is average sized and the bunnies live forever. So a ritual to divine the best way to breed them, rather than to encourage fertility, might be an improvement.”

Thorne is silent for a long moment.

“If you could adapt that to both angora rabbits and sheep, I know of one group of Mages who would love to work with it,” Rory says. “And a Clan who would hate every second of it, but love the outcome.”

“So, that makes sense,” Kit says, and Rory nods.

“Yeah, it makes sense.”

There’s a call of Rory’s name across the restaurant. Nate carries food on a tray, and he’s followed by a small crowd. Mac slides in next to Thorne, Chris and Alaric following after her. Rory just manages to get out before Dax and Cass sit down on his side of the bench, so he can reclaim the edge. Kit looks lost, crowded into the center.

Nate sets a slip of paper on the table. “I know Serina mentioned that if we got a crowd in, we might have to move you. I’ve comped a part of your bill and stuck your friends with you instead. Sorry for interrupting your project work, Kit.”

Kit carefully folds his notebook, his jaw tight. “It’s okay, we got somewhere, and it’s not due until Wednesday. I can email with Thorne for the rest.”

“So, we’re working together?” Thorne asks. Kit shrugs, and Thorne grins, offers his hand for a shake to seal the deal.

“Just hit him on the nose if he misbehaves,” Mac suggests, miming a rolled up newspaper. “That’s what I do. It’s remarkably effective.”

“I’m not going to misbehave.” Thorne spreads his hands, drops one arm behind Mac’s shoulder as he leans closer to her. “Kit’s made it clear he’s not interested in any extra curricular activity outside of the project. I can focus.”

Chris reaches past Mac to jab Thorne in the side. “Mac’s made it clear, too, and you snuggle her all the time.”

“She lets me,” Thorne points out.

Cass shifts in her seat, her arm bumping Rory’s. “Sorry.”

She’s sitting closer than necessary, although maybe that’s because Dax is giving Kit room, rather than shoving him into Thorne. But it means that Rory’s right on the edge of the bench, and his elbow too close to Cass, brushing against her.

He rotates his wrist, checks.

Nothing. Which is good. Cass is definitely on Rory’s not a chance in hell list.

“What brings you all in here?” Thorne asks.

“We were in the weight room—”

“They were in the weight room,” Cass corrects Chris’s story with a thin smile.

“We decided we weren’t in the mood to eat on campus, so after we all got cleaned up, we grabbed Cass and walked over,” Mac says easily. “Today I learned that Alaric can probably bench press me, but I can do a higher box jump than any of the guys.”

“Did you cheat?” Thorne raises his eyebrows, and Alaric makes a small noise like he didn’t even think of that.

It’s light, and it’s easy, and at the same time, it’s uncomfortable. Cass keeps sliding closer to Rory, and Kit looks like he’s sitting in the middle of the parted sea, no one getting close to him at all. Kit’s gaze drifts to where Serina’s laughing with a table on the other side of the room.

Nate returns with pots of tea that Rory doesn’t remember anyone ordering. Rory reaches out to grab his wrist before he can get away. “Can you bring me a box?” Rory asks. “I’ve got a song in my head and I need to get out of here, get it down before it escapes.”

“Me too,” Kit says, making a face. “Getting out of here. No song, I just… I want to go brainstorm ritual ideas while they’re still on my mind. Sorry, I’m being an ass leaving when you just got here.”

Mac makes a shooing motion with her hands. “Like we’re easily offended. If you’re looking for Caro, though, she was making noises about going to bed early.”

Kit pushes his plate toward Rory, then pauses before sliding off the bench. “Is she sick? She didn’t text me.”

“Slept like crap last night, according to Heather. She’s been moody today, so she was talking about getting something to eat in her room and getting sleep. So if that’s your independent study and you need her, she might already be asleep,” Mac explains.

Rory gives Kit plenty of room to get out of the bench, taking his own food to one of the nearby tables while waiting for a box. He packs up as soon as Nate brings it. “I’ll send you samples,” he promises Thorne. “I’ve got a couple song snippets I’ve been thinking about. We should meet up this week.”

“Later,” Thorne agrees. “I don’t have much other than classwork.”

When Rory gathers his box up to take with him, Kit’s near the door, talking quietly to Serina. Rory lifts a hand to wave goodbye, pausing when Serina waves enthusiastically and bounces over to him. “Have a good night,” she offers. “I think it’s so cool that you and Kit are going to work together. I wouldn’t mind if he’s hanging out on our floor while you do.”

That’s not obvious at all. Both Serina and Kit are flushed, and Rory doesn’t bother to point out the misconception about the project. “I think it’ll work out well,” Rory says, because it’s the right thing to say before he turns to go.

He’s not entirely surprised when Kit walks with him out the door.

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[samuelfields]

Budget help: How to build a bulletproof budget

Even after 10+ years of spreading the Rich Life gospel, our founder Ramit Sethi still runs into people who need budget help. They typically:

(A) Don’t know how to build a budget.

(B) Don’t know how much they’re spending each month.

For example, this tweet:

The answers he got back were fascinating:

What do you notice about the responses?

Some common themes are fear, laziness, confusion, and even anger.

If that sounds familiar to you, that’s okay! We want to be there to help.

That’s why we’re going to break it down to the basics today on how you can build a budget.

Bonus: Want to know how to make as much money as you want and live life on your terms? Download my FREE Ultimate Guide to Making Money

Why you need budget help

When people think budgeting, images of their parents studiously going over receipts, writing down expenses in a notebook, and screaming, “HOW DID WE SPEND SO MUCH ON GAS LAST WEEK?” come to mind.

That might have worked for them … but it sure doesn’t work now.

How many times have you opened your bills, winced, then shrugged and said, “I guess I spent that much”?

How often do you feel guilty about buying something — but then do it anyway?

This is unconscious spending (aka “spreadsheet budgeting”). The main issue with it is simple: Human willpower.

Who wants to track their spending? The few people who actually try it find that their budgets completely fail after two days because tracking every penny is overwhelming.

Alternative budget building tips

Instead, we’re going to gently create a new, simple way of spending.

We’re going to help you redirect it to the places you choose, like investing, saving, and even spending more on the things you love (but less on the things you don’t).

This is going to be the foundation of your Conscious Spending Plan.

1. Know where your money is going 

You know your money matters are out of whack when it feels like you’re starring in Macklemore’s Thrift Shop music video. When there is simply too much month for your paycheck, there’s a good chance you’re not aware of what your lifestyle actually costs. 

It’s time to sit down and categorize your spending into four buckets. 

Fixed costs 

Investments 

Savings 

Guilt-free spending 

Now, you’re going to see these four categories a lot throughout our personal finance articles and that is because all your expenses are contained in these categories. When you can pinpoint what belongs where you’ll quickly start understanding where the gaps in your financial plan are. 

For instance, if you’re spending $500 per month on guilt-free spending and nothing on savings or investments, is it really guilt-free spending? Or if you have a fixed costs bill of $5,000, but your net income is $5,000, you might have a lifestyle you can’t afford. 

Bonus: Ready to ditch debt, save money, and build real wealth? Download my FREE Ultimate Guide to Personal Finance.

Investments and savings are easy enough to tally up, but it’s worth going through your fixed costs and guilt-free spending categories to see whether you’re overspending. 

Fixed costs examples 

To make sure the money goes where it needs to, you need to complete your fixed costs category first. You also need to allocate funds to this category first. 

If you’re living paycheck to paycheck, this is also the area you want to comb through to make sure you’re not paying for things you don’t actually need or want. You may find moving to a cheaper apartment or selling a car might allow you to breathe a little easier month-to-month, but the culling needs to make sense to you. What does it help to save $100 on rent every month only to spend $100 extra on traveling? 

There are four major components that you simply can’t eliminate completely, or most people anyway. They’re housing, utilities, food, and transport. Other items in this category include internet costs, education, healthcare, debt repayments, insurances, and other expenses that pop up every month without fail. 

Guilt-free spending examples 

These are your subscription services, endless cups of Starbucks, expensive shoes, dining out, you get the picture? Now, just to be clear, just because we have this as a category, doesn’t mean we’re saying you need to allocate money to it. If you’re scraping the peanut butter jar so badly you’re starting to get plastic shavings on your sandwich, you may want to clear up some fixed expenses first. 

2. Build your budgeting systems 

Have you ever caught yourself saying, “I’ll get that on payday” or “We’ll go there on payday” or my personal favorite, “Your birthday is so inconvenient. It’s smack bang in the middle of the month, who has money at that time?”. I’ll tell you who has money. People who know where their money goes. 

That may seem a little, eh, harsh, but it’s not meant to be. You can be that person who doesn’t care whether someone has an event on the 1st or any other day for that matter. The only difference payday makes, is that it’s the day a new salary payment lands in your account. If that money isn’t carefully allocated into different categories, you’ll eat into money meant for savings and investments. 

So how do you get off this slippery slope? 

Allocate sub-accounts in your savings 

While we’re big on investments, we also know the value of saving for short term goals. Chucking everything into one account with no clear direction is like throwing a mixed laundry load into the washing machine on a hot cycle. You just never know when your whites are going to turn pink. 

Your savings account should have sub-categories that allow you to save up for your various needs. For instance: 

Emergency fund: Ideally, you’ll have at least 3-6 months worth of fixed cost expenses saved in an emergency fund. But if you’re really ambitious, go for one year. The pandemic taught us many things, one of which is that a solid emergency fund can ease potential hardship. 

Gifting and birthdays: If your budget is tight, it’s important that you budget birthdays and gifting ahead of time.  

Car service and maintenance: If you don’t have a motor plan, you need to put money away for services, maintenance matters such as tires, and car-related things that might pop up. You don’t want to dip into emergency savings for predictable expenses.

Big deposits: Vacations, a wedding, downpayment on property or car, this is the category where that goes.  

If you’re with a bank worth their weight in, uhm gold, they’ll allow you to open these sub-accounts at no extra charge and still offer to pay some interest on it. It might take you half an hour to set this up, but guess what, when it’s done, you don’t have to think about it again until you need to use it. Here are the savings accounts that we recommend – we are not affiliated with them in any way, but we use them and like them.

Automate your finances 

We’re really, really big on this. Automating your personal finances is a game-changer. 

It takes the fear of the unknown out of your finances 

You don’t have to spend a ton of time on your finances (increasing the chances that you’ll actually stick to a system)

You’re able to identify holes or money traps in your budget 

It helps you build good financial habits 

You can automate your finances to such an extent that you simply have to give your bank accounts a glance over once in a while to make sure things are still running as they should. 

Every single thing that needs to be paid, can be automated. Let’s have a look: 

Credit cards: Set up your credit card to have the balance auto-paid every month from your checking account. Settling the balance in full every month is an important step in money management and will do wonders for your budget. Not only will you save on interest, but it also boosts your credit score if you manage to keep your usage to no more than 30%. Automatic payments also ensure that the card is paid on time, every time. The importance of this extends beyond your relationship with the credit card, it can also influence future financial products such as buying a house. 

Investments: Instruct your company or investment firm to automatically withdraw a certain amount from your bank or every paycheck for your retirement accounts. Your goal is to automate your finances to such an extent that you’ve maxed out your allowable contributions to these accounts before moving on to other investment types such as index funds. 

Savings: Predetermining your savings and setting up an auto-transfer to your savings pockets will free up time and will make you less inclined to spend the money before you save it. There will always be something to save for, even if you’ve reached the limit to your emergency savings. Think home upgrades, new tech, a wardrobe revamp. 

Utilities: You can set up direct debit with most utility companies online. You know your utilities are up to date, you simply need to check the statement to make sure the amounts don’t differ. Other than that, there’s nothing else for you to do. 

Bonus: Learn more about automating your finances with our FREE Ultimate Guide to Personal Finance. It’ll show you step-by-step how to set up your accounts.

3. Cut mercilessly on things you don’t love or need

Don’t like watching TV? Cancel the Netflix subscription. What about the gym subscription? Is it possible for you to get the same results at home? 

Now move on to things that are a little more serious. Let’s talk about your property, for instance. There is a truckload of other expenses that you need to consider when buying a property. You’re not just going to have a long-term mortgage. 

Before you even own the house, you need to have the downpayment, closing costs, and reserves on hand. While the downpayment and reserves are in your best interest, it may take time to build it up. 

Ongoing costs to consider include HOA costs, insurances, property taxes, maintenance, and utilities. Now, ask yourself whether you’re still okay with it, or whether you might just be better off renting for a couple of years until you’re 100% sure you want to settle in a specific location. 

Now, this might be an unpopular opinion, but owning a house is not the be-all and end-all our parents made it out to be. It’s damn expensive and you need to be financially secure enough to take it on. It’s not for everyone, especially those who consider themselves modern nomads. 

You may not want to cut out every day items that you love, like lattes and dinners out with friends, but if you can make cuts on major expenses like housing, that’s a huge win.

4. Increase spending on the stuff that matters

Don’t let anyone tell you you’re wasting money when you’re spending it on the things that matter to you. 

When you’ve done your bit and allocated money to all the other categories and you have money leftover, it’s your prerogative to spend it how you want. So what if you like $1,000 shoes? If you can afford it and it matters to you, then it belongs in your guilt-free spending category. 

When you’re doing this right and you’ve allocated what you need to in the other categories, imagine getting the figure up to 30% or even 40% of your take-home pay? 

5. Boost your income 

Money isn’t everything, but if you like to live a life of experiences, being broke sucks. So how do you strike a balance between your top-heavy budget and some fun money? If you’ve already gone through the culling discussed in step 3, don’t reduce your savings or investments. Instead, look for ways to boost your income. Knowing how to make a budget is knowing how to make your money work. 

Your salary might have potential 

When was the last time you had a raise? If it was last year after a performance review and didn’t even compete with inflation, it’s time to take out your calculator and start doing the math. A raise today could lead to more retirement savings, higher future salaries, a bigger dent in your debt, and more fun money. 

It’s worth the discussion and if you follow our founder Ramit Sethi’s negotiation steps, you might just be looking at a dream salary. 

If you can’t increase your salary at your current job, why not put your feelers out and use those very same steps on your interviewer? Who knows, instead of a tiny increase, you might be looking at a salary hop of a couple of thousand dollars per year. It’s worth a look. 

Negotiate your financial and non-financial products 

You can reduce that fixed costs spending category in a matter of minutes simply by picking up the phone and reminding your service providers what a good customer you are.

Let’s start with banks. There is a smorgasbord of products they offer and each one is either designed to keep their liquidity high (savings accounts) or earn them the big dollars (by offering credit with interest). 

You can either spend time negotiating half a percentage on your small savings account, or you can tackle the big-ticket items. For starters, if your mortgage is at a higher interest rate than it needs to be, check out the pros and cons of refinancing. Just make sure that if you go down this route, that the lender doesn’t hit you with a nasty processing fee. 

Checking accounts and credit cards are two other products that can do with a price check. If you’re paying monthly or annual fees, it’s time to call them up and bring that figure down. 

But there are other areas you can save.

Internet service providers that onboard new customers at a lower rate. Get them to lower yours too in order to keep your business. 

Gym membership fees. Depending on the club and the length of time you’ve been with them, ask them to see if there’s a way to cut down on the fees. 

Start a side hustle 

A side hustle can be a great way to boost your income, especially if you start out with as few overheads as possible, for instance, an online business. It might take you a couple of months to start making money, but those months are going to pass anyway so why not do something anyway? 

Now, figuring out which side hustle to start is easier than you think. If you know how to play an online game or order something online, you already have enough internet savvy to start your own thing. Yep. 

Side hustles that require very little startup cash, if any, include freelance writing, stock photography (you probably have a better camera on your phone than the photographer next door with his 90’s lenses), or a dropshipping store. 

Budgeting FAQs

How should a beginner budget? 

It all starts with the basics. Know exactly how much is coming in and how much is going out. You may have to write it down until it becomes second nature. Then, you follow the steps above which include financial automation and conscious spending. 

What are the 50/20/30 and 70/20/10 budget rules? 

The 50/20/30 rule is a budget guideline that states 50% of your after-tax income should go towards commitments and obligatory expenses. Then 20% on savings and debt repayments and the remaining 30% on everything else. 

The 70/20/10 states that 70% should go towards expenses, 20% on savings, and 10% on giving. 

While these are handy when you’re still trying to figure things out, it’s important that you find a ratio that works for you. The goal is simple, decrease your debt, increase your savings and investments, and allow yourself some guilt-free spending. 

What is the envelope system? 

The idea is that you have an envelope for each payment category. So you’d have one for your housing, one for utilities, another for food, and so on. Great envelope systems include investments and savings too. 

However, technology has shown us that everything’s easier when you automate it. Apps such as Fudget and Monefy are great for those who wish to use the envelope system. This allows you to stay on top of your obligations, have a proactive approach to budgeting, and not overspend. 

Summary

A budget is not a spreadsheet. It’s a proactive approach to your finances and allows you the financial freedom to meet your financial obligations and commitments. It also allows your money to work for you and buy you great life experiences and the rich life you desire, all while building up the financial foundation for future you.

Get the ultimate guide to making money

The best way to ensure flexibility in your budget is to earn more money.

And there are a few different ways you can do this:

Negotiate a raise. If you have a job, this is a no-brainer … but it takes a lot of planning and study.

Tap into hidden income. With a few 5-minute phone calls you can save yourself THOUSANDS every year. Find out how with this free PDF.

Do freelance work. Starting a side hustle is one of my favorite ways to make money. Using the skills you already have, you can start fuel-injecting your income. Here’s how to find the best side hustle ideas today.

If you apply the right systems you can find the money to make expensive purchases AND earn money at the same time.

That’s why we want to offer you something:

The Ultimate Guide to Making Money

In it, Ramit has included his best strategies to:

Create multiple income streams so you always have a consistent source of revenue.

Start your own business and escape the 9-to-5 for good.

Increase your income by thousands of dollars a year through side hustles like freelancing.

Download a FREE copy of the Ultimate Guide today by entering your name and email below — and start earning more money today.

Yes, send me the Ultimate Guide to Making Money

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Name *

Email *

Give me instant access!

100% privacy. No games, no B.S., no spam. When you sign up, we’ll keep you posted

Budget help: How to build a bulletproof budget is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

from Finance https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/budget-help/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[kennethherrerablog]

Budget help: How to build a bulletproof budget

Even after 10+ years of spreading the Rich Life gospel, our founder Ramit Sethi still runs into people who need budget help. They typically:

(A) Don’t know how to build a budget.

(B) Don’t know how much they’re spending each month.

For example, this tweet:

The answers he got back were fascinating:

What do you notice about the responses?

Some common themes are fear, laziness, confusion, and even anger.

If that sounds familiar to you, that’s okay! We want to be there to help.

That’s why we’re going to break it down to the basics today on how you can build a budget.

Bonus: Want to know how to make as much money as you want and live life on your terms? Download my FREE Ultimate Guide to Making Money

Why you need budget help

When people think budgeting, images of their parents studiously going over receipts, writing down expenses in a notebook, and screaming, “HOW DID WE SPEND SO MUCH ON GAS LAST WEEK?” come to mind.

That might have worked for them … but it sure doesn’t work now.

How many times have you opened your bills, winced, then shrugged and said, “I guess I spent that much”?

How often do you feel guilty about buying something — but then do it anyway?

This is unconscious spending (aka “spreadsheet budgeting”). The main issue with it is simple: Human willpower.

Who wants to track their spending? The few people who actually try it find that their budgets completely fail after two days because tracking every penny is overwhelming.

Alternative budget building tips

Instead, we’re going to gently create a new, simple way of spending.

We’re going to help you redirect it to the places you choose, like investing, saving, and even spending more on the things you love (but less on the things you don’t).

This is going to be the foundation of your Conscious Spending Plan.

1. Know where your money is going 

You know your money matters are out of whack when it feels like you’re starring in Macklemore’s Thrift Shop music video. When there is simply too much month for your paycheck, there’s a good chance you’re not aware of what your lifestyle actually costs. 

It’s time to sit down and categorize your spending into four buckets. 

Fixed costs 

Investments 

Savings 

Guilt-free spending 

Now, you’re going to see these four categories a lot throughout our personal finance articles and that is because all your expenses are contained in these categories. When you can pinpoint what belongs where you’ll quickly start understanding where the gaps in your financial plan are. 

For instance, if you’re spending $500 per month on guilt-free spending and nothing on savings or investments, is it really guilt-free spending? Or if you have a fixed costs bill of $5,000, but your net income is $5,000, you might have a lifestyle you can’t afford. 

Bonus: Ready to ditch debt, save money, and build real wealth? Download my FREE Ultimate Guide to Personal Finance.

Investments and savings are easy enough to tally up, but it’s worth going through your fixed costs and guilt-free spending categories to see whether you’re overspending. 

Fixed costs examples 

To make sure the money goes where it needs to, you need to complete your fixed costs category first. You also need to allocate funds to this category first. 

If you’re living paycheck to paycheck, this is also the area you want to comb through to make sure you’re not paying for things you don’t actually need or want. You may find moving to a cheaper apartment or selling a car might allow you to breathe a little easier month-to-month, but the culling needs to make sense to you. What does it help to save $100 on rent every month only to spend $100 extra on traveling? 

There are four major components that you simply can’t eliminate completely, or most people anyway. They’re housing, utilities, food, and transport. Other items in this category include internet costs, education, healthcare, debt repayments, insurances, and other expenses that pop up every month without fail. 

Guilt-free spending examples 

These are your subscription services, endless cups of Starbucks, expensive shoes, dining out, you get the picture? Now, just to be clear, just because we have this as a category, doesn’t mean we’re saying you need to allocate money to it. If you’re scraping the peanut butter jar so badly you’re starting to get plastic shavings on your sandwich, you may want to clear up some fixed expenses first. 

2. Build your budgeting systems 

Have you ever caught yourself saying, “I’ll get that on payday” or “We’ll go there on payday” or my personal favorite, “Your birthday is so inconvenient. It’s smack bang in the middle of the month, who has money at that time?”. I’ll tell you who has money. People who know where their money goes. 

That may seem a little, eh, harsh, but it’s not meant to be. You can be that person who doesn’t care whether someone has an event on the 1st or any other day for that matter. The only difference payday makes, is that it’s the day a new salary payment lands in your account. If that money isn’t carefully allocated into different categories, you’ll eat into money meant for savings and investments. 

So how do you get off this slippery slope? 

Allocate sub-accounts in your savings 

While we’re big on investments, we also know the value of saving for short term goals. Chucking everything into one account with no clear direction is like throwing a mixed laundry load into the washing machine on a hot cycle. You just never know when your whites are going to turn pink. 

Your savings account should have sub-categories that allow you to save up for your various needs. For instance: 

Emergency fund: Ideally, you’ll have at least 3-6 months worth of fixed cost expenses saved in an emergency fund. But if you’re really ambitious, go for one year. The pandemic taught us many things, one of which is that a solid emergency fund can ease potential hardship. 

Gifting and birthdays: If your budget is tight, it’s important that you budget birthdays and gifting ahead of time.  

Car service and maintenance: If you don’t have a motor plan, you need to put money away for services, maintenance matters such as tires, and car-related things that might pop up. You don’t want to dip into emergency savings for predictable expenses.

Big deposits: Vacations, a wedding, downpayment on property or car, this is the category where that goes.  

If you’re with a bank worth their weight in, uhm gold, they’ll allow you to open these sub-accounts at no extra charge and still offer to pay some interest on it. It might take you half an hour to set this up, but guess what, when it’s done, you don’t have to think about it again until you need to use it. Here are the savings accounts that we recommend – we are not affiliated with them in any way, but we use them and like them.

Automate your finances 

We’re really, really big on this. Automating your personal finances is a game-changer. 

It takes the fear of the unknown out of your finances 

You don’t have to spend a ton of time on your finances (increasing the chances that you’ll actually stick to a system)

You’re able to identify holes or money traps in your budget 

It helps you build good financial habits 

You can automate your finances to such an extent that you simply have to give your bank accounts a glance over once in a while to make sure things are still running as they should. 

Every single thing that needs to be paid, can be automated. Let’s have a look: 

Credit cards: Set up your credit card to have the balance auto-paid every month from your checking account. Settling the balance in full every month is an important step in money management and will do wonders for your budget. Not only will you save on interest, but it also boosts your credit score if you manage to keep your usage to no more than 30%. Automatic payments also ensure that the card is paid on time, every time. The importance of this extends beyond your relationship with the credit card, it can also influence future financial products such as buying a house. 

Investments: Instruct your company or investment firm to automatically withdraw a certain amount from your bank or every paycheck for your retirement accounts. Your goal is to automate your finances to such an extent that you’ve maxed out your allowable contributions to these accounts before moving on to other investment types such as index funds. 

Savings: Predetermining your savings and setting up an auto-transfer to your savings pockets will free up time and will make you less inclined to spend the money before you save it. There will always be something to save for, even if you’ve reached the limit to your emergency savings. Think home upgrades, new tech, a wardrobe revamp. 

Utilities: You can set up direct debit with most utility companies online. You know your utilities are up to date, you simply need to check the statement to make sure the amounts don’t differ. Other than that, there’s nothing else for you to do. 

Bonus: Learn more about automating your finances with our FREE Ultimate Guide to Personal Finance. It’ll show you step-by-step how to set up your accounts.

3. Cut mercilessly on things you don’t love or need

Don’t like watching TV? Cancel the Netflix subscription. What about the gym subscription? Is it possible for you to get the same results at home? 

Now move on to things that are a little more serious. Let’s talk about your property, for instance. There is a truckload of other expenses that you need to consider when buying a property. You’re not just going to have a long-term mortgage. 

Before you even own the house, you need to have the downpayment, closing costs, and reserves on hand. While the downpayment and reserves are in your best interest, it may take time to build it up. 

Ongoing costs to consider include HOA costs, insurances, property taxes, maintenance, and utilities. Now, ask yourself whether you’re still okay with it, or whether you might just be better off renting for a couple of years until you’re 100% sure you want to settle in a specific location. 

Now, this might be an unpopular opinion, but owning a house is not the be-all and end-all our parents made it out to be. It’s damn expensive and you need to be financially secure enough to take it on. It’s not for everyone, especially those who consider themselves modern nomads. 

You may not want to cut out every day items that you love, like lattes and dinners out with friends, but if you can make cuts on major expenses like housing, that’s a huge win.

4. Increase spending on the stuff that matters

Don’t let anyone tell you you’re wasting money when you’re spending it on the things that matter to you. 

When you’ve done your bit and allocated money to all the other categories and you have money leftover, it’s your prerogative to spend it how you want. So what if you like $1,000 shoes? If you can afford it and it matters to you, then it belongs in your guilt-free spending category. 

When you’re doing this right and you’ve allocated what you need to in the other categories, imagine getting the figure up to 30% or even 40% of your take-home pay? 

5. Boost your income 

Money isn’t everything, but if you like to live a life of experiences, being broke sucks. So how do you strike a balance between your top-heavy budget and some fun money? If you’ve already gone through the culling discussed in step 3, don’t reduce your savings or investments. Instead, look for ways to boost your income. Knowing how to make a budget is knowing how to make your money work. 

Your salary might have potential 

When was the last time you had a raise? If it was last year after a performance review and didn’t even compete with inflation, it’s time to take out your calculator and start doing the math. A raise today could lead to more retirement savings, higher future salaries, a bigger dent in your debt, and more fun money. 

It’s worth the discussion and if you follow our founder Ramit Sethi’s negotiation steps, you might just be looking at a dream salary. 

If you can’t increase your salary at your current job, why not put your feelers out and use those very same steps on your interviewer? Who knows, instead of a tiny increase, you might be looking at a salary hop of a couple of thousand dollars per year. It’s worth a look. 

Negotiate your financial and non-financial products 

You can reduce that fixed costs spending category in a matter of minutes simply by picking up the phone and reminding your service providers what a good customer you are.

Let’s start with banks. There is a smorgasbord of products they offer and each one is either designed to keep their liquidity high (savings accounts) or earn them the big dollars (by offering credit with interest). 

You can either spend time negotiating half a percentage on your small savings account, or you can tackle the big-ticket items. For starters, if your mortgage is at a higher interest rate than it needs to be, check out the pros and cons of refinancing. Just make sure that if you go down this route, that the lender doesn’t hit you with a nasty processing fee. 

Checking accounts and credit cards are two other products that can do with a price check. If you’re paying monthly or annual fees, it’s time to call them up and bring that figure down. 

But there are other areas you can save.

Internet service providers that onboard new customers at a lower rate. Get them to lower yours too in order to keep your business. 

Gym membership fees. Depending on the club and the length of time you’ve been with them, ask them to see if there’s a way to cut down on the fees. 

Start a side hustle 

A side hustle can be a great way to boost your income, especially if you start out with as few overheads as possible, for instance, an online business. It might take you a couple of months to start making money, but those months are going to pass anyway so why not do something anyway? 

Now, figuring out which side hustle to start is easier than you think. If you know how to play an online game or order something online, you already have enough internet savvy to start your own thing. Yep. 

Side hustles that require very little startup cash, if any, include freelance writing, stock photography (you probably have a better camera on your phone than the photographer next door with his 90’s lenses), or a dropshipping store. 

Budgeting FAQs

How should a beginner budget? 

It all starts with the basics. Know exactly how much is coming in and how much is going out. You may have to write it down until it becomes second nature. Then, you follow the steps above which include financial automation and conscious spending. 

What are the 50/20/30 and 70/20/10 budget rules? 

The 50/20/30 rule is a budget guideline that states 50% of your after-tax income should go towards commitments and obligatory expenses. Then 20% on savings and debt repayments and the remaining 30% on everything else. 

The 70/20/10 states that 70% should go towards expenses, 20% on savings, and 10% on giving. 

While these are handy when you’re still trying to figure things out, it’s important that you find a ratio that works for you. The goal is simple, decrease your debt, increase your savings and investments, and allow yourself some guilt-free spending. 

What is the envelope system? 

The idea is that you have an envelope for each payment category. So you’d have one for your housing, one for utilities, another for food, and so on. Great envelope systems include investments and savings too. 

However, technology has shown us that everything’s easier when you automate it. Apps such as Fudget and Monefy are great for those who wish to use the envelope system. This allows you to stay on top of your obligations, have a proactive approach to budgeting, and not overspend. 

Summary

A budget is not a spreadsheet. It’s a proactive approach to your finances and allows you the financial freedom to meet your financial obligations and commitments. It also allows your money to work for you and buy you great life experiences and the rich life you desire, all while building up the financial foundation for future you.

Get the ultimate guide to making money

The best way to ensure flexibility in your budget is to earn more money.

And there are a few different ways you can do this:

Negotiate a raise. If you have a job, this is a no-brainer … but it takes a lot of planning and study.

Tap into hidden income. With a few 5-minute phone calls you can save yourself THOUSANDS every year. Find out how with this free PDF.

Do freelance work. Starting a side hustle is one of my favorite ways to make money. Using the skills you already have, you can start fuel-injecting your income. Here’s how to find the best side hustle ideas today.

If you apply the right systems you can find the money to make expensive purchases AND earn money at the same time.

That’s why we want to offer you something:

The Ultimate Guide to Making Money

In it, Ramit has included his best strategies to:

Create multiple income streams so you always have a consistent source of revenue.

Start your own business and escape the 9-to-5 for good.

Increase your income by thousands of dollars a year through side hustles like freelancing.

Download a FREE copy of the Ultimate Guide today by entering your name and email below — and start earning more money today.

Yes, send me the Ultimate Guide to Making Money

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Name *

Email *

Give me instant access!

100% privacy. No games, no B.S., no spam. When you sign up, we’ll keep you posted

Budget help: How to build a bulletproof budget is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

Budget help: How to build a bulletproof budget published first on https://justinbetreviews.tumblr.com/

[andrewdburton]

Budget help: How to build a bulletproof budget

Even after 10+ years of spreading the Rich Life gospel, our founder Ramit Sethi still runs into people who need budget help. They typically:

(A) Don’t know how to build a budget.

(B) Don’t know how much they’re spending each month.

For example, this tweet:

The answers he got back were fascinating:

What do you notice about the responses?

Some common themes are fear, laziness, confusion, and even anger.

If that sounds familiar to you, that’s okay! We want to be there to help.

That’s why we’re going to break it down to the basics today on how you can build a budget.

Bonus: Want to know how to make as much money as you want and live life on your terms? Download my FREE Ultimate Guide to Making Money

Why you need budget help

When people think budgeting, images of their parents studiously going over receipts, writing down expenses in a notebook, and screaming, “HOW DID WE SPEND SO MUCH ON GAS LAST WEEK?” come to mind.

That might have worked for them … but it sure doesn’t work now.

How many times have you opened your bills, winced, then shrugged and said, “I guess I spent that much”?

How often do you feel guilty about buying something — but then do it anyway?

This is unconscious spending (aka “spreadsheet budgeting”). The main issue with it is simple: Human willpower.

Who wants to track their spending? The few people who actually try it find that their budgets completely fail after two days because tracking every penny is overwhelming.

Alternative budget building tips

Instead, we’re going to gently create a new, simple way of spending.

We’re going to help you redirect it to the places you choose, like investing, saving, and even spending more on the things you love (but less on the things you don’t).

This is going to be the foundation of your Conscious Spending Plan.

1. Know where your money is going 

You know your money matters are out of whack when it feels like you’re starring in Macklemore’s Thrift Shop music video. When there is simply too much month for your paycheck, there’s a good chance you’re not aware of what your lifestyle actually costs. 

It’s time to sit down and categorize your spending into four buckets. 

Fixed costs 

Investments 

Savings 

Guilt-free spending 

Now, you’re going to see these four categories a lot throughout our personal finance articles and that is because all your expenses are contained in these categories. When you can pinpoint what belongs where you’ll quickly start understanding where the gaps in your financial plan are. 

For instance, if you’re spending $500 per month on guilt-free spending and nothing on savings or investments, is it really guilt-free spending? Or if you have a fixed costs bill of $5,000, but your net income is $5,000, you might have a lifestyle you can’t afford. 

Bonus: Ready to ditch debt, save money, and build real wealth? Download my FREE Ultimate Guide to Personal Finance.

Investments and savings are easy enough to tally up, but it’s worth going through your fixed costs and guilt-free spending categories to see whether you’re overspending. 

Fixed costs examples 

To make sure the money goes where it needs to, you need to complete your fixed costs category first. You also need to allocate funds to this category first. 

If you’re living paycheck to paycheck, this is also the area you want to comb through to make sure you’re not paying for things you don’t actually need or want. You may find moving to a cheaper apartment or selling a car might allow you to breathe a little easier month-to-month, but the culling needs to make sense to you. What does it help to save $100 on rent every month only to spend $100 extra on traveling? 

There are four major components that you simply can’t eliminate completely, or most people anyway. They’re housing, utilities, food, and transport. Other items in this category include internet costs, education, healthcare, debt repayments, insurances, and other expenses that pop up every month without fail. 

Guilt-free spending examples 

These are your subscription services, endless cups of Starbucks, expensive shoes, dining out, you get the picture? Now, just to be clear, just because we have this as a category, doesn’t mean we’re saying you need to allocate money to it. If you’re scraping the peanut butter jar so badly you’re starting to get plastic shavings on your sandwich, you may want to clear up some fixed expenses first. 

2. Build your budgeting systems 

Have you ever caught yourself saying, “I’ll get that on payday” or “We’ll go there on payday” or my personal favorite, “Your birthday is so inconvenient. It’s smack bang in the middle of the month, who has money at that time?”. I’ll tell you who has money. People who know where their money goes. 

That may seem a little, eh, harsh, but it’s not meant to be. You can be that person who doesn’t care whether someone has an event on the 1st or any other day for that matter. The only difference payday makes, is that it’s the day a new salary payment lands in your account. If that money isn’t carefully allocated into different categories, you’ll eat into money meant for savings and investments. 

So how do you get off this slippery slope? 

Allocate sub-accounts in your savings 

While we’re big on investments, we also know the value of saving for short term goals. Chucking everything into one account with no clear direction is like throwing a mixed laundry load into the washing machine on a hot cycle. You just never know when your whites are going to turn pink. 

Your savings account should have sub-categories that allow you to save up for your various needs. For instance: 

Emergency fund: Ideally, you’ll have at least 3-6 months worth of fixed cost expenses saved in an emergency fund. But if you’re really ambitious, go for one year. The pandemic taught us many things, one of which is that a solid emergency fund can ease potential hardship. 

Gifting and birthdays: If your budget is tight, it’s important that you budget birthdays and gifting ahead of time.  

Car service and maintenance: If you don’t have a motor plan, you need to put money away for services, maintenance matters such as tires, and car-related things that might pop up. You don’t want to dip into emergency savings for predictable expenses.

Big deposits: Vacations, a wedding, downpayment on property or car, this is the category where that goes.  

If you’re with a bank worth their weight in, uhm gold, they’ll allow you to open these sub-accounts at no extra charge and still offer to pay some interest on it. It might take you half an hour to set this up, but guess what, when it’s done, you don’t have to think about it again until you need to use it. Here are the savings accounts that we recommend – we are not affiliated with them in any way, but we use them and like them.

Automate your finances 

We’re really, really big on this. Automating your personal finances is a game-changer. 

It takes the fear of the unknown out of your finances 

You don’t have to spend a ton of time on your finances (increasing the chances that you’ll actually stick to a system)

You’re able to identify holes or money traps in your budget 

It helps you build good financial habits 

You can automate your finances to such an extent that you simply have to give your bank accounts a glance over once in a while to make sure things are still running as they should. 

Every single thing that needs to be paid, can be automated. Let’s have a look: 

Credit cards: Set up your credit card to have the balance auto-paid every month from your checking account. Settling the balance in full every month is an important step in money management and will do wonders for your budget. Not only will you save on interest, but it also boosts your credit score if you manage to keep your usage to no more than 30%. Automatic payments also ensure that the card is paid on time, every time. The importance of this extends beyond your relationship with the credit card, it can also influence future financial products such as buying a house. 

Investments: Instruct your company or investment firm to automatically withdraw a certain amount from your bank or every paycheck for your retirement accounts. Your goal is to automate your finances to such an extent that you’ve maxed out your allowable contributions to these accounts before moving on to other investment types such as index funds. 

Savings: Predetermining your savings and setting up an auto-transfer to your savings pockets will free up time and will make you less inclined to spend the money before you save it. There will always be something to save for, even if you’ve reached the limit to your emergency savings. Think home upgrades, new tech, a wardrobe revamp. 

Utilities: You can set up direct debit with most utility companies online. You know your utilities are up to date, you simply need to check the statement to make sure the amounts don’t differ. Other than that, there’s nothing else for you to do. 

Bonus: Learn more about automating your finances with our FREE Ultimate Guide to Personal Finance. It’ll show you step-by-step how to set up your accounts.

3. Cut mercilessly on things you don’t love or need

Don’t like watching TV? Cancel the Netflix subscription. What about the gym subscription? Is it possible for you to get the same results at home? 

Now move on to things that are a little more serious. Let’s talk about your property, for instance. There is a truckload of other expenses that you need to consider when buying a property. You’re not just going to have a long-term mortgage. 

Before you even own the house, you need to have the downpayment, closing costs, and reserves on hand. While the downpayment and reserves are in your best interest, it may take time to build it up. 

Ongoing costs to consider include HOA costs, insurances, property taxes, maintenance, and utilities. Now, ask yourself whether you’re still okay with it, or whether you might just be better off renting for a couple of years until you’re 100% sure you want to settle in a specific location. 

Now, this might be an unpopular opinion, but owning a house is not the be-all and end-all our parents made it out to be. It’s damn expensive and you need to be financially secure enough to take it on. It’s not for everyone, especially those who consider themselves modern nomads. 

You may not want to cut out every day items that you love, like lattes and dinners out with friends, but if you can make cuts on major expenses like housing, that’s a huge win.

4. Increase spending on the stuff that matters

Don’t let anyone tell you you’re wasting money when you’re spending it on the things that matter to you. 

When you’ve done your bit and allocated money to all the other categories and you have money leftover, it’s your prerogative to spend it how you want. So what if you like $1,000 shoes? If you can afford it and it matters to you, then it belongs in your guilt-free spending category. 

When you’re doing this right and you’ve allocated what you need to in the other categories, imagine getting the figure up to 30% or even 40% of your take-home pay? 

5. Boost your income 

Money isn’t everything, but if you like to live a life of experiences, being broke sucks. So how do you strike a balance between your top-heavy budget and some fun money? If you’ve already gone through the culling discussed in step 3, don’t reduce your savings or investments. Instead, look for ways to boost your income. Knowing how to make a budget is knowing how to make your money work. 

Your salary might have potential 

When was the last time you had a raise? If it was last year after a performance review and didn’t even compete with inflation, it’s time to take out your calculator and start doing the math. A raise today could lead to more retirement savings, higher future salaries, a bigger dent in your debt, and more fun money. 

It’s worth the discussion and if you follow our founder Ramit Sethi’s negotiation steps, you might just be looking at a dream salary. 

If you can’t increase your salary at your current job, why not put your feelers out and use those very same steps on your interviewer? Who knows, instead of a tiny increase, you might be looking at a salary hop of a couple of thousand dollars per year. It’s worth a look. 

Negotiate your financial and non-financial products 

You can reduce that fixed costs spending category in a matter of minutes simply by picking up the phone and reminding your service providers what a good customer you are.

Let’s start with banks. There is a smorgasbord of products they offer and each one is either designed to keep their liquidity high (savings accounts) or earn them the big dollars (by offering credit with interest). 

You can either spend time negotiating half a percentage on your small savings account, or you can tackle the big-ticket items. For starters, if your mortgage is at a higher interest rate than it needs to be, check out the pros and cons of refinancing. Just make sure that if you go down this route, that the lender doesn’t hit you with a nasty processing fee. 

Checking accounts and credit cards are two other products that can do with a price check. If you’re paying monthly or annual fees, it’s time to call them up and bring that figure down. 

But there are other areas you can save.

Internet service providers that onboard new customers at a lower rate. Get them to lower yours too in order to keep your business. 

Gym membership fees. Depending on the club and the length of time you’ve been with them, ask them to see if there’s a way to cut down on the fees. 

Start a side hustle 

A side hustle can be a great way to boost your income, especially if you start out with as few overheads as possible, for instance, an online business. It might take you a couple of months to start making money, but those months are going to pass anyway so why not do something anyway? 

Now, figuring out which side hustle to start is easier than you think. If you know how to play an online game or order something online, you already have enough internet savvy to start your own thing. Yep. 

Side hustles that require very little startup cash, if any, include freelance writing, stock photography (you probably have a better camera on your phone than the photographer next door with his 90’s lenses), or a dropshipping store. 

Budgeting FAQs

How should a beginner budget? 

It all starts with the basics. Know exactly how much is coming in and how much is going out. You may have to write it down until it becomes second nature. Then, you follow the steps above which include financial automation and conscious spending. 

What are the 50/20/30 and 70/20/10 budget rules? 

The 50/20/30 rule is a budget guideline that states 50% of your after-tax income should go towards commitments and obligatory expenses. Then 20% on savings and debt repayments and the remaining 30% on everything else. 

The 70/20/10 states that 70% should go towards expenses, 20% on savings, and 10% on giving. 

While these are handy when you’re still trying to figure things out, it’s important that you find a ratio that works for you. The goal is simple, decrease your debt, increase your savings and investments, and allow yourself some guilt-free spending. 

What is the envelope system? 

The idea is that you have an envelope for each payment category. So you’d have one for your housing, one for utilities, another for food, and so on. Great envelope systems include investments and savings too. 

However, technology has shown us that everything’s easier when you automate it. Apps such as Fudget and Monefy are great for those who wish to use the envelope system. This allows you to stay on top of your obligations, have a proactive approach to budgeting, and not overspend. 

Summary

A budget is not a spreadsheet. It’s a proactive approach to your finances and allows you the financial freedom to meet your financial obligations and commitments. It also allows your money to work for you and buy you great life experiences and the rich life you desire, all while building up the financial foundation for future you.

Get the ultimate guide to making money

The best way to ensure flexibility in your budget is to earn more money.

And there are a few different ways you can do this:

Negotiate a raise. If you have a job, this is a no-brainer … but it takes a lot of planning and study.

Tap into hidden income. With a few 5-minute phone calls you can save yourself THOUSANDS every year. Find out how with this free PDF.

Do freelance work. Starting a side hustle is one of my favorite ways to make money. Using the skills you already have, you can start fuel-injecting your income. Here’s how to find the best side hustle ideas today.

If you apply the right systems you can find the money to make expensive purchases AND earn money at the same time.

That’s why we want to offer you something:

The Ultimate Guide to Making Money

In it, Ramit has included his best strategies to:

Create multiple income streams so you always have a consistent source of revenue.

Start your own business and escape the 9-to-5 for good.

Increase your income by thousands of dollars a year through side hustles like freelancing.

Download a FREE copy of the Ultimate Guide today by entering your name and email below — and start earning more money today.

Yes, send me the Ultimate Guide to Making Money

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Name *

Email *

Give me instant access!

100% privacy. No games, no B.S., no spam. When you sign up, we’ll keep you posted

Budget help: How to build a bulletproof budget is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

from Finance https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/budget-help/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[paulckrueger]

Budget help: How to build a bulletproof budget

Even after 10+ years of spreading the Rich Life gospel, our founder Ramit Sethi still runs into people who need budget help. They typically:

(A) Don’t know how to build a budget.

(B) Don’t know how much they’re spending each month.

For example, this tweet:

The answers he got back were fascinating:

What do you notice about the responses?

Some common themes are fear, laziness, confusion, and even anger.

If that sounds familiar to you, that’s okay! We want to be there to help.

That’s why we’re going to break it down to the basics today on how you can build a budget.

Bonus: Want to know how to make as much money as you want and live life on your terms? Download my FREE Ultimate Guide to Making Money

Why you need budget help

When people think budgeting, images of their parents studiously going over receipts, writing down expenses in a notebook, and screaming, “HOW DID WE SPEND SO MUCH ON GAS LAST WEEK?” come to mind.

That might have worked for them … but it sure doesn’t work now.

How many times have you opened your bills, winced, then shrugged and said, “I guess I spent that much”?

How often do you feel guilty about buying something — but then do it anyway?

This is unconscious spending (aka “spreadsheet budgeting”). The main issue with it is simple: Human willpower.

Who wants to track their spending? The few people who actually try it find that their budgets completely fail after two days because tracking every penny is overwhelming.

Alternative budget building tips

Instead, we’re going to gently create a new, simple way of spending.

We’re going to help you redirect it to the places you choose, like investing, saving, and even spending more on the things you love (but less on the things you don’t).

This is going to be the foundation of your Conscious Spending Plan.

1. Know where your money is going 

You know your money matters are out of whack when it feels like you’re starring in Macklemore’s Thrift Shop music video. When there is simply too much month for your paycheck, there’s a good chance you’re not aware of what your lifestyle actually costs. 

It’s time to sit down and categorize your spending into four buckets. 

Fixed costs 

Investments 

Savings 

Guilt-free spending 

Now, you’re going to see these four categories a lot throughout our personal finance articles and that is because all your expenses are contained in these categories. When you can pinpoint what belongs where you’ll quickly start understanding where the gaps in your financial plan are. 

For instance, if you’re spending $500 per month on guilt-free spending and nothing on savings or investments, is it really guilt-free spending? Or if you have a fixed costs bill of $5,000, but your net income is $5,000, you might have a lifestyle you can’t afford. 

Bonus: Ready to ditch debt, save money, and build real wealth? Download my FREE Ultimate Guide to Personal Finance.

Investments and savings are easy enough to tally up, but it’s worth going through your fixed costs and guilt-free spending categories to see whether you’re overspending. 

Fixed costs examples 

To make sure the money goes where it needs to, you need to complete your fixed costs category first. You also need to allocate funds to this category first. 

If you’re living paycheck to paycheck, this is also the area you want to comb through to make sure you’re not paying for things you don’t actually need or want. You may find moving to a cheaper apartment or selling a car might allow you to breathe a little easier month-to-month, but the culling needs to make sense to you. What does it help to save $100 on rent every month only to spend $100 extra on traveling? 

There are four major components that you simply can’t eliminate completely, or most people anyway. They’re housing, utilities, food, and transport. Other items in this category include internet costs, education, healthcare, debt repayments, insurances, and other expenses that pop up every month without fail. 

Guilt-free spending examples 

These are your subscription services, endless cups of Starbucks, expensive shoes, dining out, you get the picture? Now, just to be clear, just because we have this as a category, doesn’t mean we’re saying you need to allocate money to it. If you’re scraping the peanut butter jar so badly you’re starting to get plastic shavings on your sandwich, you may want to clear up some fixed expenses first. 

2. Build your budgeting systems 

Have you ever caught yourself saying, “I’ll get that on payday” or “We’ll go there on payday” or my personal favorite, “Your birthday is so inconvenient. It’s smack bang in the middle of the month, who has money at that time?”. I’ll tell you who has money. People who know where their money goes. 

That may seem a little, eh, harsh, but it’s not meant to be. You can be that person who doesn’t care whether someone has an event on the 1st or any other day for that matter. The only difference payday makes, is that it’s the day a new salary payment lands in your account. If that money isn’t carefully allocated into different categories, you’ll eat into money meant for savings and investments. 

So how do you get off this slippery slope? 

Allocate sub-accounts in your savings 

While we’re big on investments, we also know the value of saving for short term goals. Chucking everything into one account with no clear direction is like throwing a mixed laundry load into the washing machine on a hot cycle. You just never know when your whites are going to turn pink. 

Your savings account should have sub-categories that allow you to save up for your various needs. For instance: 

Emergency fund: Ideally, you’ll have at least 3-6 months worth of fixed cost expenses saved in an emergency fund. But if you’re really ambitious, go for one year. The pandemic taught us many things, one of which is that a solid emergency fund can ease potential hardship. 

Gifting and birthdays: If your budget is tight, it’s important that you budget birthdays and gifting ahead of time.  

Car service and maintenance: If you don’t have a motor plan, you need to put money away for services, maintenance matters such as tires, and car-related things that might pop up. You don’t want to dip into emergency savings for predictable expenses.

Big deposits: Vacations, a wedding, downpayment on property or car, this is the category where that goes.  

If you’re with a bank worth their weight in, uhm gold, they’ll allow you to open these sub-accounts at no extra charge and still offer to pay some interest on it. It might take you half an hour to set this up, but guess what, when it’s done, you don’t have to think about it again until you need to use it. Here are the savings accounts that we recommend – we are not affiliated with them in any way, but we use them and like them.

Automate your finances 

We’re really, really big on this. Automating your personal finances is a game-changer. 

It takes the fear of the unknown out of your finances 

You don’t have to spend a ton of time on your finances (increasing the chances that you’ll actually stick to a system)

You’re able to identify holes or money traps in your budget 

It helps you build good financial habits 

You can automate your finances to such an extent that you simply have to give your bank accounts a glance over once in a while to make sure things are still running as they should. 

Every single thing that needs to be paid, can be automated. Let’s have a look: 

Credit cards: Set up your credit card to have the balance auto-paid every month from your checking account. Settling the balance in full every month is an important step in money management and will do wonders for your budget. Not only will you save on interest, but it also boosts your credit score if you manage to keep your usage to no more than 30%. Automatic payments also ensure that the card is paid on time, every time. The importance of this extends beyond your relationship with the credit card, it can also influence future financial products such as buying a house. 

Investments: Instruct your company or investment firm to automatically withdraw a certain amount from your bank or every paycheck for your retirement accounts. Your goal is to automate your finances to such an extent that you’ve maxed out your allowable contributions to these accounts before moving on to other investment types such as index funds. 

Savings: Predetermining your savings and setting up an auto-transfer to your savings pockets will free up time and will make you less inclined to spend the money before you save it. There will always be something to save for, even if you’ve reached the limit to your emergency savings. Think home upgrades, new tech, a wardrobe revamp. 

Utilities: You can set up direct debit with most utility companies online. You know your utilities are up to date, you simply need to check the statement to make sure the amounts don’t differ. Other than that, there’s nothing else for you to do. 

Bonus: Learn more about automating your finances with our FREE Ultimate Guide to Personal Finance. It’ll show you step-by-step how to set up your accounts.

3. Cut mercilessly on things you don’t love or need

Don’t like watching TV? Cancel the Netflix subscription. What about the gym subscription? Is it possible for you to get the same results at home? 

Now move on to things that are a little more serious. Let’s talk about your property, for instance. There is a truckload of other expenses that you need to consider when buying a property. You’re not just going to have a long-term mortgage. 

Before you even own the house, you need to have the downpayment, closing costs, and reserves on hand. While the downpayment and reserves are in your best interest, it may take time to build it up. 

Ongoing costs to consider include HOA costs, insurances, property taxes, maintenance, and utilities. Now, ask yourself whether you’re still okay with it, or whether you might just be better off renting for a couple of years until you’re 100% sure you want to settle in a specific location. 

Now, this might be an unpopular opinion, but owning a house is not the be-all and end-all our parents made it out to be. It’s damn expensive and you need to be financially secure enough to take it on. It’s not for everyone, especially those who consider themselves modern nomads. 

You may not want to cut out every day items that you love, like lattes and dinners out with friends, but if you can make cuts on major expenses like housing, that’s a huge win.

4. Increase spending on the stuff that matters

Don’t let anyone tell you you’re wasting money when you’re spending it on the things that matter to you. 

When you’ve done your bit and allocated money to all the other categories and you have money leftover, it’s your prerogative to spend it how you want. So what if you like $1,000 shoes? If you can afford it and it matters to you, then it belongs in your guilt-free spending category. 

When you’re doing this right and you’ve allocated what you need to in the other categories, imagine getting the figure up to 30% or even 40% of your take-home pay? 

5. Boost your income 

Money isn’t everything, but if you like to live a life of experiences, being broke sucks. So how do you strike a balance between your top-heavy budget and some fun money? If you’ve already gone through the culling discussed in step 3, don’t reduce your savings or investments. Instead, look for ways to boost your income. Knowing how to make a budget is knowing how to make your money work. 

Your salary might have potential 

When was the last time you had a raise? If it was last year after a performance review and didn’t even compete with inflation, it’s time to take out your calculator and start doing the math. A raise today could lead to more retirement savings, higher future salaries, a bigger dent in your debt, and more fun money. 

It’s worth the discussion and if you follow our founder Ramit Sethi’s negotiation steps, you might just be looking at a dream salary. 

If you can’t increase your salary at your current job, why not put your feelers out and use those very same steps on your interviewer? Who knows, instead of a tiny increase, you might be looking at a salary hop of a couple of thousand dollars per year. It’s worth a look. 

Negotiate your financial and non-financial products 

You can reduce that fixed costs spending category in a matter of minutes simply by picking up the phone and reminding your service providers what a good customer you are.

Let’s start with banks. There is a smorgasbord of products they offer and each one is either designed to keep their liquidity high (savings accounts) or earn them the big dollars (by offering credit with interest). 

You can either spend time negotiating half a percentage on your small savings account, or you can tackle the big-ticket items. For starters, if your mortgage is at a higher interest rate than it needs to be, check out the pros and cons of refinancing. Just make sure that if you go down this route, that the lender doesn’t hit you with a nasty processing fee. 

Checking accounts and credit cards are two other products that can do with a price check. If you’re paying monthly or annual fees, it’s time to call them up and bring that figure down. 

But there are other areas you can save.

Internet service providers that onboard new customers at a lower rate. Get them to lower yours too in order to keep your business. 

Gym membership fees. Depending on the club and the length of time you’ve been with them, ask them to see if there’s a way to cut down on the fees. 

Start a side hustle 

A side hustle can be a great way to boost your income, especially if you start out with as few overheads as possible, for instance, an online business. It might take you a couple of months to start making money, but those months are going to pass anyway so why not do something anyway? 

Now, figuring out which side hustle to start is easier than you think. If you know how to play an online game or order something online, you already have enough internet savvy to start your own thing. Yep. 

Side hustles that require very little startup cash, if any, include freelance writing, stock photography (you probably have a better camera on your phone than the photographer next door with his 90’s lenses), or a dropshipping store. 

Budgeting FAQs

How should a beginner budget? 

It all starts with the basics. Know exactly how much is coming in and how much is going out. You may have to write it down until it becomes second nature. Then, you follow the steps above which include financial automation and conscious spending. 

What are the 50/20/30 and 70/20/10 budget rules? 

The 50/20/30 rule is a budget guideline that states 50% of your after-tax income should go towards commitments and obligatory expenses. Then 20% on savings and debt repayments and the remaining 30% on everything else. 

The 70/20/10 states that 70% should go towards expenses, 20% on savings, and 10% on giving. 

While these are handy when you’re still trying to figure things out, it’s important that you find a ratio that works for you. The goal is simple, decrease your debt, increase your savings and investments, and allow yourself some guilt-free spending. 

What is the envelope system? 

The idea is that you have an envelope for each payment category. So you’d have one for your housing, one for utilities, another for food, and so on. Great envelope systems include investments and savings too. 

However, technology has shown us that everything’s easier when you automate it. Apps such as Fudget and Monefy are great for those who wish to use the envelope system. This allows you to stay on top of your obligations, have a proactive approach to budgeting, and not overspend. 

Summary

A budget is not a spreadsheet. It’s a proactive approach to your finances and allows you the financial freedom to meet your financial obligations and commitments. It also allows your money to work for you and buy you great life experiences and the rich life you desire, all while building up the financial foundation for future you.

Get the ultimate guide to making money

The best way to ensure flexibility in your budget is to earn more money.

And there are a few different ways you can do this:

Negotiate a raise. If you have a job, this is a no-brainer … but it takes a lot of planning and study.

Tap into hidden income. With a few 5-minute phone calls you can save yourself THOUSANDS every year. Find out how with this free PDF.

Do freelance work. Starting a side hustle is one of my favorite ways to make money. Using the skills you already have, you can start fuel-injecting your income. Here’s how to find the best side hustle ideas today.

If you apply the right systems you can find the money to make expensive purchases AND earn money at the same time.

That’s why we want to offer you something:

The Ultimate Guide to Making Money

In it, Ramit has included his best strategies to:

Create multiple income streams so you always have a consistent source of revenue.

Start your own business and escape the 9-to-5 for good.

Increase your income by thousands of dollars a year through side hustles like freelancing.

Download a FREE copy of the Ultimate Guide today by entering your name and email below — and start earning more money today.

Yes, send me the Ultimate Guide to Making Money

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Name *

Email *

Give me instant access!

100% privacy. No games, no B.S., no spam. When you sign up, we’ll keep you posted

Budget help: How to build a bulletproof budget is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

from Surety Bond Brokers? Business https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/budget-help/

[mcjoelcain]

Budget help: How to build a bulletproof budget

Even after 10+ years of spreading the Rich Life gospel, our founder Ramit Sethi still runs into people who need budget help. They typically:

(A) Don’t know how to build a budget.

(B) Don’t know how much they’re spending each month.

For example, this tweet:

The answers he got back were fascinating:

What do you notice about the responses?

Some common themes are fear, laziness, confusion, and even anger.

If that sounds familiar to you, that’s okay! We want to be there to help.

That’s why we’re going to break it down to the basics today on how you can build a budget.

Bonus: Want to know how to make as much money as you want and live life on your terms? Download my FREE Ultimate Guide to Making Money

Why you need budget help

When people think budgeting, images of their parents studiously going over receipts, writing down expenses in a notebook, and screaming, “HOW DID WE SPEND SO MUCH ON GAS LAST WEEK?” come to mind.

That might have worked for them … but it sure doesn’t work now.

How many times have you opened your bills, winced, then shrugged and said, “I guess I spent that much”?

How often do you feel guilty about buying something — but then do it anyway?

This is unconscious spending (aka “spreadsheet budgeting”). The main issue with it is simple: Human willpower.

Who wants to track their spending? The few people who actually try it find that their budgets completely fail after two days because tracking every penny is overwhelming.

Alternative budget building tips

Instead, we’re going to gently create a new, simple way of spending.

We’re going to help you redirect it to the places you choose, like investing, saving, and even spending more on the things you love (but less on the things you don’t).

This is going to be the foundation of your Conscious Spending Plan.

1. Know where your money is going 

You know your money matters are out of whack when it feels like you’re starring in Macklemore’s Thrift Shop music video. When there is simply too much month for your paycheck, there’s a good chance you’re not aware of what your lifestyle actually costs. 

It’s time to sit down and categorize your spending into four buckets. 

Fixed costs 

Investments 

Savings 

Guilt-free spending 

Now, you’re going to see these four categories a lot throughout our personal finance articles and that is because all your expenses are contained in these categories. When you can pinpoint what belongs where you’ll quickly start understanding where the gaps in your financial plan are. 

For instance, if you’re spending $500 per month on guilt-free spending and nothing on savings or investments, is it really guilt-free spending? Or if you have a fixed costs bill of $5,000, but your net income is $5,000, you might have a lifestyle you can’t afford. 

Bonus: Ready to ditch debt, save money, and build real wealth? Download my FREE Ultimate Guide to Personal Finance.

Investments and savings are easy enough to tally up, but it’s worth going through your fixed costs and guilt-free spending categories to see whether you’re overspending. 

Fixed costs examples 

To make sure the money goes where it needs to, you need to complete your fixed costs category first. You also need to allocate funds to this category first. 

If you’re living paycheck to paycheck, this is also the area you want to comb through to make sure you’re not paying for things you don’t actually need or want. You may find moving to a cheaper apartment or selling a car might allow you to breathe a little easier month-to-month, but the culling needs to make sense to you. What does it help to save $100 on rent every month only to spend $100 extra on traveling? 

There are four major components that you simply can’t eliminate completely, or most people anyway. They’re housing, utilities, food, and transport. Other items in this category include internet costs, education, healthcare, debt repayments, insurances, and other expenses that pop up every month without fail. 

Guilt-free spending examples 

These are your subscription services, endless cups of Starbucks, expensive shoes, dining out, you get the picture? Now, just to be clear, just because we have this as a category, doesn’t mean we’re saying you need to allocate money to it. If you’re scraping the peanut butter jar so badly you’re starting to get plastic shavings on your sandwich, you may want to clear up some fixed expenses first. 

2. Build your budgeting systems 

Have you ever caught yourself saying, “I’ll get that on payday” or “We’ll go there on payday” or my personal favorite, “Your birthday is so inconvenient. It’s smack bang in the middle of the month, who has money at that time?”. I’ll tell you who has money. People who know where their money goes. 

That may seem a little, eh, harsh, but it’s not meant to be. You can be that person who doesn’t care whether someone has an event on the 1st or any other day for that matter. The only difference payday makes, is that it’s the day a new salary payment lands in your account. If that money isn’t carefully allocated into different categories, you’ll eat into money meant for savings and investments. 

So how do you get off this slippery slope? 

Allocate sub-accounts in your savings 

While we’re big on investments, we also know the value of saving for short term goals. Chucking everything into one account with no clear direction is like throwing a mixed laundry load into the washing machine on a hot cycle. You just never know when your whites are going to turn pink. 

Your savings account should have sub-categories that allow you to save up for your various needs. For instance: 

Emergency fund: Ideally, you’ll have at least 3-6 months worth of fixed cost expenses saved in an emergency fund. But if you’re really ambitious, go for one year. The pandemic taught us many things, one of which is that a solid emergency fund can ease potential hardship. 

Gifting and birthdays: If your budget is tight, it’s important that you budget birthdays and gifting ahead of time.  

Car service and maintenance: If you don’t have a motor plan, you need to put money away for services, maintenance matters such as tires, and car-related things that might pop up. You don’t want to dip into emergency savings for predictable expenses.

Big deposits: Vacations, a wedding, downpayment on property or car, this is the category where that goes.  

If you’re with a bank worth their weight in, uhm gold, they’ll allow you to open these sub-accounts at no extra charge and still offer to pay some interest on it. It might take you half an hour to set this up, but guess what, when it’s done, you don’t have to think about it again until you need to use it. Here are the savings accounts that we recommend – we are not affiliated with them in any way, but we use them and like them.

Automate your finances 

We’re really, really big on this. Automating your personal finances is a game-changer. 

It takes the fear of the unknown out of your finances 

You don’t have to spend a ton of time on your finances (increasing the chances that you’ll actually stick to a system)

You’re able to identify holes or money traps in your budget 

It helps you build good financial habits 

You can automate your finances to such an extent that you simply have to give your bank accounts a glance over once in a while to make sure things are still running as they should. 

Every single thing that needs to be paid, can be automated. Let’s have a look: 

Credit cards: Set up your credit card to have the balance auto-paid every month from your checking account. Settling the balance in full every month is an important step in money management and will do wonders for your budget. Not only will you save on interest, but it also boosts your credit score if you manage to keep your usage to no more than 30%. Automatic payments also ensure that the card is paid on time, every time. The importance of this extends beyond your relationship with the credit card, it can also influence future financial products such as buying a house. 

Investments: Instruct your company or investment firm to automatically withdraw a certain amount from your bank or every paycheck for your retirement accounts. Your goal is to automate your finances to such an extent that you’ve maxed out your allowable contributions to these accounts before moving on to other investment types such as index funds. 

Savings: Predetermining your savings and setting up an auto-transfer to your savings pockets will free up time and will make you less inclined to spend the money before you save it. There will always be something to save for, even if you’ve reached the limit to your emergency savings. Think home upgrades, new tech, a wardrobe revamp. 

Utilities: You can set up direct debit with most utility companies online. You know your utilities are up to date, you simply need to check the statement to make sure the amounts don’t differ. Other than that, there’s nothing else for you to do. 

Bonus: Learn more about automating your finances with our FREE Ultimate Guide to Personal Finance. It’ll show you step-by-step how to set up your accounts.

3. Cut mercilessly on things you don’t love or need

Don’t like watching TV? Cancel the Netflix subscription. What about the gym subscription? Is it possible for you to get the same results at home? 

Now move on to things that are a little more serious. Let’s talk about your property, for instance. There is a truckload of other expenses that you need to consider when buying a property. You’re not just going to have a long-term mortgage. 

Before you even own the house, you need to have the downpayment, closing costs, and reserves on hand. While the downpayment and reserves are in your best interest, it may take time to build it up. 

Ongoing costs to consider include HOA costs, insurances, property taxes, maintenance, and utilities. Now, ask yourself whether you’re still okay with it, or whether you might just be better off renting for a couple of years until you’re 100% sure you want to settle in a specific location. 

Now, this might be an unpopular opinion, but owning a house is not the be-all and end-all our parents made it out to be. It’s damn expensive and you need to be financially secure enough to take it on. It’s not for everyone, especially those who consider themselves modern nomads. 

You may not want to cut out every day items that you love, like lattes and dinners out with friends, but if you can make cuts on major expenses like housing, that’s a huge win.

4. Increase spending on the stuff that matters

Don’t let anyone tell you you’re wasting money when you’re spending it on the things that matter to you. 

When you’ve done your bit and allocated money to all the other categories and you have money leftover, it’s your prerogative to spend it how you want. So what if you like $1,000 shoes? If you can afford it and it matters to you, then it belongs in your guilt-free spending category. 

When you’re doing this right and you’ve allocated what you need to in the other categories, imagine getting the figure up to 30% or even 40% of your take-home pay? 

5. Boost your income 

Money isn’t everything, but if you like to live a life of experiences, being broke sucks. So how do you strike a balance between your top-heavy budget and some fun money? If you’ve already gone through the culling discussed in step 3, don’t reduce your savings or investments. Instead, look for ways to boost your income. Knowing how to make a budget is knowing how to make your money work. 

Your salary might have potential 

When was the last time you had a raise? If it was last year after a performance review and didn’t even compete with inflation, it’s time to take out your calculator and start doing the math. A raise today could lead to more retirement savings, higher future salaries, a bigger dent in your debt, and more fun money. 

It’s worth the discussion and if you follow our founder Ramit Sethi’s negotiation steps, you might just be looking at a dream salary. 

If you can’t increase your salary at your current job, why not put your feelers out and use those very same steps on your interviewer? Who knows, instead of a tiny increase, you might be looking at a salary hop of a couple of thousand dollars per year. It’s worth a look. 

Negotiate your financial and non-financial products 

You can reduce that fixed costs spending category in a matter of minutes simply by picking up the phone and reminding your service providers what a good customer you are.

Let’s start with banks. There is a smorgasbord of products they offer and each one is either designed to keep their liquidity high (savings accounts) or earn them the big dollars (by offering credit with interest). 

You can either spend time negotiating half a percentage on your small savings account, or you can tackle the big-ticket items. For starters, if your mortgage is at a higher interest rate than it needs to be, check out the pros and cons of refinancing. Just make sure that if you go down this route, that the lender doesn’t hit you with a nasty processing fee. 

Checking accounts and credit cards are two other products that can do with a price check. If you’re paying monthly or annual fees, it’s time to call them up and bring that figure down. 

But there are other areas you can save.

Internet service providers that onboard new customers at a lower rate. Get them to lower yours too in order to keep your business. 

Gym membership fees. Depending on the club and the length of time you’ve been with them, ask them to see if there’s a way to cut down on the fees. 

Start a side hustle 

A side hustle can be a great way to boost your income, especially if you start out with as few overheads as possible, for instance, an online business. It might take you a couple of months to start making money, but those months are going to pass anyway so why not do something anyway? 

Now, figuring out which side hustle to start is easier than you think. If you know how to play an online game or order something online, you already have enough internet savvy to start your own thing. Yep. 

Side hustles that require very little startup cash, if any, include freelance writing, stock photography (you probably have a better camera on your phone than the photographer next door with his 90’s lenses), or a dropshipping store. 

Budgeting FAQs

How should a beginner budget? 

It all starts with the basics. Know exactly how much is coming in and how much is going out. You may have to write it down until it becomes second nature. Then, you follow the steps above which include financial automation and conscious spending. 

What are the 50/20/30 and 70/20/10 budget rules? 

The 50/20/30 rule is a budget guideline that states 50% of your after-tax income should go towards commitments and obligatory expenses. Then 20% on savings and debt repayments and the remaining 30% on everything else. 

The 70/20/10 states that 70% should go towards expenses, 20% on savings, and 10% on giving. 

While these are handy when you’re still trying to figure things out, it’s important that you find a ratio that works for you. The goal is simple, decrease your debt, increase your savings and investments, and allow yourself some guilt-free spending. 

What is the envelope system? 

The idea is that you have an envelope for each payment category. So you’d have one for your housing, one for utilities, another for food, and so on. Great envelope systems include investments and savings too. 

However, technology has shown us that everything’s easier when you automate it. Apps such as Fudget and Monefy are great for those who wish to use the envelope system. This allows you to stay on top of your obligations, have a proactive approach to budgeting, and not overspend. 

Summary

A budget is not a spreadsheet. It’s a proactive approach to your finances and allows you the financial freedom to meet your financial obligations and commitments. It also allows your money to work for you and buy you great life experiences and the rich life you desire, all while building up the financial foundation for future you.

Get the ultimate guide to making money

The best way to ensure flexibility in your budget is to earn more money.

And there are a few different ways you can do this:

Negotiate a raise. If you have a job, this is a no-brainer … but it takes a lot of planning and study.

Tap into hidden income. With a few 5-minute phone calls you can save yourself THOUSANDS every year. Find out how with this free PDF.

Do freelance work. Starting a side hustle is one of my favorite ways to make money. Using the skills you already have, you can start fuel-injecting your income. Here’s how to find the best side hustle ideas today.

If you apply the right systems you can find the money to make expensive purchases AND earn money at the same time.

That’s why we want to offer you something:

The Ultimate Guide to Making Money

In it, Ramit has included his best strategies to:

Create multiple income streams so you always have a consistent source of revenue.

Start your own business and escape the 9-to-5 for good.

Increase your income by thousands of dollars a year through side hustles like freelancing.

Download a FREE copy of the Ultimate Guide today by entering your name and email below — and start earning more money today.

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Budget help: How to build a bulletproof budget is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

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[green-eyeddragonfanfiction]

Winter’s War: Chapter 2

Summary: After the death of Doctor Erskine, you and Steve are shoved to the side. You bond during your time on the road. You head to Italy earlier than Steve.

Pairing: Bucky x Reader (eventually)

Warnings: language, death, blood, violence

Word Count: ~4,167

A/N: More technical jargon! All of the technical jargon! *gifs not mine* Peggy and Howard will return... eventually.

Masterlist // Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

“Steve’s about to give his report of what happened. We should grab some seats before it starts,” Peggy said, holding her hand out for you to take. You did, welcoming its comfort.

Howard opened the door to the room and you took a deep, calming breath. You would find out who killed your mentor and why… and you would make them pay.

New York, New York 1943

Hydra.

That name haunted your dreams and waking hours alike. The deep science division of the Nazis. The people responsible for killing Abraham.

“I know that look,” Steve said as he sat down beside you, still in his “Captain America” outfit. “You’re thinking about Hydra again,” he said knowingly, commiserating smile on his lips. He set his shield down against your desk and pulled his silly blue winged hood back so it no longer obscured half of his face.

“You say that like you’re not constantly thinking about them, too,” you said bluntly as you set down your latest invention. You pulled your protective glasses to the top of your head and stared at him accusingly.

He smiled at that, glancing away guiltily. “Guilty as charged. But what I’m doing is important-”

“Yeah, yeah, bonds are important to the war effort. Bond sales take a bump in each state, blah blah. I know the speech, Steve,” you said dismissively, burying your face in your hands.

He sighed, eyeing you sadly. He knew your frustration all too well. The very same day he gained his powers he was relegated to a chorus girl. It was decided you’d go with him and keep an eye on him in case the experiment went wrong or his body started to reject the change. That had been a year ago, yet you and Steve were still on the road, touring the country, raising funds for the war effort.

Like him, you resented your current task. You wanted to be in a lab somewhere, attempting to create things that would help take Hydra down... or even help try to unravel Erskine’s serum (though you weren’t sure how much help you’d be in that area).

You let out a long sigh and leaned back in your chair, giving Steve an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry. I know you don’t want to be here, either,” you said quietly.

He smiled ruefully. “Better out here helping any way I can than in some lab being poked and prodded with needles all day,” he said, shrugging. He seemed to realize what he said and grimaced. “Not that wanting to be in a lab is a bad thing, I just-”

“I know, Steve,” you said, smiling warmly at him. The serum hadn’t changed his inability to talk to women, though he’d gotten better at talking to you the more time you spent together. You’d come to think of him as your brother. “You’d rather be out there fighting on the front lines.”

He nodded, gaze far away. You let him be for a moment before you nudged his shin with your shoe, causing his attention to snap back to you. “We’re going to Italy soon, you know. In her last letter, Peggy said-”

At the simple mention of her name, Steve perked up considerably, the light that had been fading out of his blue orbs returning immediately.

“She’s in that area, yeah,” Steve said, smitten smile appearing on his face.

“I’m going out there earlier than you; have to arrange some last minute things with Colonel Phillips,” you said, biting your lip nervously. “Want me to figure out where she is once I’m out there...? Maybe see if she can find some time to visit the camp while we’re there?” you asked curiously.

He seemed at war with himself. He didn’t want to get his hopes up; it wasn’t exactly easy to find other people on the war front, but his excited fidgeting was answer enough for you.

“I’ll do my best to get a message out to her... but there’s a good chance she’ll hear about the great ‘Captain America‘ visiting the camp anyway,” you said, winking mischievously at Steve. An adorable flush appeared on his cheeks, causing you to laugh merrily at him. He scoffed and looked away from you, his embarrassment causing him to turn an even deeper shade of red.

The music on the stage came to a crescendo again and you picked up his shield and held it out to him. “Sounds like it’s time for the finale, Stevie,” you said, nickname slipping out of your lips from nowhere. Steve looked surprised, frozen halfway out his chair, hand frozen a few inches away from his shield. His reaction surprised you. “What-?”

“Nothing, nothing. I’ll tell you about it later,” Steve said as he tugged his cowl back on and grabbed the shield, hastily making his way towards the stage.

Like that, he was gone in a flash, leaving you off-balance. Was the nickname that weird? It had just slipped out. You hadn’t meant to-

You groaned and yanked your goggles back over your eyes, letting out a few disgruntled grumbles as you picked up your project and began working on it again. 

Half an hour later, after a frankly disgusting amount of applause, Steve returned.

“Good work, Cap’n,” you said cheekily, sticking your hand out for him to shake.

It was almost like he wasn’t consciously thinking about taking your hand; it seemed the time he spent on the road had given him some bad habits.

It was only once his hand was millimeters away from touching yours that he seemed to realize how odd it was for you to offer him a handshake.

Too late, though.

His fingers engulfed your gloved hand. There was a half second where nothing happened, but then he let out an undignified squeak, his body going rigid before he collapsed.

“Hmm. Probably too much power if that’s what it did to you,” you said, jotting down a few notes into your journal.

Steve recovered quickly, rolling into a sitting position.

“(Y/N)! What the hell was-”

“Language!” you chastised as you snapped your journal shut and carefully removed your prototype glove.

“You curse more than I do!” Steve argued, glaring at you as he stood.

“Yes, but your innocent demeanor is one of the best things about you,” you said matter-of-factly as you threw your journal and the prototype onto your desk.

“Wait, that isn’t the point! What was that and why did you use it on me?” he asked incredulously.

“It’s my new prototype stun glove. Stark and I have been batting ideas around and I came up with a new design... and I used it on you because I was afraid it’d kill a normal person and I didn’t have time to build a machine to test the voltage output,” you said, smiling up at him.

“Alright, you need to stop testing your inventions on me. The sedation dart hidden in the fountain pen and the sticky grenade were one thing- although I still found that horrid goo in... unmentionable places for weeks after that incident- but this actually hurt,” Steve said, sounding betrayed.

“Alright, I’ll start testing on myself,” you said amicably, shrugging. Maybe being stuck on the road away from your beautiful lab equipment had made you go a little crazy, but you’d never admit that to anyone else. The boredom was absolutely killing you.

Steve blanched. “Wait, no! That’s not what I meant! You’re going to hurt yourself if you keep acting like-” Steve’s voice cut off and he buried his face in his hands, a wry smile appearing on his face.

Alright, maybe you weren’t the only one going crazy. “Steve?” you asked quizzically, trying to get a peek at his face under his hands.

“I sound like Bucky,” he said, shaking his head in resignation as he smiled down at you.

Bucky... Bucky... Steve had mentioned him a few times, but-

“He’s my friend,” he said, correctly interpreting the confusion on your face.

“Oh, right. The guy that pulled your ass from-”

“Language,” he mocked.

You rolled your eyes. “-pulled your ass from back alley fights when you were still skinny and frail, right?” you asked, putting special emphasis on the swear, making him cringe and roll his eyes.

“Yeah, that’s the one,” he said, warm smile on his face.

“He’s in the army, right? The... 107th?” you said, trying hard to remember everything Steve ever mentioned about the man.

Steve’s smile slipped a bit. “Yeah, he’s on the front lines. I haven’t heard anything, but-”

“Hey, it’s hard to get mail in and out of the front lines, and we’re constantly on the move ourselves. Doesn’t mean anything,” you said, placing a comforting hand on his him.

He smiled at you, but you could tell he was still worried. He probably always would be. You were suddenly grateful all you had to worry about was Peggy and Howard. You didn’t even have to worry about family back home... seeing as you didn’t have any. “Yeah, you’re probably right,” he said, placing a hand gently over yours. 

“Well, I guess it’s time to go pack, hm? We’re going to Europe soon!” you said, smiling up at him.

At that, Steve seemed to smile genuinely. “One step closer to the front lines,” he said determinedly, causing you to roll your eyes.

“Tell me more about this Borky guy while I pack?” you asked, eager to keep his good mood going. It seemed like his friend was one of the few things that consistently made Steve smile... along with a certain British SSR Agent.

“I know you said his name wrong on purpose,” he said, smirking at you.

“You can prove nothing!” you said loudly as you turned melodramatically, throwing your arms up in the air as you moved to your desk to gather your things.

Steve laughed at your antics but his smile didn’t last long.

You accidentally touched the wrong part of your prototype glove, causing you to convulse as the electrical current ran through your body. Your seized up and dropped like a stone. Steve caught you just before you hit the ground.

“(Y/N)? (Y/N)!” he said anxiously as he lowered you to the ground, eyes roaming the length of you for any injuries.

“Man am I glad you drained that thing of most of its juice,” you said, coughing as you sat up. “It definitely needs adjustments,” you said, glaring at the glove from your spot on the floor.

Steve rolled his eyes at you as he helped you up. Once he was convinced you wouldn’t immediately fall over, he let you go, but still hovered next to you protectively. “You’re ridiculous,” he said, his caring tone betraying his words.

“And you’re going to miss me for the few days you won’t see me because I’m your friend,” you said in a sing-song tone as you grinned up at him.

He rolled his eyes but didn’t dispute your claim which only caused your grin to widen.

“Come on, you. You have packing to do,” he said,  gently shoving you towards the door. You grabbed your journal, but left the prototype. That was a problem for a later time.

“So, about this ‘Borky’...”

Two Days Later - Italy - Allied Territory

The convoy made its way down the narrow, muddy road. The forest on either side threatened to encroach on the path at any second. Still, you found it beautiful “How are things back in the States?” one of the soldiers asked. Private Jones, if you remembered correctly. The military van you were being escorted in was so noisy you could barely hear his question.

“Honestly, kind of terrible. What I see of it, at least. Nothing compared to what it’s like out here, though, I’m sure,” you said loudly, hoping he could hear you over the engine.

“That’s too bad. I was hoping to return to gold-paved streets and an uncorrupted government,” said the mustachioed man beside you. Jones cracked a smile at the joke, as did the other soldiers in the van.

Dugan. Sergeant Dugan. That was his name.

“Well, I think they‘ve only managed to pave the streets with silver. Might be a while before they work up to gold. As for the government... it’s a complete mess, per usual,” you said, smiling.

Dugan let out a beleaguered sigh. “Well, any progress is-”

An explosion drowned out the rest of his words. It was close. Way closer than it should have been. Immediately, all of the men around you jumped into action, readying their guns and jumping out of the van, using the doors as cover.

“Stay down!” one of them yelled to you, shoving you face-first into the hard canvas-covered seat.

“It’s the damn Nazis! They must have skirted our perimeter!” you heard Dugan yell over the din of gunfire and explosions.

Another explosion rocked the van and you heard bullets bury themselves in the side of the van, while others zipped through the canvas top.

“We’re pinned, Sergeant!” you heard Jones yell.

“Then give them hell, Private!” said a voice you didn’t recognize. He must be a soldier that was in one of the other trucks.

It struck you then. Your escort was pinned by Nazis. You were as good as dead- this was supposed to be a milk run. They didn’t bring a lot of men or a way to contact the forward camp.

“Bloody hell,” you muttered, pulling the pistol you always carried with you out of your bag. You also pulled on your prototype glove, thankful you’d had time to work on it on your way overseas; it had an on/off button now.

If you were going to die here, you were going to take down some Nazi bastards before you died.

You crawled out of the other side of the van, surprising the soldiers.

“What are you doing, little missy? Get back in the van!” Dugan yelled, waving you away.

“To hell with that! I’m fighting for my life!” you yelled, glaring at him challengingly.

“Ha! I like this girl! I thought she was just some lab rat, but she’s got guts!” said the man you’d heard earlier. Past the army gear and layers of dirt you could see a handsome man, a pair of bright blue eyes studying the battlefield expertly.

“Flirt later, Barnes! We’re in a tight spot here!” Dugan said as he leaned over the side of the van and quickly ducked back behind it as a wave of bullets whizzed past him.

“I’d argue this is exactly the right time to flirt, but alright!” the man- Barnes- said, winking at you. Even in this situation, your heart skipped a beat.

“On your six!” yelled Jones.

You spun, raising your pistol in the direction he’d indicated. Sure enough, the Nazi troops had begun circling around your vans.

You aimed and pulled the trigger and the soldier out in front dropped like a stone, a red spot appearing in the center of his chest.

“Nice shot, Doll!” said Barnes, a wide grin appearing on his lips. “If we make it out of here alive, I’m taking you dancing!” he said as he took aim with his rifle at the soldier behind the one you’d taken out. He pulled the trigger and the Nazi dropped, dead as a doornail. He turned to look at you, smiling from ear to ear.

“What makes you think I’ll say yes?” you asked him incredulously. You spotted movement over his shoulder and took out the approaching enemy soldier before he made it onto the road.

Barnes looked over his shoulder, surprised, then back to you. “Thanks, Doll,” he said, lopsided grin doing unfair things to your already racing, adrenaline-filled heart. “And I suppose-”

“We got more incoming!” Dugan said, cutting across whatever Barnes was about to say.

You stood up slightly, peeking through the half-destroyed windows of the van. You quickly ducked back down as a rain of bullets destroyed what was left of the glass and whizzed over your head.

That... was a lot of Nazis. Apparently they’d called for backup.

A huge explosion nary twenty feet away threw shrapnel, dirt, and rocks every direction. A few of your soldiers hiding behind the neighboring van yelled as metal ripped through them, shredding their limbs and internal organs.

“No! Patterton! McKinley!” Dugan yelled, wincing at the carnage the blast left in its wake. “There’s gotta be at least two more companies out there!”

“Here they come!” Barnes yelled as he reloaded his rifle.

“I hate these guys,” you heard Dugan mutter under his breath as he peeked around the corner and fired a few rounds off.

You felt the ground shake around the same time your brain registered the odd noises coming from the battlefield.

“What the-” you dared to sneak a peak around the edge of the van and what you saw made your jaw drop.

Beams of blue light were decimating the Nazi ranks left and right. Every time one of the blasts connected with a soldier they seemed to vanish. No, that wasn’t quite right. It vaporized them. When it became clear the beams were only targeting the Nazi troops (who were quickly scattered by the onslaught), you and the surviving soldiers stood, gaping open-mouthed at the scene in front of you.

A giant tank finally rolled into sight and you all stared at it, dumb-struck.

“That looks... new,” Dugan said as he lowered his gun.

Then, to your horror, the main gun turned and pointed straight at all of you.

“Run!” Barnes yelled, turning on his heel to book it towards the forest on the other side of the road. You didn’t have to be told twice. You sprinted after him, cursing your lack of physical prowess. Maybe you should have gone jogging with Steve.

None of you made it very far.

You’d just made it to the edge of the trees when the main gun fired directly at your convoy. The blast quite literally knocked you off of your feet. The last thing you saw before you were knocked unconscious by the explosion was Sergeant Barnes’ arms wrapping around you.

“Aufwachen, fraulein,” came a raspy voice from above you. Wake up, young lady your brain slowly translated.

You blinked slowly, the world too bright and your head throbbing too painfully for you to want to open your eyes.

“Iche sagte aurwachen!” the voice said again, this time more angrily. I said wake up! your mind translated again.

You blinked blearily up towards its source and nearly screeched in fear.

There, standing above you, was a soldier. He was speaking German, but his uniform wasn’t Nazi. It was full black and his face was hidden by goggles and a terrifying mask.

“Aufstehen!“ he yelled, dragging you to your feet. Your brain didn’t need to translate that one: his meaning was clear. Get up.

You realized then that your pistol must have fallen out of your hands when you’d been knocked unconscious. You cursed your horrid luck.

Suddenly, the last thing you saw before you blacked out flashed before your eyes and you spun, searching for-

Sergeant Barnes. He and the other soldiers were kneeling in a line, arms tied behind their backs, guns pointed at the backs of their heads. You could see a few of them staring at you helplessly, heads as far down as they could go while still being able to look at you. You caught a glimpse of the steel blue of Barnes’ eyes before a backhanded slap from the soldier that had dragged you up sent you spiraling back down to the ground.

“Warum bist du hier?” the soldier bellowed, placing a boot directly onto your stomach, nearly crushing your ribs. Why are you here? “Rekrutieren die Amerikaner jetzt Frauen?“ he taunted. Are the Americans recruiting women now?

“Nein, Soldat,” you spat, grim satisfaction on your face when you realized they hadn’t removed your glove. The soldier looked down at you, startled that you were speaking German. “Ich bin hier, weil ich es sein will. Du solltest Angst haben,” you said venomously as you flicked your glove on and wrapped your hand around his ankle. I am here because I want to be. You should be afraid.

Apparently whatever he was wearing didn’t protect from electrical currents because he immediately convulsed and hit the ground, body twitching as his cells fried.

You barely registered the whoops of appreciation from your fellow soldiers. Before you could move an inch the guns of half of the enemy soldiers present had their guns trained on you. You eyed them warily. If they were anything like the tank you saw earlier, one blast would be enough to erase you from existence.

“Wie interessant,” said a slimy voice. A couple of the soldiers parted to reveal a short, balding fat man. “You speak German and took out a Hydra soldier vif a single touch. Vut are you doing vif a band of bumbling American soldiers, fraulein?” the man asked, his accent thick.

“Someone has to stop and ask for directions, right?” you asked, defiant smirk on your lips.

“Oh, and you make jokes, too! I was curious before vut now I must know vy you are here,” he said, his voice sickly sweet. He motioned to two of the soldiers next to you and they hauled you to your feet, careful to avoid the glove on your hand.

“Vut is this?” the man asked, pointing to the prototype glove with obvious curiosity. “Vere did you get it?” he asked, studying it closely, but remaining just out of your reach.

The way he was talking down to you as though you’d stolen it made something inside of you snap. “I made it, you slimy sack of piss,” you said. He didn’t have time to move out of the way and you spat directly into his face.

He pulled a hankerchief out of his pocket and primly wiped your spit from his face. Once it was gone he shoved it back into his pocket and gave you a genuinely disarming, creepy smile that nearly made you shiver. “Charmant,” he said darkly. “Nimm das fraulein auch. Ich habe Gebrauch von ihren Fähigkeiten,” he told his soldiers. Take the girl, too. I have use for her skills.

The second your brain registered the words you were fighting against the soldiers holding you. “Let me go! Lass mich gehen! Let me go, you bastards!” you screamed. You wouldn’t be some freak’s lab rat and you sure as hell wouldn’t help these sadistic bastards.

You noticed the scuffle happening in the line of American soldiers, vaguely recognizing Barnes, Dugan, and Jones trying to fight back, but the butt of a gun slammed into the back of your head and you once again surrendered to unconsciousness.

Steve’s POV - half a day after your capture

“What do you mean the Europe tour’s been postponed?” Steve asked the squirrely man who’d taken over your job while you were overseas.

“Haven’t gotten any details yet, Rogers. Just know something happened so we can’t go to Italy yet until things settle down,” the man said, eyes darting warily to and fro. He obviously didn’t like being cornered by such a large man, even if it was Captain America.

Steve immediately started to panic. You were over in Italy. You’d left a day ago. There was no way you wouldn’t be there by now. If you were hurt or- He stopped that train of thought before it took him to darker places. “But (Y/N)-”

“She’s way behind Allied lines, Cap. I’m sure she’s safe. Of course, that area’s on lockdown now so she’ll have to stay put until everything clears up,” the weasel said, looking completely unconcerned about your safety. It made Steve’s blood boil but, as usual, there wasn’t anything he could do. He just had to hope you were safe.

“How long?” Steve asked, glaring down at the publicist.

“Hmm?” he hummed as he looked up from the tour schedule.

“How long until we can go on tour in Europe?” Steve asked, dislike for the man growing by the second.

“Oh... hmm,” he studied the schedule in his hands carefully. Steve spotted your careful notes in the margins and his stomach plummeted again. Please be safe. “Looks like it’ll be... about a month,” the man said finally.

Steve’s fists clenched at his sides. The three most important people in his life were out on the front lines, and he was stuck in the States for an entire month longer than he was supposed to be.

“Hey, you alright, Rogers?” the man asked warily, looking up at Steve with a mix of concern and fear.

Apparently Steve’s frustration had gotten the better of him. He coached his face back into neutrality and turned away from the trembling man, heading towards his dressing room.

No, I’m not. “Just fine, thank you.”

Next Chapter

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[darcyfarber]

9 Best Money Transfer Apps for Sending Money Online

Does anyone carry cash anymore?

A recent study estimated 79 million adult Americans will use peer-to-peer payment services in 2019. This is an increase of 24 percent over last year, according to eMarketer, a market research company.

Why?

Because it’s never been easier, cheaper, and more efficient to send money online. Thanks to tons of free apps and minimal fees (if any!), these apps make it much easier than going to the bank to get cash.

Plus, it’s never been safer as companies make a huge effort and spend millions of dollars to protect your financial identity online. The best part though, is the convenience.

You don’t need to go to the bank’s ATM, try to avoid fees, break change at dinner, and worry about not having cash anymore.

Table of Contents

12 Best Send Money Apps

1. Apple Pay

2. Venmo

3. Google Wallet

4. Facebook Messenger

5. Square Cash

6. Dwolla

7. Zelle

8. Popmoney

9. PayPal

10. Walmart 2 Walmart Transfers

11. Cash

12. Bank Transfers

8 Ways to Send Money Internationally

1. PayPal

2. TransferWise

3. Western Union

4. OFX

5. MoneyGram

6. Xoom

7. Wire Transfer With Your Bank

Most Frequently Asked Questions About Sending Money Apps

How long will my transfers take to complete?

Is this safe to transfer money through an app?

What are the main types of fees with these apps?

Final Thoughts on Best Sending Money Apps

12 Best Send Money Apps

Here’s everything you need to know about the best ways to send money, how to send it internationally, and some other best practices.

1. Apple Pay

Apple Pay may be the simplest way to send money if you use an iOS device. 

Before you get started, you will need to add your debit card to your iOS device. You can quickly access those settings by going to Settings and then scrolling down to Wallet & Apple Pay inside any iOS device.

Sending or Receiving Money | Apple Pay Apple Pay Send and Receive LimitsMinimumMaximum 7-day period$1$10,000 Per message$1$10,000

To request payment or send payment, simply create a text message for the person you are paying or requesting money from. Inside your text messages and right above the keyboard is a series of icons to choose from. Click on the one that has the Apple Pay logo. If you’re sending payment, you will need to enter in your password (fingerprint or retina scan) and the money will be sent instantly.

Note: This will only work with iOS devices.

2. Venmo

Venmo is a money transfer app that is actually owned by PayPal but operated separately. It’s more of a social sharing and payment platform than PayPal. This is my personal preferred method of sending money online.

One of the biggest perks is that it is 100% free if you send money from a bank account. If you choose to add a credit card and transfer money, there is a small fee as they have to deal with credit card processing fees. These fees are around 3% if you opt to use a credit or debit card.

All you need to send money is to make sure that both people download the app. Once you select an amount, type in what it’s for and push send.

Venmo Limits Sending/Receiving money to Venmo users$2,999.99 weekly limit Sending/Receiving money authorized merchants$2,000 per purchase (max 30 per day) $299.99 max for first-time users

The money will arrive instantly and can be transferred to your bank account within 2-3 business days. Plus, if you don’t have your app you can also pay with Venmo from their website.

Venmo is more of a social app than the others as you can see who is sending who money. But don’t worry, the amount of money you send isn’t displayed. If you don’t want others to see your activity make sure to log on to your profile and change these settings.

3. Google Wallet

Google Wallet is a very simple way to send money as the other person doesn’t even need to download the app. To get started sending money, log into your app and add your debit card or bank account information.

All you need is the email address or phone number to use the app to send money. As long as they have a Google account with a linked bank account or debit card, the other user can withdraw the funds. The max amount is $9,999 per transfer or $50,000 over a 5-day period.

Google Play Limits Single TransactionUp to $10,000 In 7 daysUP to $10,000 Florida residentsUp to $3,000 every 24 hours Transactions over $2,500Recipient will need to add a bank account to claim the money

A big plus with using Google Wallet is the amount of security you receive. As Google is one of the largest companies in the world, the security matches. Plus, if you somehow lose your phone you can disable and have the app removed from your phone from logging in online.

But, a major downside is that you aren’t able to pay using a credit card. Also, the bank transfers can up to 10 days!

4. Facebook Messenger

In Facebook’s attempt to take over the world, you can now use the social media sharing platform to transfer money not just mindlessly scroll through your newsfeed. They make it very simple to send money via the Messenger app.

All you need to do is download the app (if you haven’t already) and find the person you want to send money too. Hit the “$” sign in the chat and enter your debit card to complete the transaction. Once the other user receives the money they will also need to add a debit card to withdraw the funds.

As Facebook is worldwide, I was surprised to learn that you can only use this app to send money if you are both located in the United States. If you’re worried about safety, Facebook does allow you to add a pin and extra verifications once you add your debit card. The entire transfer process takes 1-3 business days.

Even though it’s a social media app don’t worry, your payment details aren’t displayed anywhere on your profile.

Note: Facebook messenger limits vary from country to country.

5. Square Cash

Square Cash is another app that allows you to send money to family and friends 100% free. You can use the app in two different ways. If the other person has a Square Cash account you can ask for their “cash tag” and do a money transfer. If you don’t have an account you can still pay by iMessage and Siri as well.

When you transfer money with Square Cash there is a service limit of $250 per week. But, if you go through the short verification you can increase your limit to $2,500!

Square Cash Limits Send money$250 per week Recieve money$1,000 per week Increase send limits up to $2,500 when you verify your account

The only real downside to using square cash is that you can’t use the service if you are outside the United States. Otherwise, it’s a very comparative payment option to Venmo.

If you run a business and want to use Square Cash they also have several options that allow you to use the app for payments.

6. Dwolla

Dwolla is a money sending app that allows you to transfer money from your bank account to others for a nominal fee. If the transfer is under $10 you won’t have any service fees and anything over is only .25 cents!

The max amount of money you can send from Dwolla is $5,000 for personal accounts and up to $10,000 for business accounts. All you need is the Dwolla ID of the other person/business, email, and phone number. If the other person doesn’t have an account yet it will prompt them to sign up for free.

Dwolla Limits Personal AccountSend up to $5,000 per transaction Business, Non-profit, and Government AccountsSend up to $10,000 per transaction You can apply for increased limits anytime. Approval is based on Dwolla's discretion.

Like Square Cash, Dwolla also has several business options to help you send money at a very minimal cost. You can receive higher limits, next day transfers, and better customer support. This is the best money sending app if you are wanting to use a money sending app for your business as well.

7. Zelle

Zelle is a great app to send money but you need to have an account with participating banks or signing up at clearxchange.com. They are becoming increasingly popular with the bigger banks  joining clearxchange.

There are currently over 400 banking partners with Zelle.

Here are a few of the bigger participating banks:

Chase Bank

Wells Fargo

U.S. Bank

Capital One

Ally Bank

Bank of America

To send money all you will need is the recipient’s email or phone number. Check with your bank to learn how to sign up for Zelle today or register at clearxchange.com.

Note: Limits to send money via Zelle are created by your own bank or credit union. If you use Zelle outside of your bank, the send limit is $500 per week.

8. Popmoney

While not as common as the other apps above, Popmoney is another app that lets you send money online. Popmoney has partnered with numerous banks and credit unions to send and request money from your mobile banking app.

Here are the current limits for Popmoney:

Popmoney Send Limits From yourFee (free to receive)Limit per dayLimit 30 days Bank Account$0.95$2,000$5,000 Debit Card$0.95$500$1,000

  Pop Money Receive Limits Request MoneyFee (free to receive)Limit per dayLimit 30 days Pay a requestFree$2,500$4,000 Send a request$0.95$1,000$2,500

You can send money to someone else who has Popmoney for free. Otherwise, it is only .95 cents to transfer the money.

9. PayPal

PayPal is one of the oldest and first apps to help send money both domestically and internationally as they are the preferred method of payment for eBay before being acquired by them.

If you have a personal PayPal account you can send money free as long as the other person has a personal account. While you can transfer from a business account, there a few more steps to open the account and transaction fees as well.

To send money, log on to the app or website and make sure you have the intended recipients phone number or email address. You can choose to send the money from your bank, debit card, or credit cards. If you use a PayPal balance or your bank account there are no transaction costs.

But if you choose to use a credit or debit card there is a 2.9% fee plus 30 cents. The fees are even higher when sending money abroad. Two major perks are the security and total amount (up to $10,000) to send money.

Plus, PayPal is on the send money apps on the list that allows you to send money internationally. Below are the most common ways to send money outside the United States.

Note: There is no limits on sending or receiving money via Paypal with a verified account (linking your bank account or credit card).

10. Walmart 2 Walmart Transfers

Walmart is a great place to shop and save money each month for your budget. Now you can also send cash! This is a cheaper option than using Western Union or Moneygram. Plus, it’s convenient as you might already be shopping there on a regular basis.

You can use their transfer service to send to other Walmart’s around the country. The maximum amount you can transfer is $2,500 and costs vary depending on transfer amount.

A potential downside is that not every Walmart does offer the transfer service although a majority do. Make sure to check their website to ensure your Walmart does offer the money sending service.

11. Cash

If you’re old-fashioned or sell some stuff as a side hustle and have extra cash, you can still pay the old school way. While I’ll never recommend sending cash in the mail, it’s still an option. If you do, make sure that the postage is insured just in case!

Otherwise, I recommending switching to one of these send money apps to increase your security and not waste time finding the closest ATM.

12. Bank Transfers

While it’s not an app like most of the others on this list, you can still use old-fashioned bank transfers to send money to friends or family if you have the same bank. If they bank at a different establishment there is almost always a transfer fee which can range depending on institutions and overall amount.

Transaction fees are the main reason I don’t recommend using bank transfer to send money as you can avoid it with most of these apps.

8 Ways to Send Money Internationally

The methods above making sending money easy, but when it comes to sending money internationally it’s not always as simple but still easier than it ever has been. It is more difficult because of higher regulations, fraud, and different banking operations.

Here are the best and cheapest ways to send money internationally.

1. PayPal

As I mentioned, PayPal is one of the most secure and best ways to send money online. When you use a bank account there is a very small processing fee and a higher fee if you choose to use a credit card as the form of payment.

Depending on where you are located it might even be cheaper to use a credit card instead of a bank account. Make sure to compare both before hitting send.

PayPal is very easy and very secure as it’s payment giant. But, there are some restrictions that don’t make it always the best experience. Depending on location and verification you can only send limited amounts of money.

If you try to do more or PayPal thinks it’s fraud, they can freeze your account and make it difficult to reopen. Usually, you will have to contact a call center and go through additional verification steps before sending money.

2. TransferWise

TransferWise is a U.K. company that allows you to send money internationally to select countries. The best part is that the fees are minimal and you only pay the actual exchange rates. Plus, the daily amounts are incredibly high compared with other platforms!

There is a $50,000 daily limit and $250,000 annually. If you do business internationally this is also a great option as you can send $250,000 daily and $1 million per year!

If you want to start download their mobile app today.

3. Western Union

Western Union has been a way to send money internationally for decades and is the biggest money transfer company in the world. To send money you can go into one of their locations internationally, use their app or their website.

You can choose to use cash or a debit card to fund the money transfer and can be direct deposited or picked up by the recipient at a Western Union location. The delivery options make this one of the biggest perks along with low fees and a very small exchange rate markup.

The biggest downside of using Western Union is the costs and delivery time. The cheaper the transfer usually the longer it will take to be delivered.

4. OFX

OFX is very similar to Transferwise and doesn’t charge fees regardless of how much money you are sending! They make their money by taking a cut on the exchange rate for transfers.

They are also great if you are transferring a large sum of money as the minimum amount to transfer is $1,000. This is relatively high as others on the list have a minimum between $50-$100.

Another perk of using OFX to send money internationally is that you get a discount the more you use the service. If you are sending money abroad on a regular basis, this can help save you tons of money over time. Unlike Transferwise, they do not have daily limits and have incredible 24-hour support if you are having any issues.

Get started with OFX today!

5. MoneyGram

MoneyGram is a large money sending platform that operates in over 200 countries and has 350,000 locations! They are the biggest competitor of Western Union and offer the ability to send money to other locations and have the money picked up almost instantly.

What’s the catch with using Moneygram?

The fees.

If you send between $200 and $1,000 the costs will range from $10-$25 and exchange rates can make it even worse. The average exchange rate adds another 1-6% on your transaction fees. This can add up if you are regularly sending money abroad!

6. Xoom

Xoom is the sister app of Venmo and also owned by PayPal. Think of them as the Venmo abroad.

While Xoom doesn’t service as many countries as Western Union or Moneygram, it does makeup in how fast the transfers happen. They still operate in 70 countries and allow you to send up to $25,000 to some countries.

You can choose to pay with credit card, debit card, or bank account and most transfers happen instantly.

The biggest downside?

High costs when using your debit or credit card. Depending on where you are located it can be a substantial amount.

If both parties are using bank accounts this is one of your best options! Make sure to check out their free online calculator to help you evaluate the fees before sending money abroad.

7. Wire Transfer With Your Bank

One of the easiest but not cheapest ways to send money online is a traditional wire transfer. You will have to deal with bank fees and depending on the bank, an exchange rate markup. The transaction can take a few days due to banking regulations and where the money is being transferred.

If you are transferring a large amount of money this is the option I would recommend. While it is more expensive it’s also much more secure.

Most Frequently Asked Questions About Sending Money Apps

Here are some of the most commonly asked questions to help ease your financial concerns about sending money online.

How long will my transfers take to complete?

It depends on each of the apps and providers. Some will help you send or receive money faster than others. Generally, it will be between 1-3 business days while some take closer to 3-5 days. Remember that if you transfer money on a weekend or holiday it will take longer to complete the transaction due to banking regulations.

Is this safe to transfer money through an app?

Yes, security is a major concern. Like anything online, there is always a small risk but these companies spend millions on advanced software and highly qualified engineers to ensure you are protected.

That being said, make sure to review your bank accounts and app usage to ensure there isn’t any charges you don’t recognize.

What are the main types of fees with these apps?

There are two main fees associated with sending money through apps or bank transfers. The first is the transfer fee which can be a percentage of the total amount, flat fee or a combination of both like PayPal.

The other fee is the exchange rate markup that only occurs if you are sending money internationally. These fees will differ from each app and depend a lot on the currency you are using.

Some companies, like OFX, don’t charge transfer fees but instead take a cut of the exchange rate markup. Make sure to double check these fees as different countries have very different costs associated with them.

Final Thoughts on Best Sending Money Apps

As you can see, it’s never been cheaper and easier to send money to friends and family. Domestically there are plenty of options. I personally love Venmo but after researching this post other top recommendations include Apple Pay, Google Wallet, Zelle and PayPal. If you want to send money domestically and prefer a brick and mortar go with Western Union, Moneygram or Walmart.

When it comes to sending money internationally this might require a little more research on your end as fees can vary between different companies. My biggest piece of advice is to use the one that is the cheapest by making sure you are shopping around.

Lastly, try not to use credit cards for sending money as most of these charge higher fees than a debit card or bank account. Any extra money you can save the better!

What is your favorite sending money app for friends and families? Have you ever send money internationally with an app or were you worried about security?

Let us know in the comments!

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9 Best Money Transfer Apps for Sending Money Online published first on https://mysingaporepools.weebly.com/

[lovelesswiki]

Post-Moonless predictions— Good and Evil (7/10)

previous part<–[here] –> next part

for the last week or so, i’ve been talking about a large theory i’ve been writing. since finishing it, i’ve decided to publish it in parts, since it’s actually about 10 different theories all on one subject. since it’s all written out, i’ll try to be publishing one part of this per day.

essentially, this is a set of theories about what i believe will have to happen in order to properly lead up to a climax–the one we’ve been building up to for years and years now. so, these are what i theorize will happen after the first moonless vs beloved battle, broken up into ten different parts. each theory is explained and theres images for each one.

table of contents (bolded is the post you’re looking at):

moonless and beloved will rematch (1)

soubi will fall into a deep depression and possibly become suicidal (2)

ritsuka will arrive at seven voices, SM’s activity will be revealed (3)

SM will reveal that there was a mole in their organization (4)

kio will be the one to take ritsuka to goura (5)

ritsuka will find things out about soubi and the aoyagi family (6)

SM’s true purpose will be revealed. ritsuka will have to make a decision about good vs evil (7)

seventh SM member will be revealed (8)

nagisa will find out what really happened to sanae (9)

ritsuka will be asked to join SM to fill the aoyagi seat (10)

Theory: ritsuka will discover that SM is a ‘good’ government organization made up of people who have done bad or morally questionable things. he will be forced to begin seeing the world in shades of grey instead of black and white, and this will be important for him in terms of character development and growing up.

Note: this theory is sort of the climax of this series of theories. the things that follow it are important, but most of the theories i’ve written in this series so far have amounted to this and the things that follow this theory will rely on it.

ive said this before and ill say it again–one of the biggest parts of ritsuka’s characterization is the fact that he sees everything in terms of ‘black’ and ‘white’, and this is especially obvious with people. hes very young, and part of the story is about him growing up and maturing into a teenager. among many other things, loveless is a story about growing up. while this extends to many other characters–soubi, natsuo and youji, even some of the more childish adults–it’s particularly obvious with ritsuka, since he’s our main character.

while growing up, it’s detrimental for a person to start to experience the world in shades of grey, and ritsuka notoriously does not do this fully yet. this is the reason that ritsuka is/was struggling so much with labeling seimei as a bad person. for the first five or so volumes, readers were typically only given ritsuka’s side of seimei with only very strong hints into soubi’s seimei, hints that were strongly ignored because of the fact that the story is primarily told through ritsuka’s eyes and ritsuka didn’t want to believe any of the signs that his brother was a bad person. this sustained the ‘mystery’ for about five volumes, before it all came to a head during the wisdom resurrection game, where ritsu, nagisa, and seven all unceremoniously shoved it into both ritsuka and the readers’ faces. from there, it is all completely downhill and seimei’s character turns into one of the most evil and terrible people possible very quickly.

(pictured: 2 assholes and 1 shut-in decide to tell a child that his brother was a terrible person and traumatize him by implying that he’s alive.)

in addition to this, we saw septimal moon in the same way for the first 8 volumes. up until soubi and ritsuka arrive at the school and actually witness SM and who they are, they were seen as an evil organization who had unfairly put out a death warrant for an innocent seimei. at around volume 8, septimal moon does a huge meta heel-face turn and it’s revealed that SM are actually the good guys, and aoyagi seimei has actually raped, murdered, and extorted his way into total criminality, and thats the reason septimal moon unanimously drew up a death warrant for him.

(christ, even the mole and the girl who was your only friend voted to have you murdered. you know youve failed as team-player when literally every one of your co-workers legitimately wants you dead.)

the thing is, though, that we havent actually been told what septimal moon is yet and what they do. now, it’s pretty clear to me what they do, and we’ll get to that in a second, but the fact of the matter is that ritsuka doesn’t know, and that’s pretty important right now.

so what is septimal moon?

to put it simply, there is nothing else it could be but a government organization.

this isn’t exactly a theory. there’s too much evidence pointing to it, and enough evidence that there’s literally nothing else it could be. let’s break this down a little with things we know–SM is an organization. SM has the power and the authority to execute and punish criminals, as well as to detain them and write out death warrants. this means that they have their own system of laws. since they’re very professional about it, we can assume that other government organizations let them do this or work with them. aside from this, SM has an education branch (headed by ritsu), a medical research branch (headed by nagisa), at least 1 hospital and school, a set judge/executioner (mikado), teams that they send out for (law) enforcement, and a lot of resources and funds (funds to do research, funds for building and upkeep of facilities, funds to keep their organization running, funds to pay their members apparently well since nagisa lives in a three bedroom place and mikado has a penthouse apartment). they also are implied to keep detailed records on many, many people (see: the chapter where seven realizes what records were stolen by who the records talked about). each member has a designated role and they vote on things that have an affect on the fighter-sacrifice society.

taking all this into account, i have no idea what else SM could be other than an organization that governs over the fighter-sacrifice world. the world has its own society with its own norms and seemingly, with its own laws, and it operates outside of the legislation of country borders. SM is well respected and well known, as we’ve seen in canon, and in theory should be balanced and should operate well (see above point about the mole for why it currently does not).

so, SM is a government organization that precedes over the fighter-sacrifice world. let’s talk about its make-up. the organization does have a few rules that it operates by. there doesnt seem to be much of an age requirement for having a seat on the council, as mikado is 14 and seimei was 17, and i suspect they will soon be asking an even younger member to join. the seats are passed down throughout the family, but it doesn’t seem to matter what gender the seat goes to, as nagisa, mikado, seven, and chouma are all female and seimei and ritsu are male.

it appears that the council shares power equally, though ritsu is an egotistical narcissist and doesn’t appear to like this. the only requirement to be on the council, besides being one of the seven families, is being a sacrifice. surprisingly, ive seen people debate this, but im going to explain two reasons why this is a fact and not a theory–first, the way fighters are treated as a whole in society and secondly, we are literally told that fighters are not allowed at septimal moon meetings.

lets start with the first part of that. so far, every member who has a confirmed battle role in SM has been a sacrifice. granted, this is only 3 out of the 7 (ritsu, mikado, and seimei), but it’s still pretty significant. however, whats more significant is the way fighters are treated. in the fighter-sacrifice world, fighters are absolutely far, far below sacrifices. this is shown in a couple of different ways, from the fact that it’s completely accepted for a sacrifice to physically beat or verbally put down a fighter, but it’s not accepted for the other way around. in addition to this, fighters are expected to kill themselves if their sacrifices die. this is told to soubi’s face over and over again. however, the opposite is not true. sacrifices are implied to far outlive fighters. whereas a fighter is expected to die early on, sacrifices seem to live far longer. also, there’s the simple fact that sacrifices have an entire system in place for replacements if their fighters die.

to be fair, the bad treatment of fighters seems to be more with the older generation in the series than with the younger generation. for example, mikado seems to view tokino as her equal and does not seem to think of him as lesser. however, ritsu is shown to think of fighters as tools and of entirely lesser beings and even in his youth, he treated his fighter terribly (which ended by him drowning her in a pond with her dying to try to please him). nagisa is said to hate fighters, though it’s interesting to note that kouya, one of her favorites, is a fighter (though youji–a sacrifice–is also her favorite). seimei is seimei and treats his fighters like actual garbage. the point is that even though the younger generation doesnt treat their fighters badly, the practice of doing so is still widely accepted. since the council is made up of people who are widely respected and seen as the governing force of the society, there is no way they would allow a class of people who are seen as lesser onto the council.

secondly, early on in loveless, it’s stated offhandedly that fighters arent actually allowed in septimal moon council meetings. it’s easy to miss, but this was when ai and midori went to report back to septimal moon about ritsuka. ritsu immediately reprimanded midori for brining ai to the council headquarters and told him that she [fighters] weren’t allowed there, so it’s safe to say that fighters aren’t even allowed at council meetings.

given that the requirements to be on the council is to be part of one of the seven families and that the person must be a sacrifice and that the council shares power and votes on issues, it’s fair to say that SM could be considered a parliament. or, more humorously and maybe more accurately, SM can be considered to be like the commission, which is a council of the five families of the mob where activities of the world are monitored and observed and seats are passed down through the family. regardless, it’s fair to say that these rules exist and that the purpose of SM is to act as some sort of government organization separate from that that operates within a country’s borders.

ritsuka doesn’t know any of this, though. or, he might know some things, but he certainly hasnt figured it out yet. hes going to, though, since i dont personally see a way the story can progress with SM in it if he doesnt find out exactly what it is that these people do, especially considering ritsuka’s minor storyline of growing up and starting to see the shades of grey in the world.

the way i see it happening is like this–ritsuka will learn about the organization and will learn that it’s a government organization with laws and rules and branches to help precede over their world. he will learn about the fighter-sacrifice world (though he probably will not yet learn about the origins) and the laws, rules, and society surrounding it. because of all this, he will start to think of SM as a ‘good’ organization because the organization in practice is for the good of the people. he will not immediately see the dysfunction that i talked about in the bulletpoint about the mole.

however, he will start to see it very quickly. in the previous point, i talked about ritsuka discovering soubi’s past with ritsu and discovering the past of his own family, but i didnt expand upon how ritsuka would react to it, and i also discussed SM’s dysfunctional members when i talked about the mole. his reaction is detrimental to this bulletpoint. ritsuka will have to face the fact that the ‘good’ organization has a lot of people in it who have done bad things.

to put this in perspective, let’s have a look at what we currently know about the SM members. first up we have ritsu, who raped and abused soubi in his childhood repeatedly and so severely that it destroyed any ability or chance for soubi to function as a normal person. he is egotistical and narcissistic to the point that it interferes in every relationship that he has. he possibly drowned his fighter in a pond and fans speculate that he may be the cause of the former agatsumas’ deaths. he was obsessed with a woman to the point that he ruined her son as a way to get back at her/replace her. hes the reason that soubi was given to seimei in the first place and the reason soubi cant function socially. he also lied to ritsuka during the WR game and still acts creepily towards soubi. i have no doubt that when ritsuka discovers all this, he is going to be absolutely disgusted with him and everything hes done.

then we have nagisa. in literal terms, nagisa has performed acts of human experimentation. she has experimented on humans and views them as interchangeable parts because she wants to win an imaginary game with ritsu. she views the kids that shes created as worthless and next to nothing and only wants them near her so that she doesnt feel abandoned. she shoved natsuo and youji onto soubi at the drop of a hat and it’s strongly implied that she rarely took care of them at all. i dont think ritsuka will take kindly to any of this, either.

(ah, yes, the Traditional Loveless Parenting Style™)

then we have mikado and chouma. theyve done admittedly less things that are less personal to ritsuka than the above two, but the fact still stands that mikado did support seimei up until his betrayal of her and did seem to know about the things he was doing off to the side and didn’t seem to put a stop to them. we also don’t know if she was betrayed before or after seimei’s death warrant was signed. if it was after, then she stuck with him, despite knowing what he was doing. however, her rape and betrayal might have been what put the death warrant in place, so we don’t know if it happened before or after seimei faked his death. chouma, on the other hand, besides being a mole, caused havoc within kio’s family, and it’s unknown how much of an effect on the family she has. also things that im not sure ritsuka would like.

then we have seimei, who i dont need to go into. hes an asshole.

from this, to a child, it very much seems like SM is made up of ‘bad’ people. or, at least, people who have done bad things. but, the organization is ‘good’ because it tries to do ‘good’ things. the point of this bulletpoint is that this disagreement will cause a lot of struggle within ritsuka, because it goes against the very way that he thinks.

in short, when ritsuka finds out about the true purpose of SM and the stories behind the members, he will be forced to realize that not everything in the world falls into the categories of ‘black’ and ‘white’. the concept of black vs white is very prevalent in loveless, and especially in battles, particularly the loveless vs nisei battle, in which soubi and nisei pitted the concepts of black (evil) vs white (good) against each other.

as a note with this point, i do personally see ritsuka’s perception of seimei changing. a big turning point in this was the discussion of mikado’s betrayal and an even bigger turning point was when seimei came to the graveyard, completely ignored ritsuka, and took the one thing from him that ritsuka had. i personally believe that seimei made a huge mistake in doing this and will be paying for it soon.

[theartofdreaming1]

Loveable Nerds and Superheroes II - Chapter 4: Date Night

Pairing: WestAllen

Rating: T

Summary: Mason approaches Iris with a story he’s currently working on that could be quite of interest to her... also, it’s the day of Barry and Iris’s date! :) Chapter 1 can be found here, 2 here and 3 here.

The next morning, Iris was back at her desk at CCPN. She was currently contemplating what issue she should tackle for her next article (while also mentally going through a list with everything she still had to prepare for tonight's date with Barry) when all of a sudden, a plate with a Danish was shoved right in front of her face -

“Not a bad job with that story on those real estate frauds, West,” Iris's mentor, Mason Bridge, said, expectantly looking at Iris and the pastry he was offering to her.

“Um, thanks,” she replied mystified, blindly accepting the dish in front of her – Mason wasn't exactly big on giving compliments (or sharing any sort of food). In fact, just a month ago he had completely dismissed any of Iris's attempts to get some sort of advice from her assigned mentor, snidely pointing out that any idiot with a laptop could write a blog. It had taken a lot of  persistence and hard work on her side to finally be in her mentor's good graces.

Iris eyed the pastry skeptically: “So you just came by for an almost-compliment and a Danish?”

“Actually,” Mason admitted while conspiratorially leaning forward and producing a folder he had been holding onto with his other hand, “I'm currently working on something that might interest you.”

“Oh, okay,” Iris replied, pleasantly surprised that the senior journalist was willing to let her in on one of his investigations, “shoot.”

“You see,” Mason started, pulling out a photograph from the file he had brought along, “I have noticed that Simon Stagg has been AWOL for some time now...”

“So?” Iris commented, raising a quizzical eyebrow, before examining the picture she'd been given. “He's never been one to appear at many social events or otherwise... He's always been more of a recluse, right?”

“Never like this. I've been digging deeper, contacting assistants as well as board members of Stagg Industries... Nobody has seen or heard from Mr. Stagg for more than 4 months now.”

Iris's eyes widened with realization: “Oh.” She drew her chair nearer to her mentor, handing him back the photo.

“'Oh', indeed.” Mason agreed, putting the photo back into the file and pulling out another, “and all my trails lead to one person: Dr. Harrison Wells.”

“Harrison Wells?” Iris echoed hollowly, the weird feeling she'd had whenever she was around said scientist reemerging once again.

“Yeah,” Mason confirmed, “he was the last person to meet with Mr. Stagg, in addition to other quite shady implication.”

Iris had a sinking feeling in her stomach. The worst thing of all was, that as much as she wanted to, she couldn't bring herself to completely disregard Mason's suspicions.

Still, Iris came to the scientist's defense – after all, he had provided his facility and know-how to help out her nephew for the past three weeks:

“But why would Dr. Wells do that? I mean, obviously the launch of the particle accelerator was not a good choice of action, but he seems to really want to redeem himself – he and his team took good care of my boyfriend when he had suffered an injury from the explosion of the particle accelerator and for the past three weeks, they helped in any way possible when my nephew was in a coma due to a lightning strike. I have come to know the people that work there. They are good people, Mason.”

“Well, I'm not saying that anyone else at S.T.A.R. Labs is involved in Simon Stagg's disappearance. Maybe they aren't aware of their boss's wrongdoings or they are good actors.

-But it's not just Stagg. I mean, don't tell me that after all that time you apparently spent over at S.T.A.R. Labs, you didn't notice anything fishy happening there?”

Again, Iris felt queasy, though this time because she did know what was going on at the research facility. She had witnessed the workings of the crime-fighting unit stationed there first-hand.

“Fishy in what way exactly?” she asked tentatively, worried about how much Mason had already found out (after all, this man had won the Pulitzer Prize for his amazing investigative journalistic work. Twice.)

“Well, for once – what are they doing there now that they are basically without funding and most of their staff?” – Iris couldn't help but remember asking herself the same question when she had tried to find out more about Barry and S.T.A.R. Labs – “And what about these silent acts of benevolence you just told me about? Wouldn't exactly this kind of thing help them regain the public's trust again?”

“I don't know – maybe they first want to figure out how exactly they can help the public before drawing attention back to S.T.A.R. Labs? It's not like there wouldn't be plenty of people eager to pick apart every single deed done by them... But I get where you're coming from,” Iris admitted, an idea forming in her head how she could protect Team Flash's base of operations from discovery, “I could try to find out: interview the staff, find out what their specific plans for the future are – maybe even snoop around the place  if there is something off about their answers...”

Iris's answer seemed to surprise her mentor: “You would be willing to investigate your little group of friends?”

“I stand by my statement that they are good people,” Iris repeated, thinking of how devotedly Cisco and Caitlin had taken care of Wally. But thinking of Wally and her uneasy feeling whenever she was around Dr. Wells, also made it easier for Iris to commit herself to Mason's cause, “But admittedly I haven't known them for long and if there is anything unlawful” – aside from vigilantism, Iris added silently in her mind – “going on, I want to know. I need to know.”

“Alright, West,” Mason said, clearly impressed, “maybe I did underestimate your 'gumption' after all.”

Iris couldn't help but smile.  The relationship with her mentor certainly had come a long way since his dismissive demeanor at the very beginning at her stubborn determination to prove her journalistic worth.

“Maybe,” she echoed while accepting the thick folder Mason handed over to her. He gave her an approving nod, before leaving Iris to study the file.

When Iris got home from work, the young journalist was still reeling from the accumulation of incriminating leads Mason had gathered on Dr. Wells. She didn't get a chance to dwell on it today though, because she had tons of desserts to prepare for her date with Barry (and Iris knew that if she sat down at home to conduct her own investigation, she would never be able to pry herself away from her research – it probably could wait for one more day).

Iris was still in the kitchen, cutting up some fruit for a fruit salad (to assuage the guilty conscience of a whole dinner only consisting of brownies, mousse au chocolat and muffins), when her dad and Wally returned from S.T.A.R. Labs.

“Hey, you two,” Iris greeted the pair, “how was your day?”

This simple question was enough to get Wally started: He told his aunt about his new training exercises, poked fun at the look on his grandpa's face when he had watched his grandson run for the very first time (Joe just stood there, shaking his head in disbelief, like he could not wrap his mind around this even now) and excitedly showed Iris the protein bars Cisco and Caitlin had given him (“Because I use up much more energy now”, the 8-year-old explained precociously, while his eyes were flitting nervously back and forth between his aunt and the baked goods before him). The young speedster went on, talking about Barry dropping by during his lunch time and the realization of Team S.T.A.R. Labs that the young speedster's biggest issue was staying still and concealing his powers, rather than working on them. Which in turn elicited a bunch of complaints about these new 'training exercises' Team Flash had come up with for the 8-year-old: building houses of cards, playing  mikado and jenga...-

“It's the wooorst,” Wally declared dramatically, snatching a piece of brownie from the box Iris just had put them into.

Despite making use of his powers, Wally still wasn't fast enough for Iris not to notice.

“Hey, those are not for you!” Iris chided the boy, who in turn gave her his best puppy dog eyes:

“Um... Did I mention that I use up much more energy now? I need fuel! ”

Iris couldn't help the chuckle escaping her lips at this clumsy excuse:

“Fine. You can lick out the empty bowls… if you promise me that you will work on your homework your Mom sent earlier.”

Wally scrunched up his nose at the mention of 'homework' but agreed to the proposed deal nonetheless. In a matter of seconds, the bowls were licked clean, so Iris barely had any work to do when washing the dirty dishes. The young woman quickly got ready for her date, double-checked if she had packed the keys to Jitters, and ruffled her nephew's hair one more time (who was now bent over his homework dutifully, brows furrowed and shoulders slumped in misery). She then said good-bye to her dad and Wally, before picking up the various boxes, carefully balancing the ridiculous amount of desserts (and fruit salad).

Iris parked right in front of Jitters so she wouldn't have to walk too far while carrying all these bowls and boxes. She was positively giddy when she unlocked the door. Maybe it was the chocolate she had snacked on while preparing the different kinds of desserts (and, unsurprisingly, most of the desserts Iris had made included chocolate in some form), maybe it was the familiar feeling of being alone in the coffee shop once again after all these crazy weeks... Maybe it was the anticipation of having another, proper date with Barry (or whatever qualified as 'proper' when you were dating a superhero). Anyway, Iris couldn't help herself but be excited. She hauled the boxes with food inside, setting them down on the counter. With a smile, she discovered a small note Tracy had left behind (under a plate with cronuts, Iris's favorite dish to order at the coffee shop). Iris's former colleague wished her a fun date (of which she hoped to hear about soon in great detail, the barista had added, complete with a winky-face). Iris rolled her eyes in fond annoyance – throughout her entire time at Jitters, Tracy had never stopped pointing out cute guys to Iris, sometimes even purposely serving other customers so Iris would have to take the orders from “the hotties”. It was only natural that Tracy would want to know everything about the guy who had finally managed to sweep Iris off her feet.

Shaking her head at the other girl's incorrigibleness, Iris pocketed the note and began arranging the food. While doing so, her gaze wandered to the special's board above, getting caught on the brand-new special. Her lips curved into a smile.

Meanwhile at the West house, Wally was still struggling to get his homework done (a process which was considerably slowed down due to the boy's inability to concentrate on it for more than five minutes instead of letting his eyes wander about the room and sighing pitifully while doing so). Suddenly the phone rang, providing a real diversion from the current math problem Wally was so desperate to ignore.

“You keep on working on your homework; don't think I don't see what you're doing there,” Joe said while heading for the phone, familiar with his grandson's penchant for distracting himself from his school work.

Begrudgingly, Wally returned his attention to his math problem. Still, the boy couldn't help but notice that his grandpa was not happy with the call he had received.

And indeed, Joe had any reason to be displeased. Captain Singh just had told him that he was desperately needed at the precinct. As it was already fairly late and Joe had no way of knowing how long he was going to stay over at the police station, he couldn't exactly bring Wally with him to work. Of course he could call Iris, who would return home immediately if she had to, but Joe knew how much his baby girl had been looking forward to her date with Barry and all the work she had put into it; he did not have the heart to ruin that evening for her. But now that Wally was having powers (a concept the detective still had to come to terms with), Joe didn't really feel comfortable leaving the boy alone nor asking their neighbor, Mrs Johnson (who had occasionally looked after his grandson before), to keep an eye on Wally.

Aimlessly looking through the contacts on the phone, Joe stumbled across the number of 'Dr. Caitlin Snow' (who had given her private number to the Wests while Wally was in his coma , assuring them that they could call her “at any time”). This wasn't a medical emergency, but Joe had noticed the genuine interest the doctor had shown in her new patient and figured he could at least give it a try.

His call was picked up immediately and after a short explanation of his problem, Caitlin was quick to assure Joe that it was no problem at all. She only asked if she could bring Cisco along (who apparently was over at the doctor's house for a movie night).

Having seen both the doctor and engineer taking good care of his grandson just this morning, Joe was more than fine with that, said his good-bye and hung up.

Twenty minutes later, the door bell rang and Joe and Wally were greeted by Caitlin and Cisco with a chipper “hi Detective West, hey Wally.”

Joe let the two scientists in, thanking them sincerely for coming over. He quickly informed them where they could find some pizza money (Wally's face brightened up considerably) and when Wally's curfew was (the boy's expression grew slightly sullen). Then, ruffling his grandson's hair and reminding the boy to “be good” and thanking the two scientists once more, the detective hurried off to the precinct.

“Soo... this is gonna be fun,” Cisco said humorously, breaking the awkward tension which had hung over the three Joe had left-behind.

Wally eyed the engineer suspiciously: “We are not gonna play any more games to train my ability to stay still, are we?”

“Nah... I've brought you something else to expand upon your education-” Cisco was interrupted by Wally groaning, still fed-up from doing weeks-worth of homework the past afternoon.

The engineer continued with a wide grin, pulling out something from his messenger bag: “Time you finally watch 'The Incredibles'.”

The young speedster's face brightened instantaneously.

About fifteen minutes after the arranged time for their date, Barry finally zipped into Jitters, hair disheveled and hands full.

“I am so sorry! I was just about to leave work when Captain Singh demanded a specific file on his desk tonight and on my way here there was some maniac-driver who almost knocked over some old lady crossing the street – why is it always some little old lady? – anyways, I'm so sorry. And I got you a flower,” the speedster added apologetically, holding out a slightly rumpled red rose.

Iris accepted the flower with a bright smile and a kiss.

“It's okay. Gave me more time to set up dinner. Because it's so nice outside, I thought we could dine up on the rooftop – it always was my favorite place at Jitters,” Iris said, while leading Barry up the stairs, carefully navigating him so he wouldn't see the board with specials, so it would be a surprise for later.

When they arrived at the rooftop they were met with a beautifully set up picnic, with tea candles and twinkle lights illuminating the scene.

“Wow,” was all Barry could say, “wow.”

Iris smiled brightly: “This is such a nice spot, right? I used to hang out here all the time after work.”

“It is really beautiful,” Barry agreed, “And you did an amazing job setting this whole thing up.”

Iris blushed, flattered, ”thanks.” She snuck an arm around Barry's waist, hugging him close: “I'm glad we finally made date night happen again. I missed that.”

“Me too,” Barry agreed, pressing a kiss on the top of Iris's head.

The journalist closed her eyes for a brief moment, relishing in the gesture. When she opened them again to look up at Barry, there was that familiar glint of mischief in them: “So, are you going to save me from my impending doom a.k.a chocolate coma?”

“Depends,” Barry said teasingly.

“On what?”

“How good that 'heavenly' coffee of yours really is.”

“So what do you think of this educational film?” Cisco asked, turning off the tv and cutting off the jazzy theme song of the DVD menu, “Cool?”

“Super cool!” Wally agreed. Despite his enthusiastic reply, the boy couldn't completely mask the yawn he was stifling.

“But now you really should get ready for bed,” Caitlin said, whose watchful eye did not miss the tiredness the young speedster tried so hard to cover up.

“Awww,” Wally bemoaned, putting on his best puppy dog pout in an attempt to change Caitlin's mind.

He did not succeed.

“Sorry,” Caitlin apologized, looking sympathetic, “but you really have to get enough sleep; your body still has to adjust to your new powers and changed metabolism. That sort of thing requires a lot of energy. Besides,” the doctor added, smiling, “I don't think your grandpa would allow us to look after you anymore if he came back from work and you were still up... And that would be a shame, wouldn't it be?”

That was enough to make the 8-year-old admit his defeat. Yawning once more, he climbed up the stairs to change into his pajamas.

“Impressive,” Cisco commented from his position on the couch, munching on some peanuts, “though I'm afraid you just spoiled our chance of earning us the honorary title of 'cool aunt' and 'uncle' respectively.”

Caitlin just rolled her eyes: “With Barry being a superhero and Iris working as an investigative reporter, trying to fulfill her nephew's every wish, I think those titles are pretty much taken, Cisco.”

“Still,” the engineer pouted, shifting slightly to make space for his friend on the couch,” you totally should have let him stay up with us – it would have increased my chance of getting to be the 'cool uncle'!”

Caitlin rolled her eyes and sat down next to Cisco, taking a handful of peanuts: “I wasn't aware that I had to look after two children.”

Barry and Iris were lying stretched out on their picnic blanket, both completely stuffed and content.

“If only we could see the stars, then this night would be perfect,” Iris sighed, her head comfortably resting on Barry's chest.

“One of the side effects of light pollution,” Barry sighed, absentmindedly playing with Iris's hair, “it's called 'Sky glow'. Light in the city that is directed or reflected upwards via surfaces then is scattered by the atmosphere and directed back to the ground, making it look like there is a glowing dome over the city. It was recently estimated that one third of the world's population could no longer see the Milky Way, among them 80% of Americans and 60% of Europeans.“

Iris chuckles “Only you could turn a simple observation about a lack of stars into a real downer – all with the power of science.”

The forensic scientist blushed: “I didn't mean to-”

Fondly shaking her head, Iris propped herself up to cut him off with a kiss. “It's okay. Cutest nerd that I know, remember?”

[kennethherrerablog]

9 Best Money Transfer Apps for Sending Money Online

Does anyone carry cash anymore?

A recent study estimated 79 million adult Americans will use peer-to-peer payment services in 2019. This is an increase of 24 percent over last year, according to eMarketer, a market research company.

Why?

Because it’s never been easier, cheaper, and more efficient to send money online. Thanks to tons of free apps and minimal fees (if any!), these apps make it much easier than going to the bank to get cash.

Plus, it’s never been safer as companies make a huge effort and spend millions of dollars to protect your financial identity online. The best part though, is the convenience.

You don’t need to go to the bank’s ATM, try to avoid fees, break change at dinner, and worry about not having cash anymore.

12 Best Send Money Apps

Here’s everything you need to know about the best ways to send money, how to send it internationally, and some other best practices.

1. Apple Pay

Apple Pay may be the simplest way to send money if you use an iOS device. 

Before you get started, you will need to add your debit card to your iOS device. You can quickly access those settings by going to Settings and then scrolling down to Wallet & Apple Pay inside any iOS device.

Sending or Receiving Money | Apple Pay Apple Pay Send and Receive LimitsMinimumMaximum 7-day period$1$10,000 Per message$1$10,000

To request payment or send payment, simply create a text message for the person you are paying or requesting money from. Inside your text messages and right above the keyboard is a series of icons to choose from. Click on the one that has the Apple Pay logo. If you’re sending payment, you will need to enter in your password (fingerprint or retina scan) and the money will be sent instantly.

Note: This will only work with iOS devices.

2. Venmo

Venmo is a money transfer app that is actually owned by PayPal but operated separately. It’s more of a social sharing and payment platform than PayPal. This is my personal preferred method of sending money online.

One of the biggest perks is that it is 100% free if you send money from a bank account. If you choose to add a credit card and transfer money, there is a small fee as they have to deal with credit card processing fees. These fees are around 3% if you opt to use a credit or debit card.

All you need to send money is to make sure that both people download the app. Once you select an amount, type in what it’s for and push send.

Venmo Limits Sending/Receiving money to Venmo users$2,999.99 weekly limit Sending/Receiving money authorized merchants$2,000 per purchase (max 30 per day) $299.99 max for first-time users

The money will arrive instantly and can be transferred to your bank account within 2-3 business days. Plus, if you don’t have your app you can also pay with Venmo from their website.

Venmo is more of a social app than the others as you can see who is sending who money. But don’t worry, the amount of money you send isn’t displayed. If you don’t want others to see your activity make sure to log on to your profile and change these settings.

3. Google Wallet

Google Wallet is a very simple way to send money as the other person doesn’t even need to download the app. To get started sending money, log into your app and add your debit card or bank account information.

All you need is the email address or phone number to use the app to send money. As long as they have a Google account with a linked bank account or debit card, the other user can withdraw the funds. The max amount is $9,999 per transfer or $50,000 over a 5-day period.

Google Play Limits Single TransactionUp to $10,000 In 7 daysUP to $10,000 Florida residentsUp to $3,000 every 24 hours Transactions over $2,500Recipient will need to add a bank account to claim the money

A big plus with using Google Wallet is the amount of security you receive. As Google is one of the largest companies in the world, the security matches. Plus, if you somehow lose your phone you can disable and have the app removed from your phone from logging in online.

But, a major downside is that you aren’t able to pay using a credit card. Also, the bank transfers can up to 10 days!

4. Facebook Messenger

In Facebook’s attempt to take over the world, you can now use the social media sharing platform to transfer money not just mindlessly scroll through your newsfeed. They make it very simple to send money via the Messenger app.

All you need to do is download the app (if you haven’t already) and find the person you want to send money too. Hit the “$” sign in the chat and enter your debit card to complete the transaction. Once the other user receives the money they will also need to add a debit card to withdraw the funds.

As Facebook is worldwide, I was surprised to learn that you can only use this app to send money if you are both located in the United States. If you’re worried about safety, Facebook does allow you to add a pin and extra verifications once you add your debit card. The entire transfer process takes 1-3 business days.

Even though it’s a social media app don’t worry, your payment details aren’t displayed anywhere on your profile.

Note: Facebook messenger limits vary from country to country.

5. Square Cash

Square Cash is another app that allows you to send money to family and friends 100% free. You can use the app in two different ways. If the other person has a Square Cash account you can ask for their “cash tag” and do a money transfer. If you don’t have an account you can still pay by iMessage and Siri as well.

When you transfer money with Square Cash there is a service limit of $250 per week. But, if you go through the short verification you can increase your limit to $2,500!

Square Cash Limits Send money$250 per week Recieve money$1,000 per week Increase send limits up to $2,500 when you verify your account

The only real downside to using square cash is that you can’t use the service if you are outside the United States. Otherwise, it’s a very comparative payment option to Venmo.

If you run a business and want to use Square Cash they also have several options that allow you to use the app for payments.

6. Dwolla

Dwolla is a money sending app that allows you to transfer money from your bank account to others for a nominal fee. If the transfer is under $10 you won’t have any service fees and anything over is only .25 cents!

The max amount of money you can send from Dwolla is $5,000 for personal accounts and up to $10,000 for business accounts. All you need is the Dwolla ID of the other person/business, email, and phone number. If the other person doesn’t have an account yet it will prompt them to sign up for free.

Dwolla Limits Personal AccountSend up to $5,000 per transaction Business, Non-profit, and Government AccountsSend up to $10,000 per transaction You can apply for increased limits anytime. Approval is based on Dwolla's discretion.

Like Square Cash, Dwolla also has several business options to help you send money at a very minimal cost. You can receive higher limits, next day transfers, and better customer support. This is the best money sending app if you are wanting to use a money sending app for your business as well.

7. Zelle

Zelle is a great app to send money but you need to have an account with participating banks or signing up at clearxchange.com. They are becoming increasingly popular with the bigger banks  joining clearxchange.

There are currently over 400 banking partners with Zelle.

Here are a few of the bigger participating banks:

Chase Bank

Wells Fargo

U.S. Bank

Capital One

Ally Bank

Bank of America

To send money all you will need is the recipient’s email or phone number. Check with your bank to learn how to sign up for Zelle today or register at clearxchange.com.

Note: Limits to send money via Zelle are created by your own bank or credit union. If you use Zelle outside of your bank, the send limit is $500 per week.

8. Popmoney

While not as common as the other apps above, Popmoney is another app that lets you send money online. Popmoney has partnered with numerous banks and credit unions to send and request money from your mobile banking app.

Here are the current limits for Popmoney:

Popmoney Send Limits From yourFee (free to receive)Limit per dayLimit 30 days Bank Account$0.95$2,000$5,000 Debit Card$0.95$500$1,000

  Pop Money Receive Limits Request MoneyFee (free to receive)Limit per dayLimit 30 days Pay a requestFree$2,500$4,000 Send a request$0.95$1,000$2,500

You can send money to someone else who has Popmoney for free. Otherwise, it is only .95 cents to transfer the money.

9. PayPal

PayPal is one of the oldest and first apps to help send money both domestically and internationally as they are the preferred method of payment for eBay before being acquired by them.

If you have a personal PayPal account you can send money free as long as the other person has a personal account. While you can transfer from a business account, there a few more steps to open the account and transaction fees as well.

To send money, log on to the app or website and make sure you have the intended recipients phone number or email address. You can choose to send the money from your bank, debit card, or credit cards. If you use a PayPal balance or your bank account there are no transaction costs.

But if you choose to use a credit or debit card there is a 2.9% fee plus 30 cents. The fees are even higher when sending money abroad. Two major perks are the security and total amount (up to $10,000) to send money.

Plus, PayPal is on the send money apps on the list that allows you to send money internationally. Below are the most common ways to send money outside the United States.

Note: There is no limits on sending or receiving money via Paypal with a verified account (linking your bank account or credit card).

10. Walmart 2 Walmart Transfers

Walmart is a great place to shop and save money each month for your budget. Now you can also send cash! This is a cheaper option than using Western Union or Moneygram. Plus, it’s convenient as you might already be shopping there on a regular basis.

You can use their transfer service to send to other Walmart’s around the country. The maximum amount you can transfer is $2,500 and costs vary depending on transfer amount.

A potential downside is that not every Walmart does offer the transfer service although a majority do. Make sure to check their website to ensure your Walmart does offer the money sending service.

11. Cash

If you’re old-fashioned or sell some stuff as a side hustle and have extra cash, you can still pay the old school way. While I’ll never recommend sending cash in the mail, it’s still an option. If you do, make sure that the postage is insured just in case!

Otherwise, I recommending switching to one of these send money apps to increase your security and not waste time finding the closest ATM.

12. Bank Transfers

While it’s not an app like most of the others on this list, you can still use old-fashioned bank transfers to send money to friends or family if you have the same bank. If they bank at a different establishment there is almost always a transfer fee which can range depending on institutions and overall amount.

Transaction fees are the main reason I don’t recommend using bank transfer to send money as you can avoid it with most of these apps.

8 Ways to Send Money Internationally

The methods above making sending money easy, but when it comes to sending money internationally it’s not always as simple but still easier than it ever has been. It is more difficult because of higher regulations, fraud, and different banking operations.

Here are the best and cheapest ways to send money internationally.

1. PayPal

As I mentioned, PayPal is one of the most secure and best ways to send money online. When you use a bank account there is a very small processing fee and a higher fee if you choose to use a credit card as the form of payment.

Depending on where you are located it might even be cheaper to use a credit card instead of a bank account. Make sure to compare both before hitting send.

PayPal is very easy and very secure as it’s payment giant. But, there are some restrictions that don’t make it always the best experience. Depending on location and verification you can only send limited amounts of money.

If you try to do more or PayPal thinks it’s fraud, they can freeze your account and make it difficult to reopen. Usually, you will have to contact a call center and go through additional verification steps before sending money.

2. TransferWise

TransferWise is a U.K. company that allows you to send money internationally to select countries. The best part is that the fees are minimal and you only pay the actual exchange rates. Plus, the daily amounts are incredibly high compared with other platforms!

There is a $50,000 daily limit and $250,000 annually. If you do business internationally this is also a great option as you can send $250,000 daily and $1 million per year!

If you want to start download their mobile app today.

3. Western Union

Western Union has been a way to send money internationally for decades and is the biggest money transfer company in the world. To send money you can go into one of their locations internationally, use their app or their website.

You can choose to use cash or a debit card to fund the money transfer and can be direct deposited or picked up by the recipient at a Western Union location. The delivery options make this one of the biggest perks along with low fees and a very small exchange rate markup.

The biggest downside of using Western Union is the costs and delivery time. The cheaper the transfer usually the longer it will take to be delivered.

4. OFX

OFX is very similar to Transferwise and doesn’t charge fees regardless of how much money you are sending! They make their money by taking a cut on the exchange rate for transfers.

They are also great if you are transferring a large sum of money as the minimum amount to transfer is $1,000. This is relatively high as others on the list have a minimum between $50-$100.

Another perk of using OFX to send money internationally is that you get a discount the more you use the service. If you are sending money abroad on a regular basis, this can help save you tons of money over time. Unlike Transferwise, they do not have daily limits and have incredible 24-hour support if you are having any issues.

Get started with OFX today!

5. MoneyGram

MoneyGram is a large money sending platform that operates in over 200 countries and has 350,000 locations! They are the biggest competitor of Western Union and offer the ability to send money to other locations and have the money picked up almost instantly.

What’s the catch with using Moneygram?

The fees.

If you send between $200 and $1,000 the costs will range from $10-$25 and exchange rates can make it even worse. The average exchange rate adds another 1-6% on your transaction fees. This can add up if you are regularly sending money abroad!

6. Xoom

Xoom is the sister app of Venmo and also owned by PayPal. Think of them as the Venmo abroad.

While Xoom doesn’t service as many countries as Western Union or Moneygram, it does makeup in how fast the transfers happen. They still operate in 70 countries and allow you to send up to $25,000 to some countries.

You can choose to pay with credit card, debit card, or bank account and most transfers happen instantly.

The biggest downside?

High costs when using your debit or credit card. Depending on where you are located it can be a substantial amount.

If both parties are using bank accounts this is one of your best options! Make sure to check out their free online calculator to help you evaluate the fees before sending money abroad.

7. Wire Transfer With Your Bank

One of the easiest but not cheapest ways to send money online is a traditional wire transfer. You will have to deal with bank fees and depending on the bank, an exchange rate markup. The transaction can take a few days due to banking regulations and where the money is being transferred.

If you are transferring a large amount of money this is the option I would recommend. While it is more expensive it’s also much more secure.

Most Frequently Asked Questions About Sending Money Apps

Here are some of the most commonly asked questions to help ease your financial concerns about sending money online.

How long will my transfers take to complete?

It depends on each of the apps and providers. Some will help you send or receive money faster than others. Generally, it will be between 1-3 business days while some take closer to 3-5 days. Remember that if you transfer money on a weekend or holiday it will take longer to complete the transaction due to banking regulations.

Is this safe to transfer money through an app?

Yes, security is a major concern. Like anything online, there is always a small risk but these companies spend millions on advanced software and highly qualified engineers to ensure you are protected.

That being said, make sure to review your bank accounts and app usage to ensure there isn’t any charges you don’t recognize.

What are the main types of fees with these apps?

There are two main fees associated with sending money through apps or bank transfers. The first is the transfer fee which can be a percentage of the total amount, flat fee or a combination of both like PayPal.

The other fee is the exchange rate markup that only occurs if you are sending money internationally. These fees will differ from each app and depend a lot on the currency you are using.

Some companies, like OFX, don’t charge transfer fees but instead take a cut of the exchange rate markup. Make sure to double check these fees as different countries have very different costs associated with them.

Final Thoughts on Best Sending Money Apps

As you can see, it’s never been cheaper and easier to send money to friends and family. Domestically there are plenty of options. I personally love Venmo but after researching this post other top recommendations include Apple Pay, Google Wallet, Zelle and PayPal. If you want to send money domestically and prefer a brick and mortar go with Western Union, Moneygram or Walmart.

When it comes to sending money internationally this might require a little more research on your end as fees can vary between different companies. My biggest piece of advice is to use the one that is the cheapest by making sure you are shopping around.

Lastly, try not to use credit cards for sending money as most of these charge higher fees than a debit card or bank account. Any extra money you can save the better!

What is your favorite sending money app for friends and families? Have you ever send money internationally with an app or were you worried about security?

Let us know in the comments!

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