Stephanie Taylor Christensen, Author at MintLife Blog

Saving

Lifehacks to Keep Your Wants Vs. Needs in Check

January 14, 2014 / Stephanie Taylor Christensen

Identifying the difference between the things you want and what you really need is a key aspect to sticking to your budget, but there are plenty of clever “lifehacks” to make the process a whole lot more rewarding and less...

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Saving

How to Turn Last Year’s Budget-Busters Into This Year’s Gains

January 3, 2014 / Stephanie Taylor Christensen

Looking for a way to transform your financial standing this year? Turn last year’s biggest financial weaknesses into this year’s gain. Here’s how. Use your annual budget data to plan against pitfalls. Seeing the sum total of your spending for...

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How To

5 Ways to Get More Done — By Doing Less

August 14, 2013 / Stephanie Taylor Christensen

Tony Schwartz, CEO of The Energy Project, garnered national media attention this year after writing an opinion piece called “Relax! You’ll Be More Productive” for The New York Times. In it, he argues that though running ourselves ragged is par...

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Financial IQ

4 Ways to Save on Your Beauty and Health Regimens

June 3, 2013 / Stephanie Taylor Christensen

Whether you’re a beauty product maven or decidedly frugal when spending on hair and skin care products, turning away from mass marketed products and towards natural beauty solutions (many of which multi-task) is an easy way to keep yourself-and your budget—looking...

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Trends

Living Below the Line: 5 Lessons From Living on a $1.50 a Day Food Budget

May 6, 2013 (Last Modified: September 6, 2021) / Stephanie Taylor Christensen

No matter how frugal a food-budgeter you are, eating on a $1.50 a day—the amount a person living in extreme poverty has to spend on their food—isn’t easy. Having just completed the Live Below The Line challenge, a campaign that...

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How To

6 Steps to Starting an Emergency Fund

April 4, 2013 / Stephanie Taylor Christensen

The common sense side of you likely knows you need money for life’s little unplanned events, but how much do you really need? More importantly, how do you find the breathing room in your budget to build savings? Here’s how...

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Trends

What are Divorce Loans?

March 29, 2013 / Stephanie Taylor Christensen

Money is cited as the number two reason that couples divorce. Ironically, it can become an even bigger issue once the marriage ends, and divorce proceedings begin. Larry Rich, Divorce Magazine contributor and senior partner at Rich Rotstein estimates average...

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Financial Goals

4 Steps to Start Living Within Your Means

February 28, 2013 / Stephanie Taylor Christensen

Wondering how you’ll ever get to a point where you make enough money to feel a sense of financial freedom? If you’re currently living beyond your means, the truth is, you may never get to that point, regardless of your...

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How To

Unusual Ways to Improve Concentration and Increase Productivity

February 26, 2013 / Stephanie Taylor Christensen

In our fast-paced, competitive society, discovering ways to be more productive is in high-demand. There are countless productivity-related smartphone apps available and the website ProductiveMindset.com, which was founded in 2010 by entrepreneur Christopher Spence offers tips on how to get...

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Housing Finances

4 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Investing in Home Improvements

February 21, 2013 / Stephanie Taylor Christensen

Whether you’re sprucing up your home because the lagging real estate market has left you no choice but to “stay put” for a few more years, or you’re simply ready to take your home’s appearance to a new level, making...

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