Natural skin care products are top sellers in the skin care market. More and more people are recognizing that the chemicals used in big brand name skin care products are not good for us, or our skin, and turning to natural alternatives, both for skin care products, hair care products and cosmetics.Here’s 6 skin care tips for getting healthy good looking skin, for free. Because although the best natural skin care and anti aging products are spectacularly effective, there is more that you can do than just using organic skin care products.1. Improve your diet.Like it or not, our diet affects our entire body, and our skin. Our skin is an organ of our body like any other organ, and like the other organs our skin can get unhealthy from an unhealthy diet. But as everyone sees your skin it’s a highly visible result of a poor diet.This applies to all skin types, whether you have oily skin or dry skin or or any skin type, poor diet will affect the health, and look, of your skin. Skip the burgers and pizzas in favor of fruit and vegetables and your skin will look way better, and you’ll be healthier.2. Avoid big brand name cosmetics and skin care products. These products, including such things as hair care treatments, hair removal treatments, popular cosmetics, many facial and body care products and more contain chemicals that can both be harmful to your health and also damaging to your skin. Ironically, skin care products and cosmetics can actually cause skin problems. Junk your big brand name products.The author has personal experience with this. My young daughter was given traditional cosmetics by her ballet studio for her first ballet concert a few years ago, and immediately broke out in a nasty skin reaction. We now use our own (natural) cosmetics for her and there has been no repeat.3. Make yourself stick to a regular exercise routine. Exercise improves blood circulation, and this is good for your skin, and for your whole body. Exercise has so many benefits it’s hard to know where to start, and this includes improved skin health.4. Pay attention to getting plenty of beneficial essential oils in your diet. This includes omega 3 which comes from eating fish as well as some other foods. Omega 3 is good for your skin, and your overall health. You can get omega 3 from good (natural) supplements, but if you’re on a budget just find out which foods contain omega 3 and eat those. Do a little research and find a good source of omega 3 essential oil and include this in your diet regularly.5. Drink plenty of water. Your body, as well as your skin, needs to stay hydrated. If you don’t drink water this will impact your overall health as well as your skin health. Water is important for many things in your body, including skin health.6. Start dry brush exfoliation. It sounds complicated, but exfoliation is just using a soft, dry brush to gently brush your skin. Why would you want to brush your skin? Dry brush exfoliation helps remove the dead skin cells that all of us have on the surface of our skin.And you don’t just brush the skin on your face either, you should brush your entire body. It is done by gently brushing in small circles from your feet right up to your face. Dry brush exfoliation also helps improve your blood circulation in your skin, and lymph circulation.There’s 6 things you can do for free to help improve your skin beauty routine. In fact you can even save some money, for example fruits and vegetables are usually cheaper than burgers and pizzas. And if you regularly do these 6 things they will improve your skin health over time, and you will see the results. And your body will thank you for it with improved health overall.One last thing. Once you’ve junked your big brand name skin care products and cosmetics and hair and facial and body care products, find some high quality natural skin care products. They work better than the big brand name products (many of which do nothing at all), and they are made from safe non allergenic ingredients. Science is finding answers to skin aging and skin health, and they come from safe plant extracts such as shea butter and natural keratin.Stay health, stay fit and stay hydrated and your skin will do the same.
4 Ways To Do Christmas Frugally
It can be a very difficult time of year for many people. But does Christmas necessarily need to destroy your bank balance? Or can you take steps to have a more frugal festive holiday?
I have been celebrating the Christmas season for over 30 years now, and one thing I’ve learned over that time is Christmas is about one thing. And that is being surrounded by the people you love (and eating way too much food).
So you really don’t need to spend a fortune to have a fantastic Christmas, and these 4 ways will demonstrate how you can do frugally and for less cash.
Recommended article: 12 Days Of Spectacular Frugal Christmas Tips
Plan Ahead of Time
You should consider running your Christmas like a business. I don’t mean you need to fire Grandpa for falling asleep after dinner, but instead, keep a tight watch on the spending.
And the best way to manage the Christmas finances is to plan, and in order to do this successfully, you need to start early.
The more planning you do the more money you can save. Much like a business would, you should ensure you have everything planned with military precision. That way you are left without costly last-minute surprises.
And the more time you have to plan, the more creative with your spending you can be. You could even start thinking about making some gifts yourself, experimenting in the kitchen, or even getting your gift wrap and crackers the year before.
Did you know gift wrap and crackers are usually 75% less than retail price just a few days after Christmas day?
Save the Year Before
If you really want to have a positive impact on your finances start setting aside money for Christmas the day after. And yes I mean the day after Christmas for the following year. A little saved often is far less impactful both on a physiological and practical level.
It also means that you can afford some treats over the festive period. It is all well and good living frugally, but everyone needs to let their hair down with a drink and something nice to nibble on once in awhile.
Set aside a few dollars each week over the course of 50 weeks building up to Christmas. Even saving just $10 a week will give you a nice $500 package for the holidays.
Shop Smart
When you’re thinking about Christmas gift ideas you should make sure what you are buying is not too expensive. Don’t get carried away and try to think outside the box.
Practical gifts are often way more affordable.
And let’s be honest, far more useful in the long term.
You don’t necessarily need to buy socks and pencils, but something that is useful will be much better and definitely worth the money you do have to spend.
Recommended article: 13 Wonderfully Awesome Christmas Gift Ideas For Men
Cashback
You can’t escape the fact that Christmas is a time of year when you need to spend money. But if you really want to be frugal, then make sure you are getting some of that money back.
Cashback is a great way to get back 2-10% of the total purchase price – and there are countless providers offering this service.
TopCashback has been one of my favourites for many years now.
And if you need to spend the money anyway, you may as well get something in return. If you are spending a total of $1000 on gifts over Christmas, and you are able to get an average of 5% back for all purchases, then that’s $50 for your wallet.
And you can always double down on the savings by searching for discount codes and promotional offers as well.
It truly is a lot easier to have a frugal Christmas than you may think.
Financial Worries Before Christmas
Money Worries
Christmas is a wonderful time of year for so many people. We get to spend time with family and friends, share stories, moments, food, and love.
But for a great number of people, the festive season also brings with it worry, stress and uncertainty. I’m talking of course about the financial struggle Christmas can impose.
Almost every year since 2008 the American consumer has increased spending on holiday gifts.
And according to a study by the National Retail Federation, Americans were projected to spend more money on gifts in 2019 than they ever have before.
Keeping up with this need to spend such a large amount of money for the Christmas holidays is totally unsustainable for some. And not only that, but the stress and anxiety to ‘fit in’ with the popular trend are deeply concerning.
So is the answer more borrowing and more debt?
Or is there a better way to solve your Christmas Financial worries?
Mindset Shift
One of the easiest ways to avoid this dramatic overspending is to fundamentally shift the way you think about Christmas. The festive period can be thought of as more than just an abhorrent first world splurge on consumer goods.
Remember the reason we celebrate Christmas in the first place and what it actually means for your family. It’s time to come together and reflect on the year that has passed. Lavish gifts are not required to get the full joy of this experience.
It is more difficult to implement this tectonic shift in thinking when you have children. Of course, you need to be mindful of their expectations, their friendship groups, and the limited number of years they have to enjoy the magic of the holiday from a child’s perspective.
But you can still achieve all of this by spending more frugally and making a conscious effort to not drain your savings.
Recommended article: 12 Days Of Spectacular Frugal Christmas Tips
Plan Ahead
Personal finances can be managed much more effectively with more time. Therefore, planning your Christmas and the gifts you buy is a great way to avoid excessive spending. The earlier you begin this process, the better you are able to spend within the framework of your budget.
And more often than not, with the use of tools such as cashback, the more money you are able to save. And saving money is the key to well managed personal finances. It is when we go beyond our budget that we run into problems.
I suggest you start thinking about a specific Christmas budget months before the event. Also, start segregating your savings so that you know you can afford what you need to spend.
After all, everyone wants to be able to enjoy the holidays as much as is feasibly possible. But under no circumstances should you splurge and think paying back at a later date is a good idea.
Recommended article: 13 Wonderfully Awesome Christmas Gift Ideas For Men
Long Term Plan
With long term planning in place and a new mindset instilled, your Christmas personal finances should be on the right path for years to come.
Christmas can be an amazing reflective experience and many people I know actually forgo gift-giving altogether. They use their time to help those less fortunate.
if we could all adopt this sort of mentality when thinking about Christmas, it would alleviate the financial pressures on everybody. This is not something that will happen overnight, but the change is already beginning to occur.
Being on this side of the Christmas financial equation could save you a fortune over the years, and make your Christmas experience less stressful and far more altruistic.