7 Ideas to Help You Recharge in September (Without Spending a Fortune!)

If New Year’s is the time for resolutions, Labor Day is the time to sit back, take a deep breath and decompress. Summer is supposed to be fun and laid back, but for many of us, it’s a whirlwind capped off by back to school craziness. September is a good time to reflect on how much you’ve accomplished in the past year and take some time for yourself. This will help you find the energy and motivation to end the year with the bang.

Since most of us don’t have the option of taking the entire month off and run off to a spa with a life coach, trainer and beautician, here are seven inexpensive ways to help you recharge in September.

1. Make your own personal soundtrack. Include the songs that make you feel inspired, motivated and pumped up. You can use a service like Spotify to compile a playlist for free or use the CDs and MP3s that you already own.

Even better, you can share your playlist with your friends and ask them to share theirs with you! And once you have your soundtrack, blast it while you exercise, do housework or simply dance around the house. This is practically guaranteed to reduce the amount of stress you are carrying around in your body and help you to feel focused and motivated.

2. Make dates for lunch, tea or drinks with old friends. Catching up and reconnecting is good for the mind and spirit. Be sure to pencil in a lot of time so that you can relax and lose yourself in the conversation instead of watching the clock.

3. Take time to get to know somebody new. Too often, as adults, we forget to open up our lives to new friends. Think about somebody you’ve met recently and would like to get to know better and invite them out. Look for free and interesting activities, for example a free day at the local art museum. This will give you a “reason” for asking and serve as a natural conversation starter.

4. Dedicate time every week to lose yourself in a great book. Don’t forget that many libraries have e-books that can be downloaded to your reader as well as traditional paper books. If you aren’t a fan of reading, try audio books (also available at the library), graphic novels or any other culturally-enriching activity that you enjoy but never seem to be able to make time for.

5. Find your ideal sleep schedule. Too many of us have completely crazy sleep schedules and wind up feeling tired, grouchy and unfocused most of the time. Start making sleep a priority. It will take some trial and error but once you find a time to go to bed so that you wake up refreshed, stick with it. Getting enough sleep is the best beauty aid and sleep tonic that you can get and it’s free!

(Note: if you find that you can’t get a good night’s sleep no matter what you do, it’s worth the co-pay to see a doctor.)

6. Do something good for somebody else. It might seem counter-intuitive, but for most people, doing something altruistic, like volunteer work produces a natural high. Serving others help us feel more grounded, humble, grateful and shows us how very much we have to give to the world. Giving really is better than receiving. For best results, find a way to give that makes good use of your natural talents and interests.

7. Get plenty of sunlight and fresh air. For most of us, September is a month of more moderate temperatures. The weather is cooling down so that it’s comfortable to be outdoors all day and there is still plenty of sunshine. Soak up as much of it as you can in anticipation of the shorter days coming in the winter. Give all of your senses a workout as you enjoy the sights, scents, sounds and textures that Mother Nature has to offer.

What are your favorite ways to relax and recharge?

Tagged as: Better Yourself

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11 Last-Minute Gift Ideas for Under $15

It’s that time again. You think you’ve got presents for everyone on your list, but somehow you forgot Great Aunt Noonie. Or your neighbor pops over with a gift and now you want to return the sentiment. What do you get?

The internet is usually my first resource for finding gifts, but now you have the dreaded shipping-and-handling issue to deal with. Sure, you could get it in time, but pay through the nose to get it overnighted. Plus, the stores are emptying faster than a beer keg at a frat party. But don’t despair.

Here are 11 last-minute gift ideas that can help you spread some cheer without giving yourself an ulcer in the process.

There are many places to buy these, inlcluding Amazon.com. They can start from as little as $3 per year and will usually come with an e-card or printable gift card that you can pop in an envelope.

With the enormous popularity of the iPhone and other smartphones, it makes sense that gifts for these phones are also increasing in number. You can now buy apps as gifts, with many apps giving you the option to “gift this app.” Most apps are well under $10, so maybe you can gift a few. You can also add a personalized message.

Well, that’s a broad term, but nothing says you care like something home-made and delicious. From jams and jellies to cakes and cookies, they’re usually something you can make within a day. Wrap them in something nice and wait for the smiles. It sure beats a tie.

I did a whole post on this, and while some people think it objectionable, most see it as a way to make someone happy with a gift that you personally don’t like. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, but you must of course follow the re-gifting guidelines.

I’ve had Netflix for a few years now, although recently it has come into its own thanks to instant streaming through the Wii and Roku. For just $7.99 for the first month, you can give someone the gift of a whole month of streaming movies. It’s a little more for a month that includes DVDs, but it’s still a great gift that can be delivered instantly via email. Amazon.com also offers movies on demand, and you can buy credits to use in the Movies On Demand section of Amazon. Again, it’s instant and will be enjoyed by many over the holiday season.

If you don’t have time to run out and buy a CD, you can give your gift recipient a code that will let them download it themselves. Most albums are available through iTunes for $10, and the iTunes program will let you print the gift certificate, or email it to your friend or relative. Just go to the iTunes store and click the Buy iTunes Gifts button on the top right, under Quick Links.

If music isn’t their cup of tea, you can always pick up gift cards for a wide variety of stores from the checkouts of your local grocery stores. They start at $5 and show a little more thought than just throwing a few bills in an envelope.

Procrastinators of the world, unite. You have friends in some very big corporations. The biggest is Amazon, who is offering free 1-day shipping on over 15,000 items. You can bag jewelry, watches, clothing, toys and a whole lot more for under $15 and still get it before the big day.

This is a double-whammy. Not only can you get something very quickly and print it out, but you also get huge savings. Groupon deals are different for every city but they are always worth checking it. For instance, at the time of writing this article, the Groupon for my city, Denver, was a $30 meal at an Indian restaurant for just $15. Other regular Groupon deals include spa treatments, magazine subscriptions, dance classes and a lot more.

This isn’t for everyone, but then again, art is in the eye of the beholder. All you need is a little paint (or whatever else you have laying around) and something to paint on. You could go for the traditional canvas, they start at just a few dollars at places like Michaels and Joann’s. You could decorate pottery. You could use fabric paint on a t-shirt. You can glue shells to bottles if you like. It’s up to you. But it’s unique, it shows you really care, and it’s quick and inexpensive.

It’s estimated that 1 in 2 American’s now have a Facebook account. And games are one of the most popular features of this website. Of course, like most things in life, there can be costs associated with the fun, and many games have premium items associated with them.  For instance, my Achilles Heel is Bejeweled Blitz, and if I want extra credits for power-ups, I can pay for them. Other games even come with merchandise and collectibles. If you know someone who is hooked on Facebook games, the gift of Facebook Credits may go down very well. Target and Walmart both carry $10 Facebook Credits gift cards, and you can also buy them online for instant redemption.

If you have any more ideas, please share. It is the season of giving after all. From everyone at Wise Bread, have a very happy and safe Holiday season.

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Execution, Not Ideas, is Key. Duh!

My wife was all excited when she came to me with a business idea. She happily explained the ins and outs of it, when I said "Great! Now go start the site."

"Wait," she interrupted. "I was expecting you to turn this awesome idea into reality..."

I'm well-versed in this type of conversation now, actually. People who know me personally have heard that I was having a bit of luck with "this whole internet thing," and someone would mention their idea to me every once in a while thinking I will make it happen and give them half the proceeds.

"That sounds like a terrific idea," I usually respond, "but there is quite a bit on my plate right now." You see, it's not that those ideas aren't good. Most of them are actually brilliant. Yet, the exciting part is not the idea. I'm not short of ideas. In fact, I bet most successful entrepreneurs have a ton of those, too. It's just that even though the idea is important, brilliance is only possible with persistent execution.

Was McDonald's the first fast food store ever opened? Did Walmart invent retail? And is Facebook the first social media website ever created? Hardly. Yet, they still opened shop, worked hard at it, improved on an existing idea, and are now considered innovators in their respective industry.

You can even use a boring idea to get started, but with witty execution, you can turn dull into shiny.

Ever heard of someone who told you that you are wasting your talent? To me, there is no such thing as wasting your talent. Someone made that exact comment to me a few years back. "You are wasting your talent." What he really meant was "You are wasting your time and you don't have the talent in the department of work ethics."

You see, having the discipline to work hard when everyone is out partying is talent. Plowing forward when you don't necessary know what is ahead is a talent, and believing in yourself through countless rejection is a talent, too. But sadly, having clever ideas is not a talent.

Don't keep telling yourself that you could be successful if you just tried harder. That is just an excuse. You are either succeeding or you are not. If you aren't trying, you don't have the talent of being able to work hard.

Do you have a business idea? Put it in action.Are you in a miserable job? Start looking for another one.Do you wish you had a better relationship with everyone? Start by acting less selfish.Are you overweight? Start exercising.Don't have time? Make time. Because if you fail, you can try again.

Stop making excuses and just do it already. Don't wait!

Everybody can come up ideas, but few have the courage and wits to execute them. There are successful people and there are others. You decide which you will be.

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85 Easy, Frugal Halloween Costume Ideas

I'm not crafty, but I know a good costume idea when I see one. That's why I was overwhelmed with the number of high-quality, affordable DIY costume ideas for adults, kids, and even pets available online and in some of my favorite magazines. Check out these links to some excellent tutorials. Most costumes can be made in a few hours or less — and are done with even the most limited budget!

All You Magazine's 7 Easy Halloween Costumes for Kids — This roundup includes directions for a robot, butterfly, a bunch of grapes, flower girl, baby bat, and lizard.

Family Fun Magazine's 13 Last-Minute Costume Ideas — These can easily be adapted for adults, and they are perfect for the parent who forgot to plan ahead and couldn't buy or make a costume in time for the big holiday! Ideas include Spa Princess and Miss Universe (as well as some "pun-based" ideas that may or may not be as popular).

Woman's Day 15 Print-and-Color Masks — If the weather is chilly, and your costume will be covered by a parka and gloves, anyway, you may want to consider a mask! These printables are easy to color, cut, and wear (and make a super activity for kids to participate in long after the holiday is over).

Like this? How about WD's 7 Super Easy One-Hour Costume Ideas? These include some pretty creative costumes, including my favorite — the mad scientist!

Real Simple's 8 Last-Minute Halloween Costumes — I'm not sure I like the outdated Broccoli Spears idea, but the rest on this list are cute and clever. If you have just a few minutes to throw something together, this is the list for you! (Includes highway, bubble bath, the impressive jellyfish!)

Ready Made's 13 Eleventh Hour Halloween Getups — These tongue-in-cheek costumes are probably best for the ambitious adult, but all of them take little time to create. Choose from Bubble Wrap Man, Cereal Killer, Freudian Slip, and more.

Woman's Day 3 Darling DIY Dog Costumes — These work well for anyone who has a dog too large to squeeze into a infant costume (which can be used for some breeds of dogs). Adapt them for cats, too! (We like the little Frenchman the best.)

Lifehacker's 14 Homemade Halloween Reader Gallery Costumes — There aren't instructions for these super-creative, reader-submitted ideas...but I think you get the picture.

Working Mother's 5 Go-to Halloween Getups — These adorable ideas for younger kids, like ladybug and cowboy, use things you probably have lying around the house (like pantyhose and winter gloves). There are even shortcuts for those of us less motivated moms!

Don't forget Wise Bread! We've got our fair share of tips for simple and creative costumes, too! You can check out our homemade costumes, cheap online shopping sources, cheap and easy kids costumes, and why spending more may be better.

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