Introduction

As a female entrepreneur, it’s important to prioritize your money. You’re always going to spend money and there is nothing you can do about that. However, if you start budgeting your money and controlling where it goes, then you can save more of it, and in turn, have more money to invest in yourself and your business setting you up for financial freedom. Here are some tips that I implemented in my own life that afforded me the opportunity to save money as a female entrepreneur:

Stop eating out and cook at home

This is a big one. We all know that eating out is expensive, but it’s also a luxury. It’s not something you need to do every day or even once a week to be happy and healthy (and if you’re an entrepreneur, it definitely isn’t). It’s easy to turn into an unhealthy habit when there are so many options available at any time of the day — especially if your office has free lunch!

Cooking at home will save you money and help keep your diet on track. You’ll also have more energy for work because cooking doesn’t require as much effort as going out does. Plus, by making meals from scratch rather than buying pre-packaged foods from the grocery store or ordering delivery every night of the week (or even multiple times per week), you’ll avoid unnecessary calories and additives that could affect how well your body functions during stressful periods like those caused by running an online business!

Budget

Budgeting is a key component of any successful business. It’s important to stay on top of your finances and make sure that your business has enough capital to keep going. Here are some tips for creating a budget:

• Assess your finances
• Create a budget based on what you have to spend, not what you want to spend
• Stick to it

Cut out alcohol or other expensive vices

Cutting out alcohol or other expensive vices is a good first step. Whether it’s weekend boozy brunches with your girls, or meeting them for cocktails after work, this can be an unhealthy vice when done in excess and a potential hole in your pocket. If you want to turn up with the crew, buy a bottle and hang at the house!

Negotiate

Negotiation is the process of bargaining with a vendor, supplier or business partner on price and other terms. The key phrase to negotiation is “Is that the best you can do?” You must be willing to walk away from a deal if they say no.

You should never feel bad about asking for what you want or negotiating a better deal. If you feel uncomfortable asking for something, try using these phrases:

• “I really like this item but it’s just out of my budget.”
• “I would love to make this purchase but I need some help with pricing.”

Sell or swap clothing

It’s true that we all have items in our closet that have been gently worn, and would perhaps be a better fit for someone else, especially if it’s been months or years since it has been worn. If you have some clothes or accessories you are no longer using and want to get rid of them, consider selling them online or swapping them with another female entrepreneur.

• Sell your gently used clothing on Poshmark (or other similar apps). You can earn extra cash by selling your used clothes at a fraction of the price they were purchased for!
• Swap with friends! If there are other entrepreneurs in your life who love fashion as much as you do, ask if they’d be interested in swapping some of their unused items with yours instead of purchasing something new.

No to upgrades

When you’re working on a tight budget, your money should go towards things that make the biggest difference. That means no upgrades and splurges. If you need a new phone or laptop, buy one of those old models at half price. You can also check out Craigslist for deals in your area–you may find someone who’s selling their old computer for less than it would cost to buy a brand-new one!

If there’s something else on your wishlist that seems like an absolute necessity (like a fancy pair of shoes), try waiting until after payday before buying them so that your spending stays within budget more often than not.

Move items from your Amazon cart into your wish list.

Amazon is a great place to find deals on everything from makeup to books. But did you know that Amazon also allows customers to add items they’re interested in buying to their wish lists? This is an easy way to save money and keep track of what items you want without actually buying them just yet.

You can even use Wish List as a tool for gift-giving purposes: When someone asks what they should get you for your birthday or Christmas, just send them this list!

Don’t buy everything new.

Buying new things is fun, but it can also be expensive. You may have heard that buying used saves you money and helps the environment, but there’s more to it than that: buying used items also has a lot of aesthetic benefits!

• First off, if you’re looking for something specific (like a vintage typewriter), then you’ll find what you need at a thrift store or flea market much faster than in an ordinary store. You might even get lucky enough to find something better than what was available when this item was first released on the market!
• Second of all, by shopping secondhand rather than purchasing new goods from retailers like Amazon or Walmart (or even eBay), we’re supporting local businesses that employ people in our communities–and those local jobs are vital for keeping our economy strong in these uncertain times.*

Buy in bulk and freeze food that may go bad before you eat it.

One of the easiest ways to save money is by buying in bulk. If you shop at Sam’s Club, Costco or BJ’s then this is an option for you. However, if not then look for another grocery store that sells its products in bulk and try it out! You will be surprised how much money this can save over time and also how much food lasts longer than normal packaging would suggest it would. Plus there are many ways to freeze food (if it doesn’t already come frozen) so that it doesn’t go bad before eating!

Outsource what is not in your zone of genius so you can focus more on your business.

As a female entrepreneur, you know that time is money and if certain tasks require extra help to maximize efficiency, go for it. If you are not good at graphic design or web development (or whatever else) then outsource that work so that you can focus more on what makes your business unique: YOU!

Conclusion

In the end, there is no right or wrong way to save money as a female entrepreneur. You just have to find what works for you. Keep in mind that there are many different ways to save money, so don’t feel like your only option is cutting out expensive vices or shopping in thrift stores. If all else fails, try using these tips as inspiration for creating something new!

It’s not that I chose to drop the addies, but rather, they chose to drop me…I lost them.  All of them.  3 full bottles of 30mg, not the extended release but the original orange pills that you could break down and feed yourself a cute little 5mg with a black coffee and call it brunch.  Oh Adderall, how I loved you.  Me and every over or underachieving college student, financier, lawyer, doctor, athlete, you name it! Amphetamines don’t discriminate on whom they can speed up or help focus with crystal clarity.  This is not a writeup on the benefits of adderall, but rather how you’re better off not taking them to begin with. 

4 years ago I lost an adderall reserve I had been stashing for years.  Not only was my sacred stash gone, but so was my health insurance.  Like a large majority of millennials, I was working for a company that did not provide health insurance and I was knocked off of my parents healthcare plan at the age of 26.  I had known the lapse of my healtcare coverage was coming. I was prepared for it.  I stockpiled my adderall for years prior in preparation, knowing I would no longer be able to afford my crutch for success without insurance.  

One day, in the midst of a chaotic NYC move, I was unpacking my belongings in my new place only to realize I had lost my most important box.  A moment that claimed a space in my psyche for longer than I’d like to admit.  At that time I hadn’t been without my beloved pill since 18 years old.  It got me through college! Embarrassing to say but it’s true.  I was not alone in the this, it was an openly shared habit amongst everyone I knew. No one ever seemed to be ashamed, but more so proud to say they had access to something that could help them achieve such high levels of success. On the surface it seemed to be that way, but was that reality?

Coming off adderall was a blur.  I felt tired for what no joke was almost a year.  To this day I have never felt so awake as the days I was on it.  Post use feels like a persistent  heaviness behind the eyes that could easily be lifted with the not so subtle boost of amphetamines.  

Along with a loss of adderol was my concentration. It was out the window so to speak.  With the help of social media, procrastination in the form of literal mindless scrolling is the easiest way to escape reality while seeming busy.  Tuning out is second nature.  With all that is going on in the world, it America’s favorite hobby to dive deep into the sunken abyss of the internet.

Neither here. nor there, I write this as a message to anyone who can relate. Know that no substance has a hold over you. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel, and while life without your crutch may seem unattainable, you are far better off standing on your own two feet and will be happier mentally and physically for it.

“Your wealth is in your health,” a saying commonly used by my favorite YouTube astrologer Kelly Rosano.  It’s pretty accurate when you think about it.  Without health what do you really have?  If you’re wealthy and treat yourself (your body/mind) poorly perhaps you can financially afford to buy your way back to good health, but for how long?

Since I was 15 I began trying to preserve my looks.  As I grew older and wiser I realized this preservation wasn’t about expensive creams, and dermatological peels but rather health and hydration.  It’s amazing to me the amount of people that lack hydration.  You can literally tell just by looking at them!  I say this because as I make the slow climb toward my 30’s I’ve began          paying attention to my fellow peers, and bright eyed college students that parade over the island of Manhattan.  It’s the 21 year old guys and gals that I iD on my weekend bartending shifts (the trade that funds my startup) that have opened my eyes to this lack of not giving of fuck.  Some of these kids have crazy wrinkles in their forehead and around their mouths that has them appear to be older than they look.  It’s our generations YOLO mentality that living in the moment is far better than planning for the future.  Granted, we all have our moments of over indulgence and we deserve to enjoying ourselves, but at what cost?

The real reason I bring this up is because I’ve been living a vegan lifestyle mostly on but sometimes off since I was 18 (I’m now 27).  I had a few lapses here and there but derived from peer pressure, boyfriends, or friends who had an influence over me at the time. From 2016 to 2017 I was not vegan, in fact, I was quite the opposite. Crushing steaks, sipping wines while eating cheeses, brunching on eggs, and eating what I thought was well. While I wasn’t necessarily eating more, the quality of what I was eating had me gain about 30 lbs, and that was practically overnight!  I jumped up 2 sizes and felt uncomfortable at all times.  During this time period I was working on my first startup with a close friend and we were both pretty unhealthy.  It wasn’t until I dropped the partnership that I had an awakening.  I was compromising my true self for someone else.  It wasn’t just a food thing, it was a life thing.  I drastically altered the course of my life and aligned myself with someone who wasn’t aligning with me.  This is a story for a another time, but you get it.  I dropped the negative energy that piggybacks along with a carnivore lifestyle because you can’t expect to feel good when you ingest food or use products that are inhumane to our planet.  Now, I know a lot of people don’t really care about the planet but if you’re at all awake, you should.

As Americans are all trapped in this matrix of false advertising that has been instilled in us by our government for ages.  While perhaps back in the day it wasn’t so bad to eat beef, or drink milk, today those same foods come from factory farms. Workers in these factories are underpaid, animals live in their own feces, pumped with antibiotics and treated poorly by the same underpaid workers who could care less about these conditions most likely because of their own dark reality. This slew of negative energy is infested in the food that you are now consuming because the food industry chain is lame. To think the corporations behind the food source would prevent any flaws in the production, is an ignorant thought that should be further researched by oneself in the age of information.

Either way, I’m no expert on the subject, I just know that our planet is severely taking a hit from our dietary choices, amongst other things!  So here are some photos of some of my favorite vegan meals, and always remember your wealth is in your health, so hydrate, eat lots of veggies, and love yourself!