Book of the Month: Paper Towns

Here is my book for the month of May! I have been reading Paper Towns and it was actually nothing how I expected it to be. Actually, I didn't really have any ideas for what it was going to be about. But I loved it. I haven't finished the very end of it but I wanted to make sure I had this post done by the end of May. For this book, I didn't think the beginning was going slowly because it got right to the point. I like when authors write like that because you need to catch the reader's interest and make them want to read more. If the beginning drags on, the reader will most likely have less of an interest in the rest of the story. That's my opinion. But I thought that the pace that this book was going was perfect.

The book is written by the point of view of the main character which is a teenage boy named Quentin. He has always had a crush on his neighbor. Her name was Margo Roth Spiegelman. She was always a little mysterious but was full of adventure. The two of them used to talk a lot when they were younger but in high school they didn't really hang out that much. But there was one special night that changed everything.

Lets just say there was a ton of adventure while there were plots for revenge. Friends come together, new friendships are made, and mysteries get cracked. I don't want to spoil the book for any of you because I recommend that all of you read it! There were times where I laughed because there was definitely comedy in this story. But there's also some romance.

My favorite character is definitely Margo because she is so adventurous and marches to the beat of her own drum. I can't wait to find out what happens in the ending. The movie is also coming out in July so I am definitely going to see it! As you can tell I am very excited!

so I Hope you all Get to read This book because I Definitely recommend it! if you Read this Book then comment On this blog Post your thoughts on It! thank you So much for Reading! check back Next month For another book Of the Month!!

PS: If you read the book you'll understand why the last paragraph had random capitalization. :)

Getting in Shape for Less

Usually when people think of working out they think of going to the gym. Going to the gym requires getting a membership. When I look at gyms, I ask myself, is it really worth it? Of course the exercise is great! But I’m talking about the cost of it all. Ask yourself……….Is it worth it? If you say yes, you’re not looking at all the other great options you have.

All of the gym equipment is not necessary. You don’t need all those contraptions for each type of workout you do. Take away the gym from the equation. What other ways can you get the same results? Don’t even think about purchasing a treadmill. You can look up some workouts you can do from home online. There are some great core workouts and many others that you can accomplish without investing in anything. But if you need more of an instructor, you can always buy some workout videos. There’s one called P90X that covers every aspect for your workout. If you don’t have much time to fit a workout in your schedule there are also video sets that you can buy that only take about 10-15 minutes. Like I said, there are many options. If you need something like a treadmill, don’t buy it to take up space in your house. Go outside! Jog around your neighborhood. That has a lot more benefits than being cooped up in a gym on a treadmill. You get fresh air. Also, I think when you’re running outside, you feel more accomplished when you’re done because you actually get to notice the amount you ran instead of running in place.

Gym memberships can be very expensive. You have to also think about how many times you’re actually going to be there. You don’t have to pay to workout at your house. I look at it as a no brainer. Driving is also not required! You have to think about the expense of gas to drive to your gym. Depending on how many times you go there and the distance, it can accumulate a lot of money going towards gas to drive to the gym. After your workout, you’re going to be tired and I wouldn’t want to have to drive all the way back home. If you work out at home, you don’t have to worry about any of those things. So if I were you, I would consider trashing that gym membership and looking into other options you have.

How to Turn a Smartphone Into a Financial Management Tool

Smartphones now have been the best way to stay organized with every aspect of your life. There are many apps that you can download to have your plans, right in the palm of your hand. Some people want to stay the old fashioned way and have folders and folders organized at home. That’s still a great way to organize, but with the smartphone, you can save space AND have it with you everywhere you go! I think that it’s a better option and it’s very easy to get started.

If you don’t exactly want to download a bunch of apps on your phone because you don’t have enough space or you just don’t want to in general, sometimes your phone comes with great organizing apps. I have an IPhone, so when I go to my home screen there are a ton of default apps that are there that came with the phone and I didn’t have to download them. Trust me, I don’t use all of them because I don’t find that I need them but they are always there if I do. But, there are some that I use almost every day. There’s an app that’s called Notes on the home screen that I love. Whenever I need to write something down really quick and I don’t have a paper and pen, this is perfect! If you need to write down somebody’s number, easy! Just type it in your Notes app and you’ll have it. It’s probably one of my favorite apps on my home screen. There’s also another one called Calendar. You can probably guess what that one does. I think having a calendar on your phone is a lifesaver because you can have it everywhere you go and you don’t have to wait to go home and look at a paper calendar. My Mom, whenever we are out and she has to make some type of appointment. This app on our phones works amazingly! She can just bring up her schedule on her phone and see when she is free. Another app on my home screen is called Reminders. I don’t personally use this one but I think if you need to give yourself a reminder, this is perfect because it’s right there for you. I’m pretty sure that this app gives you a notification on your phone for your reminder that you put into that app. Personally, if I need a reminder I just use my alarm app and put it to a specific time that I need to remember to do something. Here is the picture of my IPhone home screen so you can see where those apps are automatically located on your phone:

 

Of course if you have an android it will look completely different and the apps will also be different but I’m sure there’s something on those phones as well.

Now if you are willing to download apps then you have a lot of options. Did you know that you can handle your finances on your phone? I’m not talking about the bank apps that you can send checks through and what not. I’m talking about apps that give you a spreadsheet template for you to use to lay out what your consistent income is and what expenses you have to subtract from that original amount. If you just add up what amount of money you are getting and not take into account the expenses, that’s not the reality of what leftover money you’ll have after you pay the expenses. This type of app helps you see everything laid out for you to see clearly. It’s great that these apps don’t plug any specific expenses into the spreadsheet because it varies from person to person. Like for example, your parents might have utility expenses but you wouldn’t because they take care of that for you. You might be a little older than me and have a car payment expense. For myself, I don’t really have that much expenses yet. Right now I guess you could say that I have the expense for holiday gifts for people, also if there is anything extra that I want I use my money to purchase as well. But I know that will definitely change when I get older so I want to be financial prepared for that and learn how to manage my money successfully.

So whether you want to download apps on your phone to help you organize yourself or not, there’s always something for you to help you be organized with even the apps that come on your phone already!