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Originally posted at: Katie Maloney’s Black Cowl Neck Slip Dress

Do you ever think about your values? Are you honouring your values in how you live your life? Is your money aligned with your values?

Why Would You Bother About Values?

There are huge benefits in living your values. When we live in accordance with our values, we feel like we’re presenting our real, authentic selves. Using our money in a way that aligns with our values will make us feel more in control and much more fulfilled and content. If you’re not living life based on what you value, then you’re most likely living a pretty mediocre life.

Tell me how you spend your time and money, and I’ll tell you what you value most. Values help lead the way toward a meaningful life. Going through life without knowing your values is like trying to drive in the dark without headlights. It’s highly likely you’ll get lost, possibly feel confused and lose the focus of your destination.

When we don’t live in accordance with our core values, we experience discontent, guilt, stress, unhappiness, depression, and/or frustration. This feeling of dissatisfaction is a good sign you’re making decisions and behaving according to someone else’s values. Not your own. Your values are your compass, your guiding light. They are the key to making the right money, time and life decisions that are best for you. By knowing your values, you can cut out things that aren’t important to you and focus more on the things that are.

Money and Values

Your attitudes about money are what defines everything that matters to your personal financial situation: how much money you need, how hard you’re willing to work for it, what work you are willing to do for it, how you’ll feel when you finally get it and more.

If freedom, independence and creativity are extremely important to you, but you are tied to a job working 60 hours a week in a hierarchical position where you can’t open your mouth, where you don’t get to make any decisions or have any agency, you will be absolutely miserable. If you are putting yourself through this misery on a daily basis to pay a mortgage on a large home, then something is out of alignment. Your financial life is in conflict with your values, your wellbeing and who you really are. This situation calls for serious reflection. Do you need to change jobs or start working for yourself? Something has to shift.

Align Your Values with Your Money – How Do Values Relate to Money?

Values and money go hand-in-hand, and the more you understand about your own values, the easier it is to make daily decisions and manage your finances. Values relate directly to how you earn and manage your money. Understanding what your values are will help you to make decisions easily and decide whether you should do something or not.

Use Your Values to Guide Your Money Decisions

• What’s most important to you? What do you value most in life?
• Do your actions each day line up with what you say matters most to you?
• Do you spend your time and money in ways that support your values?

Whether you realise it or not, your bank and credit card statements tell a lot about what you prioritise.

Realign Your Money and Values

• What is money’s purpose in your life?
• What sense of purpose guides you in your life?
• What is your why? Are you using your money for that purpose?

One of my main purposes is to be a catalyst for positive change and transformation in my clients’ lives. To that end, I will spend money on educating myself, taking classes and reading. These expenses support my WHY.

Are you using your money to support and make real what inspires you?

I am inspired by painting large abstracts and to support this I spend money on classes and materials. This is an integral part of my life, and this expense supports my values of Beauty and Creativity.

Express Your Values Through a Project

Expressing your values through a project is a great thing to do and gives your values a showcase – a way to get stimulated and used; a way to show yourself that living your values is both possible and fulfilling. Fulfillment is actually the experience of life when values are honoured and expressed.

Ask yourself what project you could design which would be a full expression of a value that’s important to you. Come up with the project and get started on it.

Values-Based Goals

An excellent objective is to commit only to values-based goals. It may take some time to get to this, but it’s still worthwhile to see how your goals align with your values.

List your top goals, both long- and short-term and match the goals with your values. If you have a goal that does not fit with one of your values, either adapt the goal to fit or get rid of it and come up with another. Don’t adapt the value to the goal. Use your values as the reference point in your life, not your goals. The objective is to only have values-based goals.

Write a Financial Mission Statement

When you are trying to meet your financial goals, your focus can be pulled in many different directions. It’s an excellent idea to put together a financial mission statement which will help you visualise your financial goals and remind you why you want to accomplish them. It describes what you want to attain financially and how you are going to produce your desired results.

A good financial mission statement will accurately explain what your household wants to achieve financially in the future and how you are going to get there.

Want to identify your values? Take the Values Quiz. It will help you discover your values and at the end you can download a great ebook about working with your values.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Do you live according to your values? Which values are important to you and how do you manifest them? Do you manage your money according to your values?

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Originally posted at: Ariana Madix’s Black Cutout Dress

Summer House Makeup + Beauty Finds

This post is a sponsored partnership between BigBlondeHair.com and Nordstrom, although all thoughts and picks are our own. We receive a percentage of sales for items purchased from Nordstrom through affiliate links in this post. The celebrity names mentioned are in no way affiliated with this post or endorsing any products mentioned. All source posts are listed below.

Here at Big Blonde Hair we are obsessed with Summer House this season. The gorgeous ladies always leave us wanting more details, whether it’s on the drama, their outfits or their beauty faves. With Spring is in full effect and Summer on the horizon, who better to turn to for guidance in the makeup and beauty department than Nordstrom Beauty and the women of Summer House? So I’ve rounded up their most-loved finds for the perfect inspo for our favorite next beauty purchase from the place with our favorite beauty selection, Nordstrom.

The Realest Housewife,

Big Blonde Hair

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Charlotte Tilbury Bronzer / Clinique Almost Lipstick *Shade : Black Honey* / YSL Loveshine Lip Oil Stick *Shade 201 We Think* / Too Faced Better Then Sex Mascara / Armani Luminous Silk Foundation / Makeup Forever Lip, Eye + Brown Pencil / Glitter + Glow Liquid Eyeshadow / Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Lipstick / Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Lip Liner / Too Faced Lip Injection Maximum Plump / Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat Liner *Paige Layered the Previous 3 Products* / Bobbi Brown Bronzing Powder *New Packaging*

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Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream / Wander Beauty Baggage Claim Eye Mask / Kiehl’s Tumeric + Cranberry Seed Energizing Radiance Mask / Skinny Confidential Hot Mess Eye Roller / Kate Somerville EradiKate Acne Treatment / Charlotte Tilbury Magic Serum

Click Here to Shop Beauty Best Sellers via Shop LTK

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Lindsay Hubbard’s Mascarar / Ciara Miller’s Lip Liner / Paige DeSorbo’s Lip Color / Amanda Batula’s Lip Look at Bravocon / Ciara Miller’s Face Cream and Serum / Ciara Miller’s Gold Eye Mask / Amanda Batula’s Foundation and More / Paige DeSorbo’s Nude Lip Color / Amanda Batula’s Liquid Glitter Eyeshadow / Paige DeSorbo’s Face Mask / Paige DeSorbo’s Acne Treatment

Originally posted at: Summer House Makeup + Beauty Finds

If spring fever has you itching to get outside and jumpstart a new exercise routine, you may want to think about recruiting a buddy to tag along.

Workout partners, whether they’re your spouse or a friend, serve as a physical and mental cue to stick with it and have fun! Check out these 4 reasons why finding a workout partner could be one of the best things you do for your health:

More Accountability

Whether you’re looking to slim down or simply commit to daily exercise for your health, being accountable to someone other than yourself will go a long way in helping you stick with your fitness goals.

Skipping a Zumba class at the gym or online or flaking on your daily walk isn’t as easy when you have to cancel with a partner who was counting on you.

On the flipside, you become invested not only in your own success but your partner’s as well, taking on important roles in supporting and encouraging their hard work.

Research agrees. A study from the American Psychological Association, for example, found that people who were recruited into a weight loss program with friends had a 95% completion rate, while those who were recruited solo only finished 76% of the time.

Push Yourself Harder

Ever heard of the Kohler effect? This psychological phenomenon partially captures how people feel compelled to work harder when they are doing so as part of a group, specifically if they are the least capable member in the group.

An interesting 2011 study published in the Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology found that in a health games’ setting, working in tandem with a more capable exercise partner generated a motivation gain that triggered participants to persist with a task longer than they would have on their own.

Step Outside of Your Box

If you are feeling a bit humdrum about your workout routine, but still haven’t found the inspiration to try something new, a willing partner may just give you the nudge you need.

Kayaking, hiking, paddle boarding, outdoor yoga, cycling… the list goes on of great low-impact activities that are even more fun with a friend.

Spring and summer foster the perfect environment for stepping outside, both literally and figuratively, of the box.

Even if a new activity is uncomfortable because of a learning curve, it’ll be easier to give it a go when you have a friend by your side who is ready to face a new challenge with you.

Great Social Interaction

According to the National Institute on Aging, social isolation continues to be a risk factor for morbidity and mortality in older adults, contributing to everything from high blood pressure to depression. This has likely increased in the age of Covid.

While exercise alone can help combat age-related physical and mental illness, so, too, can social relationships reinforce good health outcomes.

A workout buddy is both someone you exercise with as well as a person with whom you share common interests and goals.

Oftentimes, exercising together will be followed by a coffee or lunch date, extending the period of interaction and continuing to boost your mood and feelings of positivity.

Quick Workout Reminders

Just like when you were younger, you’ll want to make sure that you don’t push yourself too hard when working out with a partner. Keep an eye on any aches or pains that follow exercise, and remember these important tips:

Warm Up

Loosen your muscles and joints prior to a workout – try a brisk walk or dynamic stretching.

Tend to Sore Muscles

Use ice therapy on sore muscles and joints to reduce inflammation and pain. Ice packs that wrap around your neck, for example, can stay in place even when performing ADLs (activities of daily living) after a workout.

Stay Hydrated

Drink water before, during, and after a workout to replace fluids you may lose through sweating.

Protect Your Skin

Remember to wear sunblock and protective gear (hats, sunglasses, etc.) when heading outside to exercise.

Final Thoughts

Teaming up with healthy partners can also have an effect outside of exercise. Research has shown that even your diet choices are influenced by the healthy eaters around you.

Spending more time with loved ones and friends that are committed to healthy living could be your key to managing a healthy weight and staying active!

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Have you thought about teaming up with a friend? How do you team up with a partner to meet your exercise goals? Please give us your advice on best partner exercises and the benefits you reap of each encounter.