Mixed Media 3/30/15

• Books: I'm almost ashamed to share because I should have read this years ago. All The King's Men is all the things I love. Southern, politics, scandal. Fantastic read.
• TV: I should be giddy because baseball is almost here. The truth is the Braves are going to be awful this year and it's pretty hard to get excited. Now, Tom Hart, the best Braves personality around, is leaving the team, too. It's too much to handle. 
• Blogs: So perhaps there is a bit of snark in me after all. For hilarious take on celebrity kids, you have to read Suri's Burn Book. 
• Videos: There's been a lotta news lately about people filming/taking pictures of themselves doing really stupid things. For a while, I've said the biggest thing my generation has to learn is that just because you can videotape something, doesn't mean you should. Also, this. 

Obsessed with something new and cool? Let's chat. @WhitneyGibbs

Mixed Media 3/26/15

• Blogs: Trying to revive the blog a bit with a format I really like from my favorite style blog Capitol Hill Style. Her "Workday Reading" format has become a favorite of mine, a great punch list on her thoughts, style suggestions and current events. I always feel better when I write. Maybe this will lead to a better cadence.
• Twitter: I attended a great Social Media Club Atlanta meeting last night with great insight from companies across the southeast. As could be expected, the tweet stream was very active. Shout out to my boss for knocking one of the park.
• Podcasts: If you haven't listened to Jonathon Fields' The Good Life Project you are missing out on a weekly dose of insight, intelligence and inspiration. I've been listening for probably two years and recommend it so often to family and friends. This interview with Gretchen Rubin on habits is by far my favorite. I'm an obliger and an abstainer, which does not make me crazy.
• TV: Are you watching Kimmy Schmidt?! The new Tina Fey show on Netflix has me hooked. Stop what you're doing right now and watch. Report back. 
• Apps: Layout is pretty cool.
• The News: My dad lives in a small sleepy town of Ponchatoula, Louisiana. Imagine my shock when I see them trending on Facebook yesterday. Yikes.

Obsessed with something new and cool? Let's chat. @WhitneyGibbs

Kimberly-Clark's Push for Women in Leadership

I enjoyed this article about the tactics Kimberly-Clark employed to make their senior leadership look more like their customers, make them women. Through generous maternity leave, flex schedules and a later start time, the company increased their staff retention rates and have seen an increase in female directors.

While these changes were enacted to gain more female leaders, I think we can all agree that it would improve work life for both genders, whether or not you have kids. I'm very blessed with a flexible team environment that values hard work and achievement over hours spent in house. Because of that, we probably spend more time in house than we intend, because we enjoy our team and our time there.

MSNBC vs. the Romney Family:: Snark vs. Love

Breaking News: Something stupid happened on cable news the other night.

I know, that's not breaking news. It seems like every day someone says Santa is white, calling on people to defecate in a public personality's mouth or the like. It happens on all the networks. Lucky for us, it now happens around the clock.

This week, the outrage machine is fired up over comments made on Melissa Harris-Perry's MSNBC show about Mitt Romney's adopted grandchild. While pointing out the obvious in an off-color political tone, they managed to offend a lot of people.

Let's point out the obvious: Yes, MSNBC isn't a fan of Mitt Romney. Yes, the latest edition to the Romney family is a bit different than the rest. Yes, cable news makes a mint off of attacking their political opponents.

Instead of lashing out over the latest political mishap when another is just around the corner, I'm going to take the opportunity to try something new.

In the age of Twitter, snark is the new black. Everything has to be witty, dry and a little mean. MSNBC, if nothing else, was definitely being trendy.

The Romney family was instead acting out of love. Christian love for each other, for the community. They are making the world a better place, one life at a time.

Let's take this opportunity to dial down the outrage and the snark, and instead operate out of love.

(And only a little snark.)

Friday Dance

What I learned this week: My title can be "Birthday Girl" on a legally binding document. NOLA birthday party, here we come!

Also, here is my Friday dance.

 

This is my Friday Dance.

How to Start a Budget

Did you ever put off a goal simply because you don't know where to start? If you want to run a marathon but don't even know how far that is, you may feel silly asking or you may be too overwhelmed to try.

After two tries at a half-marathon and realizing that I max out at 7 miles, I'm not going to be able to help you run a marathon, but I can help you start a budget. Sure, budgeting seems boring but it can help you figure out where your money is going and how to reach your financial goals.

Start with these easy steps and let me know if I can help you!

1. Analyze your spending. Online tools like Mint.com make this easy. Simply open a free account, load in all of your bank accounts and credit cards, and allow it to load your transactions for the last few months. You may have to spend some time sorting transactions to organize it, but it's a simple way to categorize your expenses.

Once you have a clear picture of where your money goes, make a list of the areas you should change. Are you paying bank or credit card fees that you can get rid of? Are you spending more on eating out than you thought? Did you know that much of your paycheck went to your cell phone bill? Make a note now so you can follow up.

2. Set short-term financial goals. Once you have an idea where your money goes, figure out where you want it to go instead. Do you need to save for a car or a wedding? Would you like to have a trip fund so you can pick up on a whim and leave town? It's your money! Make it work for you.

3. Where to cut? Once you have a financial goal in mind, figure out how much it will cost and how much per month you can pay towards it. Mint has great resources in their Goals section. Once you know how much you will pay per month, build it in to your budget. Bye, bye fast food lunches; hello beach vacation.

Do you realize that you now have a budget? It wasn't as hard as you thought it would be, was it? After a while, you may need to make changes because you reach your goals or your categories change. These minor fixes won't take long, especially because you already started!