An Unlikely Budget Blogger

My background is neither finance nor economics. My background is in education, however, because I am a person who is a self described "social butterfly" and someone who loves to learn, be surrounded by knowledgeable people, and who loves to save a buck on items that are sometimes considered luxuries, I consider myself someone who has the ability to keep others informed about how to save but still remain chic, hip, and in the know (it's an art, don't try this at home kids). That is why I created the "Bougie On A Budget" series.



Now, some background on the word "Bougie" (for those of you who don't know). The term "Bougie" (short for Bourgeoisie) tends to refer to people who either are from a middle to upper middle class background OR are would LIKE to be, or appear to be from that background. Often, one can "appear" to be Bougie if you display certain characteristics such as an appreciation or affinity for certain material goods or a way of carrying one's self or a way of speaking about the world or politics that gives the appearance that you are well educated or very knowledgeable about the world and are "in the know"about trends. Sometimes, people are also labeled as "Bougie" if they display a certain arroganceor disdain for someone or something that they assume to be "beneath" them. That, to me, is taking being "Bougie" or elitism way too far. Yet, it rears it's ugly head every once in a while and I believe that we all possess some form of it in one way or another because on some level, we all desire to fit into something and want to be liked or to be considered "COOL".

I chose to write the series "Bougie On A Budget" for a few reasons. One, having grown up in a middle class family, I am well aware of the labels that can be placed on people who appear to come from a certain background and I believe I possess the education and social skills to "hob-nob" if you will, with others enough to be able to carry on conversations about the World, Politics, and the latest trends. Secondly, I think the word "Bougie" is often thrown around as a joke in some circles because, unfortunately, in this image driven society of ours, many of us strive to sometimes fit in or be something that we may not be only to impress others. My opinion is that "fitting in" either comes natural to you or it doesn't and you shouldn't have to "put on airs" or pretend to be something that you are not to get by in life.



On the flip side of my argumen to just be yourself, fortunately and/or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, we often have to take on different "identities" as we navigate in and out of our different worlds, whether it be work or business settings, home, or social setting. With that being the case, sometimes certain skills and a certain knowledge level is required in order to just get by in life and make a living for our families and to survive. In all situations, it's important to remember to be yourself within the realm of all of the different situations we often find ourselves in.



Which brings me to my third reason for creating the "Bougie On A Budget" series. As I mentioned, I grew up in a middle class family so I was privy to a certain lifestyle, however, lately, my lifestyle as a single woman without the assistance of mommy and daddy, has been less than middle class, yet, I find myself wanting to maintain or experience that lifestyle that I grew up with and find myself at a crossroads due to the fact that, I am not my parents, and this economy is kicking my you know what. I decided to write "Bougie On A Budget" because I believe that the intricacies of moving in and out of different groups and up and down economic levels and income brackets is often a serious but funny ordeal (you have to laugh at it sometimes) and as we ALL try to navigate our way through this current RECESSION (yes, I said that evil word), it's hard to "Keep Up With The Joneses", if you will, while trying to save a buck, it's a very tough balancing act.



So, in my effort to infuse humor into the often not so humorous issue of economics and finance management, I hope to give readers tidbits and tips on how to maintain a certain "lifestyle" while saving money and feeling good about ourselves and the World. Also, if you are a finance novice like myself, hopefully you will be able to relate to the many situations I find myself in as I try to maintain some level of "status" with my purchasing power in this ever changing economic climate. So whether it's finding a cheap but chic coffeehouse (like my favorite Panera Bread, where I'm sitting now, writing this intro to you) and figuring out how to get FREE refills on coffee that is a "fair trade" product (when the company makes sure they replenish the land where the coffee was taken from), while giving back to the environment, while looking cool with your laptop all at the same time.....I will have achieved my goal of helping you be "Bougie On A Budget"!

And as a person who is in my mid-30's, I also feel it's important to recognize, that while we are still fairly young and hip, we are getting older and that there is new way we should socialize and entertain ourselves that won't make us look like we are "Girls Gone Wild" trying to re-live our 20-something college years. In my lifestyle30 blog I write about what I like to call, the "Grown & Sexy", 30 & Over (supposedly mature...right!) crowd and try to keep you up to date on entertainment and media trends geared towards that age group and offer other information that might be useful, like how to save money and still be your hip, 30& Over self. You can read more of my blog posts at my lifestyle30 blog, http://lifestyle30.wordpress.com/



I look forward to blogging on The Creating Wealth Blog and I look forward to seeing comments posted from you, the reader.



Kellea

Ivy Writer Media

http://www.ivywritermedia.com/