Decorating a Studio: 7 Tricks I Learned Living in NYC

Ahhh New York City. The only place in the world that people will happily pay $2300 for a 500 square foot studio with no closet space and a three story walk-up. You know why? Because it’s absolutely worth it, and you don’t really have a choice. The benefit of this small living space is that you have less to clean, you need to buy less furniture, and you also need to keep the amount of stuff you own to a bare minimum. When it comes to decorating, here are a few tricks I picked up after living in four different studios during my 10 years as an NYC resident.

1. Work up

Utilize the height of your walls with shelving , especially floating shelves because they use zero floor space. Shelving is great for books and pictures, but just be careful not to have too many little trinkets all over your place or people will think they’re at a yard sale. In the bathroom, I bought a shoe organizer from The Container Store and hung it from my bath curtain pole to put all my hair and makeup accessories – which means I didn’t need to take up space with an extra piece of furniture to hold all the crap I need to try and look cute.

2. Less is more (and bigger furniture helps)

I know this doesn’t seem to make sense, but a bunch of smaller pieces of furniture in a small space can quickly make the space feel cluttered and smaller. The entire living area of my studio consists of a good sized sectional couch, a big coffee table, a media console, my bed and an end table. That’s it. The pieces that I have are from high end stores (that I got cheap on craigslist – read how), which means that less is definitely more.

3. Keep it light

Don’t paint your studio any dark colors – this will make your tiny space look even smaller. The same can be said for dark furniture. Unless you have a big dog or small children, I would keep your couch or chairs as light and tonal as possible to keep the space fresh and open. Also avoid heavy drapery. I’ve always invested in black out blinds with just sheer drapes on top to get as much light in during the day as possible.

4. TV alway goes on the wall

Hanging the television on the wall frees up a ton of space to either keep the area underneath clean or to be able to use your entertainment unit for other things, like pictures of your cat. Or your vision board. Don’t judge me.

5. Get creative with the closet

With hanging space a true luxury in most small spaces, you should consider hanging a second rod so that you have two rows of hanging clothes one on top of the other. You should also try and squeeze a dresser somewhere in the closet so that it doesn’t take up room in your living space.

6. Use Rugs to create separation

Use nice big rugs in either the living area, under the bed or both to create a feeling of separation when your bedroom is also your living room (and often also your dining room and kitchen).

7. Multi-function furniture is your friend

Pull-out couches, futons and coffee tables that also serve as storage space are all pieces that will help you free up space in your studio. The more furniture that also serves as storage, the better. Also look for a bed frame that allows you enough space underneath to store things.

Many finance experts advise spending no more than 30% of your income on your living expenses. Don’t be scared to live in a studio. You can save a ton of money, and with just a little bit of effort you can make it an incredible space.

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The Mayonnaise Jar

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.

When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and fills it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured it into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “YES.”

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things – God, family, children, health, friends, and favorite passions.

Things, that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the things that matter like your job, house, and car. The sand is everything else — the small stuff.” he said.

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “There is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you…” he told them.

“So… pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Worship with your family. Play with your children. Take your partner out to dinner. Spend time with good friends. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the dripping tap. Take care of the golf balls first — the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled and said, “I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.”

Money Problems: How the Poor, Middle Class and Rich Handle It

All of us have money problems whether you belong to the rich, middle class and rich people. However, there’s a big difference among the money problems faced by these people. Poor people usually thinks that they are victims of money problem. They usually blame the government for lack of opportunities, their parents for not providing them good life, and sometimes even God for having that kind of life. Their excuses are bigger than their dreams and goals in life.

Poor people usually think that if they have a lot of money, their problems will be solve. However, what they don’t realize is that the attitude towards money problem is the problem itself. Their attitude creates their money problem.



Middle class people are prisoners of money. They think that they can outsmart their money problem by spending money to go to school to get their PhD, buying a house, climb the corporate ladder, having a lot of certification, spending too much time in office  and save for retirement.  They are the people who value financial security rather than take on financial challenges.  They work for entrepreneurs instead of working being an entrepreneur. Instead of increasing their financial IQ, they stay busy, hiding in their offices, making their bosses richer and richer by working for them.

While many people work for rich people and solve rich people’s money problem, Rich people use their financial intelligence to solve their money problems. They see money problem as an opportunity to increase their financial IQ. They know that solving financial problems make them smarter.

Rich people too had a problem in money. If they don’t know the answer to their money problems, they seek out experts who can help them solve it. In the journey of solving that problem, they become more intelligent and much equipped to solve more and more problems.  THE RICH DON’T QUIT.  They learn.  And by learning, they grow richer. They don’t work hard, instead they work smart.

The problem with the poor and middle class is they don’t have enough money.  The rich have the problem of having too much money.  Both are real and legitimate problems.  The question is, which problem do you want?

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6 Ways to Get Yourself Motivated in Saving

Most students enter the real world when they reached the age of 20 or 21. That is when they enter the corporate race. This is also where the real challenge happens when it comes to saving money.

You’re not dependent anymore on your allowance from your parents. You now earn your own money. With that come different challenges to lure you not to save money. Social pressure from your friends to buy the latest gadgets just to be ‘in’ comes along your way. Officemates will be there to invite you too for gimmicks and parties.

You say to yourself that you earned that money and that you’re entitled to spend it in anyway you want. Some say they are entitled to reward themselves because they worked hard for it. Before you knew it, your salary goes directly to expenses leaving you with zero savings and perhaps credit card debts if you really cannot discipline yourself when it comes to saving money.



What should you do then in order to fight the urgency to spend? Here are some useful tips to resist spending away your hard-earned money.

Know your hourly rate in your job. Before you spend that hard-earned money from your job, calculate first how much you make on a per hour basis. Suppose you earn 18,000 a month as a fresh graduate and you work 8 hours a day, five times a week. In a week, you’re working for 40 hours and in one month, you’re working for 160 hours.

So your hourly rate from your job would be 18,000 divided by 160 leaving you Php 112.5 per hour.
Now before you buy stuffs, calculate first how many hours you worked for that money you’re going to spend. Are you thinking of buying a pair of shoes worth Php 3,000? Ask yourself first: Do you really want to work 26 hours just for that pair of shoes? Do you want to repeat the 26 hours of tiring labor, 26 hours of your boss shouting and bullying you, 26 hours of your back hurting sitting in front of that computer, and 26 hours talking to annoying colleagues for just one pair of shoes? Think about it carefully. Think twice, thrice or even four times.

Force your savings. True enough, it’s hard to save money especially if your will to do it is weak. Leave it to automation so you’ll be motivated to save!

Nowadays, you can now automate your savings by setting up a fixed amount to be deducted on your payroll account on a particular date every month. With the availability of UITF investments as the new form of trust funds of banks, you can enroll to their Regular Subscription Plan (RSP) for as little as Php 1,000 every month so that you are not only saving but also investing in your chosen UITF fund.

Make a savings goal and track it. Make a savings goal for yourself. Do you want to have 1M in savings before you reach 30? Then list down that savings goal! Listed goals are more achievable than unlisted ones.
Make an excel sheet tracking your savings developments on a monthly basis. Update it at the end of every month. You’ll get excited as you see the amounts increase every time you save especially as you get closer and closer to your savings goal.

Look for more ways to earn money for you. Do you have that unused item on your house? Then sell it by setting up a garage sale or post it on online classifieds like Sulit. Sell your services to your friends and colleagues. Think of more ways to earn and don’t forget to add the earnings of these to your savings goal. Your excitement grows more and more as you become closer to your goal.

Think of your health. Are you the type of person who needs exercise because you’re fat or are you worried about your health? Then try to save transportation costs by walking short distances. Instead of drinking sodas and juices in restaurants, drink water. Aside from additional sugar that will be added in to your body, you will just excrete it anyway through urine few hours after you leave the restaurant.

Don’t buy too much junk food in grocery stores. They are called such because they don’t provide much nutrients to your body. Avoid smoking, it won’t make you any good. It will just destroy your lungs and will cause you bad breath. Instead of thinking ways to spend your money, engage yourself in physical activities such as sports or your favorite hobby such as cooking or crafting.

There are many ways on how to save money by just thinking of your health. These little savings can pile up to make thousands when saved for a long time. A penny saved is always a penny earned. Truly, health is wealth.

Let the ‘Law of Attraction’ works. Do you have a goal of building your own dream house in the future? How about traveling to another country for vacation? Or perhaps buying your own car?

Place a picture of how you visualize these things in your wallet with the motivational words such as “I will achieve this” or “I will have this”. You can have the option to make it more specific by placing a time to it – “I will go to this place by December” or “I will achieve this by age 35”

Every time you spend money either by cash or credit cards, you’ll be reminded about these goals which will make you think twice before spending especially if it’s only a want.

Put a name on your bank accounts. Put a name on your bank accounts according to your specific goals. If you’re saving for a car, try to name it “Ride To a Brand New Vios” or if you’re planning to go abroad, try to name it “Enjoy Singapore Trip”. You’ll get more motivated to save for these savings goals.

It’s important to treat yourself occasionally to avoid getting frustrated and spending all your savings at once, so make sure you include a little “happy time” money in your budget to treat yourself every now and then.
Nowadays, with the influence of TV and media, everyone is encouraged to spend which makes saving more difficult. Saving money is hard and for some, it’s boring.

However, if you have that will and determination towards your goals in life, you will surely possess that self-discipline to save your hard-earned money and stick with your plans.


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The Difference Between Being Rich and Being Wealthy

Being rich and being wealthy seems to be synonymous as both involves having a lot of money. However, there’s a big difference between the two. If you notice, there are a lot of so-called ‘get-rich-quick’ schemes but there are no ‘get-wealthy-quick’ schemes.

The main difference between being rich and being wealthy is knowledge. Wealthy people know how to make money while rich people only have money. Being wealthy is defined as that status of an individual’s existing financial resources that supports his or her way of living for a longer duration, even if he or she does not work to generate a recurring income. Wealthy people can build sustainable wealth that can last for years through asset investments producing multiple streams of income.

Rich people, on the other hand, may get money in an instant such as inheritance or winning a lottery. However, because of lack of proper mindset and poor money management skills, all of it can be lost in a short period of time. It makes sense that if you did not work hard to earn and build it, then it can just easily pass on your hands and splurge it on things which are not important. Some of these people are more commonly known as ‘one day millionaires’. Now they have it, the next time they don’t.

Wealthy and rich people both may experience downfalls and failures in their ventures. However, because wealthy people are knowledgeable when it comes to money matters, they can start all over again and build wealth over time. In contrast, rich people may find it hard to attain what he or she previously has. In essence, wealthy people are financially free while rich people are not.

Since wealth is not an overtime success, one must learn to distinguish an asset from a liability. Focus on creating and buying income-producing assets to generate a passive or a portfolio income.

How Strong is Your Wealth?

Now that you’re on your way in building your wealth, the next thing to do is to calculate and monitor your wealth ratio on a monthly basis to properly administer the financial and economic aspect of your life. The formula is:



The objective of calculating your wealth is to have your passive and portfolio income equal or greater than your monthly expenses. The moment you have a ratio of one is to one or more at any given month, then it indicates that you have increased your financial capacity to live a better life. On the other hand, if your wealth ratio is less than 1, it implies that you are still in a financial dilemma and your cashflow does not meet your basic life standard.

As I have discussed in the 3 types of income, passive income is the residual income that you get from compound interest or compound growth. They come in the form of rental income from real estate properties, residual income from network marketing or franchises, interest from savings and time deposits, income from a virtual assets, etc. Meanwhile, portfolio income comes mainly from paper investments such as stocks, bonds, trust funds, and other marketable securities.

The key in improving your wealth is to regularly monitor and increase your passive and portfolio income by increasing your means to earn more instead of acquiring more expenses. The moment you decide to make the passive and portfolio income a part of your financial habit and discipline yourself in building it, your are on your way to financial freedom. This is the path in maintaining a strong wealth foundation.

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Being Cheap vs. Being Frugal (aka Smart)

I’ve always gotten offended when people use the word “cheap” to describe my spending and savings habits. When I hear cheap, I think women with blue eyeshadow in bedazzled skirts that are three sizes too small. I picture products that fall apart after one use. I always cringe, and then politely correct them – “I am not cheap! I’m frugal. There’s a big difference.”

I suppose that it’s a common misunderstanding of words, but I personally feel that it’s important to straighten this whole misconception out. Why? Because since no one ever wants to feel as though they are being judged as “cheap”, they spend money they don’t have on things they don’t need all because they simply weren’t being referred to as “smart” instead.

So let me break down the difference. When it comes to describing spending habits, cheap is appropriately used in instances where people hold out on doing things for others because they don’t want to spend money. In this case, cheap can be interchangeably used with the word selfish. For example, a man can refuse to pay for his date’s meal because he claims to believe in sharing all costs, but if she can’t really afford it (and he absolutely can) – the dude is being cheap.

Another example – we all have that friend who always “forgets” your birthday gift at home when they get to your party, but it never materializes. You know damn well they didn’t get you a gift – because they’re that cheap friend of yours.

On the other hand, being smart with your money (also known as being frugal), is when you are getting yourself out of debt or creating a savings by being mindful of how you spend your money. It’s politely declining offers to go places that you can’t afford instead of pulling a “lost wallet” trick. It’s letting your friends know your situation so they understand where you’re coming from when you want to split off your portion of the bill and pay separately from everyone else who’s boozing it up. If you can’t afford to go on an expensive date – plan a thoughtful picnic in the park. This is respectable, and more importantly it’s smart behavior that will get you to the position where you no longer have to worry about saving every dollar.
I hope this clears up the confusion a little. More than worrying about what other people are thinking, it is especially important to be mindful of how you’ve defined money-saving habits in your own mind. Labeling certain behaviors as being cheap will make you less willing to do them – even though you’re fully aware that it’s in your best interest.

Remember, even millionaires – especially millionaires – still practice frugal behavior once they’ve reached where they want to be financially. Keeping modest homes and cars, not spending foolishly on big nights out, etc, all help get you to those end goals. And trust me, they’re definitely not worried about people labeling them as cheap.

When you have real money, you don’t really care what people think of you at all.

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