HH & Her Beans

OLO ma beans!! I think that Deep Thoughts Mondays should be replaced because the topics that I cover just makes me feel more depressed about life, so I'm thinking about replacing it with things that happened during my weekend because I don't post on Saturdays and Sundays. I think it connects us even more... Since my weekends are not always exciting, this post will be uploaded periodically... Basically whenever something exciting happens. SOOOOO... This weekend I went on a shoe shopping spree. First of all... I only have about 3 pairs of shoes left, 1 pair of classic red Vans, 1 pair of black high top Converse, and 1 pair of flip flops. These aren't including my winter shoes because I have loads of those but just for the fall when it's too warm to wear boots but also too cold to wear flip flops, my sneaker supply was running low so I had to go grab a pair. I usually wear one pair of my shoes for around 2-3 years so Junior year is the perfect time to buy shoes that I will wear until I get to college. I bought 2 pairs of shoes that are not high tops because high tops makes my legs look super short. Both pairs are from the boys shoe section because first my feet are around size 4-5 so when I can't buy adult sized shoes... BUT then I also can't buy girl's shoes in the children's section because they are all too pretty and glittery... so I resorted to the boys section. Honestly, the shoes that I bought were beautiful.
First pair is a pair of black Levis, I personally think that Vans are too expensive because they are literally $60 and they last the same amount of time as other shoe brands. I got my pair of Levis for $17.99 + tax.

I literally see no difference between the 2

Imagine this pair but in black (easier to match with outfits)

The second pair that I bought were this pair of Nike sneakers that is suede with the Nike logo in neon pink running down the side of the shoes. The shoe itself is very futuristic because the shape of the shoes were just normal sneakers but the tongue of the shoe was this futuristic looking, twisted top. I tried to find a picture but I couldn't. This pair was $29.99 and I got a discount because the top was kind of scratched up so final price was actually only $26.99. Yes I went to Ross for these shoes... They have once more fulfilled my needs. Tell me what you guys want Monday to be down below. Until next time, stay cool ma beans.

I think that not everyone's family owns a company or have parents who are doctors, lawyers, or business moguls that can afford the full college tuition. Even for people like me who qualifies for financial aid, I still need to save up for housing and food. I believe that every little thing that you can save on counts towards college, the less you spend = the more your parents can save up, unless you don't spend their money and have a job yourself (a job that I don't have a time for) you should also consider these tips that I find useful. It's never too early to start or too late to start saving... Without further ado... LET'S start this week's Q&A Thursday!! DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this blog are for entertainment purposes only and shall not be considered as advice in any way. Neither ahandherbeans, nor its author shall be held liable for the content in this post. I encourage you to seek professional advice or care for any problem which you may have. 

1. Shop from Department Stores:
   
   This is personally my favorite tip because I love shopping but I can't necessarily afford to shop from my favorite stores. Take Marshalls and TJMaxx for example, if you look hard enough in the clearance section or the juniors section you will find some article of clothing from either Hollister or Abercrombie. There isn't necessarily any Brandy Meville but there is American Eagle. Close enough? Most of the things at department stores are less than $30 from my experiences (tops, pants, and jackets). If you want to buy DESIGNER brands however which is like BCBG, Steve Madden it's around $30-50 but it's still a lot cheaper than buying it from the store. My fav department stores: Marshalls, TJMaxx, Ross, Burlington
2. Shop in the Clearance Section:
   
   If you were to go into your favorite boutiques, I suggest you to shop in the clearance section. It might be embarrassing to you because you normally shop throughout the store, you might actually find some shirts and pants that are not necessarily on the racks anymore. Most of the times at Hollister or Abercrombie, their clearance section only has certain sizes and styles, which makes your shirts/tops/pants even more unique than the full priced shirts since there is only a limited quantity. Loads of times Hollister and Abercrombie has shirts that are less than $10 but are equal in quality when compared to their full priced shirts. The best clearance sections: Marshalls, Hollister, Ross, FOREVER21, H&M. 
3. Online Shopping rather than in Person Shopping:
   
   I think this tip controls the amount of money that I spend because normally online shopping has a certain amount that you have to reach to be able to get the free shipping, so I would limit myself to be a few dollars more than the amount needed for free shipping. Unlike in person shopping where I just pick up anything that I like, most of the time ending up to be around $100, online shopping forces me to find cheaper things for less to be able to buy more. 
4. Before Buying Anything, Ask Yourself: "Is this a need or a want?":
   
   I think this will only apply to those of you already in college but I want to suggest it non the less because if it is a want, it is not a necessity so if you don't have it, nothing will happen. You'll just miss out on something. It's no big deal.  
5. Try to DIY:
   
   I know for YouTube videos most of the time the DIYs are pretty expensive like buying spray paint and brushes and the materials in general but try to do some simple DIYs that looks cute so you can recycle the stuff that you were going to throw away. I'm not talking about plastic bottles and trash but more like dirty earphones and notebooks. Recently I bought a stack of cardstock/scrapbooking paper for 50 cents at a yard sale, and I just glued a page to my spiraled notebook that has the 70 pages sign on it, and now it's super cute, plus the cover won't bend. I spend 15 cents on the notebook at Big Lots and 50 cents on the paper, yea the cute notebook was less than $1. I also wrapped my old earphones with friendship bracelet string, and recycled that.  
6. Freeload or Share:
   
   I'M NOT TELLING YOU TO ASK EVERYONE TO BUY YOU EVERYTHING!! It's more like take use of opportunities that offers you free stuff. For example, a lot of libraries have teen programs where there are tons of DIYs that you will be able to take home. The library where I volunteer at had a bracelet making class, a succulent planting session, and a butter making class. Don't feel bad for going to them because the library gets funded about $2,000-3,000 every year to plan for these events so the library wants you to go to these events because if no one shows up, in the following years, the government will no longer fund these programs, SO GO!! It will be a fun experience, plus you will be able to take home FREE stuff!! The sharing part is basically sharing something when you're going out with your friends. My best friend and I went to Knotts for our 8th grade field trip and the food there was $20 for a meal, ridiculous pricing for fast food, since I wasn't that hungry, I paid half and she paid half and we even got onion rings after that. It's a perfect way to safe money, unless your friends don't wanna share, then you have to just pay the full price. It's not that bad. 
7. Coupons are Your Best Friend:
   
   I use coupons all the time. Fast food coupons, coupons for $5 off with a purchase of $20 or more... etc. It's not being cheap but it's using your resources wisely, it's not easy to make money, so you should be careful when you spend it. I sign up for emails at my favorite stores because they notify me when there are any sales going on. Promotion codes are always a plus when checking out your items online. Always check if there is another way to save money. 
8. Don't Spend All of your Chinese New Year Money:
   
   This tip won't work unless it's long terms but my parents refuse to let me spend any of my Chinese New Year money so in the end, I have over $20,000 saved up in the bank because of this.

I diagnosed myself with shoppings disease. Symptoms include: excessively shopping, the urge to add many things to cart, wanting to buy anything you see, and hosting yard sales to get rid of old clothes.

I'm talking about this kinda shirt...

I don't know when this disease got a hold of me, but let me tell you how I got infected. One of my friends was actually infected first, she started changing her wardrobe into a more black and white vibe + Tumblr + Pinterest vibe. To me that's what many of us wear everyday, like black shirts, shorts, and flip flops but she used to be the super feminine type. All she wore was those Korea manufactured clothing consisting of lace, dirty pinks, and poka dots, so when she changed her style, it totally caught me off guard. And since shes's so skinny and tall, I thought that what she was wearing was totally my style.

This is basically her...

I didn't change my clothing, but I started buying things that are a lot more mature (in my opinion). Before I used to wear bright colors like neons, hot pinks, sapphire blues, oranges, and greens, but nowwwwww my closet consists of greys, blacks, jean type fannels, and whites. Ever since then, I had the urge to buy something every single time that I go out and almost every week, I have the urge to go online shopping and add stuff to my Amazon cart. You would think that this disease only affect clothes shopping, this weekend I bought: 24 pack pens, 1 sticker sheet of tattoos, 1 white shirt from Target, 1 new student planner, 1 shirt, sandals, crew neck from Hollister. I AM SHOPPING TO MUCH!! Last week I bought 4 cell phone cases, and 4 pencil pouches ALL AT ONCE!! To make up for the money that I spent (also I want to clean my room) I am going to be hosting a yard sale the same weekend where I'm getting my ears pierced. My desk is over flowing with pens, pencils, and papers, maybe I can sell all of that. I suggest all you beans should host your own yard sales, I might go... Until next time, stay cool ma beans. 

Okay so right now... My favorite store to buy clothes is Ross and my favorite shoe store is Burlington. I don't even go to the mall anymore because the stuff that I find is seriously all less than $20 at these stores. I have super tiny feet before I think my feet were like size 5 and like last month I bought a pair of shoes that is size 4, and now I can't even fit into size 4 because it is so big. I literally buy all of my shoes from the children's section. Anyways, since these clothing stores are department stores with everything from food to gardening tools... It's no doubt that the people who shop there has no manners.

Let's start with the staff that works there. Ross is like Big Lots (my favorite snack place... I buy tea from there... LOL) anyways both of these places are staffed with old people who are very... extremely... *insert all synonyms of very* grouchy. So this one time, I wanted to try on my clothes and they are like, "PUT YOUR CLOTHES ON THE RACK PLEAAASSEEE. RIGHT NOW!!" I had like 8 different stuff to try on and all of the hangers are all wrangled together so I couldn't put it on that fast and I get this kind of attitude. Basically every single time that I go to Ross, something like that happens. Oh here is another experience that I had, so it was my grandma's birthday, and my mom bought two pairs of the same pants for her to try on, and then on one of the pants they forgot to take off the weird security thing with the ink thing if you broke it... that heavy thing... Yea... And so when my mom and I went with her to return the bigger pants, they were like, "YOU DEMONIC CHILD!!! YOU STOLE THISSSS AND NOW YOU WANT MONEY BACCKKKK????!!!!"

They actually didn't say the beginning but they were basically accusing my mom and I for shoplifting. Second the people who shops there are the WORST!!! They literally do not care about anyone. I've passed by so many people that smelled like fried food, onions, tacos, and cooked things. I seriously do not understand how someone could smell like that and go IN PUBLIC!! There are three Rosses near me, and so today I went to the smaller one. OH MY LORD JEZUZ!!

Since the place is really small AND they moved things around so they are closer together, it is even harder to maneuver around. There was this lady, she was trying on a outer covering in front of one of the mirrors next to the racks and she just left her cart between the aisle, and so when I tried to push my cart through... IT WAS RIGHT THERE!! And you know that thing where you like move your things out of the way when someone is trying to pass??? YEA SHE DID NOT DO THAT!! Oh my fluffy chickens. Then some people just don't say excuse me, there have been so many instances where people just shove pass me. So that's how I spent today. Shoutout to all of the men and women who have sacrificed their lives so I can be alive right now to write this blog. Thank you so much for protecting our country. Until next time, have a great Memorial Day and stay cool ma beans!!