Tag: Tomo

  • Avoid Fooling Around with your Food Budget

    As we head into April and COVID-19 restrictions allow for restaurant reopenings, it is essential to reassess your food budget. Most people have come across the thought process of choosing to eat a meal out or stay in and eat what is at home. This is a typical expense that people experience daily. There are convenience and lots of other factors involved in the decision-making process. This is important to any budget when choosing what to eat and where to spend your money.

    50/30/20 Budget:

    Divide your budget into three main categories: needs, wants, and savings. Breaking down your budget will allow you to get a clear sense of where to allocate your money and understand how much you have to spend out on food. This budget consists of spending 50% of your after-tax pay on needs, 30% on wants, and 20% on savings. This rule may not apply to every budget, but will help you better understand managing your funds appropriately. This rule may not apply to people living in areas where it costs more to live, and therefore the budget cannot be applied to the generic spending rule. While not every individual can follow this rule, the general idea is to keep the “30%” or spending money allocated towards dining out and other expenses. Dining out should be categorized as spending and not needs because making your own meals will always be cheaper and more budget-friendly.

    Use Coupons

    Coupons can be found online, in magazines, in stores, and in the newspapers. There are several spending websites such as Groupon, Restaurant.com, etc. These types of coupon sites may offer deals to discount your dine-out meal and grocery shopping. There are also particular times such as Happy Hour that many restaurants take advantage of to offer discounted prices on their food and drink menus. This could be the perfect opportunity to get the experience of dining out while budgeting for a lower price.

    Menu Plan

    When choosing a restaurant to spend out at, take a look at the menu before to understand the prices and options on their items. This will allow you to plan on your expenses while dining at the restaurant and choose which items to purchase beforehand. One example is beverages- water is available for free at restaurants,, while other drinks will cost more. If you decide to have a glass of wine for dinner, you could call the restaurant ahead of time to get a price for their corkage fee, while bringing your bottle could be more affordable.

    Food Delivery Convenience

    While many Americans face the hassle of meal prepping and cooking, there has been a rise in food delivery services. There are some budget-friendly delivery services, however, most of them continue to charge high prices. Food delivery includes meal kit services such as Blue Apron, to restaurant delivery such as DoorDash or UberEats to grocery delivery like Instacart. These big delivery services profit from the convenience craze but at a higher cost than doing it yourself. Before using delivery apps, take a look at the price breakdown and reevaluate if it makes more sense to do it yourself. Eating out at restaurants is costly, while food delivery services offer similar prices. When considering a food delivery service, it is important to check the pricing of your different options to know which one is most suitable for your budget. It could help understand and price the difference between eating out vs. food delivery when thinking about where to spend your money on meals.

  • Avoiding Cabin Fever: Tips for Wellness in Social Isolation

    It was around this time last year that the strangeness of social distancing would soon become our new normal. The necessity to physically isolate from others has led to massive lifestyle changes that revolve around working, socializing, and studying from the comfort of home. Modern technology and software has helped us create new traditions that ease some of the loneliness of social distancing, but we also now understand that essentially living through our computer screens causes a new type of mental exhaustion. When the rhythms of life are interrupted and our daily routines consist of orbiting the virtual world through computer screens, it can feel challenging to find a balance between previously separated aspects of our personal and work lives. This lack of separation can be felt as a sort of restlessness, or cabin fever, that is only intensified by a lifestyle that consists of more sedentary activity and less outdoor adventure. As we move into a new spring season, the symptoms of cabin fever may manifest as the feeling of being burnt out, restlessness, and seasonal blues. As spring rolls around, the extra hours of sunlight provide us with a bit of relief from winter cabin fever. Here are some ways to stay mindful of your wellness and cope with seasonal blues.

    Check-In With Yourself

    During times of crisis, it’s possible that negative emotions such as stress can cause us to be easily irritable towards others. Doing a regular check-in with our emotions is a great mindfulness practice. Do a quick RAIN check. This is a practice developed by Tara Branch, the acronym RAIN stands for recognize, allow, investigate, and nurture. Internally recognize the current state of emotions you may be going through. Then, allow yourself to take these emotions and instead of repressing, let yourself feel them. Investigate why you may be feeling a certain way. Finally, nurture yourself. Find the root of the cause and apply a relevant course of care.

    Give Yourself a Routine

    A routine does not need to be the same every single day; it can change according to your needs and desires. When seasonal and personal changes arise, it could be worthwhile to start a new routine when the previous one starts to seem tedious. Try to incorporate a routine that you enjoy, such as spending time outside everyday before work or reading a few chapters of a book every night after dinner. It doesn’t need to be a major lifestyle change. Allow yourself the flexibility to include small goals into your daily routine to help you feel some sort of autonomy over your time.

    Have One News Free Day

    More screen time means that many of us are constantly checking the news. While wanting to stay updated on current events is understandable, the news can also be a source of anxiety for many people. Overdosing on the news regularly can be overwhelming. Especially with many tragic events regarding social issues that cover our newsfeeds, it can be easy to feel hopeless and overstimulated. Giving up the news for one day a week doesn’t mean being completely unaware and uneducated about the causes that matter to you. If there is a recent issue in the news that has been occupying your mind, use your news free day to explore relevant resources such as books, podcasts and films. Take advantage of this time to take control of your social concerns and allow yourself to learn and grow by being an informed citizen.

  • Spring Clean Your Finances

    Spring is just around the corner, giving us an opportunity to welcome the new season through some much needed spring cleaning. Along with tidying up your house, it’s a smart idea to check your finances and get ready for the rest of the year, along with the approaching tax season. Here are some easy steps for tidying your finances:

    Clean Up your paperwork

    Most Americans have mass amounts of paperwork lying around their house or office, now is the smart time to go through all of those bulky amounts of paperwork to organize and throw away any you no longer need. Another aspect of this is to consider going digital. As we live in a digital world, you can reconsider the need to keep important paper documents by going paperless this spring. There are many options and tools to help you declutter your workspace such as scanners for digitizing important documents, Google Drive for organizing in the cloud, and an iPad for annotating.

    Cancel Unused or Unnecessary Subscriptions

    Throughout the year, you might have accidentally or intentionally signed up for a subscription that went unused. Keep an eye out for subscriptions such as gym memberships or delivery services that may not be useful to you currently. Understand which subscription services are unnecessary and identify the ones that you actually need. With many businesses having a subscription model, it’s easy for your monthly bill to become cluttered with various memberships. This is common as it can quickly happen with a click on the wrong button or the intention of using the subscription goes unused. Checking your subscriptions will save you from wasting money throughout the year.

    Review your monthly budget

    By taking the time to reevaluate your spending habits, you can see unnecessary costs and expenditures throughout the month. A quick reevaluation will allow you to see exactly how much you are purchasing and if you need to rethink your spending. You can budget through apps, saving a percentage of your paycheck, and setting up a monthly budget plan. Overall, understanding where you can cut spending will help you clear up finances for things that really matter or setting up an emergency fund. Budgeting can also help you save money on unnecessary expenses and will leave you with money to spend on other things such as a mini-vacation or a nice dinner.

  • 4 Ways to Enhance Your Virtual Networking Experience

    For college students and recent graduates, working and studying remotely for almost a year has created much uncertainty surrounding career growth and future development. Understandably, it can feel overwhelming to sort through a myriad of virtual resources. From career fairs to professional panels, here are 4 ways to get the most from online networking opportunities.

    Find a balance between exploration and goal-setting

    Goal setting may already be familiar to you. As a student, you start your higher education journey with the goal of graduating with a degree in a field that you have spent years studying. In between, you spend these years exploring your interests and setting more goals in between. When networking, find a balance between allowing yourself to explore your opportunities and setting concrete goals to reach in the near future. This could consist of having a goal of a specific industry that you want to break into, and in order to do this you are exploring different roles and responsibilities through networking, volunteering, and attending virtual events. Exploration is important throughout your life and career, but as a student it’s even more valuable as you begin the early stages of your professional development.

    Do your research

    You wouldn’t walk into a room full of professionals without having an idea of what they do. The same principle applies to virtual networking. Although you attend virtual events and network online to learn more about companies and roles, it’s impressive to do your homework beforehand. When looking for opportunities, do some research on the companies that intrigue you. Understand their mission and purpose, and look for openings that you’d like to learn more about so that you can ask for details once you meet company representatives. These representatives and recruiters often have little time to interact individually, so it’s essential to make a good impression and ask questions you couldn’t have found the answers to otherwise.

    Take a growth-first approach

    Any student and recent graduate will tell you that networking is one of the things they miss the most about pre-pandemic life. Reasons for this often revolve around career opportunities, but there is also a social and personal aspect to networking. It’s easy to come off as ingenuine when you enter a networking situation with the sole purpose of getting an interview; remember that building out your networking means creating real connections with people. Although networking today is primarily online, try to see past the screen and use your time to learn about a person’s journey to where they are today.

    Alumni resources

    Whether you are a current or former student, many universities offer opportunities to connect with an expansive alumni network. Check in with your school’s career center. In addition to many other resources, you’ll likely find links to access an alumni network that is willing and open to connect with students and recent graduates. Some schools will have a directory to profiles that you can explore and find alumni who are working in an industry or role that interests you. This is a great way to connect with working professionals, as they will likely be more open to networking with students from their alma mater.

    One advantage of virtual networking is that you have access to a larger pool of professionals available for career chats. Find someone who aligns with your interests and remember that they are human just like you. Ask about their growth in the role and how your own path can grow parallel to that. Also keep in mind that networking is a hit-or-miss process. Don’t get discouraged if your conversation doesn’t lead to an opportunity; use that experience to revise your approach and try again.

    Looking for opportunities? Tomo Credit is launching our Tomo Talk webinar series! Join us as experienced professionals and entrepreneurs from top companies discuss their experiences and provide advice.

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  • How to Budget as a College Student in 3 Easy Steps

    Managing money as a college student is not an easy task. As you start your college journey, there are many activities to manage such as school work, extracurriculars, social life, etc. Most students quickly learn that it is essential to be cautious of the money you spend in order to continue with daily activities. Here we will tell you three easy steps to budget your money in order to get the full college experience and take off stress.

    Gather your financial details

    This is an important first step in order to understand how much money you will be spending. You can do this by talking with your parents, checking your bank account cash flow, and searching for scholarships and grants that your university offers. By gathering all of this information, it will allow you to see exactly how much money you will have to manage.

    Predict and Plan your Expenses

    This includes anticipating how much money you will be spending on rent, food, textbooks, clothing, transportation, and extra cash for fun. Having a clear understanding of what you have to and would like to spend your money on will help you form a direct plan. This will help you stay cautious of where your money will be spent while at school.

    Track Your Spending

    This is an important final step in budgeting your money as you will need to keep track of all your expenses. By doing this, you can see exactly where you spend your money in case you need to reevaluate your spending. This helps to see where you can cut back or have room to spend more.