Lizzy DiPietrantonio, J.D. is a good friend and colleague of mine. Shes an Advisor at the same firm I work at (JGUA) and is an invaluable resource! We bounce ideas off of each other all of the time. Both in work life and our personal lives. This girl knows what she’s talking about! She, like most of us sassy ladies, can fall prey to the terrible web of internet marketing! Duh duh duh! We chatted a bit about one of her most recent blog posts and I can totally relate to everything she says! I also once bought personalized shampoo that made my scalp burn in the end! Ouch. Ooops, I’m getting ahead of myself. Okay, without further ado….Lizzy DiPietrantonio…!
Q: Lizzy, you wrote this blog to tackle the world-wide battle of being sucked in by internet sales. What inspired you to write this?
A: I was inspired to write this because I genuinely struggle with my spending. Despite the fact that I am a financial planner for a living it can be really hard to get real and help yourself. I would find that every time I went on Instagram I was suckered into getting a new product. I would sometimes obsess over them for a few weeks. The tricky part with the internet is once you click on a link that product is everywhere. I started to feel like the whole world had customized shampoo except me. The ads are often are inescapable. I had to get real with myself and I was hoping by writing this I could help others do the same.
Q: Budgeting tends to seem overwhelming to most people. Do you have some tips to make it quick and easy?
A: Let’s be real budgeting is boring af. Nobody wants to do it. I had to make it fun. Get a cute notebook, make a pretty excel sheet with colors, whatever will inspire you. Also, it doesn’t have to be done all at once. Write down what you spend in a day or even a week. Slowly put these things into categories. Actually check your credit card statement online at the end of the month instead of blindly paying the bill. A lot of times I think there is an element of fear like “if I don’t look it didn’t happen”… It can be hard to get over this fear but once you do, you have a lot more power. Also, a budget can look any way you want, do not stress too much over things like formatting or excel formulas. Do it in a way you are comfortable.
Q: Anything else you’d like our Womansplaining readers to know about this blog you wrote?
A: I meant what I say in the blog about not being too hard on yourself! I think a lot of people procrastinate on paying attention to things like this because they just feel so guilty when they do spend, or they get overwhelmed. Let that all go! You have the ultimate power over your spending and you alone are in control of it! This process will help empower you. Finally, if you are lucky enough to have your Mom in your life…. listen to her, She is always right! (haha)
If you’d like to read Lizzy’s blog “6 Tips for Survival in This Wild World of Internet Sales” visit the Blog @JGUAfor the full post.
