The Dollar Tree has really been coming through on these LA Colors nail polish! Every time I go to a new location they have more new colors. This week I picked up a LA Colors nail polish called "Watermelon" very beautiful deep dark berry pink color. 

 I’m always running around doing errands and trying to vlog at the same time. I saw there was a problem though, everything was always scattered everywhere. My camera would be in my jacket pocket, SD and battery in my pants pocket, and then my tripod would be too big to go in my purse so I would have to leave it at home. My old canon was on the way out so I said I was going to make the most compact affordable YouTube set up ever! It’s going to be so compact it will fit in a standard fanny pack! So here is the YouTube vlogger on the go fanny pack gear :

Of course you need a basic fanny pack. The more zippers and pockets the better. Got this one of eBay for I think $8.00 it was meant for the gym actually.

DIGITAL CAMERA

This is my old Canon Powershot Elph I used for vlogging before the sound went out. UPDATE: I wanted a camera I could see myself in so I got the Canon SX740 SX. It's a great deal to me for the quality of footage I get plus the fact that I can see myself makes it all worth it!  (Yes the new camera fits in the fanny pack as well)

MINI TRIPOD

This little tripod is the best thing ever! It’s a Manfrotto mini tripod. It’s so small and fits in your hand perfectly. I didn’t know if it was going to fit into the fanny pack or not so when I saw it fit my day was made! I haven't stopped recording since.

EXTRA BATTERIES

The extra batteries for me are a must! I use the record feature a lot so when my camera flashes red and tells me to change the battery I stop, change it, put the other one on charge and continue. For me I have (3) batteries for the Canon SX 740 SX that’s enough to keep me going for the entire day. The most I’ve ever had to change the battery is once in a day. (I do the same with the Canon Power Shot ELPH 340 HS and my DSLR Canon)

SD CARDS

All together I probably have about (29) SD Cards because I list online daily and do videos on multiple platforms. For the average person 2-4 SD Cards with between 8GB to 16GB should be well more than enough to get started. When I’m out I have one in my camera and one in the fanny pack. UPDATE: I have now moved up to 32-64GB because of more photography and more video but it’s not necessary starting out a 16GB SD Card is ideal though)

MINI RING LIGHT

This was a very inexpensive light and helps to be seen on camera when you are losing light. It’s meant to be clipped on a cell phone but it can be clipped anywhere. It gives off (3) strengths of light and it’s great at night time.

When it’s time to go out I make sure everything is charged and put on my fanny pack and I’m ready to record anywhere I go! This compact fanny pack set up can also be used for photography. You would probably need a mini bookbag to carry a bigger camera like a DSLR but you would still need everything I mentioned in the fanny pack You Tube set up.

See being a YouTuber, Instagrammer or Tik Toker is only a fanny pack away! Get some starter gear and start creating!

 This is one of my favorite quick breakfast recipes Vanilla Allspice Cinnamon Pancakes! It taste so good you wouldn't realize how low cost it is. Take a box of any brand Pancake mix I chose Kroger buttermilk pancake mix. The whole box is under $2.00 which is a steal because as a single person I will have that box for a long time.

My batter made about (3) fluffy small/medium pancakes. I like to mix the batter for at least (5) minutes. In my mind it makes the pancake cook more fluffy.

And there it is! A (3) stack of beautiful golden brown vanilla cinnamon and allspice pancakes topped with some plant based butter and syrup. You can definitely stay in budget and eat great tasting meals. 

Here is the video I made on these pancakes on Youtube.

Thank you for coming by to read the blog! Hope you make these for your next frugal breakfast!

 

 This was more of an experiment. I saw a quick video with a lady grating a bar of  Zote melting it with water, adding essential oils and storing it to use on dishes, clothes, for cleaning and even a bleach alternative. I have plenty of Zote bars in my pantry and I love DIY so I gave it a try. I must say that this is one of the BEST DIY projects I've ever done and I will use it for LIFE!

 With everything going on in the world I have really started to take eating, drinking and entertaining to a whole new level! Coming up with new mocktails, foods and desserts it becoming my new favorite hobby. I'm not going to lie I was going for the " Unicorn" type drink but it looked more toned down so I renamed it "Magic Mocktail" lolol here is what I bought to make it.

 It has taken me roughly 4-5 years to be able to use my DSLR camera for YouTube without the footage looking blurry and out of focus. I tried to make a YouTube video to say Thank You for 1,800 subscribers about a year ago it was so bad! It was a real struggle! I have been in photography class for about (3) weeks and because we have been working with camera settings I decided to come home and work on the video settings and here is a snap shot of the settings I'm using on the Canon 1300 D DSLR camera to do YouTube video:

 Which is better Ebay, Depop or Mercari? I sell on all of them so I guess I will go in order based on how long I've been a seller on the platform and tell you my personal experience with it.

             EBAY

Mercari is the latest selling app I have joined. I set up Mercari sometime in 2020 and it has been awesome! I have sold everything from T-Shirts, Sweatshirts, Wigs, Press On Nails the buyers are definitely on Mercari. Once you get some good feedback on your profile you will be fine. I get offers on many items. If you don't like the offer you can always counter it. Almost all of my counter offers are accepted. I also list everything on Mercari with my iPhone. Sales are right up there with eBay so I want to really focus on this app in 2021.

So which is better? Which one should you sale on? I say ALL OF THEM! It doesn't cost to list on any of these selling platforms. You only pay fees when you make a sale! All of them have a different reach and you have more opportunity to make sales having merchandise on all of them rather than just one.

I can't say if one is better than the other. Mercari, eBay and Depop all have there own style the fees are about the same when I sell my items. In my opinion all (3) are great to make money with. If your looking to make some extra cash or start a business look into getting on these platforms in 2021. Happy selling!

 This waffle recipe is one of my favorites! The original recipe I found on Sweet Potatoe Soul's YouTube channel and adapted it to my liking. There are no eggs or dairy in these waffles and everything needed is shown below. 

 So I woke up today with simple living on the brain. It’s become my new obsession. Scaling back my lifestyle to live slower is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made for my life. When I was younger in my 20’s I would have so many problems with money and my health and I see now in my mid 30’s that was due to stress and doing too much at one time. 

Self care has also been at the top of my list. With everything going on I like to prepare my own foods. I’ve started sprouting Alfalfa seeds  in my kitchen and creating bean salads almost every other day. I also like to pickle my own green peppers and onions in apple cider vinegar. Then with the apple cider vinegar I take a shot or two. It’s been a relief to have food made and not go out to eat. There is so much going on I don’t want to eat out at this time.

It’s really a joy to see at the end of the day you created all this different merchandise and content for different platforms and you're on your way to making a full-time creative income. You just have to keep going and living this simple efficient lifestyle makes it possible. I will always preach to pull back your living expenses and make as much money as you can! Here is the most important part ----> Invest in skills. This is what takes your income up. Every time you learn a new skill you have a new avenue to make more money. 

So far for me it’s been working great! I hope for the entrepreneurs out there that you try this so you can get to a creative lifestyle as quickly as possible. You don’t have to wait 10-20 years to retire. Why not live the life you built RIGHT NOW! Personally I don’t want to retire. I want to be doing what I’m doing now basically forever. Choose to love your life guise. Thank you for coming by! I’ll see ya in the next post.