And since then I stayed on some kind of restrictive diet for almost 16 years.

And let me tell you….dieting has cost me BIGTIME, and not just in terms of money.

At age 15 I was a dancer and a cheerleader. I was unhappy because I didn’t think I was as lean as some of my friends, so I wanted to lose weight.

My mom wasn’t a fan of me dieting.

She said I was still growing and needed healthy balanced eating. But in my 15 year old mind I thought I knew better.

So I went on a diet of Healthy Choice frozen dinners and hollowed out bagels (I know, cray-cray-crazy for a developing teenager). But I lost 10 pounds! And my dance teachers praised my newer “tighter” body.

That’s when I got hooked…controlling my body through food became kind of an obsession.

My next diet was in college. My best friend was as tall as me but much thinner and I felt fat when I stood next to her.

So…without any regard for the fact that her and I had completely different bodies, I started following her food and exercise regime. I would work out hardcore 6 days a week and then eat a very low fat, zero sugar diet.

I was constantly hungry but I didn’t care. I was skinnier!

Then after college I moved to Los Angeles (AKA the world capital of very thin people). And in my eyes my 5’8″ tall, size 6 frame was waaaay too fat for LA LA land!

So I went on The Zone diet – high protein, low carb, and low fat. And I lost weight…again. And got praised for it…again.

Since then I’ve tried one form or another of a high protein diet. And, yes, there are things about eating that way that my body did like.

But there were other things my body did not like about eating a highly restrictive diet, and for a long time I ignored the signs.

I guess you could say I had some type of eating disorder, like orthorexia. I still ate, but was obsessed with what I put in my body, often thinking that eating some sugar or dairy once in a while would be crazy unhealthy and make me gain weight.

And when I looked back on those 16 years of dieting, I realized that restrictive eating had COST me in many ways.

Here are the 3 big things that suffered:

#1: MY HEALTH STARTED TO SUCK
At age 27 my health started to deteriorate. I was constantly tired and had very little energy. I would work hard all week and then on the weekends I couldn’t even get out of bed.

This went on for over 4 years. After $10,000 in doctor’s visits and many many tests, I finally got diagnosed with gluten intolerance; that was causing some of my symptoms.

But the other problems going on in my body were caused by loads of vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

That confused me. I ate in a way that I thought was VERY healthy and clean…how could my body be deficient in anything?!? Well, turns out it was deficient because I didn’t eat a varied diet.

When you only eat certain foods ALL the time your body becomes deficient in other vitamins that those foods don’t give you. Duh, right? Of course my body lacked certain things – I was only feeding it a small amount of what it needed.

#2: I PAID OUT THE WAZOO FOR “HEALTH” FOOD
Every time I found a new diet to try, it was crazy expensive. I would overhaul my entire pantry and refrigerator…eliminating “bad” foods that were not on my new diet.

At my worst, I was on a verrrry restrictive high protein diet that required lots of fancy “superfoods” (like Maca powder or Goji berries) and tons of grass fed meat with organic vegetables.

Look, I’m not saying it’s bad to eat weird maca powder and high quality meats & veggies. But when that was all I was surviving on, my grocery bill easily topped $300 a week.

That is a HUGE amount of money for one woman to be spending on food!

I was always stressed out about the amount of money I had to spend on my “special” food. I did a calculation and it turns out that over the years I have spent well over $40,000 on all my diet fads.

And, in my opinion, that’s waaaaay too much money to have spent on diets that didn’t do me much good anyway!

#3: I BECAME ANTI-SOCIAL
When you’re on a highly restrictive diet, eating out becomes a stressful nightmare.

I was constantly worried that restaurants wouldn’t have food options for me, or that I wouldn’t be able to find anything to eat at that dinner party.

I couldn’t let go and enjoy myself anymore, because I was worried about how the food was prepared, since it was out of my control.

That made me anti-social. I started skipping eating out or cocktails with friends so I could stay home and cook for myself. Not fun!

I’m only in my early 30′s – I don’t want to sit home alone all weekend and every night because I’m obsessed with my diet. “F” THAT.

So…finally I saw the light!

After torturing myself with these restrictive obsessive diets for nearly two decades, I finally started listening to what my body wanted to eat. I know I’m allergic to gluten so I stay away from that, but everything else is fair game.

I am learning to eat in moderation (just like my very smart mom suggested all those years ago).

I am listening to what people call my “food voice” for the first time since I was a kid. I still believe in eating healthy…just not obsessively healthy.

It’s a little weird to walk into a supermarket and buy whatever feels good, rather than what my diet says is good for me. But I’m happily getting used to it 

And you know what’s crazy? I’ve actually lost a few pounds since I started eating more balanced. Makes sense too…stress makes you gain weight, even if it’s healthy eating that you’re stressing about.

Everything is in better shape now – my wallet, my health, and my sanity!

I still have a ways to go in learning how to listen to my own body, but I feel happier and less obsessed about food than I’ve been in a long time.

And how about you? Have any diet horror stories? Please share them with us in the comments below!

Want Agatha K. updates & special offers delivered straight to your email? SIGN UP HERE

But did you also know that out of those divorces, almost 60% occur because of money problems?

From all my years working in the finance industry, I’ve learned that attitudes and perspectives about money vary wildly from person to person.

So I can TOTALLY understand the difficulties that can come up when two people join together their lives and finances.

I think a lot of disagreements come from couples avoiding the “money talk” until too late in the relationship.

Most of the time, you don’t really find out what someone’s money outlook is until you’re in a serious relationship with them.

And what good does that do you?

If you are already goo-goo-ga-ga in love with them you are probably beyond the point of no return, even if their financial habits don’t jive with yours.

Once you marry someone you connect your entire life with them, and that includes money.

If they are in a huge amount of debt, that now becomes your debt. If they are a super saver and you are a super spender, that can become a huge point of argument between the two of you.

So isn’t it worth it to find out where your honey bunny stands financially BEFORE you get into bed with them and their money? That’s why you have to ask!

And don’t be scared or feel weird about it – it’s a perfectly normal and necessary conversation.

I’m not saying that on the first date you need to analyze each others bank statements over dinner. But if you are dating someone that is a potential lifelong match, don’t you want everything out on the table before deciding if they’re “the one”?

Here are some money questions I would recommend asking your sweetheart:

1. How much (if any) debt do you have?

2. How much money (if any) do you have saved or invested?

3. Do you like to save or spend your money?

4. How much money does it take every month to support your current lifestyle?

5. What kind of lifestyle do you want once you’re married?

6. Do you want to be a dual income couple?

7. Do you want our money to be combined? Or in separate bank accounts?

8. At what age do you want to retire?

9. How do you plan to support yourself in retirement?

10. What are the biggest mistakes you’ve made with money and what have you learned from them?

These kinds of questions are a great place to start and can give you lots of insight into how your honey’s money mind works.

Having this kind of open conversation about money will show you both exactly what you are getting into.

That makes things much easier down the line if money issues do come up. Who knows, it could even save you from becoming one of those divorced statistics!

Want Agatha K. updates & special offers delivered straight to your email? SIGN UP HERE

This article is by guest blogger Aequitas Wealth Management.

When buying investments, we should buy them more like we shop for groceries rather than luxury items.

When we buy a fine watch or perfume we are drawn to an image of how we would like to feel or be perceived.

Style and passion sell!

If that weren’t the case, instead of a Rolex we would be happy with the flimsy plastic watch we receive as a free gift with a magazine subscription.

Watch out for this when you are investing!

Investment sponsors seduce us with glossy ads and pictures of happy couples on the beach in retirement.

Yet when it comes to investments, we are generally better off buying with an attention to value and ingredients, rather than “glossiness”.

That’s because advertising is expensive.

Did you know that many mutual funds actually pass on the cost of marketing in a specific fee to their investors?

These are called 12b-1 fees and are charged separately from operating expenses. Look to see what your fund charges in fees and expenses by entering the symbol of the fund in Yahoo Finance and then clicking on the Profile tab.

Another place to look for savings is if you own a mutual fund with a class like A, B or C in the name. Class A funds charge a sales fee, expressed as a percentage, for buying the fund; this is also known as a “load”.

So, for example, if you buy $1,000 of a class A fund with a 5% load, the mutual fund company will keep $50 for itself and only actually invest $950. Class B and C funds also charge extra fees.

Save money by buying index mutual funds or even better, index Exchange Traded Funds. 

ETFs are like mutual funds since they are composed of many different stocks or bonds AND they are also like stocks because they trade during the day (unlike mutual funds which are bought and sold only at the end of the day price called the “net asset value”).

The good news is that some ETF sponsors like Charles Schwab and Vanguard now offer their own excellent index ETFs commission free. That’s almost as good as a coupon!

The savings in sales fees and the low expense ratios add up to real money over time, and every additional amount of return counts now more than ever.

Sarah M. Lewis, CFP®, CFE MBA and Joe Alexopoulos CFP®, CFE, MBA are the team behind Aequitas Wealth Management. Between them they have over 40 years of experience in financial services and manage the investment portfolios of high net worth individuals. For more visit www.Aequitaswm.com

Want Agatha K. updates & special offers delivered straight to your email? SIGN UP HERE

Penny pinching on everything makes me feel obsessive and like I can’t have any fun.

Instead, I like to find unusual remedies for life’s everyday needs. My favorite kinds of remedies are the ones that save me money and work even better than the pricier alternative.

Enter Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV)!

It’s my favorite go-to for hundreds of home and health remedies.

These remedies are so effective and low cost that they save me up to $1,000 per year. Not bad since a bottle of organic unfiltered ACV only costs about $14 bucks!

And although there are many ways you can use ACV, I have some favorites that are, by far, the biggest money savers.

So here are my TOP 4 most awesome money saving uses for Apple Cider Vinegar:

I highly recommend using Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar (pictured above).

It’s organic and unfiltered so you get the purest form available…for super duper healthiness.

If you can’t find the Bragg’s brand at your local supermarket you can GET IT HERE on Amazon.

And what about you? Do you have any other awesome ACV remedies?

Share them with us in the comments below!

P.S. Before you do ANY mole removal with ACV, make sure your moles have been checked by your doctor and cleared as non-cancerous. You shouldn’t be messing around at home with any moles that contain cancer cells!

Want Agatha K blog updates & special offers delivered straight to your email? SIGN UP HERE

She doesn’t love to read and is just beginning her financial education…so she wanted to get a money book that was informative but would also keep her attention.

Well…as a fun money nerd, there is nothing I dislike more than BORING SNORING finance books that just give you a how-to list.

I love finance books that are simple and easy for ANYONE to understand!

On top of that, the ones that have some kind of story weaved into them are waaaaay more interesting than the ones that just puke out facts and figures.

And when the book has a compelling story, I remember the facts and figures a lot more.

So I narrowed it down to my 3 favorites that are both fun and financial. These books are AWESOME if you are at the beginning of your financial education and get easily bored by too many facts & figures…

#1: THE RICHEST MAN IN BABYLON by George S. Clason
Why do I L-O-V-E this book?

It’s only 151 pages long, has big font, and is an easy fun read!

It’s the fictional story of Arkad, the richest man in ancient Babylon. As we read about Arkad’s life, we find out why and how he got so rich.

This book focuses on only one principle of finance, but it’s by far the most important.

Arkad is a kind and generous rich man and he shares his secret with the people of Babylon, telling them they can be rich like him if they just follow his one financial principle.

Not to sound cheezy weezy, but these 151 pages changed my life.

You can get ‘The Richest Man in Babylon’ HERE on Amazon.

#2: RICH DAD, POOR DAD by Robert Kiyosaki
When I started reading this book, I could not put it down. Again, it has powerful finance principles woven into an interesting story.

This time it’s a story of a young boy. His real dad is poor and his best friend’s dad (who takes him under his wing) is a self made millionaire.

As a kid, the boy starts to see very clearly why one dad is rich and the other is poor.

The book takes you through his childhood and cleverly weaves in all the things both dads taught him about money; from what to do and what NOT to do!

This one has more meat and goes over several really important personal finance areas.

It’s an excellent place to start if you are just beginning to learn how to be better with money…or even need a refresher.

You can get ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’ HERE on Amazon.

#3: SECRETS OF THE MILLIONAIRE MIND by T. Harv Eker
The biggest thing I’ve learned about finance is that rich people think, act, and feel totally differently about money than poor people do.

This book shows you exactly what I mean by that.

It literally takes you through all the things you learned in childhood that determine your financial life, and then shows you how to change them.

When I read it, I was on the edge of my seat thinking holy sh*t that was TOTALLY me as a kid! And then the crappy financial choices I made made in my 20′s made so much more sense to me.

If you want a really entertaining and informative book on how to forever change the way you deal with money, this is it.

You can get ‘Secrets of the Millionaire Mind’ HERE on Amazon.

ONE LAST THING...
I know I didn’t list any books here that were written by women…and that was not intentional.

It’s just that these 3 books are my favorites in the way they tell interesting stories rather than a boring financial how-to list.

But if you have read any kick butt finance books written by women that have a compelling story woven into finance please tell us in the comments below!

Want Agatha K blog updates & special offers delivered straight to your email? SIGN UP HERE

This time of year I love getting some of the latest spring trends and fashions to wear for all those fun nights out I plan to have.

But there’s nothing I hate more than paying top dollar for something trendy that I may only wear for one season!

So I don’t..

I ALWAYS look for bargain basement options. That way if I hate the thing next year it won’t break my heart (or my bank) to get rid of it.

So here’s my fave trendy must haves for this Spring that your wallet will love too!

#1: NEON JELLY SANDALS (pictured above)
I am in BIG love with any kind of neon jelly sandal these days. Anything neon is super hot for spring. I found a pricey designer pair for $150 but paying that much money for ummm…jelly shoes…is batsh*t crazy!

So I found this cheaper version from JC Penney and I think they look pretty amazing! 15 people have already asked me wear I bought them.

You’d never know I only paid 15 bucks for them!

You can buy them here at JCpenney.com.

#2: PATTERNED GEL NAILS
Everyone these days seems to be getting gel manicures. That’s when they use gel polish that lasts up to 4 times longer than regular polish.

And they can do lots of funky patterns on nails this way like leopard, floral, or neon. Problem is your typical gel manicure costs about $35-$40 so that can add up QUICKLY if you’re getting them every 3 weeks.

My alternative?

Sally Hansen Salon Effects Strips! They cost a crazy cheap $9 and come in all kinds of colors and patterns. They last about 2 weeks and I’ve gotten TONS of compliments when I’ve worn them.

You can buy them here on Drugstore.com.

#3: BRIGHT CLUTCH BAGS
There’s nothing that makes an outfit pop more than a bright bag. And especially for spring, I love to wear small clutches and wrist-let bags.

If you want to go to Neiman Marcus and pay $900 for a bag the size of an envelope, be my guest. I prefer to get spring clutches that LOOK expensive but are not, especially since I may not even like the bag next season.

Enter my absolute fave place for colored clutch bags: ALDO shoes.

Yes, this shoe store sells great trendy low priced bags.

Check out this bright orange clutch for a much more affordable $40.

It would add a dynamite Spring pop of color to anything you wore!

#4: COLORED BLAZERS
A colored blazer is the purrrrrfect way to brighten up that black dress for a night out or those gray pants at the office. But it can be tricky to find a blazer that looks well made and is not super pricey.

I’ve had huge luck before finding amazing blazers at designer consignment stores. I got a navy blue Prada blazer for just $15!

But I didn’t couldn’t find a red or pink blazer at my consignment stores this season ….maybe you’ll have better luck at your local designer consignment shop.

Instead, I went to H&M and low and behold found my hot red blazer there. It looks well made so you’d never know I paid only $35 for it.

I love wearing it with jeans or dresses to give my outfits that extra hot spring spice!

#5: CRAZY COLORED EYE SHADOWS
Ooooooh I am loving all the crazy colored eye shadows for spring like neon green, fuchsia purple, and even tangerine orange.

So I went to the makeup counter at a fancy department store and found a bunch of these fun shades at $30 a pop. YIKES!

With all due respect, there is no way in h*ll I paying $30 for tangerine orange eyeshadow that I may hate in 3 months. So, again I headed to the drugstore…

The biggest difference between pricey makeup and drugstore makeup is the pricey stuff is more pigmented. So your purples will be deeper, greens will be brighter, etc.

But makeup spoils…so if you’re not going to use all your tangerine eyeshadow before it goes bad why bother paying $30 for it?

Grab the drugstore version and just use more of it to get the same deep pigmentation.

My fave this Spring is Maybelline Eye Studio Color Explosion.

Now get out there in the gorgeous warm weather and show off your hotness!

Want Agatha K blog updates & special offers delivered straight to your email? SIGN UP HERE

Remember that this year your taxes are due on April 17…NOT the usual April 15.

So…since you have until Tuesday to file are you putting it off and waiting until the last minute?

Is it because you dread tax time like most Americans?

You are not alone my friend! Most of us will be scrambling on Tuesday night to get our taxes filed and off in time to the IRS.

So here are some of my fave funny quotes about taxes to brighten up this very ummm…”special” time of year for you.

1. “The trick is to stop thinking of it as ‘your’ money.” -IRS auditor

2. “The hardest thing in the world to understand is income tax.” -Albert Einstein

3. “I’m spending a year dead for tax reasons.” -Douglas Adams

4. “The income tax created more criminals than any other single act of government.” -Barry Goldwater

5. “You don’t pay taxes – they take taxes.” -Chris Rock

6. “America is a land of taxation that was founded to avoid taxation.” -Dr. Laurence Peter

7. “There’s nothing wrong with the younger generation that becoming taxpayers won’t cure.” -Dan Bennett

8. “Taxes grow without rain.” -Jewish Proverb

9. “Look at it this way: If you don’t spend your dollars on the IRS, you’d probably just squander it on foolish things, like food, rent.” -Cindy Adams, NY Post

10. “A survey shows Americans find filing their taxes slightly more bearable than going to a funeral – which could explain why thousands put off doing their returns until the last minute.” -Nirvi Shah, Miami Herald

Hope this makes your tax time a little less dreadful this year!

Want Agatha K blog updates & special offers delivered straight to your email? SIGN UP HERE.

Whether you’re doing your taxes yourself or hiring someone else, here are some quick nerdy tax tips that can save you money and mistakes.

AND…even though the tax deadline for this year is APRIL 17 it never hurts to get them done early. So let’s just pretend they are due by April 15

TAX MISTAKE #1: PAYING OUT THE WAZOO FOR TAX PREP FEES
I know many CPA’s that do an amazing job preparing taxes. For people that have larger businesses, complicated tax situations, or absolutely zero time paying someone else to do your taxes is great and often necessary.

But if you do not fall into one of those categories I highly recommend at least trying to do your own taxes. If you have one job and maybe own a home you really don’t need someone else to prepare your return for you. It’s much more simple than you think!

These days there are oodles of tax softwares out there and many of them make filing taxes dummy proof for all of us. For example, Turbo Tax (my personal fave) takes you through an entire interview and then generates your return for you based on your answers.

Best part is there is minimal cost to use Turbo Tax – if you want to e-file you have to pay and if you want to file your state (on top of your Federal) return you have to pay. But if you print your returns off Turbo Tax and mail them instead of e-filing your cost goes waaaay down. Easy breezy!

TAX MISTAKE #2: PAYING YOUR TAXES WITH A CREDIT CARD
Uh Oh! Do you owe some money to the IRS that you weren’t expecting? And now you don’t have money to pay it?

As easy as it may sound to pay those taxes by credit card…forget it! On top of the interest your credit card will charge you, you have to pay at least a 2.5% “merchant processing” fee when you pay your taxes by credit card.

Instead, apply for a payment installment plan with the IRS so you can make monthly payments on your balance over time.

The IRS has much much better interest rates than credit cards and your installment loan will have a fixed interest rate (not compounded daily like with credit cards). So you’ll end up paying much less in the long run if you go this route.

If you need to apply for an installment plan click here for more info.

TAX MISTAKE #3: NOT DEDUCTING JOB SEARCH COSTS
Some people are still out of work or looking for different jobs. If you are one of those people I hope you kept track of all your job search costs!

Costs of driving/flying to interviews, photocopying your resume, or any agency fees you paid to help you look for a job are among the list of tax deductible items.

You can find the full list of IRS deductible job search expenses on this page under the “Job Search Expenses” section.

TAX MISTAKE #4: BEING HAPPY YOU GOT A REFUND
Lots of people think it’s awesome to get a refund. This is a HUGE myth.

Getting a refund means you basically gave the IRS a short term loan for all of last year. That was money you could have used for yourself, rather than having it sit with the government.

When I worked at Deloitte & Touche preparing taxes for huge corporations and wealthy folks, our job was to make sure our clients never got a refund. If they got one, that meant we didn’t do our job planning their taxes properly.

To make sure you won’t be in refund zone you have to do some tax planning, which sounds harder than it actually is. I do a whole class on an easy way to plan your taxes in week 5 of my 6 Week Money Mojo online class.

TAX MISTAKE #5: FAILING TO REPORT ALL YOUR INCOME
We all get fancy official reports of our income that we have to report on our tax returns. If you’re an employee you get a W-2; freelancers and businesses get 1099 forms; and any interest, stocks, or other income we receive is always reported to us on a form as well.

So when you add up all your income make sure you are not missing anything. If you’ve moved or had another kind of change maybe you did not receive all the forms you need.

To make sure you added your income up correctly, just add up all the deposits you made into your bank account for the year. Does the number you added up match what you’ll be reporting on your taxes?

If not, you’ll need to figure out why and if you need to report it. Like if your brother reimbursed you $800 for a computer you bought for him, that’s NOT income to you. That’s just a reimbursement on something you already paid for.

BUT if your brother paid you $2,000 for some work you did on his lawn, then that is income and you need to report that on your tax return, even if your brother didn’t give you one of those official 1099 forms.

The last thing you want is to get audited and have the IRS find an extra $2,000 of income you didn’t report…then you’d owe them penalties and interest on that money. Yuck!

To get Agatha K blog updates & special offers delivered straight to your email SIGN UP HERE.

P.S. If you want more help with your mula then join 6 Week Money Mojo, our online class for personal finance that won’t bore you to death!

Financial stress is usually the kind of stress you can’t get away from.

If you’re worried about money you’re probably worried about it non-stop 24/7. So when you consider that stress is horrible for your health that can be pretty scary.

But do you also know that stress can have a huge impact on your weight?!?

When you have stress hormones (AKA cortisol) coursing through your body all the time it causes your body to hold onto fat, especially in your stomach and lower abdomen.

I know this first hand. Crazily enough I am 25 pounds thinner than I was 10 years ago when I was flat broke and constantly freaking out about it!

Here’s what I did to decrease my stress levels…and the excess pounds just fell off:

Decreasing my money stress has made a HUGE difference not just for my wallet but for my weight too!

What do you do to decrease stress?!? Tell me in the comments below.

P.S. Want to become a jedi master of your mula and never stress about it again? Then sign up for 6 WEEK MONEY MOJO, my online class for personal finance that won’t bore you to death!

P.P.S. Want Agatha K special offers & blog updates delivered straight to your email? SIGN UP HERE

This article is by guest blogger & motorcycle lover Gina Williams.

It’s no secret that gas prices are skyrocketing.

Analysts are now predicting that national gas prices will average about $4.25 per gallon by April, and continue to increase to as much as $5 per gallon in major cities.

These prices are sure to have a negative impact on our already unsteady economy. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben S. Bernanke told the House of Representatives on January 7th that he expects increases in gas prices to result in inflation. YIKES!

Given that gasoline is a necessity to the American life, it’s only a matter of time before the demand for hybrid and electric cars grows even more. But are those vehicles really the American consumer’s best option when it comes to saving money?

This may surprise you but motorcycles are actually consumers’ best financial option!

Here’s my handy dandy chart from the US Department of Transportation on why…

Fuel Efficiency Comparison:
Passenger Vehicles, Motorcycles, Hybrids (e.g. Prius)

If gas prices reach the projected $4.25, motorcyclists will save between $1,080 and $1,230 in comparison to traditional passenger vehicles over the course of 2012. WOW!

Whether gas prices are high or low, the fact is that motorcyclists save BIG on gas compared to traditional passenger vehicles and hybrids.

For those who own or are thinking of owning a motorcycle, there are also simple steps you can take to make sure your bike maintains its best possible fuel economy. Regular maintenance on your engine, consistently checking tire levels, and regularly changing filters and your engine’s oil help you get the best bang for your buck at the gas pump.

Gina Williams is a blogger and motorcycle lover. Shocked by the incidence of motorcycle accidents and fatalities when compared to other modes of transportation, Gina has devoted her life to educating the public about everything motorcycle accident-related with her blog http://www.motorcycleaccident.org/blog/

Want Agatha K blog updates & special offers delivered straight to your email? SIGN UP HERE