How To Create An LBD: Little Budget Diary

Contrary to what you might have been taught, you don't have to entirely cut fun things out of your life in order to save money. Doing so might actually have the opposite effect: you could burn out and spend way more than you would have if you simply added spending into your budgeted.

"If it’s a splurge that you’re obsessed with and will up your quality of life — then let’s figure out how much it costs and how you’re going to pay for it," Sacks says. She recommends the 50-30-20 method for your budget.

"Start by calculating your after-tax income and break it into 3 categories: 50% for needs, 30% for wants, and 20% for future you!" she continues. "That 30% number is what we are going to focus on. That’s the amount you can spend every month on…whatever you want. This splurge included! Just make sure you don’t go over that number because you should never spend on your current self if you’re not also putting money away for future you."

Saving Up For Your Financial Goals

Budgeting helps you divide up your savings before the money goes into your account. That way, you always know what you're saving for. (It's also a good idea to have extra savings because you never know when your car will need a new battery or if you'll have an unexpected trip to the ER).

Saving requires some self-control since it's money you aren't able to spend right now, and it can be difficult to release your current spending habits. "[That stubbornness] really just comes from a fear of the unknown," Sacks says. "We often choose what is comfortable over what’s new! But the more you understand why you’re doing something, the more that stubbornness can be released." Here are some specific financial goals to save up for:

Goal: Becoming Debt-Free

Think how much more money you'll have to save *and* spend once your debt is paid off! Check out the snowball method vs. the avalanche method to figure out what's best for you, and just take it one day at a time.

Goal: Taking A Bucket-List Trip

Whether you've been dreaming of going to France since Emily in Paris dropped or you want to go on a solo trip to your favorite small town, you'll definitely want enough cash to have a good time. You can't go wrong spending money on an experience you'll love.

Goal: Scoring Tix To See Your Favorite Performer

Concert merch, movie tickets, name brand collections — start saving now for these once-in-a-lifetime events and your future self will thank you.

How To Start Investing

Investing is different than a regular savings account. When you invest your money, instead of just sitting in an account, it's put to work in a variety of projects so that you make a net profit and end up with more money than you had before. You can invest with a retirement plan, or government-related options like stocks and bonds. Here's some more investing info to get you started.

Consider getting a financial advisor early in life. Financial advisors can really make a difference in your long-term goals, whether you want to buy a home, start a family, or retire well. Make sure you find a certified financial advisor who is a fiduciary, which means they are legally or ethically bound to act in your best interest. They can help you figure out where to invest your 401Ks and really help you invest and build your savings over time.

How To Become Financially Literate + Financially Independent

Financial independence can feel like a crazy goal when you're in the throes of debt and bills. But there's one thing that can help you move toward it: financial literacy. After all, knowledge is power.

"The more that you take control of your finances, the more you take control of your life and destiny," Sacks says. "Financial literacy also ensures you never get taken advantage of and that you’re maximizing the benefits of all the financial products you use."

Everyone has a different financial situation, which means that everyone has to make different financial choices. Taking a step toward financial independence can mean anything from reexamining your grocery bill to creating streams of passive income that make you money while you sleep (more on that later).

All in all, financial literacy and financial independence can go hand-in-hand. Check out the 5 Tax Terms That Can Save You Money, or these 6 Money Tips For Kids. It's never too early to learn!

How To Make Saving Money Less Boring

You might be thinking, "Saving money just doesn't sound fun," and technically you're right. Saving might not feel fun on its own, which is exactly why we're here! Pinterest Predict's Cha-Ching Challenge got us thinking about ways that we can turn saving into a game. Try one or all of these ideas, and let us know your favorite.

Make Learning Fun

If you want to learn more about finances, find a program that puts the terminology into your language, like Sacks' own aspirational finance media company, Finance Is Cool. "It makes being good with your money chic," she says. "I designed it with the goal of helping the future rich people who follow me take control of their finances step-by-step and provide them with the tools they need to grow wealth, all with a little humor and a lot of Kardashian references so we can have fun while we learn."

Maximize Your Card

If you have a credit card, or a debit card with benefits, use the points and rewards to your advantage. Sacks loves the Amex Rewards Checking account. "I earn Membership Rewards points on eligible Debit Card purchases that I can use on shopping, traveling, and more," she says.

Set up an automated deposit into your checking account when the rewards reach a certain number, or save up all your points for a dream-worthy trip during the summer. You can also check out Brit's interview with The Points Guy for more inspo.

Make Money In Your Sleep

Create one (or more) streams of passive income to bolster your paycheck. You can create downloadable guides and video tutorials, sell photography, or add affiliate links to blog posts, but the beauty of passive income is that whatever you choose will do the work for you.

Have Regular Money Dates

A money date can be carving out time for yourself (or with your partner) to create a comfortable space and review your priorities, values, and overall financial goals and hopefully actually set a plan in motion to achieve those. Take yourself out to a cafe or have a glass of wine by your side to make it fun while feeling good about where you're going. Good luck!

1. Open the Windows in the Morning and Evening

On hot days, it might seem like a good idea to open the windows to help with airflow. However, if it's hot outside, that will only bring the hot air into your space! Instead, specialists from Magnet suggest that you open them in the morning when the day hasn't gotten hot yet and after dinner when the heat of the day starts to cool down.

This is an especially good idea if your space gets stuffy easily because opening the windows in the morning will allow the overnight air to leave the room.

2. Cook Strategically

The last thing we want to do on a hot afternoon is stand over a stove. Try adjusting your schedule so that you can cook earlier in the day, or swap your recipes for cold dishes like this Watermelon-Peach Chilled Soup. You can also prep everything ahead of time, throw it in the oven, and hang out in another room while it bakes.

If your kitchen feels extra hot, turn on your oven's exhaust fan (which gets rid of smoke and odors) since it will suck out some of the heat from the air.

3. Keep the Fans On

Not only will keeping your fan on help with the airflow year-round, but you can set it up during hotter months to keep a room as cool as possible. Make sure ceiling fans turn counterclockwise to suck all the heat up to the ceiling and push cool air down. Just don't forget to turn it clockwise once autumn comes!

4. Close the Curtains

Similar to opening your windows strategically, closing your curtains at certain times of day can help cool your space down. They'll block out the heat of the sun during the afternoon, and keep your living room, kitchen, or bedroom in the shade. You can go with blinds, regular curtains, or blackout curtains depending on your preferences.

5. Grab Heat-Absorbing Houseplants

We're always open to the idea of adding some new houseplants to our collection, so why not grab a few that can make your room feel cooler? Plants that transpire (or "sweat"), such as snake plants, Chinese evergreens, and palms, will remove heat from the air as water and nutrients leave their systems.

​In which episode does JJ die?

JJ dies at the end of Outer Banks season 4 episode 10, "The Blue Crown" after rescuing Kiara from his father Chandler Groff. "I feel mad, betrayed, disappointed and heartbroken to say the least," Bruder adds. "JJ went through a lot of crap through the show and he was the one character who deserved his happy ending the most. When the series first came out, people fell in love with JJ and [Kiara]."

While the cast obviously found out about the ending while filming, fans are frustrated with how they chose to promote the show. "Obviously the cast can’t spoil a character death, but to blatantly lie and mislead fans by saying that Jiara was 'evergrowing' and fans would be happy with how the season plays out?" Bruder says. "Jiara fans deserved so much better than what we got, ESPECIALLY when they knew they were killing JJ off."

Why are Outer Banks fans so upset?

The show is the kind of phenomenon that made instant stars out of its cast, but it also made waves because of how the first season portrayed issues like classism, substance abuse, and domestic abuse. "As someone who has been around domestic abuse, I think the handling of the character JJ was detrimental culturally," another fan (who would like to remain anonymous) says. "The character suffered abuse at the hands of a man who was not even his biological father, and the writers almost framed it as if that was okay because in the beginning, his father loved him. Instead of telling a story to victims of abuse about hope and making it through trials, the writers went the opposite way. I also find it interesting that they stated this was a planned death. I think writing a character who is suffering from anxiety and clear mental health issues as well as abuse who is very young like JJ only to let him fall in love and kill him right when he starts to feel happiness doesn’t necessarily make a lot of sense narratively."

Another viewer adds that ending JJ's story that way felt "disrespectful...especially when in an interview following the episode, one of the creators literally referred to his death as pointless." She even says "it feels almost like the show died along with him."

Actress Madelyn Cline (Sarah Cameron) called JJ the "heart of Outer Banks"and for a lot of fans, JJ also became a beacon of hope, a reminder that you can endure, persevere, and come out stronger on the other side. Since the first season of the show dropped during April 2020, it's been one consistent, fun thing for TV fans since the COVID-19 pandemic began, which makes the loss feel even greater.

"Seeing him die at the hands of another abusive father was honestly kind of sickening," the viewer adds. "It’s also unfortunate that his death didn’t seem to mean anything. A character death like this would be one thing if it meant something. If he had died protecting his friends or actively protecting Kiara, rather than having already saved her and then getting killed afterward, it might’ve be easier to get past."

"It’s like a connection to something good and steady was just broken," X user @onlykiep4l says. "Killing a character that has literally gone trough so much trauma and was finally happy just doesn’t make sense. It’s not just the character that’s gone — it feels like a part of the show has ended too."

Why does JJ get killed off?

Rumors have been circulating for years about behind-the-scenes drama between actors Rudy Pankow and Madison Bailey, which has fans believing Rudy asked to be written off the show(for the record, Outer Banks creators Josh & Jonas Pate and Shannon Burke have said it was the plan from the beginning). With Rudy's exit, the writers had a difficult choice in front of them. JJ isn't the kind of guy to abandon his friends, meaning the writers obviously felt like killing him was the only option. But according to an additional viewer, "Outer Banks hasn't been that type of show."

"To attempt to turn this fun, summer, boat show into some dark, depressing story where the heart of the show is gone destroys everything that the show started out as," she says.

Another anonymous fan calls the choice "a character assassination," adding other moments from the season that feel like a different character than the one fans have come to love: barely reacting to John B. and Sarah's pregnancy announcement, or to the fact Rafe had come to talk to Kiara — especially after his reaction to Rafe catcalling Kie in the first season is a moment that led fans to ship them in the first place.

The fan continues by calling JJ's treatment a "lack of respect" toward the character. "The fact that the writers tried to make us dislike him, to soften the blow of him dying. It didn’t work. It has everyone distraught because many people’s favorite character ended up dying after 'finding happiness' for about 10 minutes in Episode 10."

​Does Sarah get pregnant in Outer Banks season 4?

But JJ's death isn't the only moment that has fans reeling. In addition to the fact viewers are saying the Pogues barely reacted to the death of their lifelong best friend, Pope is now a murderer and Kiara makes an absolutely chilling vow to get revenge on Groff — a far cry from the characters we fell in love with in season 1.

"Outside of the JJ of it all, a lot of plot lines/dynamics in part 2 felt off," one of our anonymous fans continues. "Sarah’s pregnancy plot line, especially when coupled with the quote from a creator about ‘giving her a baby specifically because she wasn’t ready’ feels incredibly tone deaf given the current state of things here in the US. The fact that there wasn’t even a conversation of if she wanted to continue with the pregnancy felt very icky. Overall, episodes 1-4 of this season did feel like Outer Banks, but everything after that felt like it was from an entirely different piece of media."

However, some fans are excited to see where the show goes from here. "JJ was such a strong character and his presence will obviously be missed, [but] I am excited to see how the Pogues react and what they do to get revenge on Groff," Virginia McGrew says in an email. "I also think that the scene of JJ dying with Kiara was extremely well done and emotional, making his passing even sadder. I ultimately believe that JJ’s passing serves as a reminder of the themes the show."

"JJ made the group even more aware of friendship, the importance of chosen family, and loyalty, which was seen throughout the season and especially in the finale," she continues. "Now that he is gone, the other Pogues will have to step up even more, creating a shift in their dynamic. While many believe that Outer Banks might not be worth watching after this finale, I truly think that it is only going to get even deeper and more interesting."