Savvy with Abbie

I may be one of the few, but I was intrigued by Prince Harrys' story, which prompted me to pick up his book "Spare." I have to say, as I first started reading, I couldn't put it down, I think I read 50+ pages the first day. I was aware of Prince Harry but knew very little about his life. I remember negative things in the news, all of the negative stories of him. He sounded to me like the "troubled" brother, and, unfortunately, he and everyone else believed he was. I also now understand the meaning behind the book title. The name "Spare" is a name that is described as the one that isn't important. Think of a spare tire, you are kind of pushed to the side until you are needed. As Prince Harry said, his brother was the "Heir" and he was the "Spare" and it was very unfortunate events throughout  the book that describe how and why he felt like this. He mentioned Willy (Prince William) and him were, "The Heir and the Spare. I

I went into this book - "Raising Kanye: Life Lessons from the Mother of a Hip-Hop Star" knowing how much Kanye praised his Mom, but not really knowing anything about her and her life and how Kanye was raised.  Ms. Donda West and I had way more in common than I ever thought - especially when it comes to parenting. She seemed like an AMAZING mother who never capped Kanye on his abilities.  "I believe that your parents have a tremendous impact on the kind of parent you become." "Kids pay attention to what they don't have monetarily only when there is a real lack of everything else." "A lot of people like to coddle their children. I don't want to hurt their feelings, or make them for not achieving. But if you don't set the benchmarks, and if you don't set that bar high, you can't expect your children to excel."  "I made sure that Kanye always knew he was loved" "In fact, listening is the only way we can be effective

When my brother was 18 years old, I remember him telling me, "Abbie, Lexi (little sister) and I both know you are rich." This quote has stuck with me because I have never been rich. I like to say that since I was 20 years old, I have enjoyed "financial freedom." I would take my little sister to the mall and spend hundreds of dollars at once. 🛍️🛍️ I would go out to eat, go where I wanted and when I wanted, go on vacations, go to the casino and spend hundreds (or more), and order clothes online as if I didn't have a budget. Until I sold my condo in 2016. I made a lot of money in an amazing Utah economy and then it hit me. I paid off $30,000 in debt. Not only that, but most of it was credit card debt. This didn't include my student loan! So, to my brother who is now 21, I have never been "rich", I have just enjoyed living outside of my means. 💳💳 I have always had a love/hate relationship with money. Mainly love because when you have a credit car

Photo credit: Amazon Back in 2012-2013 when I had the worst anxiety of my life, I asked the online world on what I could or should do to help eliminate this anxious and worrisome phase. One person recommended that I read "The Four Agreements". Due to the anxiety and not being able to concentrate on one thing for too long before freaking out, I only read through a few pages. In 2018 I decided to buy the book again and see if there was a way I could make things better for myself. I had moved to California the previous year but lost my job almost two months ago. I had time to read so I decided to see what this book was about and how it could help me maintain my confidence throughout this hard time. This book was extremely powerful to me. I'm not sure why but I got sucked in. I could not put the book down. I like seeing others perspectives on life. Before going into the four agreements, the author spends quite a bit discussing how we are all born and raised believing