Money Smarts

Hi guys!!! Its been a few weeks since I last updated you all of my progress... Been trying to get all of my New York things arranged for me to be good money for my move next summer to Cali!!! Which I'm super excited about! Speaking of "money", being in one of the most expensive cities in this country and moving to another just as expensive one, its really got me thinking.... As many of you who know me personally, know that ever since I left the military in 07, I've been struggling financially.. Yes, a lot of it is due to this crazy economy but the MAJORITY of it was due to irresponsible and irrational decisions on my part and I am now faced with the results of those. And embarking on such an uncertain career as acting/writing, finances are even more rigid... I have learned A LOT in these almost 4 yrs since I've been out and have come a very long way... So I wanted to share some words of wisdom from my experiences and what I've learned from them. So please take a few moments check out my suggestions, especially, if you are pursuing a career in ANY kind of entrepreneurial venture... I call these, Tiera Nicole's Money Smart Moves
1. DO NOT pay a past debt by creating new debt. There will ALWAYS be a common denominator- DEBT
2. DO pay yourself before paying someone else. Set aside money every paycheck to put in savings. Make yourself a creditor/bill collector.
3. DO NOT think that just because you have the money in your bank account, that you can afford it!
4. DO write out a monthly, quarterly, and half year budget so that you can stay on track of how much you have coming in and going out.
5. DO set aside money in your budget for shopping, miscellaneous things, and emergency funds.
6. DO NOT use credit for anything except a car and house!! I repeat, DO NOT finance, get a loan, or use credit for anything that you can save up for and buy with cash unless its a car or a house.
7. If you MUST absolutely can NOT do without, use credit, get a loan, or finance something, make sure it is for an EMERGENCY!!! Something that u absolutely NEED (ie your car has broken down and you live in a non mass transit area)or that you will be able to pay off in 27-30 days.
8.DO pay your bills a few days before they're due to ensure that they are received on time because some creditors will charge you a late fee for not having your payment in after a certain time on the same DAY that your bill is due.
9. DO try and pay a little more than what's due each month, even an extra $5 a month makes a difference and then IF you EVER needed to take a break from a payment later, you have enough to hold you over. (Be sure to check with your creditor/debtor on their payment break policies because some do not allow a break in payment if there is still a balance on the account.
10. And last but certainly not least, DO NOT live above or even AT your means!!! The reason rich and wealthy people stay wealthy is because they live waaaayy below their means. They aren't out blowing every fund they have on the latest named brand things. A lot of them wear hand me down or old clothing or shop at discount stores. A lot of them only splurge when there is a big event. Don't pay attention to what these rappers and pop singers are doing, they are "new" rich! Temporary situations. Watch the little old lady from the upper east side! Yes, she may live in a 250 million dollar apt, but she takes the cab everywhere or the man who has two houses in the hamptons but he's wearing the same shoes from 2000!!! If you are making 2000 a month, AT LEAST 500 should be going into savings!

Its about sacrificing! We fuss, moan and cry about constantly being broke but we constantly make broke decisions! We have to be smarter and care more about not only our future well being but our children's. When God calls us home, the last thing you want to leave ur grieving family with is YOUR IRRESPONSIBILITIES... We should be about leaving our children and this world with a legacy, something that they will remember you by.... What legacy would you be leaving if you were to pass today? That you cared and lived to make better opportunities for those you loved or that you were too selfish and impulsive to care about the problems that you would be leaving behind?
I hope that this was of help to someone and that you all will go into this new year with a renewed mind and even newer bank accounts!!!! I know I am!!! Will you join me???

Until next time.... Stay blessed, stay true, and stay wealthy from the inside outside!!

Tiera Nicole
Mogul in the Making

Operation LA

Just wanted to keep you all abreast of the progress of me as an artist and my production company... This past weekend I travelled to Atlanta to meet with my business partner and a few of his "people" and we discussed the future of my company and my two projects (the talk show and reality show, just in case you've been living under a rock... lol)... We have decided that for the betterment of me as an actress/writer and aspiring director/producer, for me to pack up and head to the land of The Angels BKA Los Angeles!! After further thought and prayer, I have decided that my time in NY is up and that it would be best for my advancement to venture to the other side of the globe... SO to put it simply, LA HERE I COOOOMMMMMEEEEEEE!! I'm super excited about this move, I think even more so than my move to NY because I know that I have tangible opportunities out there and not that I'm just going out there on a hope and prayer... We will be looking to shoot the two teasers out there and utilize the resources that my partner has out there once I'm there and settled.

My projection move date is Dec 30, 2010... So I'm about to work like a Jamaican (No offense, love my Jamaicans!!!) for the next 2.5 months to save up my money... If that date doesn't work out, I will project August 1, 2011. But I'm REALLY pushing for Dec!!!

So guys, please keep me and all my ventures in your prayers as I transition on to this next phase of my career; actual WORK!!! HA!

Stay true, Stay blessed my sweets... MUAH!!!

Tiera Nicole

Love Is..........

I posted a question on fb and twitter about whether its possible to love sight unseen... Falling for someone you've never physically met.. And of course the human in us responded automatically with a loud HELL NO!!! But then I post my next comment, "Well how is it that we proclaim to love God, whom we've never set physical eyes on?" And the room falls silent... Lol.... We have "humanized" love to be more about our eyes than our heart. If love is about the heart and mind, being able to see and touch a person should not determine whether love should exist... Neither should time... If you are a true believer in God and surrender yourself to His will, you understand that He works on His time not ours. So who's to say that you couldn't fall in love, truly in love, with someone within a few encounters with them?

Love is the only perfect thing that exists in this world... To have and know true love is to have and know God. Because God is a peculiar being, so is love. I don't believe in putting rules, expectations,or limitations on who a person or how a person loves. Our society has become so materialistic and all about what they can see that I fear that people don't even know what true love feels like. We must get back to the way love used to be. To when butterflies existed in our stomachs at the thought of it. To when our faces hurt from the smiles it brought to our faces.... Gotta get back to the innocence of love... Back to the sacredness of it... Back to the security it brought to our souls.... If we individually would go back to when that puppy love existed and how much money you had or how many people knew your name didn't matter. Parents always shun their children and tell them "you don't know anything about love!". But children love the best because they are honest and give in to their feelings. They fall "in love" based on their feelings; based on the pureness of how it makes them feel. And that, my fellow readers, is what love is all about, giving into the pureness of what your heart, soul, and mind is saying and letting your body follow NOT LEAD!

I know this was a sappy message but as you all know, I am an encourager and I encourage and challenge you all to watch a child and watch how they show love, for that will probably be as close to God's love as you will ever physically see. We must continue to strive to be more God like everyday and it first must start with LOVE!

Until next time my sweets, stay true, stay blessed and most of all stay in love for I truly love each and everyone of you.....

Tiera Nicole
Mogul in the Making

Love Sex & Baggage show update

I want to thank you all for your contined suppor and love.....