Shop Smart Journal

Stash Invest Legit Way To Build Savings

scott — Fri, 22 Feb 2019 16:39:08 +0000

Is Stash Invest legit? Sadly, I will admit that I am a total novice when it comes to investing money in the stock market. It was not a general topic of conversation in my household growing up. But I knew that I wanted to make smarter decisions by putting my money to work.

So I began looking for modest ways to leverage my money without diving head first into major stock trading. I came across a few investment apps that seemed like a safe entry level way to get my feet wet and broaden my understanding of investing.

I downloaded the Stash Invest App on March 22nd, 2018, signed up and committed to a whopping $10 auto-stash per week, because I’m such a go-getter!

The Stash Invest app itself is well designed and translates the various stock portfolio’s into a language suitable to my understanding.

Investing with Stash Invest

Right out of the gate, I easily identified a portfolio that was relevant to me and I dedicated $5 of my initial killer $10 investment towards Young Money, a catchy portfolio name that was way easier to relate to than the official Global X Millennials Thematic ETF title representing stock ticker MILN

Each portfolio in the Stash Invest app breaks down the top holdings and provides an easy enough snapshot of how they are performing. Young Money Top Holdings:

I was immediately intrigued as I either shopped, purchased from or was a customer of 90% of the companies listed. I felt comfortable investing my hard earned $5 per on a weekly basis on companies I myself was a customer of.

So… how did I do after 10 Months as a total novice and being uber conservative?

Take a look:

The above is a snapshot that was taken roughly ten and a half months into investing money with the Stash Invest App.

After a full month of auto-stashing $10 per week, I took a leap of faith and took the plunge with $25 per week total, I know I know… I’m a savage.

I also diversified my personal portfolio to include other easily identifiable holdings. Here is my current spread:

I know what your thinking, with that sweet $60 nest egg, why is this guy not retired on a beach somewhere.

But seriously, can I retire next year at this pace? The answer is no. Is Stash Invest Legit? I’d say yes.

By my humble Einstein levelish calculations, I’m estimating that by investing $1025 with the Stash Invest app, yielded almost but not quite a 6% return in under 12 months.

Had I just deposited the same amount weekly in my personal bank account or even a CD account, it would at best yield 2% to 4% (depending on the bank).

So yes, I would say that Stash Invest is legit. Its an easy introduction into the larger stock market world. It especially appeals to the masses not “in the know” as well as millennial’s with its clever portfolio naming convention.

And in the time of me finishing these few paragraphs, I even gained a few bucks in my bank breaking stash… see the update 10 minutes later:

If you are considering investing money and are overwhelmed where to start or which investment apps are best. Do your due diligence first.

I went with Stash Invest and I can see the potential in investing. If you are ready to dive in and get started with your very own investment journey and appreciate my humble review, pay it forward, use my Stash Invest referral link to get started!

Learn with the Stash Investment App.
Start today with my Referral Link

For anyone else that has used Stash Invest or similar apps.. feel free to comment below with your experiences.

What is a Trademark

scott — Fri, 02 Nov 2018 14:24:53 +0000

Simply put, a Trademark is a word, symbol, sound, image or logo that is legally registered with the United States Trademark and Patent Office (USPTO) that represents a company or a product. When you think of a trademark, think of it as the identifying image or sound of a particular company or product. A trademark does not only identify products, it also identifies services. A trademark that identifies services is technically considered a service mark but it is still generally referred to as a trademark.

Do I need a Trademark for my Business?

When building a brand, it is important to consult a Trademark Lawyer that can help you register your Trademark.

Trademarks are essential because they allow consumers to identify a particular company’s product or services very quickly.

It’s much easier for a consumer to visually recognize a particular name or logo that identifies the “goodwill” of the product they are going to purchase or that of the services they are about to receive.

What is Goodwill?

What is goodwill you might ask? A company spends lots of time and money perfecting their products or their services and ensuring that the quality of the products or services on the market is up to their brand standards. The value of the quality that is generated by the company is called goodwill.

The goodwill of a company is what separates it from its competitors. For example, a consumer may want to purchase a sneaker with the brand Nike as opposed to a sneaker with no brand recognition.

Nike has generated a lot of goodwill in the high quality products that they produce. A consumer will pay more for a Nike brand sneaker than a sneaker with a brand that has not yet generated their goodwill.

As you can see Trademarks are essential for business growth and brand protection. If you are ready to build your brand, consult an Intellectual Property Lawyer that will help you successfully register your Trademark.

Salma Benkabbou is an enthusiastic and zealous Tampa Business Lawyer. She prides herself on her work ethic and ability to get things done irrespective of any dire circumstances.

Salma graduated from law school at the top of her class and was on the Dean’s List every semester throughout her law school career. In an effort to make herself more valuable to her clients, she became licensed in Florida, North Carolina and New Jersey.

Drake Kanye Beef

scott — Fri, 21 Sep 2018 18:34:59 +0000

If you are not roomates with patrick star them im sure you are familiar with the Drake vs Pusha T clash of the titans style rap fued, and how short lived it truly was.

Tin foil cap and YouTube documentary level conspiracy suggests that the REAL BEEF wasn’t with Pusha T but with Kanye West! And apparently it never ended!

IT WAS ULTIMATELY INEVITABLE

Drizzy and Ye feuding was as inevitable as death and taxes. Two of the biggest Hip-Hop artist of the past 10 years are equally sensitive as they are talented, and amongst the business It became personal.

Drake also revealed that he and Ye have been beefing since they were together in Wyoming. Which prompted the whole Pusha T – Drake feud.

The G.O.O.D MUSIC goons seemingly defeated raps golden child (Drake) with shock value and a technical knockout due to Drake being forbidden by the powers that be (J.Prince) to not drop a diss-track. With all that being said, Sir Graham did indeed respond with an entire album.

STEALTH BOMBS

Drake has been low-key suggesting to us for months now that he slept with Kim K, we just haven’t been listening. Subliminal verses were all throughout the Scorpion album.

There were already obvious disses that were aimed at Kanye, but Drake claimed every girl line was about Kim. At first his use of “Your wifey” felt too generic, and one could conclude that Drake was referring to any man that leaves his girl alone for long lengths of time.

After digesting Drake’s 8 Out of 10, Kanye is lucky he never responded with a 2nd diss.

Drake has a good relationship with the Kardashians. And we know they both live in Hidden Hills. Compare the proximity of Kimye’s house to Drake’s house and marinate on the verse:

I crept down the block (down the block), made a right (yeah, right)
Cut the lights (yeah, what?), paid the price (yeah)
Travis Scott (Ft Drake) – Sicko Mode

All of this disorrder, no addressin.
The crown is broken in pieces but there’s more in my possession.
Drake – Survival

Drake’s opening line on the album is dedicated to kanye setting the tone immediately pointing out the fact that Kanye is proud of his mental illness’ and and that the Rap throne once occupied by both Jay-Z and Kanye, is now in pieces and claims he (Drake) occupies most of it!

Drizzy details his demons on how he’s plagued by disappointment on the behavior of his once idol Kanye West. Now that Drake works behind the scenes and can see how the sausage is made he doesn’t have the same sense of awe he once had, but now only feels (and hears) jealousy From his peer.

Too close to snipe you, Truth told, I like you
Too bold to type you, Too rich to fight you
Calm down, you light skin!
Kanye West – No Mistakes

After hundreds of play thru’s and meticulous analysis, one could conclude that Drake made sure to inject more than a few tracks with hints, disses, warnings and critiquing of his once mentor and idol. No doubt tormenting Kanye too no end.

Drake is, after all, returning the love he received, after being ambushed before the biggest summer of his career, maybe Kanye too now knows how it feels.

MORE EVIDENCE

If you haven’t already… peep this Reddit with extra information from DJ Akademiks about the Drake Kanye Beef:

ET Online also dropped evidence of J Prince explaining that Drake has info that would absolutely end Kanye’s career and ruin his livelihood. Drake hints at this on Mob Ties, and confirms it on Behind Bars:

The Happy Fits Concentrate

scott — Tue, 11 Sep 2018 16:47:36 +0000

The Happy Fits Concentrate With their expanding presence, The Happy Fits are slowly but surely making their way up the music charts with their clever, angsty, and lively music!

Utilizing a Cello instead versus a bass guitar, with a douse of NYC studio sound, these three boys have seemingly created music perfectly suited for teenage angst. Hot on the heels of their first few singles, their new debut 11 track album, Concentrate, released in June of 2018, and creates a feeling of freedom and independence whenever listened to.

The Happy Fits Concentrate Album recipe encompasses everything they live for, including their aspirations, dreams and a pinch of important life lessons sprinkled in.

While they do have songs that require more listening than others, being able to scream out lyrics without a care in the world is what teenagers need every once in awhile.

The Concentrate album also contains a few tracks catering to their soft and gentle side, which makes for a nice counter mix of their upbeat intense tracks.

For a debut album, the Happy Fits have already raised the bar in the Alternative / Indie music genre that they fall under. They continue to carve their way into the music industry one song at a time, and hopefully will not be stopping anytime soon.

Amine OnePointFive

scott — Fri, 07 Sep 2018 16:24:25 +0000

Amine's Sophomore Album Slays!

Portland rapper, Adam “Amine” Daniels, destroyed the charts in 2017 with his album titled “Good For You”, a colorful and personal reflection of his life that exuded a more refined taste.

His 2018 follow up OnePointFive, a 13 track EP released only a month ago, is laced with more materialistic, ruggedness and less story driven followup to his last release. Amine’s OnePointFive is centered around his new found wealth as a result of his songs landing high up on the music charts.

However vain and braggadocios the lyrics seemingly come off, OnePointFive still contains the same level of honesty that the Good For You album conveyed.

You can discern that he still carries the same insecurities with him, but he doesn’t drag it out, he simply highlights it in a verse or two, and then the song moves on.

He glazes over his emotional and mental state a few times, in the tracks Dr. Whoever, Why, and Together. Amine also sheds light on his love life in a few tracks, and reveals what he likes most about a women in one song, the lyrics describe the girl in both a sexual and a romantic way.

The midway transition in the song “Ratchet Saturn Girl’ is simply beautiful. It flows from a trap beat, into a lovely melody at the end.

Amine also touches on his past love and heartache and refers to it as a time that he misses the most. It most definitely allows the listener to sympathize with his mistakes.

Although he flaunts his wealth on this album, which is cliche among rappers, it does seemingly contradict one of his pieces from Good For You. Specifically speaking, the track “Money” was a critical piece about, you guessed it… Money! And how it doesn’t guarantee making someone truly happy.

His perspective has flipped completely, which is tone this Album sets. Judging from the lyrics of his tracks, one can infer that the game has definitely changed Amine’s life as well as those around him. This release basically explores Amine’s reality now that he has entered a whole new tax bracket. Becoming a member of the rich and famous.

While extremely different from his last album, it is still a musically creative masterpiece in it’s own way. OnePointFive slays!

Surgical Summer

scott — Wed, 05 Sep 2018 01:07:49 +0000

SURGICAL SUMMER'S SUN SETS... SCORPION SURVIVES

This seasons non stop album release has pumped new life into the ever rumored dying state of hip-hop.

Kickin’ it off this summer the G.O.O.D. Music soldiers stood behind General Kanye West as they struck first, the entire camp delivered a series of albums, each laced with seven-tracks! Including an album from Kanye himself “Ye”.

Yeezy produced beats as crisp as ever, seeming to be a perfect blend of his past album production with influences from every corner of the Culture . The lyrics put the spotlight on West’s most personal issues including mental illness, updates on his financial state , his admiration for his business and how he still does not care what anyone who IS NOT Kanye West thinks.

Pusha T released Daytona to start the summer shenanigans and chose a picture of Whitney Houston’s place of passing.

The up close and personal still frame of the cane covered mausoleum of a bathroom provided the visuals and set the scene to the dope laced Cool Cat King Push lyrics as he walks you down memory lane highlighting his hand in the dope game with his brother and cousin, and the highs and lows of criminal turned commercial.

Pusha T also took it upon himself to poke the Bear, despising the assumption that Drake doesn’t write his lyrics, and feels he is not to be trusted.

And as any Hip Hop artist worth his weight would… Drizzy took the bait not knowing the trap that laid above his head.

As Expected the Scorpion struck a counter attack worthy of a 2nd listen, warning Pusha that Hip Hops throne occupier is not to be trifled with and too bring it to an end.

To which Pusha T responded by dropping a diss record for the ages, exposing unknown information on Drake’s Child, and brain derailing the train of releases for Aubrey’s calculated summer.

Leveraging a Travel Club to Vacation more Often

scott — Tue, 19 Dec 2017 21:50:14 +0000

Travel Club leveraging

I love traveling! Experiencing different cultures and meeting new people!

My dilemma was how to travel more often. And do so on a budget, as I still grind at a 9 to 5 to make ends meet.

I looked at a few vacation groups and decided to become a member to take advantage of volume booking.

Although it isn’t necessary to join a Travel Club to take vacations, you can however leverage the perks they offer, experience more destinations, and vacation more often.

The benefits offered to members of Vacation Groups and Travel Clubs will vary, but I can share what i’ve learned from the one I joined.

If you are looking to travel more on a budget, and open to joining a travel club, here are three things to keep in mind as well as a couple simple things that you do everyday that may earn you some travel points. At least in the case of my particular Travel Club, which is DreamTrips.

Thing 1.

Take advantage of the featured deals if you can (The ones scheduled 45 – 60 days out). The destination may not even have been on your radar. But by remaining open minded, you will get to visit and experience even more places and book them more often as they are typically super reasonable in price, due to volume pricing.

Think of it like baseball. A batter at the plate, may or may not always get the perfect pitch he is looking for, but swinging at a descent pitch may still yield a score!

At the time of this writing as an example, you could book the upcoming featured trip to Shanghai, China or Cyprus, Greece in the Mediterranean for as low as $350- $400 for a 3-4 night stay with a few meals and excursions included! (Per person, Based on Double Occupancy). The only thing missing in the awesome picture of the shores of Cyprus is YOU!

Please note that the aforementioned prices are member only prices and do not include airline tickets. Airfare is NOT included as members are travelling from various countries.

Thing 2.

Rack up travel points by leveraging everyday necessities. Again, speaking as a DreamTrips member. By taking advantage of their middle membership (Gold), I earn points by:

Eating Out. Which my family does at least once a week anyway, so why not leverage it towards a vacation. Check with your particular club or membership and see if they offer this.

You can average about 30pts or more every weekend, I earned 26pts off the above dinner alone (there were three of us). If you average 30 pts a weekend at $1 per point, that grants you about 120pts ($120) to apply toward a trip. I will mention that points allowed per trip will also vary.

Shopping Online. This works especially good if you have a particular hobby. For me, its electronics. By ordering gadgets from places like Best Buy or Walmart, I also earns points towards my next trip.

Thing 3.

Some of these vacation clubs also offer savings outside of points earned, as they partner with various companies, vendors and merchants to beef up their benefits. Besides electronics, I’m also a movie junkie. So being able to utilize discounts at both AMC and Regal Theaters (in my area) is an awesome perk at least for me. Dollar saved Dollar earned.

Becoming a Member

Membership costs will depend on the tier you choose, and each dollar spent signing up as well as monthly amount counts as a point towards a trip!

It is possible to produce a very similar accommodation costs when using sites such as booking.com. The difference I see by going through Travel Clubs such as DreamTrips are the meals, excursions and transportation to and from the airport.

No matter how you get there, leverage what you can and vacation more!

Slime – Why is it so irresistibly soothing

scott — Mon, 27 Nov 2017 20:55:30 +0000

Slime isn’t as gross as you would think.

Slime products are insanely popular. Based on the name, you would think that it is something sticky, icky and a waste of time.

However, it isn’t as much of a children’s toy as you think it is. To an ever growing fan base of adults, slime is titillatingly soothing and downright irresistible. And this is coming from a senior high school student who believes that most children’s toys are overrated and annoying.

The viral rise of slime videos began in 2016. Those therapeutic, one minute videos seemed mesmerizing and entrancing, and before you knew it, you’re four accounts deep. Deep scrolling all the way at the bottom to the bottom of the page, hypnotized by the sizzling sound of popping micro air bubbles.

In addition to the squishy squashy pleasure of Borax Slime, there are now a plethora of different types of slime recipes and how to make slime videos out there. From butter slime spreading, to jiggly slime popping, to fishbowl slime crunching.

Plenty of ASMR based sounds to satisfy your audio sensory one slimy video at a time, sometimes even mesmerize you right to sleep. It sounds dramatic, but this sensation really is what keeps me scrolling through Instagram for hours on end.

I promised myself that I would stop at just watching the videos. It wasn’t long before i found myself purchasing slime snoopslimes., who by the was has over a million of followers. The prices were slightly higher than their competitors, but I have to say, I did not regret it!

I received my slime within a week, which was a lot faster than expected, to be quite honest. Relax, this is not a review article, however I must say that purchasing slime was the best, irrational decision I have made.

I immediately began understanding the fervor behind such a simple toy. It acted as a stress reliever, something that took my mind off things. During moments of high anxiety, I found myself whipping out the small, 4 ounce container of butter slime that I keep tucked away in my pocket and begin working its magic.

During class, I catch two, maybe three glances from other classmates, but all of those looks turned into people asking if they could play with it, and they began to understand its power.

Slime is portable, easy to carry and although you may get a few odd glances and feel like you’re too old to be playing with such a childish thing, it’s worth the monumental relief of anxiety or stress you may feel in certain situations, or just simply worth the entertainment that lasts for hours.

Where to buy Slime

There are tons of products available online from places like Amazon. In addition to that, the shops below I found to be trustworthy slime retailers, with quality videos and quality slime.

Glitter Slimes
Slime Bun Shop
Ogslimes

Happy Sliming!

Cantu Shea Butter – Take Your Hair Straight to Curly

scott — Fri, 13 Oct 2017 13:23:29 +0000

Go from Straight to Curly with Cantu Shea Butter

Yes, my hair went from heat damaged and bone straight to a naturally curly Afro in less than a year with Cantu Shea Butter Natural Hair Curling Cream!

For every black woman, the subject of natural hair can be a difficult and complex topic at times.

As a young black female, I wondered if it was just us who engage in the nightly ritual of wrapping our hair in a bonnet when we sleep? Always explaining to my counterparts why I couldn’t just be hanging outdoors during humid weather.

It took me years to come to terms with my natural hair. My mother used to relax my hair all the time when I was younger, since my hair could become a bit unruly and a mess at times.

She finally gave me the reigns in seventh grade, and I was set free to do my own hair as I please. At first, I kept putting heat on it. Every Sunday I would sit down in my chair, with my music blasting, in front of my mirror and use my flat iron to damage my follicles even more.

I had no distinguishable curl pattern, I was plagued with split ends every few weeks, and I was a little ashamed of wearing my natural hair out because there was so much heat damage on my head.

So out of guilt, I kept straightening my hair up until my junior year of high school.

Repairing the Damage

That’s when I called it quits. Mind you, 2016 was the year for women of color to embrace their natural hair, and I wanted to be apart of the movement.

I wanted to be carefree with an Afro that the 70’s would be proud of. I wanted my hair to prosper, so I saved up all my money, placed an order on Amazon and stocked up on natural hair products.

Ladies, If you want repair years of heat damage within a matter of months! I suggest Cantu Shea Butter, or any of Cantu’s products. All of them, and I mean all of their products work to moisturize, emphasize and bring your natural hair back to life.

My hair went from bone straight to a curly Afro within a few months. I refrained from putting heat on it, co washed almost every other day. I made sure to take care of my hair by wrapping it every night, or doing twist outs that stimulate hair growth.

Cantu Shea Butter and Cantu products are extremely gentle. Their leave in conditioners and coconut curling creams in particular are not harsh at all on my hair.

Brushing it through damp hair left my curls soft and defined, even when dry. My hair began retaining moisture and showing less and less signs of heat damage that was built up over the years.

It did a complete 180, and I hadn’t even realize what type of curls I had until they started growing in and defining themselves quickly.

The above pictures are only months apart, you can see how stretched out my curls were, and how tight they became thanks to Cantu’s products.

If you have tried Cantu’s products on your hair and want to relate your personal experience with it, please comment below!

Acne Breakout – Bahi Sunflower Sweet Serum

scott — Wed, 04 Oct 2017 16:05:18 +0000

You know that feeling that you get, that soreness under the skin on your face that hints at the beginning of another acne breakout, as if you don’t already have other breakouts to worry about?

That dreadful early stage where you can’t pick at anything yet because it’s only a small, red bump. Leaving you a small amount of harbored hope that maybe, just maybe, it will go away overnight.

You can totally just scrub your face really hard with some soap on a cloth and go to sleep with wishful thinking, right?

And tragically, you wake up the next morning to the heartbreaking discovery that the redness not only got bigger, but even more noticeable.

The adolescent acne breakout is bright red and angry, yelling at you every time you try to go pick at it, in a futile attempt to subdue it for now.

I used to have that problem, a very big problem through my adolescence. Every morning I would wake up to find some new hitchhiker on my face, contrasting my skin tone and standing out even more until I found out about Bahi Cosmetics Sunflower Sweets Serum.

I had gone through Neutrogena, Proactive, St. Ives, and countless many other skin care products that were relatively affordable and easy to get a hold of.

Acne Treatment - Serum Solution that works

I was just about hopeless, and mindlessly scrolling through twitter when I’d come across Bahi Cosmetics, a African American owned and operated business that is focused on cosmetics ranging from skincare, to hair care and even beard care.

They sell soaps, toners, clay masks. The whole nine yards, and the products are budget friendly. They offer a range from products soothing for the skin, body and hair, and they don’t test on animals! I figured I might as well try them, and be supportive for small businesses at the same time.

So I ordered their Sunflower Sweets Serum. Which was getting a ton of recognition on Twitter. I saw countless tweets about the serum, saying it’s worked and made miracles, and I was just about on my last, desperate straw when I had ordered me a 1oz bottle.

At $20 for a 1 oz bottle, it wasn’t the most inexpensive solution i’ve tried, but in my opinion, it was well worth it. My face went from looking like a battle ground, to a flourishing 4.0 GPA.

I applied it at night and in the mornings after I washed my face. I use it as a moisturizer and even at the 1 oz size, It felt like it lasted me a lifetime.

I’d received it back in February, and it is now October, I still have some left, and I continue to use it habitually.

The Results

My skin really had a flip around. My dark spots were hideous and my acne was all over the place. Now, I rarely get breakouts and my skin is slowly becoming an even tone.

I went from this:

To this:

And yes, this is actually me! This is the same side, just a few months difference. I promise, this is no tom foolery.

Bahi Cosmetics (now called Ayele & Co) really helped me get my life and skin in check, and I don’t knows how they did it, but they somehow created a miracle with Sunflower Sweets Serum.

If you have tried Sunflower Sweets Serum or another solution and want to share your experience, Please comment below!