My age is really beginning to show on this here blog. A year ago I was talking about dissertations, and the year before that I was probably talking about the latest event I'd been to at Keele SU or the up and coming ones I was sincerely looking forward to. Now, here I am thinking about my finances. 

I'm only 22 but I'm certainly feeling the pressure to start saving. As many of you know my boyfriend and I live at home with his parents and we've already started saving for a mortgage, with the intention of renting somewhere first. But we're not under any impression that affording both of those will be a walk in the park, so here is how I plan on staying financially fit in 2016.

Save my expendable income

I've set up a direct debit to ensure my ISA payments are kept up to date, but at the end of each month I still have a little left over. My aim for 2016 is to continue to leave that little bit of leftover money in my account rather than be tempted to spend it on little bits and bobs I probably don't need.

Track my spending

I use an app on my phone called, quite simply, Spending Tracker, and this has really opened my eyes. I started using it last year and have since kept pretty up to date with it. I update it with each thing I spend money on and it's all categorised too. As I can track it so closely, my aim is to reduce my spending to an average below £500 per month including the rent I pay my partners parents. 

Get a credit card

Now, how is this becoming financially fit? I despise the idea of credit and store cards but I understand the necessity of a credit rating when it comes to getting a mortgage so both my boyfriend and I are getting credit cards so we can begin to build that credit rating up. Michael's already taken the plunge but I'm yet to, so I've found Credit Card Insider, which you can check out here, particularly useful. This site has really helped me to better understand credit cards because I've always been taught to avoid using them. I own a store card and used it only once out of fear of abusing it and getting into debt. I think now I'm a few years older, I can learn to use it sensibly without that concern.  

Stop buying so many clothes

I don't own a lot of clothes, but when I buy new ones I never get rid of the old. I also don't tend to spend small amounts when I do buy clothes. Because of my tracking app I know last year alone I spent over £800 on clothes, which is quite frankly, ridiculous. My aim this year is to cut that in half - if not lower. If I can't stop buying so many clothes, I'm going to instead have to start buying them somewhere cheaper!

Keep my coins
This is something that I see more and more people doing these days, and I quite like the idea of it. Instead of spending every penny in your purse after you've broken into a note, why not just put your small change away into a tin? Having a few quid on you is always convenient, but the silvers and coppers can always be put to one side and can really add up! I used to save 5ps and within a year or so I had enough to buy myself a small compact camera.

So, how do you plan on staying financially fit this year?

So, this is it, I'm now 22. People always ask the question on your birthday, 'how do you feel?' or 'Do you feel any older?' and honestly, I do a bit. I think progressively over the past few months since graduation I've started to feel different. And I thought what better way to summarise that difference then to respond to Taylor Swifts 22. 

A wise and mature 22 year old

It feels like a perfect night to dress up like hipsters

No, it doesn't Taylor. Either I have to be up for work at 6am or it's the weekend and I don't want to ruin it with a hangover. I also sold all my hipster clothes after I graduated so I could afford to buy pencil skirts and office trousers.

And make fun of our exes

You know Taylor, I'm 22 now. Maybe, just maybe ... making fun of our ex-boyfriend's is a little more 18 than 22?

It feels like a perfect night for breakfast at midnight

No it does not young lady, with a full time job I'm in bed WELL before midnight, even if I would rather be up eating breakfast.

To fall in love with strangers

As an adult who finds it hard enough to make new friends, I can't say I'm falling in love with any random strangers.

We're happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time

I'm happy, I'm certainly not free, I'm perpetually confused and I have my cat beside me, I would not say I'm lonely when I'm with my cat Taylor. 

It's miserable and magical

Like Harry Potter magical? If not, I'm not into into

Tonight's the night when we forget about the deadlines

Rub it in - I no longer have those kind of deadlines. I'd like nothing more than to procrastinate for 5 days straight then write an essay in 12 hours with the deadline looming. Way to remind me of my lost student days. 

I don't know about you, but I'm feeling 22

I'd probably rather feel 18, that's an age of less responsibility. Unless I'm doing 22 wrong? 

Everything will be alright, If you keep me next to you

Thought you said you were lonely? You're more like a teenager than a 22 year old, y'know? 

You don'tt know about me, but I'll bet you want to

I might use that line for my CV

Everything will be alright, If we keep dancing like we're 22

Okay I've still got some boogie in me at my age. 22 year old's still slut drop, right? 

It seems like one of those nights, this place is too crowded

Ah now you're on my level. This is exactly how I feel when I go to a club nowadays.

Too many cool kids

Is that sarcastic? Because I rarely meet genuinely cool people on nights out these days.

It seems like one of those nights, we ditch the whole scene and end up dreaming

You mean dreaming whilst sleeping right? 'Cause I can do that well ...

Instead of sleeping

Well there's my idea of ​​fun out the window.

It feels like one of those nights, we ditch the whole scene

Is this a trick again? If you wanna get out of here let's go but can we go somewhere like I don't know, maybe home?

It feels like one of those nights, we won't be sleeping

You clearly do not have a 9-5 job.

If feels like one of those nights, you look like bad news, I gotta have you

I think you need to learn more about responsibility with that attitude Taylor. This is not how 22 year old's need to act. Well, not how this 22 year old acts anyway. 

Whenever I listened to Taylor Swifts 22 before actually being 22, I dreamt that 22 could really be like a Taylor Swift song, or at least like the music video. Alas, now I actually am 22, I can honestly say it's so far not been anything like a pop video. I've still got 363 days to make it like one though...watch this space.  

MissIsGoode

I've been going to the gym since my second year of university but prior to that I'd never even set foot in a gym. Partially it was because I was too lazy to get off my arse and join one, and that I also didn't want to join one and waste my money by never going. Fortunately whilst at university I attended quite regularly. I try my hardest to go as often as possbile now that I'm in a full time job but in all honesty, my boyfriend and I just want the 3-4 hours we have together in the evening before going to bed to be spent relaxing. However, keeping motivation in a full time job is for another post!

My other reason for not attending the gym was my confidence. I've only really started to gain more confidence over the past few years in general. I've always been confident in certain situations or around certain people but being out of my comfort zone, like doing public speaking or being around completely new people, caused me to find myself going red in the face and shying away. And in that sense the gym was the same, it was out of my comfort zone and sometimes still is. 

When I personally see someone dedicated and well-sculpted I feel a little embarrassed to be around them and their rock-hard abs, but I've come to realise it's not them making me feel uncomfortable. It is in fact me making myself feel uncomfortable by deciding that they must be judging me.

So here are some tips that could help you build up your confidence in the gym:

Remember that everyone is there to work on themselves
I often felt like people were watching me whilst I was working out because I personally felt incredibly self-conscious. In some cases, people were staring in my direction. However, most of the time they weren't likely to be critiquing my form but more likely to simply be watching what exercise I was doing or watching to see when I was done with the machine they too wanted to use.

As an example, one evening at the gym I was doing some of Kayla Itsines' workouts which in my head sometimes do look a bit ridiculous but man do they work. Anyway, there was a middle-aged chap staring in my direction whilst I was doing an arm exercise and I just knew he was looking my way. I finished my set and sat up, at which point he instantly just asked me what muscle groups the exercise I was doing worked out. We got to talking and it turned out we had both studied Shotokan Karate - he was a 2nd dan, but had now retired from the sport and instead studied Aikido. He tried the exercise I had been doing and said it was a good one he'd use in the future. Whilst knowing that he was looking over at me made me feel extremely self-conscious, he was actually a really nice man to chat to and he also recommended some local clubs for me to look into as well. 

To be confident in a gym, you've got to remember that everyone is there to work on themselves, not to focus on what everyone else is doing.

Wear what makes you feel comfortable and confident
If you like going in tight clothes, go in tight clothes. If you like wearing something baggy, go in something baggy. I wear various things to the gym and I do think sometimes I look a bit trampy and sometimes I look a bit too dolled up but at the end of the day, I'm not at the gym to be someone's eye candy or to impress anyone, as I said above, I'm there to work on myself.

Wearing make up is entirely your choice 
Now, I don't really like to promote wearing make up at the gym because I know, from experience, how bad the combination of sweat and foundation can be for keeping your skin clean. But, if I were to tell you not to do it, I'd be a hypocrite. I often go to the gym not long after getting home from work and I have plenty of time to scrub my make up off and go bare faced, but I choose not to. Personally, as I'm fairly pale exercise can get me from white as a sheet to a red-faced tomato in about 10 minutes, and it makes me feel very self-conscious. Whilst, yes, we're there to work on ourselves, I think you've got to feel confident in yourself at the same time too.

Go to the gym with a workout in mind 
It's hard to feel confident in the gym if you don't know what you're doing. I was terrified of using any of the weight machines at the gym until I asked my boyfriend to give me some lessons. Despite the instructions on the side I hated looking like an idiot not knowing how to use them. Once again, too worried about what other people were thinking! If you need help learning how to do or use something, don't be afraid to ask an instructor. They're not just paid to be PT's but also their to help people out in the gym.

Go with friends
If you feel self conscious in the gym alone, take your friends with you. That way you can bust out a workout routine together or go to a class. You could do what I do and go with my boyfriend, that way if I want to try out any weights I know he has, quite literally, got my back!

Listen to music
Personally, I find that the moment I put my earphones in I zone out completely from the people surrounding me. When I begin to feel uncomfortable I just put a song on that I know really gets me pumped and then my focus is back again! Set up a few playlists ready for your weekly workouts and don't listen to them outside of the gym, that way you can save them for your workout and feel all the more pumped when listening to the songs you like.

And lastly...Don't feel like you have to be in a gym to workout
It's easy to feel like attending a gym is a necessity to a healthy lifestyle but in my opinion, it's certainly not your only option. Personally, I prefer working out at home and I'd love to have the time and space to do home workouts at my boyfriend's family's house, but alas it is almost impossible to get that chance. If you don't feel like you have the confidence to be in the gym or you feel like home workouts may be the beginning of building that confidence, utilise the space you have and give it a go. Some people may never feel comfortable in a gym, it doesn't mean you can't work out too.

And as the evening's are getting lighter, utilise the outside too!

This post isn't 'travel' as such - most travel posts involve going far away from home or going abroad but instead, I thought I'd do a few posts about my local area. 

I suppose this is more of a life post in that case. Though whilst I enjoy living in Nottingham, I don't feel like it's home. As many of you probably know I live with my boyfriend's family, therefore, I don't really feel like I have my own space or a place to escape when the world or work gets a bit heavy. So, really, the countryside that surrounds this area is my getaway, which I suppose is also why I consider it an exploration of sorts.

Last summer before my boyfriend and I started in full time employment and finally gave over our lives to the working world, we made the most of the sunshine. Michael got a chance, after passing his driving test, to show me around his local area. We had several trips to Gunthorpe Lock, strolling along next to the River Trent with cows and chickens surrounding us. It was a beautiful day, though I felt a little uneasy as we strolled up and down the field and the cows followed our every move. Nonetheless, it was a lovely walk.

Since summer, we haven't really had much of a chance, or a desire, to wonder around the local area but I plan to keep sharing some of the mini adventures I should have shared last year. We don't intend to live in Nottingham for too much longer so I'd love to document my time here while it lasts!

On March 3rd, it was the UK's University Mental Health Day - personally, I still don't know a huge amount about mental health despite the fact that I have both family and friends who suffer from various mental health issues. And I know a lot of students struggled at university with their mental health too - I know people who had to really fight to find support in some instances, which seems like a horrible experience to undergo when all you're searching for is help.

source

The National Union of Students - or NUS at it is better known - conducted some research regarding mental health with 1,903 students across the UK, and reading some of the results was quite a shock. 

According to the study, '78% of students admitted to experiencing mental health problems over the past 12 months. The research (...) revealed that 33% of them have had suicidal thoughts'. A further study in the US by the Centre for Collegiate Mental Health at Penn State University 'found that between 2009 and 2015, there was an increase in students reporting symptoms of depression and anxiety.'*

Your health in general is so important, and people are becoming much more open when it concerns mental health too. As a student, there's a lot of pressure to act a certain way and often live a certain lifestyle that can potentially isolate people who suffer from anxiety, depression and other mental health problems. So, Student.com is looking to be a support system for students everywhere. Here's some of their posts concerning mental health & looking after yourself:

Depression at University: Feeling Alone and How to Cope When Studying Abroad 

- This article is based on research, which I have referred to above, as well as testimonials and advice from older students who have experienced similar problems during their time at university. I found some of the statistics featured in this post quite surprising and it's really worth a read. 

7 Places to go if you Feel Down at University

- There were times at university when I felt isolated, anxious, upset and plain miserable but I found meeting up with friends or spending some time outside in the fresh air did wonders. Whilst this advice is great for those of us who do feel down, on going feelings of anxiety, depression and further mental health issue need a lot more than a trip to the seaside. Whilst this advice is great for picking someone up after a bad day, as Student.com say, if the feelings are ongoing, don't keep it to yourself and don't be worried about seeking help. 

In general, the Student.com blog has some seriously great posts about studying around the world - if you're looking to study abroad they're sure to have some great advice for you! They've also posted an article about Blogs Every University Student Should Read - and there's some great bloggers on there (myself included, not to toot my own horn) that you guys should all check out! 

Stay healthy guys - in mind and body - and remember that you're not alone.

MissIsGoode

Apologies for the lengthy title but after having a day off from work this week, it really got me thinking about all the things I'd do with a day off if my boyfriend and I had our own place. I love days off and weekends, but I never enjoy them to the fullest. Personally, as I live with my boyfriend's family rather than my own I never really feel like I can completely relax.

So, here's a few things that I'm looking forward to when we, eventually, have our own place: 

Being comfortable to do anything

Despite living here for several months, I'm still in that stage of living with my partners family when I much prefer him to come downstairs with me. To him getting breakfast in the morning is just waking up and getting breakfast, to me, I first feel like I need to get dressed, put make up on and prepare for a less than peaceful morning before heading off to work. 

I don't even feel comfortable wearing my dressing gown around the house because, well, it's not my house. It's obviously my feelings rather than how they feel towards me, to my knowledge anyway, but I can't seem to just kick back and switch off.

Wearing less make up

It's once again a personal thing but I don't feel comfortable going bare-faced around my boyfriend's family. Often when I am caught without make up on the comments of how tired I look come rolling in. Now, I already know I don't look great without make up on because of the big bags under my eyes and my fairly pale skin - I don't need someone else to remind me. 

Being in silence

I really enjoy being in silence. If not silence, then noise of my own choosing. Peace and quiet is something I take great pleasure in - not loud country music whilst I'm trying to read or write, no repetitive jokes about me being from Cornwall (long story) and definitely not people moaning about literally nothing. 

Being alone

Not only do I like silence, I also enjoy my own company thoroughly. So nothing spoils my day off more than loads of noisy, loud people coming home in the middle of the day. Yeah, it's their house not mine but it just gets me dreaming of the only person walking in the door on my day off being my boyfriend when he finishes work. 

Cooking together

Cooking for someone else's family is stressful and I don't enjoy it when everyone is buzzing around. My boyfriend's family went out a few nights ago and we got to cook our dinner alone, which was really reminiscent of university. My boyfriend and I both enjoy cooking, especially together, and people often suggest that we should volunteer to do it for everyone, but it's not quite the relaxing experience that I hope for, and it's certainly not that fun.

Here's an example of our cooking together! On a rare occasion at my boyfriend's house we were given the chance to let loose and do dinner.

Decorating & furnishing our own place

After building our first piece of flatpack furniture I've been dreaming of having a house to make into a home. My boyfriend's also got a really good eye for interior design and we aren't all gone on the way his family has done up - or not done up - their house. Every house needs a bit of work doing there's no denying, but my boyfriend and I are really keen on spending the time decorating our own little home.

Gaming with no judgement
So my boyfriend's idea of relaxation is an evening spent gaming, and I won't deny, I quite enjoy it too sometimes. Though our game choices often differ, we both get the same judgemental look when we come home from work and sit at the computer screen fixated on what his mother views as a waste of time. Whilst I hope my boyfriend isn't equally as game obsessed when we get our own place, I'd still like to be able to spend a weekend gaming without anyone judging us for it.

No longer confining ourselves to one room
Now we spend most of our time cooped up in Michael's room by choice. We have the privilege to walk about the house and use each room as and when we please but we never really feel 100% comfortable when doing so. We'll eat dinner downstairs and sit and chat when more family are around, but in the evenings and on the weekends we stay hidden upstairs. It's not only because we feel like we can do what we want in the confines of our own room, but also that we've become so used to spending the majority of our time mainly in that one room. Despite the fact I lived in a normal house for the last two years of university, me and the girls only really spent our time in our bedrooms or in the kitchen. It's incredibly normal for us to spend all day and all night inside our four bedroom walls - but when we have our own place, it'll be nice to have a front room that is all our own.

If you've already moved out, what do you love most about having your own place? Or, if like me, you're still living at home with the 'rents, what wonderful things keep you dreaming about the day you finally move out?

On the very first day of February a big announcement was dropped at work that really brought the spirit down within my entire department and the whole office in general. I'm keeping it vague here because I don't like discussing work on my blog and social media, but I took some slight changes to my work situation as my opportunity to start looking at jobs within the local universities again. I'd had a browse around before summer but hesitated to apply to a few due to seeing: 'office/admin experience required'. Now, fingers crossed with a bit of office experience and admin under my belt I may feel more confident when applying for these jobs.

On top of getting organised in the career department, I really took to number 95 on my Day Zero Challenge: Schedule posts on Hootsuite at the start of every month. I've recognised the slight floor in this as it's really a schedule at the start of every week sort of task, but I've been really cracking on with it - and have also now amended the goal to fit what is more achievable.

Not only have I been scheduling on a weekly basis but as I've looked through the archives I've begun to schedule posts for months in advance. I've started getting things prepared for when prospective students are getting ready for university in August and for when graduates are starting to reach the end of their time at university in May, I've really been planning ahead. I've also been organising some more interview based posts that will involve more guest content and a mixture of student and graduate experiences. The plans are still coming together but I'm feeling pretty positive about my blog as of late!

This month I also lost my IKEA virginity! People were always shocked to hear that I had never been to IKEA but the nearest one to Cornwall is Bristol, and we never really needed any flatpack furniture that desperately. Having never been to IKEA I'd also never tried the infamous Swedish meatballs, which I can tell you did live up to the hype. I had a good time wondering round IKEA but it definitely gets a bit too busy for my liking. We went there to pick out a new wardrobe due to ours being this fabric and wood contraption meant for a teenage boy, not a 20-something couple! Most of my clothes have been stuffed away in a makeshift cupboard that has been raised on stilts for the past 7 months, but now we have a beautiful new wardrobe and a lot more room!

The woman who served us kind of just chucked everything on my plate - admittedly it's no 5* dining...

We decided to buy the wardrobe online and designed it ourselves - which was a brilliant idea. It arrived the following week and took us over 7 and a half hours to build - yep, you read that right. Including cleaning out our room, moving furniture around, clearing out bits and bobs and putting all the things we took out of the previous storage units and putting them either in the new wardrobe or in the loft, our whole weekend was consumed by this wardrobe. It's lucky that we love it - a post with some photos of our new wardrobe is still to come!

That same weekend we also woke up on the Sunday morning to the delightful news that a mains water pipe had burst in the local area leaving 20,000 people without any water supply. We had the absolute pleasure of not showering after dusting an entire bedroom and clearing it out top to bottom for a further 24 hours. I don't think I've ever felt so grim.

On a positive note, I started doing my pass plus this month! I would have finished it now too if it hadn't been for a change of plans and my driving instructor falling ill on my second week. I'm not a hugely confident driver so I decided to do pass plus to give me the opportunity to get a go on the motorways with guidance and support. As my family and friends all live quite a way away from me, it just gives me a bit of a confidence boost!

Otherwise, February was a pretty quiet month. I've not really had much of a social life over the past month, aside from going to laser quest with some of the guys from work which was great fun. My boyfriend's popped out to the pub a few times to catch up with his friends, but I've just not been that bothered if it's not too lazy and mean to say. I've been caught up in the blogging world and watching 90210, and most nights after work I either want to go to the gym or just chill out for a bit.

Though this month I'll be a little more active outside the house. This weekend I'm going off to my first Nottingham blogger event, provided it's still going ahead the same weekend, and I'm also going home on the 19th which will be the first time in three years that I've actually celebrated my birthday, on my birthday, with my family. Oh and on that note, I'm going to be 22 this month!

Honestly though, how is it March already?!