Why I do NOT like the folder option on my phone...

and maybe you will rethink this option as well.

The folder options, the ability to combine apps into a folder on your home screen, became popular around 3 or 5 years ago. At first, it was very convenient and eye opening. "Hey look, I can stick all of my social media apps in this one folder!" ... till today.

My current phone is a Samsung Galaxy S5, upgraded from a S3, previously upgraded from an Iphone 4. When I updated from IOS to Android, it was a little difficult at first, but I eventually loved the way an android functions. With IOS I felt very constricted and with the Android I had so much freedom.

On my current phone, I had a folder for games, social media, stores, ect. After realizing that I was adding an extra step/tap to get to my apps, it dawned on me, take them out of the folder. Now the difference between an IOS and Android, is when you download an app; IOS allows you to customize the location of the app, Android sticks your apps in alphabetical order and is separate from your home pages.

I honestly believe that if we kept our home pages simple and only include the apps that we regularly use, our phone searches would be so much easier! Granted, I still have 2 folders on my home page, which I will explain later.

My constant 3 icons on each page:

• Phone
• Messages
• Apps

On my first home page, I have my generic dashboard. It includes the time, weather and date. I have a Google quick search widget, and a third row for email, camera, play store, then google FOLDER. 

Inside the google folder, I have all things google:

• Chrome
• Gmail
• Maps
• Hangouts
• Play Movies & TV
• Drive
• Youtube
• Translate

My second page is:

• Clock - used for setting alarms and setting timers and stop watches
• Calculator
• Keep - notes (I could probably delete)
• Viber - similar to Skype
• Flashlight 
• Cookie Jam - use to be in my game folder, till I noticed it was the only game I really played
• Gallery 
• Finance
• Viggle
• Scottrade
• BuzzFeed
• Instagram
• Coupon Folder
• U-verse
• Facebook
• Snapchat
  (side note, I use to have a Social Media folder, till I realized it was quicker to click on the app, then to select the folder then the app)

My 3rd and final page is a calendar dashboard.

So often, we keep apps on our phone that waste room and memory. I suggest cleaning your apps every quarter to illuminate space wasting apps. 

Hopefully this post will make you rethink the functionality of your phone and apps. 

Dancing with the Stars - Season 21, week 1

Can you believe it, DWTS season 21 is here! Last night, was the first week for the stars to show us what they got. This year, they have 13 celebrities, listed below (the ones noted with a *, are the ones that I am rooting for). Incase you missed the dances from last night, you can find the whole show on abc.com or you can check out the DWTS youtube page.

Tamar Braxton
     Thoughts: She did a great job

Gary Busey
     Thoughts: In his own world, in a good way. He really tried and was truly involved.

Nick Carter*

     Thoughts: He seemed nervous at first, but I think throughout the show, he will be a top contender.

Paula Deen
     Thoughts: Very spacey, I really do not see her lasting long.

Victor Espinoza
     Thoughts: This is a guy who was really out of his element; but he had fun, and he entertained and that is what matters.

Andy Grammer
     Thoughts: He was alright, not amazing but not horrible

Hayes Grier*

     Thoughts: Did a great job, I wonder how the rest of his dances will go.

Bindi Irwin*

     Thoughts: She has such a great personality, and I admire her for that. I wish I could have her up beat spirit. I really hope she wins!

Chaka Khan
     Thoughts: She was alright

Alexa Penavega & Carlos Penavega
     Thoughts: I think it's cute that they get to share this experience together as a couple, even if they arn't dancing together.

Alek Sharlatos*

     Thoughts: Shocked! I didn't really expect him to be an amazing dancer but I was so surprised, I think he can defninantly be a top contender.

Kim Zolciak Biermann
     Thoughts: Sorry, but I think she will be the first one eliminated. Basing her performace compared to the other individuals, I felt that she had played it safe and went conservative. Nothing is wrong with that, but the point of the show is to have fun and entertain the audience to have the vote and I did not see that in her performance.

Book Review: Hector and the Search for Happiness

I randomly found this audio book on my hoopla app, and I truly enjoyed the insight that this book shared.
I personally have been struggling with my search for happiness, so I thought that I would share the different lessons that Hector has discussed. I hope that if you find yourself struggling with happiness as well, that you would be able to gain some insight from this list.

1. Making comparisons can spoil your happiness
2. Happiness often comes when least expected
3. Many people only see happiness in their future
4. Many people think happiness comes from having more power or more money
5. Sometimes happiness is not knowing the whole story
6. Happiness is a long walk in beautiful, unfamiliar mountains
7. It’s a mistake to think that happiness is the goal
8. Happiness is being with the people you love; unhappiness is being separated from the people you love
9. Happiness is knowing that your family lacks for nothing
10. Happiness is doing a job you love
11. Happiness is having a home and a garden of your own
12. It’s harder to be happy in a country run by bad people
13. Happiness is feeling useful to others
14. Happiness is to be loved for exactly who you are (People are kinder to a child who smiles)
15. Happiness comes when you feel truly alive
16. Happiness is knowing how to celebrate
17. Happiness is caring about the happiness of those you love
18. Happiness is not attaching too much importance to what other people think
19. The sun and the sea make everybody happy
20. Happiness is a certain way of seeing things
21. Rivalry poisons happiness
22. Women care more than men about making others happy
23. Happiness means making sure that those around you are happy

Also while searching for more information about this book, I noticed that this book has been made into a movie. Trailer provided below



In additoin to Hector searching for happiness, there is another book about Hector and the secret of love and Hector and the search for lost time.

Stock Lesson: Opportunity Cost of Cash

Cash is a liquid asset, meaning an asset that you own that can easily be converted to cash. When a person holds cash, they can either purchase other assets, invest or hold.

For me personally, I would choose to either purchase other assets that can become income producing assets or invest to build up extra cash. However, a hard lesson that I recently learned is the opportunity cost that cash holds when being idle, or hold.

I currently hold some stocks that provide monthly and quarterly dividends. With dividends, I am able to still own the stock while incurring additional income, such as rent. After a couple of months, I realized that I had saved enough money up, that I could reinvest my dividends to purchase additional stock.

In an open conversation, I was discussing my strategy of dividend reinvestment. Someone had commented on the fact that sometimes cash is worth more being idle. At the time I really did not understand what their thought process was. However, with today's market I believe my light bulb has finally turned on.

I saw the market decreasing, a signal for me to purchase/repurchase stocks at a lower cost. However, I did not account for the fact that the stocks in certain industries to continue to decrease. Resulting in me purchasing the stocks early.

Lesson learned: You might think that investing all of your idle cash as soon as possible, to begin earning profits, is a good strategy. When in reality, the benefits of saving your pot of gold for a rainy day has a higher rate of return. Although it is a risk to wait in hopes of the stock price to decrease more, that risk could be more beneficial. PATIENCE!

Just Another Reason To Run!

Thanks to Fox News(YouTube) and Dr. Manny Alvarez, I found out about this great app that will donate money to local charities by having individuals like you and me, exercise. You can either run, walk or bike; by doing one of the three activities, they will donate .10 or .25 cents per mile to the charity of your choice.



The wonderful app is called Charity Miles, and it is available on IOS and Android.

I just found out about this app at 10 pm so I can not say that I have actually tried out the app, but I will update the post once I use it, hopefully that will be tomorrow. I was very excited to hear about this type of app that I wanted to share it with everyone.