Introduction It's Not The End of The World, Honey

Hello. If you told me in my 20's through 40's I would be seeking ways of streaming a steady income from multiple sources, I would had said that doesn't apply to me, because I have a stable job that pays very well for my location and a good savings stashed, a retirement plan from that job's 401k  and the future of social security.  Lawd have mercy! I wished someone would have a shaken that young lady into the realities she would be facing in her 50's. 

In my younger days, like most people, you will may a little stumble in your career or finances, rather it be a lay off or unexpected debt.  I'd brush myself off and restart again. Simple... right?  But in my case those stumble occurred four times with the last life changing event in the form of a lay off in my mid-50's. I literally slipped off a rather high ladder and had to lay there for a while. And we all know when your older getting back up off the ground it isn't so easy as when you were younger. OUCH! 

The money education I received, like many of us, was learn from my parents. I understood the basics like putting your money in a savings account and you could buy "stuff" using credit cards, but the big talks about long term planning just wasn't discussed. 

As the eldest child of a family of five, as long as there was a roof over our heads, the lights were on, food in the fridge, shoes on our feet and clothes on our backs, life was good.   But when my parents split those good times took a serious reality check.  Although my mother tried to hard to "fake normal", as a very intuitive child I saw the struggles and visible worries of my mother to keep those happy times for her five children.

From those times I learned a lifetime of new lessons on how to live on a minimalist budget, knowing the difference between needs and wants, sacrificing, put to use some of those vocational and home economics (which needs to be brought back to the schools) skills back into action. I will share in a modern way on this blog the best lesson learned from an infinite wisdom of a mother's love.

Although I'm slowly re-climbing the ladder, with this blog, The Cheap and Cheerful Style, I want share my journey and those of others featuring tips for mature women (and men) like:

• Utilizing your talents and reinvesting them back into Y-O-U in this changing world we live in. 
• Shopping cheap with flare
• Cooking
• DIY & Crafting
• Side hustles - freelance/gigs
• And any resources I learn about that can help anyone get through your daily grind 

So if you've been faced with early retirement or a lay off  as a baby boomer and finding difficulties getting back up, like the title says, "It's not the end of the world, honey," catch your breath, stand up, dust yourself off, and lets redo this cheap and cheerful with style!

Thank for you visiting.  Alva J. Martin