The #doitcheap way of Seeing Sights You've Never Seen

Pics from my free adventure

You can live your entire life in one place, and there will still be things and places you haven’t seen. That is part of the magic of our earth and its people. People are always building new stores, developing new restaurants, designing new pieces of artwork, creating new parks. It is due to this constant innovation that we can still be surprised in our hometowns.

This is my #doitcheap Freebie Friday advice. If you Google your city, you should find a website run by the council/government of the town. On there you can find all sorts of ideas for things to do. It will list the public parks, all of them, and you probably haven’t visited them all. Or, it will list free concerts that are going on in the parks during the summer (this is extremely common). During the holidays, most cities and town host events that are free to the public. City museums often have free day’s for citizens to visit. Some cities have scavenger hunts or weekend historical tours.

For example, in Birmingham UK they do an art installation every year. Last year it was life size colorfully painted owls scattered across the city. This year it is bear like creatures. I’ve seen many families with maps and on their phones, tracking down every single sculpture and taking pictures with it. It’s a fun day out and you can learn a lot about the city from the walk.

If you are strapped for cash, then going to your local town website will always have ideas for free things to do. This is most true if you live in a big city like London, New York, or Chicago. If you live in a smaller area than you can look for a bigger town or city near you and go to their website. You don’t have to be a citizen of the town to enjoy most of the free activities. I visited a town in Missouri that has free Santa visits for all kids, and free horse drawn carriage rides.

You can always find a free way to entertain yourself. It just requires a bit of effort and some research. Go forth and explore you hometown! Find new things you haven’t seen, and tell me about it!

Some free stuff going on

London, England: The Singing Elevator at Royal Festival Hall

http://www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/budget-london/101-free-things-to-do-in-london

Paris, France: Open Air Cinema at The Gardens of Villette

https://en.parisinfo.com/discovering-paris/themed-guides/paris-for-free/calendar-of-free-events-in-paris/Calendar-of-free-events-in-Paris

St. Louis, Missouri: A Century of Japanese Prints

https://www.riverfronttimes.com/stlouis/EventSearch

Free 5 Day Fitness Challenge: It's So Good, I Did It Twice

I'm feeling pretty damn good!

The main benefit I can see from joining an online or gym fitness program, is having different routines every day that are designed to help you lose weight or build muscle. The fitness instructors design the workouts to maximize results, time and alternate the muscle groups you work. However, this benefit isn’t great enough to convince me to part with my hard-earned money to get access to the fitness plan. Luckily there is a solution. Many Youtube fitness profiles have short challenges that demonstrate the benefits of joining their program. I’ve done a 21-day challenge with Popsugarfitness and two separate 5 day challenges with Fitness Blender. Today, I’ll be giving you a review of one of these challenges and the results I got.

Youtube Profile: Fitness Blender

Video’s: Fitness Blender 5 Day Challenge to Get Strong and Lean

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cn8Elmw16ZU

Day 1: Oh my God this was by far the hardest day for me! I’ve done many of the longer Fitness Blender workouts before, but they never cease to amaze me with how much hard work they can fit into such a short period of time. All 5 days start off with a light warm up, and finish with a cool down stretch. This routine began with 15 minutes of HIIT (high intensity interval training, and they mean it when they say high intensity). It was so hard, I wanted to be done with my work out after just the first 15 minutes! But, I wasn’t, because after that came the strength training portion that focused on lower body. To be prepared, try and have various amounts of weights on hand. When you start off with a move, you can start with the heaviest weight, and as you do more reps, drop down to lighter and lighter weights.

Favorite Move: Y’all know I love me some squats. So, my favorite move was the ten second drop squat. To do this, hold your weights and slowly, ever so slowly, lower yourself down into a full squat (over ten seconds just to get to the bottom of the squat). Then, take another ten seconds to get back up to standing. Sounds easy, but it isn’t.

Hardest Move: By far the hardest move for me was the single leg dead lift. It could be because it was the first move of the strength training portion and my mind wasn’t ready to lift yet. But, I think it is because I wanted to lift a high weight to really work my hamstrings, but I couldn’t lift the heavy weight and balance totally on one foot. Instead, I choose to have my not lifting leg resting just barely on the ground, so I could stay with the heavy weight.

Day 2: I was so sore after Day 1! Which is why it was great that Fitness Blender took this into consideration and did an easier upper body strength and cardio routine. Overall, I found Day 2 the easiest, despite my tired muscles. The cardio was only 1 move per round, and that meant I could really focus on burning myself out during those moves. I enjoyed that it was entirely upper body focused as well, it meant my sore muscles didn’t get any worse. But don’t be fooled, because after all the weighted moves, there is a cardio & upper body burnout round that will leave you exhausted in a heap on the floor. I didn’t know how challenging the burnout would be, so I didn’t save enough energy from the earlier section of the routine to give my all to this part. 

Favorite Move: The side pullover. I’ve probably done hundreds of different exercise routines, and this was the first time I have come across this move. Laying on your right side, with your left arm holding a weight you lower your arm over your head, then pull it back to a vertical position. I liked this move because I got to lie down (lazy I know) and because it took effort to hold the form correctly. If I got sloppy, I could feel my shoulder blade want to pop out awkwardly. The side pullover is still new to me, so I had to use the lightest weights I owned to complete it.

Hardest Move: The traditional overhead press. I used a heavier weight for this, because they recommend using a weight that is heavy enough to almost make you can drop it by the last few reps. This move isn’t hard mentally, but by using a heavy weight I was really grunting to push the dumbbells over my head.

Day 3: This is the second hardest day! The video is called a Brutal HIIT Cardio and Abs workout for a reason. It really will use up all your energy just to complete. I was tired after only the first round of HIIT, and the video just kept going. I honestly thought it would never end. The last part of the routine is a Pilates burnout, which will just destroy whatever energy you have left if you concentrate on each move. IF you don’t focus, then the moves get sloppy and don’t use your muscles enough to tire you out.

Favorite Move: I loved all the abs moves because I like to work that part of my body a lot. The best one was the double leg pull scissor kick. To do this, you lay on your back and scissor your legs. Sounds simple, but as you pull one leg towards your chest, you grab it and stretch it towards you twice. It is kind of like a leg pulse, that really burned out my lower abs. I loved it.

Hardest Move: Um…if I am being totally honest, all the HIIT moves were hard for me. I think it was because this was Day 3, I was still worn out from Day 1&2. If I had to pick a move that I just really struggled with, it would probably be the back bows. Back bow moves are either hit or miss for me. Some day’s I can do them really well, other day’s I am completely useless at them.

Day 4: I think this was supposed to be a bit of an easier day after Day 3, but it wasn’t. Day 4 was another upper body strength training cardio routine. But instead of 1 cardio move per group, it was two moves, done twice through. I both loved and hated it. I was panting the entire time, despite having arm moves as a mini rest between the cardio. There is also a yoga burnout after the cardio/strength portion. However, unlike the other burnout rounds, this one was more calm and relaxing. I didn’t feel like Fitness Blender was trying to demolish my muscles at the end. 

Favorite Move: When it comes to upper body moves, I love anything to do with triceps. Unfortunately, I’m struggling between dumbbell weight levels right now, so I either have to do 3 reps with super heavy weights then drop to really light weights, or use the light weights but not burn my triceps out. My favorite tricep move was the lying down triceps pullover. Not only because it was lying down (and I love to lay during a workout) but because I stretch my arms overhead with a weight and I can feel a stretch in my tricep as I lower the weight to the ground. The stretch tells me I am working the muscle.

Hardest Move: If you are a frequent reader of my fitness reviews, you know that I loathe lunges. They are hard on my knees, and I always struggle to balance my weight between both legs. So, I really disliked the 3-2-1 lunge. You start off in the top of a lunge postion, then drop in three levels down to a full lunge. It doesn’t stop there, you then (to do the hardest version) have to jump and switch legs to the other side to repeat. It was the jump between lunges that I found most difficult. Jumping from the bottom of a full lunge is no easy feat.

Day 5: I started this day thinking, YAY!!!! I am almost done. However, just because it is the last day doesn’t mean Fitness Blender went easy on me. Far from it. They decided to throw in one last round of HIIT, and most of the moves were extremely challenging. Then, we went on to do a strength training round that focused on the butt and thighs, yet again!! My legs started off sore after Day 1 and will end sore after Day 5. That being said, it is very satisfying to complete the full 5 days. There isn’t a burnout round on Day 5, so I devoted all my energy into the HIIT and strength potions.

Favorite Move: I enjoy a good dead lift. It is the move that I can feel my hamstrings and butt working the most, which is why I like to do it. This routine had 4 (that is right, 4!) variations on the deadlift. There was; single leg, toes pointed in, toes pointed out, and finally a traditional dead lift just to really finish the hamstrings off. I loved every rep of it!

Hardest Move: Surprise, surprise, the hardest move for me was a lunge. This time it was a reverse lunge (holding weights) and doing a knee as you pull up from the lunge. Lifting the knee wasn’t hard, but pushing myself up, using mostly one leg sure was. I felt my quads shaking as I finished the last round of these lunges.

Overall, I loved this 5-day routine. In fact, I enjoyed doing it so much that I did it in a two-week period! Everyday provided me with something different and there was almost always a move I hadn’t done before. I also liked that because there were two trainers, they demonstrated an easy and hard version of each move. That meant on the days I was super tired, I could downgrade in difficulty but still get a workout. I swear I could feel a physical difference in how my clothes fit after I did the first round of this 5-day challenge. My leggings were looser, and my boots were looser on my calves. In round two, I could feel that for the cardio/HIIT portions, I had more endurance. Cardio has always been a problem area for me, because I hate feeling out of breath. But, with Fitness Blender I have really made improvements! If you have the time to devote roughly an hour a day to working out, and you are looking for a challenge, try this routine! Was it better than just picking random free routines off Youtube, did you hate that there was so much structure? Let me know!!

The Middle Class Revenge: Stealing from the Poor and Robbing from the Rich

I am in the midst of moving out of my current home. It's a shared house with 8 roommates, 2 bathrooms and no working oven! I want to move into a more reasonable 1-2 bed flat/house that I will only be sharing it with my partner. Now, we have all experienced the renting struggle before. It is like play the lottery, trying to find the right size home, in a good area, for the right price. You might get one winning number on your ticket, but you can rarely get them all right.

I don’t think my home wish list is unreasonable, it needs to be within 10-15 minutes (by bike) from my work, for less than a £1000/$1,250 a month in a decent area. My standards aren’t too high, right now I live in a mold infested student house, so pretty much anything is a step up. I’ve come across several homes or apartments that I like, and are in my price range. So, I’ll get excited until I google search the estate agency.

An estate agency in the UK is similar to a real estate agent in the USA. They manage the houses for the owners, deal with contracts, references, collecting rent, and fixing any broken things within the property. However, a UK estate agent and a USA real estate agent differ in one major way. In America, when it comes to renting, you need to be able to afford to pay 1 month’s rent + 1 month’s rent as a deposit up front. That amount by itself can be a lot of money, especially if you live paycheck to paycheck the way I tend to.  I liked a maisonette (it is basically an apartment but there are only two floors) that cost £470/$500 per month. If I was in America, I would have to pay the £470/$500 as a deposit and an additional £470/$500 at the same time to cover the first month’s rent. That is £940/$990. More than one of my monthly paychecks. That cost alone is high, but that is the amount I would pay if I were renting in the USA. In the UK, estate agents operate differently.

In the UK, estate agency’s are robbing renters and landlords blind. They are getting away with charging extra fee’s to the renter as well as charging the landlord a percentage of their rent income and various fees for managing the property. It is insane (and immoral if you ask me). The same maisonette I mentioned before, it could cost me £940/$990 in the USA. After I viewed the property, the UK estate agent gave me a break down of all the money I would have to pay.

image from pixabay.com

£470 first month rent+ £470 deposit + £250 reservation fee (that would contribute towards my deposit if I was actually approved to live there) + £350 referencing fee for myself and my partner+ £100 contract fee (just to sign a piece of paper)= £1300 to move into a poorly cared for maisonette.

 Most of that money would be going not to the owner of the property, but the estate agent! The cherry on top of all these fee’s is that, to be allowed to move out of the property, I would have to pay the estate agent an additional £120 (even if I left the place clean and with no damage)!

In theory, I can afford these fee’s using a substantial amount of my partners savings and one entire month’s paycheck. But, why should I? These agencies are literally stealing money from people who probably cannot afford it. There is a reason that so many people are on a waiting list to council housing (it is like section 8 but more widely available). Who can afford to pay £1300 just to move into a place? That specific maisonette was not furnished, and had no refrigerator or washer. To live there anyone would probably have to add an additional £500 in furniture and moving expenses. Very few people can pay that amount up front. (It is crucial that I point out that the £470 per month maisonette is one of the cheapest options I have seen on the market) Most people barely save anything month to month, so how could they ever afford to save enough to move.

Where does that leave people? Either they must take a loan out just to move into a new property (that will cost them in interest later on), borrow money from family (embarrassing), apply to live in a council house (that is paid for by the state but has a long waiting list), suffer in an inadequate home, literally become homeless, or risk it with a private landlord.

image taken from pixabay.com

 Private renting is common in the USA. My parents rent out two of our properties, both privately. Their renters have never been concerned about being cheated by their landlord, in the USA the landlord is more concerned about being cheated by the tenant. In the UK however, private renting is much rarer and therefore riskier. I’m open to the idea because I am American and because I can’t in good conscious pay the fees to estate agents who do nothing but paperwork. But it comes with the chance of having my deposit stolen, or getting a contract that is less secure for me.

Overall, the renting situation in the UK is horrific. Sadly, because there is a housing shortage, most people will never be able to escape the renting cycle because they can’t afford a home, or there are none available to purchase. Therefore, estate agents get away with basically stealing from people, they understand that a majority of the population have no choice but to find a way to pay their incredible fees. And a majority of landlords don’t have the skills to personally manage their properties, so they have to pay the estate agent as well.

I usually think that the way the UK system is designed is better than America (for example healthcare and unemployment support). However, the way that renting is operated in the UK is immoral and evil. It allows the middle-class estate agents to feed off the lower class/poor renters and the upper-class landlords. This is one exception to my belief that Britain operates better. When it comes to the housing market and renting, the USA beats UK completely. 

#doitcheap Fitness Review: Cheap but Big Booty Builder

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bThr0uD0b9s&t=1s

Host: Vicky Justiz

Video: Exercises For a Rounder Butt!

Exercise Type: Booty, Booty, Booty!!! I thought it was about time I reviewed some of my go-to booty videos. My butt is probably the part of my body that I have worked hardest for. One day I just decided I wanted a big ol’ booty to match the big boobs I was born with, and it literally grew from there. In this video these exercises are all designed to build up your side butt, the muscles that we tend to forget about most.

Review: I am always coming back to this routine! It only takes 5 minutes but if you focus in on your body and really put in the effort, your ass will be sore by the end, I promise! I will usually do it at the end of my workout, after I’ve done like some abs, or a HIIT round, just to really burn out the glute muscle. Personally, I don’t find the moves as demonstrated quite hard enough. If you are just starting out on your bigger butt journey, than stick to the moves as they are done in the video. However, if you squat a lot (like me!) and you have stronger muscles already, then I suggest you take it up a notch! I like to add a clingy band to most of these moves, because they increase the resistance and therefore work my butt more. You could also add weights to your ankles to up the ante, or hold weights in your hands for the side to side squat step to work it more. I don’t have much to say about this trainer. She doesn’t get on my nerves, but she isn’t very inspiring. However, it is only a 5 minute video so you shouldn’t need a lot of encouragement to push through.

Favorite Move: It is so hard for me to choose a favorite! I love the first half of the moves, and only like the second half. If I have to pick just one, I would say the side-to-side squat step is the best. To do this move you squat down as low as you can, then step one foot out and bring the other one to follow, then repeat on the opposite side. It’s ok if you can’t get too low at first, because it requires a lot of quad strength to hold the squat and do the step at the same time. I do add a resistance band to this one, and I swear you can physically see the muscle strain.

Hardest Move: I wouldn’t say any of these moves are super hard, it is all about what you make of them. If you use a band or add weights or even just move slowly to control your muscle’s, then the hardest move would be the squat with a side leg raise. This move requires balance and focus to make sure you don’t just swing your leg around like a piece of rope. If you do that it won’t benefit your side butt. You want to make sure to squeeze your butt as you pull your leg to the side. Like I have said before, the more you focus into your butt muscles the more you will feel this routine.

Rating: 10/10. There is nothing wrong with this video. The moves are straight forward, and not too complicated. The trainer doesn’t talk too much, and I didn’t swear at all! The best aspect of this video is that the difficultly level is really left up to you. If you are just beginning than you can follow the trainer exactly. If you want to make it harder than there are options for that. I think that you could even do this video as a circuit and repeat it twice through to get an edid you see the joke I made there, it was puntastic) 

ven better workout. If you only have 5 minutes between getting home, and making dinner, then you can do this workout! You don’t need to be in fitness gear, this could be done in jeans, and that might even make it harder. Seriously, I swear this video has helped me get my butt and that is probably one of my most noticeable assets. (

Friday Freebie: Can You Hunt Your Way to Free Entertainment and Fitness?

Remember going on scavenger hunts as a kid? I always found them one of the best, most challenging games. For those of you who don't know, a scavenger hunt is a game where you find clues, and each clue leads you to a location with another clue. This continues on until you reach your final destination. At the end of the hunt, after the last clue, children usually find a present or some sort of reward.

Well Geocaching is like a scavenger hunt for adults (but kids can play too, and they love it!). In order to participate in geocaching all you need is GPS (which most of us have on our phones). I've listed geocaching websites below. You find a geocache in your area, then find it! The geocache location is written in a latitude longitude form, and you use your GPS to find your way to the precise spot. Once you have found the spot, you can log it in your geocache journal or list, and you will usually find a box or container at the spot. Inside are small trinkets left by other geocachers. You can bring your own and swap them out! Or some locations have books where you can sign and leave a message like a guest log at a wedding.

Geocaching was really popular in the mid-2000's, but you don't hear about it much anymore. There are geocache locations all over the world and its a great way to explore new and old places. Once you get the hang of finding geocache's, you can even make your own! All you have to do is log it, and leave a box or something to mark the spot. You can find geocache's in most US and UK national parks/trusts.

Geocaching is a great way to make going to the park new and exciting. It can seem boring to kids to just get in the car and drive to some woods to walk around, but if you give them a goal, and a purpose they are much more likely to enjoy it. Children's groups like Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts do geocaching to work on outdoor skills and team bonding.

 An added bonus to geocaching is it is great exercise! If you are like me, going on the same boring walk every Saturday gets dull. But doing a geocache to all the parks in your area makes you weekend exercise fun and free! Scientists recently said that doing aerobic exercises like walking are the most beneficial for losing weight and promoting good heart health.




Links to Geocache Websites

http://geocaching.co.uk/

https://www.geocaching.com/play

https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/getoutside/guides/beginners-guide-to-geocaching/

Challenging Stereotypes: The Million Pound Smile

Image from pixabay.com

Every country, every region, and every type of person has stereotypes. We all know that, and most of us try to ignore the stereotypes we hear, and just view people for who they are. That being said, I have heard several stereotypes about Americans and Brits. The most common one in the USA is, that all British people have terrible teeth.

Now, I don't know how this stereotype got started. Maybe it was just a jealous American thing viewing Britain as this well-to-do monarchy. Maybe it started because some rude American's happened to meet several Brits who happened to all have bad teeth. I don't know how it started, and it we probably never will know. But, nonetheless, it exists. All of my English friends were shocked when I told them that this, their bad teeth, was the most prevalent stereotype of the UK that we have in America. 

My teeth aren't perfect but I still smile

It isn't true. British people don't universally all have bad teeth. There is are many differences between British and American dentistry however. For example, the NHS (National Health Service) subsidises dentistry so it is very affordable for citizens to have their teeth regularly checked, and any procedures done. But, there is actually a very large private sector of dentists (this is the biggest sector of private medicine that I have seen in the UK). 

Overall, NHS and private dentists in the UK don't suggest dental treatments unless they are absolutely necessary. So, less teenagers get braces than in the US. That might be one cause of the stereotype, there are more British with slightly crooked teeth. I don't view that as a bad thing, I think in the US dentists are far to willing to subject people to braces who don't absolutely need them (because it makes them a ton of money). Furthermore, I think American's might be slightly more vain about their smiles, so they are more willing to have work done. Where as in the UK, people accept that teeth are teeth, and they don't have to be flawless to make you a worthwhile person. 

Image from pixabay.com

Another difference is that in the UK, they don't remove wisdom teeth. I was very shocked by this because I deliberately had my wisdom teeth removed before I came to England, so I wouldn't have to deal with the hassle of them while abroad. I also had them taken out because my jaw had no space for more teeth. But, among my acquaintances, I am the only one who had them removed. Most dentists in the UK view it as an unnecessary removal, because they don't really cause any damage or pain. My partner still has his because he had several teeth taken out as a child, so his jaw has room for them to grow in.

Teeth don't matter as long as you smile

Stereotype: In the UK all people have bad, ugly teeth.

Result: False. The UK does treat dentistry differently than in America, but that doesn't result in an abnormal amount of unfortunate mouth situations.