Millennials today face insurmountable student loan debt as well as an ignorance of personal finances or known tools to handle this debt. I am amongst this number as I am in my twenties and I am facing 81k worth of student loan debt. The number alone is scary to witness but it has also put a fire under my soles to educate myself and really come up with a game plan on how I can reduce my debt and eventually create wealth for my future generations and myself. In order to be able to pay off this kind of debt I simply have to be dedicated and disciplined. Unfortunately, there is much information that they don’t teach you in school and sometimes members of your family may not be sources of advice when they too are struggling with debt. I am not an expert but I have created a game plan based on gathered information and tools to reach my personal finance goals. There are so many little bits of information that I was simply unaware of that can go a long way in understanding the full picture of budgeting.

Budgeting

The first step of this journey towards financial freedom is to understand your net worth. Networth is the value of all assets minus the total of all liabilities or simply what is owned minus what is owed. I quickly discovered from calculating this number that I don’t have a networth and my goal is to have my assets surpass my liabilities. Next, I took a full look into my monthly income and expenses and decided an easy smaller attainable goal that I can complete by the end of the year. My goal is to completely pay off 1 of the 3 loans I took out to pay for college. Tools that can help you keep track of your budget; expenses and savings include Mint, YNAB (You Need A Budget), and Mvelopes.

One major tip that has really helped me tremendously in reaching my savings goals has been to simply open bank accounts for particular aspects of my budget. I have a separate checking account for my bills, a separate savings account for my loans, and another savings account for my life that can be a trip, a car, an apartment etc. It is important for me to save to get out of debt but also to save to live. This method has been extremely helpful because the money I see in my main account is strictly the money I am able to spend for the month and I have essentially made it much harder and less visible to access other parts of my money for frivolous reasons.

Comment down below if you have gone through the same thing or used any of these methods!

 

Instagram is my favorite social media platform. It brings together a combination of elements I love which include photography, video, engagement, branding and visibility. Instagram has 800 million monthly users and high user engagement levels and if tapped into correctly it can be an amazing tool for building the reach of businesses and influencers. Over the course of a year, I have built a format for myself that has increased my following to over 1k in a short period of time and a huge part of my success is due to my hashtag strategy.

The most important part about hashtag strategy on Instagram is understanding your audience and your niche. It takes a bit of trial and error but the first thing I did to understand my niche is to research different hashtags and see if the content that I post fit into what is posted in a particular hashtags. My particular niches are fashion, beauty and motivation. I also note what type of content makes it as a top result for a particular hashtag. Simply searching a hashtag on Instagram will provide the reach for a particular hashtag and also the related hashtags that may apply to your niche. Peruse each suggestion and test out each hashtag to see which combination of hashtags will provide the highest reach for a post.

Instagram allows a max of 30 hashtags and I am actually of the mindset to use all 30 hashtags. It has helped me grow my Instagram and I have three different hashtag groupings that I use based on the type of content I post. The type of hashtags I use is also a combination of high reach hashtags and low reach hashtags. The reason I mix hashtags that have a 10k reach with a 1k reach is because I increase my chances of a post of mine showing up as a top result in a hashtag with a 1k reach versus 10k reach.

The following groupings are the hashtags I have used to grow my Instagram:

Lookbook + Outfit Hashtag Grouping

#cnkstylebook #fashion #fashionlife #nigerianfashionblogger #nigerianblogger #fashionblogger #fashionista #fashion #fashionbloggers #style #styleblog #styleguide #styleblogger #stylebloggers #blackstyleblogger #blackblooggersunited #blackgirlbloggers #blackgirlblogger #naturalbeauty #melaningoals #blackgirlmagic #blackbloggers #blackgirlswhoblog #blooggerstyles #bloggersstyle #bloggerlook #bloggersofig #bloggerpost #bloggerfashion #blackgirlswhowrite

Motivation Hashtag Grouping

#cnkstylebook #bossmotivation #motivationalquotes #motivation #motivationalquote #motivateyourself #motivationdaily #wednesdaywisdom #inspirationalquotes #blackbloggersunited #inspired #motivationalwords #motivationwednesday #motivationiskey #inspirational #inspirationalwords #inspirationalpost #lifestyle #lifestyleguide #lifestylequotes #lifequotes #life #motivated #motivator #motivatedlife #motivatedbehavior #motivatedtowin #motivatedandmoved #mondaymotivation #blackgirlboss

Beauty Hashtag Grouping

#cnkstylebook #fashion #fashionlife #nigerianfashionblogger #nigerianblogger #fashionblogger #fashionista #fashion #fashionbloggers #style #styleblog #styleguide #styleblogger #stylebloggers #beautygram #beauty #beautyblogger #beautytrends #naturalbeauty #melaningoals #melaninpoppin #melaninqueen #melaningoal #melanin #beautygirl #beautyguru #browngirlsblog #makeuptutorial #makeupblog #blackbloggersunited

Comment down below if you try out these hashtags and if they help you grow your Instagram!

Instagram stories have been super engaging for me to get into because I am a super fan of graphics, gifs, and typography. The fact that I can play around with all of these elements makes Instagram stories unique. There are a few tricks I’ve picked up to make my stories super engaging and if you read to the end I’ll give you a tip that will get your stories seen to a larger audience.

There are several combinations of apps that I use that have taken my Instagram Stories from 0 to 100. Instagram Stories offers a fun mix of typography, stickers and gifs but in combination with these apps it may provide you more versatility and even just make your stories a bit more unique than everyone else who may solely be using what Instagram has to offer.

My go to apps consist of Hype Text, InShot, Vigo Video, Snow and Legend. I use each app for specific features and the combination of these apps help me create fun short videos with music and interesting animated typography.

The first step of my story creation process is to go into Inshot where it has a variety of frame sizes as well as fun filters. I immediately select the 9:16 frame size, which will fit any picture or video that you have into the Instagram Stories’ size requirements.

Next, I will switch to my Hype Text App and select from the large range of animated text options to overlay unto the image to create a short video. The third step is where I return to the Inshot app to select a filter or an effect for the video.

Lastly, I select the Vigo Video app and choose music from their variety of music options and select an animated effect.

Now, the final tip that will boost your video engagement is to utilize hidden hashtags in your images or video. Simply research relative hashtags, add them to your image or video, adjust the color of the text to match with your background and then resize to the smallest size possible. Instantly, you will see an increase in people who will view your story and you may even be lucky enough to be added to the story of the particular hash tag for increased visibility.

Comment down below if you use any of these wonderful apps or if you have also tried this hashtag method!

Instagram Stories have been slowly creeping towards the center stage as Snapchat has taken a backseat due to API changes. Now, many businesses and influencers have been testing and utilizing the stories feature in creative ways that drive viewers back to their product, Instagram page or site. Instagram Stories should be used in your social media strategy because there are several benefits that should not go overlooked.

Put A Face To The Name

Instagram Stories helps put a face to the name and it is a great platform for connecting with your audience and viewers on a personal level. A great way to do this is by conducting interviews of different people in your team or at an event that put a personal touch to covering a story or event.

Learn About Your Target Audience

Instagram Stories provides an avenue to more interactively promote a particular post or event. If you notice that a particular post on your Instagram did not get enough engagement then simply repurpose the post and repost to your Instagram Story where you may receive more engagement. Instagram stories also has a pol option where you can directly ask your audience about a particular post, question, or anything that can help you better serve your audience.