Oh wonderful, perpetually tardy Spring…it still tends to sneak up on you…especially when shorts, tank top and bikini season is approaching. Spring represents new beginnings, transformations and fresh starts. A mini-New Year’s for resolutions. I believe it’s never too late to start over again. It’s the only way to reach your goals. I have a calendar of motivational quotes and when I flipped it to April it said…”The beginning can happen anywhere along the way…” Something about that made me feel better, made me want to get re-started, re-motivated and re-committed to my goals for 2016. What goals have you let slide since the New Year? There is still time…(trust me, mother nature is taking her sweet ass time) The Zen Zone runs a “6 weeks to May long yoga challenge” every year. It motivates our challengers to get to where they want to be mind, body and spirit by May long weekend.   I am continually inspired by the different challenges that my clients want to accomplish in these 6 weeks. The goals range from quitting drinking alcohol, committing to a daily yoga practice, cutting out soft drinks and refined sugar to starting a regular meditation habit. What a great way to start some healthy habits to take with us through the rest of 2016 and save ourselves a New Year’s resolution for 2017! Longer days, more sunshine and that smell in the air. Let all these signs of spring launch you back into your routines. Get outside, get back in the gym, hit the yoga studio, whatever moves you. Connect to what feels good for your body and let’s get healthy and feeling better for when summer hits! And bottom line…it won’t hurt for when you put on that bathing suit either…

If Comic Con is on your bucket list, but you're not quite ready to tackle THE Comic Con in San Diego, what about giving Palm Springs a try?  For the first time, a version of the famed convention will take place in Palm Springs California this year.   The inaugural event is being held at the end of summer, August 26th through 28th, 2016 and will feature comic book icon Stan Lee.  To travel to Palm Springs, in the winter, it is very convenient to fly out of Brandon (YBR) however, in the summer the flight will connect and delay you overnight in Calgary. Therefore, I'd recommend using an alternate airport, like Winnipeg (YWG) or even Minot (MOT) or Devil's Lake (DVL).  A good price for a Palm Springs flight is $400 or less (Canadian Funds)  The current best price I see, is $361 (US Funds) with United Airlines and out of Minot. It also happens to be the quickest flight at just over 5 hours, with a connection in Denver.  There are no direct flights to Palm Springs (PSP) this time of year.  The host hotel, is the Renaissance. It's just a couple miles from the airport, thought you could say that about anywhere. Palm Springs, is a very compact city, small and well laid out, like Brandon. If you can navigate Brandon, you will do fine to rent a car and drive in Palm Springs.  The Renaissance is a Marriott Hotel. If it's full, or you are looking for a fun, designer boutique hotel in the area, you may wish to try the Triada, or the Riviera. During my last visit to Palm Springs, we stayed at the Riviera and loved their pool area, the rhinestone billiards table and the white grand piano in the lounge.  The Best Western (as shown in the Expedia example) is also very near to the convention and priced well.  As a 5 night package, with flights, hotel and tax it currently shows through Expedia  for under $1000 Canadian per person, of two people sharing a room. 

Overusing credit cards At college and university orientation events, representatives from major credit card company’s offer free stuff if you sign up with them — they know many students won’t make their payments on time. Prove them wrong by paying off your balance each month before it accrues interest. This can also help build a good credit rating when it’s time to borrow money for a car or a home. Also, watch for a credit card that offers a low interest rate (many student cards do). Abusing student loans While student loans offer low interest rates and interest-free terms, they’re to help pay for your education, not shopping sprees. Dip into your student loan too often and you may need a part-time job, which could distract you from your studies. Not thinking about career plans Unfortunately, an education in something you love may not guarantee you a job after graduation. Talk to people who’ve graduated with the same education. How long did it take them to find a job? What did they wish they’d done differently? Boost your resume with supplemental courses, internships, a club or volunteering. While employers look at your education, they’re also interested in interpersonal and leadership skills. Giving out financial information Nearly one-third of identity thefts happen to people between the ages of 18 and 29. Only use secure networks when sharing personal or financial information. Look for “https” at the beginning of the web address to ensure it’s a secure site. Avoid sharing credit cards and co-signing loans with friends. Forgoing a spending or financial plan Many students spend first and ask questions later a formula for landing in financial hot water. Budgeting can help you stay on top of your finances. Cover fixed expenses (rent, tuition, groceries) before you allocate variable expenses (going to the movies, dining out, etc.). Budgeting websites can help categorize your spending automatically. These sites can even send weekly updates on your financial situation. Even at this stage in your life it’s important to identify your financial goals. A financial professional can help you create a plan that includes saving for all the things you want to do once you graduate. Going into debt in your 20s isn’t the end of the world, sometimes, it’s a necessity. Although financial planning is rarely taught in school, if you have the foresight to stay on top of your finances, you’ll have a leg up on many of your peers.

So far today. Somebody peed on the floor.  At least he told me. It WAS an accident. We read a book about trees. I dressed up like Dora the explorer. Not on purpose. I look remarkably similar though. Kids have been threatened once that they'll lose their allowance. They stand by their claim that they didn't hear me when I went down the hallway, said both of their names, first, middle and last, and made them both look right in my eyes and said "get dressed please". Didn't hear me. Riiiiiggt. Hence threat. Little one just announced he spilled his whole bowl of cereal on/in the couch. Kids are watching ice road truckers.  And I had birthday cake for breakfast.And came within fraction of an inch of falling face first in a swamp.  On my way to work. And I laughed. All by myself. And somewhere out there, somebody, someone is reading this and saying "Yes!  Me too!" Your's truly, Caley

The first is a price war on flights to Florida. If you act quickly, you can grab an outstanding deal on a flight from Winnipeg (YWG) to Florida (numerous airports), to travel April through June.  Return tickets, with taxes included can be easily found for Orlando ($330), Fort Lauderdale ($348), Tampa ($389) or Fort Myers ($391). These prices are in Canadian funds, with searches completed by myself on March 30th. Airlines with the lowest prices are Delta and United. Air Canada and Westjet are in the mix, typically about 10% higher.  Use your favourite APP (like Kayak or OnTheFly) to find dates that work for you. Don't expect these prices to last long. Exceptional discounts like the will be snapped up faster than the hot pancakes at the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair kickoff breakfast!  Secondly, it looks like NewLeaf "airlines" is back in business. The Canadian Transportation Agency has ruled that they are A-OK to use Flair Airlines' license and brand themselves as a "reseller." However, they are not technically allowed to call themselves an airline.  Cbc.ca offers more on this story.  The reason this is big news is that they will spark some great competition for prices in Canada. The most important factor to know is that, their routes are limited as are the days of the week you can fly with them. So, in terms of convenience, Westjet and Air Canada are still your best options.  The best part of this story is that, if you pay close attention to NewLeaf.ca when they relaunch, you might be able to snag a real deal (on the identical route) from Westjet. I speak from first hand knowledge here. When NewLeaf launched originally in January, Westjet silently and without fanfare, beat the prices. My kids took advantage of Winnipeg to Kelowna flights at $176 (yes, TOTAL price and offered by Westjet) and booked a spring break ski vacation.  I originally talked about this in January.  One of the routes price matched was Winnipeg to Toronto. So consider this your official heads-up to great deals to Kelowna, Vancouver and Toronto when NewLeaf looks to relaunch in the coming weeks.