Q: Spend some time determining whether or not you are creating a new life out of necessity or desire. If this is a choice based out of need, then you’ll want to identify what life improvements you will need to make as well. If you are making a decision based out of want, then carefully consider what your ideal life looks like.  For example, if you are starting a new life because you need some space from negative family members, then you might include limiting contact with these persons as part of your plans. Or, if you are starting a new life because you want a challenge and some excitement, then you might consider placing yourself in a unusual circumstance, such as living in a foreign country. You may need to move to a new apartment or house in order to truly start over in the same city. Or, you may need to head out of the country entirely. Do as much research as you can online to determine the best way to use your limited funds. Look for locations where the cost of living is cheap and jobs are plentiful. Find locations with affordable living options by selecting cities and then searching online for rent and food expense estimates. For example, in the Cook Islands you can find an apartment to rent for $130 a month. Starting over can mean severing some personal ties, but it doesn’t always require breaking your bonds with your loved ones. Go through a list of all of your friends and family and determine what place they should have in your new life, if any at all. You’ll also want to consider how you will break the news to everyone that you’ve decided to start over, or if you will just stay silent about your choices. For example, if you are trying to rebuild your finances and you have a relative who has a tendency to be a bad financial influence, then you will need to determine if you should continue to interact with them moving forward. Spend at least 15 minutes a day writing and thinking about your current situation and editing your goals. Try to create goals for a month, for one year out, for five years out, and for ten years out. Reassess your goals on a regular basis and change them if you need to. Make sure that your goals closely align with what type of life you’d like to lead in the future.  For example, you might write, “I would like to have $500 saved by the end of the year.” This will help you to be more financially stable, so it will likely fit with your lifestyle choices, too, Make sure to think both big and small when setting your goals. Don’t be afraid to push for a goal that seems a long-shot. Consider exactly what actions you’ll need to take for each goal and write them down as a sequence. As you decide to tackle that particular goal, look at this list as a reference. This will make larger goals seem more possible. This, in turn, will make you feel more in control of potentially difficult situations. For example, if you plan to save money, then you’ll probably need to start by monitoring your spending or perhaps opening a savings account. It can be easy to get bogged down in the unknown or the unusual when you are starting over. Instead, force yourself to use positive adjectives when describing what you are experiencing. Change from using “weird” to “exciting,” for example. If you feel yourself getting too anxious, tell yourself to open your eyes and find one thing positive about your new environment. For example, try to seek out the natural beauty of an area. Look for how the birds fly in the sky or how the sunlight comes through the trees. If you are stuck in an office all of the time, you can even print out these images and place them around you. Starting over takes time and a great deal of work. Don’t expect everything to be in order overnight. Instead, be gentle with yourself and acknowledge all of your victories, even the small ones. Tell yourself throughout the day, “You are doing good.” Give yourself compliments as often as possible.  It is helpful to see your life as a book. This is just one chapter of many and does not necessarily tell you what the end will be. You are still writing it out. You will also need to be watchful when you fail, so that you don’t let these moments set you too far off course.  For example, if you make a poor spending choice with your limited funds, see if you can correct it as quickly as possible.
A: Be clear on why you are starting over. Make any moving plans, if necessary. Decide who to keep in contact with. Keep a goal journal. Break down each goal into a series of actionable steps. Seek out exciting, new experiences. Give yourself positive encouragement.

Q: Fill a glass full of cold water, then slowly drink it until it’s gone. As you drink, try to hold your breath for as long as you can. Additionally, you might plug up your ears. This technique works best if your water is ice cold rather than just chilled. Add water to a glass until it’s half full. Then, lean over your glass and drink from the side farthest away from you, which will simulate drinking upside down. As another option, you can lie upside down off of your bed or couch, then carefully drink the water.  Stop every few sips to see if your hiccups have gone away. Be careful that you don’t accidentally breathe in the water or pour it into your nose. Take a spoon and fill it with white or brown sugar. Then, hold the spoon in your mouth for 5-10 seconds. Finally, swallow the sugar and take a big sip of water. If this doesn't work straight away, it's not a good idea to ingest spoonful after spoonful of sugar. Instead, switch to a different technique. Place a lemon wedge into your mouth. Then, either bite into the wedge and drink the juice, or suck on the wedge to get the juice. If the taste is too much for you, it’s okay to add a little sugar to the lemon wedge to sweeten it. The taste of the lemon juice causes a similar reaction to someone scaring you. Vinegar may help combat your hiccups, but you may find its smell and taste to be unpleasant. Since pickle juice contains vinegar, you can drink it instead. Take a few sips of pickle juice or put a few drops of it onto your tongue. Then, repeat as necessary until your hiccups are gone. All pickle juice contains vinegar, no matter the type of pickle. Scoop out a small spoonful of peanut butter, then place it onto your tongue. Hold it in place for 5-10 seconds to let it dissolve some. Then, swallow the peanut butter without chewing. Other nut butters like almond butter or Nutella can be substituted for the peanut butter, if you prefer.
A:
Sip a glass of ice cold water through a straw. Drink from the far side of your glass or upside down. Take a spoonful of sugar. Bite or suck on a lemon wedge. Sip on pickle juice for an easy way to consume vinegar. Eat a spoonful of peanut butter.