BeChicMag.com

MONEY MATTERS AND EXCLUSIVE “APPRENTICE” PREVIEW…

Being chic isn’t just about how you wear your hair or the clothes you own. It’s also about being smart with your money. And who better to give tips on saving and investing than Suze Orman and Donald Trump. On Saturday, about 10,000 people got the chance to hear the two moguls at MONEYFest, an expo ran by The Learning Annex at the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan.

Orman’s personality and expertise shined like her bold, purple waist-hugging blazer. She joked about New Yorker’s asking her not to stand behind the podium because they wanted to see if she had ‘junk in her drunk’. The thousands of people who filled the Grand Ballroom where shocked when Suze gave new information on credit card debt. Unlike her show on CNBC where she recommends one get out of debt as soon as possible, Suze slightly went back on her word. She stressed the importance of building an emergency fund in today’s economy. Her strategy to getting that emergency fund faster? Suze said, those in debt should pay only the minimum amount due on their credit cards monthly and put the extra cash towards the emergency fund until they have enough money to cover their basic living costs for at least eight months!

Through various seminars, people won cash prizes including $1,000 giveaways and others had opportunities to buy foreclosed houses starting at $25,0000.

Donald Trump was also invited to give an hour-long speech on “Thinking Like A Champion” and tips on how to bulletproof your money. But from the moment The Donald hit the stage, it felt more like a sold-out comedy show than a money expo. Sure he gave general advice on what kind of people become successful, but I found myself laughing more than I was taking notes.

The “master” of real estate said a few words on how his hair is real, but other comments seemed to offend a middle-aged woman sitting next to me. For instance, she called Trump a jerk after he said he likes hanging out with losers because they make him feel good; when he gave an anecdote on how when he was a teenager he broke up with his girlfriend at a restaurant before the dinner was served only because he thought she was going to break up with him; and, how he corrected Meredith Vieira on the Today Show when she said he only dates “models”. He said, “That’s not true. I only date supermodels.” Mr. Trump considers these tactics “thinking like a champion”.

Trump briefly spoke about the recent Miss USA pageant, and Miss California’s non- p.c. answer when she said she doesn’t agree with same-sex marriages. Donald- who owns the Miss USA pageant- doesn’t think the answer cost the beauty queen the crown; he thinks she would have lost anyway. He also gave a few blows to Rosie O’Donnell by calling her a sleazeball as he gave an example on getting even with people, and said, “Now, there’s a loser.”

Now for the Celebrity Apprentice Preview: Donald says to watch out for tomorrow’s episode. “It will be the most vicious firing in the history of the show,” said Donald Trump. “I’ve never seen anyone reacting like this to getting fired. I was ducking”. I predict it’s one of the Rivers girls. Either Melissa gets fired and Joan goes crazy, or Joan goes crazy when she gets fired. Who do you think goes home? – Mercedes Sanchez

Although the dating game changes as women age, there’s one thing that never gets old like searching for the right one. After seeing Hitch for the first time a few weeks ago- I know I’m super late- Eva Mendes’ character reminded me about a piece I wrote for the New York Post a few years ago on finding single men at a club or a bar. It can still relate to the single gals out there….

JOIN THE CLUB
I never have a problem meeting guys at a bar, but picking up the right one can prove to be a “mission impossible.”

I went out to two of the city’s top nightclubs, PM and Stereo. I quickly learned that, oftentimes, men claiming to be single at a bar are anything but.

When I arrived at PM, I was ready to mingle all night long. The crowd was filled with twenty- and thirtysomethings from the outer boroughs. There was one particular group of boys who had that urban-preppy look I prefer. A blue-eyed Italian guy donning a spiffy sports jacket was zooming in on me when he saw Post photographer, Graham, waiting to shoot us.

When I mentioned I was working on a story for The Post, he aggressively requested that we leave him alone. When I asked his friends why he changed his mind about speaking to us, they confessed that he (along with most of them) had girlfriends- if their faces appeared in the paper, they would’ve all turned into dumpster material.

Out of all the single men we came across, only two were Latino, and I had the most fun dancing with one man named Carlos.

Doing the wedding ring check doesn’t provide enough certainty these days- a guy could just slip it in his pocket. Unless you tell a man that his photo will be published in a major newspaper, I don’t think there’s any other legal way of finding out his relationship status. -Mercedes Sanchez

In honor of the finale of the Style Network’s “Running In Heels” that airs this Sunday (4/26), Shop It To Me is giving away FIVE free 1-year subscriptions to Marie Claire magazine…and you could receive one!

On the series, we watched the Marie Claire interns as they endured moments of competitive cattiness, hob-nobbed with the stars and fashion elite, ran errands all over Manhattan, and learned the ins and outs of what it’s like to work at a fashion magazine. We admired their fashion and style sense, and chatted about whose outfits we’d most like to own, and what pressure it must be to work in such a fashionista-filled environment.

So the Running In Heels inspired contest? Shop It To Me is giving away FIVE free 1-year subscriptions to Marie Claire magazine. For the chance to win, just leave a comment on their site (here’s a link) with what you consider to be the greatest office fashion faux-pas! They’re already excited to see the variety of responses (toilet paper stuck on stiletto heels, bra straps hanging out left and right…what else do you have in mind?)