“Work hard, play hard”—that’s always been my motto. I like to think that I’m a hard worker and serious learner. But, I also need some fun in life to keep me productive and sane. If you feel like you’re walking on a tightrope these days, here are a few things to help keep you on track and feeling good:

1. Make to-do lists: Write down everything you think you need to get done. Put these tasks under bigger categories like, “work, chores, finances, personal, etc.” Then, prioritize and choose 1–3 “Must-Dos” to complete today. Need some inspiration? Click here.
2. Reach out and text someone: Call, e-mail or text a family member or friend for a quick “hello.” Get some help with funny e-cards featuring you and your friends or family here or make personalized postcards with the resources at postcardontherun.com.
3. Make the most of your mind: Take a few minutes a day to read a book or magazine, do a crossword puzzle, paint a picture or learn a new skill or language. 
Test your financial “know-how” with the free Financial Football video game for your iPhone or iPad at the iTunes store.
4. Get your heart pumping: Go for a walk or run, take a dance or Zumba class, play tennis or hit the gym. It can be tough to get out there and do it, but you’ll feel better once you do.
5. Make your finances work: Keeping track of all your bills will help ease your mind. Check out Manilla, the newest bill management tool to help you stay organized.
6. Do something cool: Watch a movie, play a game or download the Talking Tomcat app for a few laughs.

And, if you’re still feeling stressed, here are 10 tips from CEOs on how to live a more balanced life.

After eight great (ok, bumpy) years together, my beloved 1998 Jeep Cherokee and I parted ways about a month ago when I got into a fender bender and it was deemed totaled by the insurance company. Sigh. What followed were three stressful weeks of claims paperwork and research on used and new cars. In the end, despite planning never to buy a new car (I’m a simple girl with simple car needs!), I found myself negotiating for a brand new ride and signing on the dotted line. Here are a few surprising things I learned throughout the process:

• You can negotiate online. Who knew? Once I narrowed in on the car I wanted and knew the price I should go for in negotiations, I was able to negotiate price via email and then just go in to deal with the paperwork. Amazing!
• New and used can be neck in neck. I started out looking for certified used cars but found that the price difference between those and new was surprisingly close. After factoring in warranty and better fuel efficiency, I decided new was actually the wiser choice.
• CarFax baby. If you’re going used, CarFax allows you to find out how many owners the car has had, whether it has been in an accident before and even about its maintenance history. The cost is worth the bullets you can dodge.
• On your terms. This was probably the most important lesson for me: MSRP is what the dealer wants you to pay for the car; True Market Value is the price you want to shoot for. You can read more about each—and find out those numbers for a specific car—at Edmunds.com.
• Investigate interest. In the end, I went with a dealership that was charging slightly more for the car but that gave me a loan with a lower interest rate. I did the math and it was the better deal. If you are financing your car, interest rates and offers should definitely factor into your choice.
• Stay strong at the finish line. After negotiations, the dealership did try to sell me some extras that I didn’t want. It helped that I knew going in that I didn’t want extras—so when those extras came up, I was prepared to say no politely yet firmly.

Above all, it’s important not to get in over your head with a car loan and payments. Knowing what you can cover in terms of down payment and monthly payments is a critical first step in the process. Not sure how much car you can afford? Find out in 5 minutes or less using this online calculator.

What is the biggest money mistake you’ve ever made? Instead of saving and investing the $5000 my folks gave me in high school, I spent it all on stuff I don’t even remember now. If I had put that money away in some kind of interest-bearing account (3% average) for 10 years and contributed $25/week, it would be worth a whopping $22,069.72 now.

If I knew then about money what I know now, here’s what I would say to my younger self:

• Live within your means: Living paycheck to paycheck caused me many sleepless nights. I wish I had known exactly how much money I made, what was being taken out for taxes and Social Security and how much my bills were. Then I could have spent what was left on coffee, movies, eating out or road trips.
• Pay your credit card bill on time: My unexpected vacation to Cancun was unforgettable; so were the five years and extra hundreds of dollars I paid by only paying the minimum amount on my credit card each month. Check out this helpful Cost of Credit calculator.
• Stay on top of student loans: According to this article, Uncle Sam has some powerful tools that he can use to get you to pay back your student loans. Your best bet is to pay them off so you’re not fighting the IRS for your next tax refund.
• Stay in touch: I forgot to give my credit card company my new contact information when I moved from Washington, DC to San Francisco. Three months of unpaid credit card bills resulted in seven years of trying to clean up my credit score and report. You can avoid this by keeping your contact information updated.

Want to know more? Check out this interesting article about 12 other financial mistakes to avoid.

Dear WhatsMyScore blog readers,

I’m not going to lie to you—Valentine’s Day is not my favorite holiday. I am just not into fighting to get dinner reservations, and flowers and chocolates are overrated. But I’m also a romantic, and love an excuse to spoil my bf (and my bff). If you’re a romantic and want to give your boyfriend, girlfriend, wife, husband or best friend something sweet this year, I have one tip for you: be thoughtful. Pricey jewelry is nice, but cool dates and small gifts are where it’s at. Here are a few totally affordable options:

• Get cooking. What’s more thoughtful and sweet than cooking your sweetie’s favorite dish, or something new and fancy? Think candles, tablecloth, dessert—the works.
• Bake it up. Lemon cake is on my list this year. Since my guy is far away, I’m going to bake it, wrap it up in red tissue paper and mail it over. Come on, a care package? So sweet.
• More music. You guys have seen High Fidelity, right? Because Rob was onto something. Introducing your loved one to new tunes or making a mixed CD with awesome love songs is about as romantic as it gets (yeah, this is going in the box with the lemon cake).
• Plan a fun date. Think a walk in the botanical gardens in the next town over, a community composting class, karaoke or open mike night, a trapeze class—whatever is different, affordable and up your alley.
• Get writing. One of the most romantic gifts I have ever gotten for Valentine’s Day was a card filled with a huge list all of the ridiculous, sweet and original things my guy liked about me. Aw.
• Small but meaningful. Plant a flowering bush. Buy that scarf she was eyeing at the mall a few weekends ago. Take him to the cheesy blockbuster you said you didn’t want to be caught dead in. Tune up her bike. All super affordable and really nice.

Turns out love doesn’t have to cost much at all. What’s that saying about the best things in life being free? For more Valentine’s gift ideas for less, click here.

Love,

Liz