I’m always down to indulge in a nice espresso martini and a Nicki Minaj concert with my gal Aly Walansky, who writes alittlealytude.com. She has a penchant for pink, traveling and inexpensive gel manis. Here, her Five Rules for Life.

1. It’s perfectly acceptable to go an hour out of your way in the name of a bargain.
When I was growing up, my mom would let me be “home sick” on all Bloomingdale’s or A&S one-day sale days. It started a life of athletic-like prowess for finding the ultimate bargain. It may be mean, but I still get great pleasure out of finding the same items my friends covet at 1/3 of the price. I am also the champion of the $10 blowout and $15 mani/pedi. (They are out there, you guys – and when you find them, don’t tell a SOUL about it. That’s how these opps go away!)

2. Save money where you can – but don’t be afraid to pay for convenience.
Sound like a contradiction to rule #1? Not at all. The reason we’re frugal where we can be is so we can spend money on things to make our lives easier – I’m all about FreshDirect, having my apartment cleaned, and sending my laundry out. It’s all about maintaining quality of life!

3. Never save your favorite possessions for special occasions – wear and love them every day.
When I was a little girl, I’d visit my grandma and often be confused by the plastic-covered couch in her living room – she was always so afraid of getting it dirty that no one was allowed to BREATHE on its fabric. As I grew up, I realized, we all have plastic-covered couches in our lives – perfume we save for date nights, lingerie or sheets we save for the right occasion. In my experience, that ultimately results in it being our very favorite items that we will never use! I wear my favorite lingerie even if I’m all alone in my apartment, watching soap operas and it always makes my evening feel just a little bit sexier!

4. Never underestimate the power of a smile. 
Anyone ever tell you to smile until you mean it It’s a real thing! A few months ago, I took a meditation class and learned about the concept of the “yoga laugh” – basically, your body cannot tell the difference between a REAL laugh or a created laugh – so if you go through the motions of laughing, you really will begin to laugh (authentically) and no matter what is going on, your mood will lighten, and you will begin to feel better. I’ve tried to incorporate that into my life as much as possible, and it really does work!

5. Pretty in pink
Call it my never-ending subscription to the Molly Ringwald oeuvre, but pink and ruffles have found their way to every corner of my existence – from my undies to my luggage. If this is the one point in your life you are going to be living alone, take this opportunity to fill that space with everything that makes you “you” – even if that’s dotted draperies and fuchsia kitchen appliances. (Yes, I live in Barbie’s Malibu Dream House.) One day, you’ll have to compromise – you may as well make your space all about you now!

Thanks, Aly! Read more Five Rules here.

 “Five Rules,” is a series on Rouge18 in which I ask others to share their five rules for life about anything and everything. You can learn a lot about a person by reading which five things govern their actions, no?