Today marks the last day of my twenty-ninth year. Rather than spending my final weeks planning a skydiving adventure or jetting off to a tropical locale, I decided to see if I could make my idea of ordinary into something extraordinary. Every night before I went to bed, I chronicled some small moment that left … [Read more…]
With Teacher Appreciation Week and the end of the school year fast approaching, some people might be considering giving gifts to their children’s teachers. In fact, Pinterest is burgeoning with creative teacher gifts, many of which fail to take into consideration the cost and talent it might take to design the crafts. When it comes … [Read more…]
No, this list isn’t an attack on expensive wines, an admonishment of carry-out lunches, or a dismissal of brand-name products in favor of store brands. Nor is it an opportunity to remind you that Amazon sells a banana slicer. Okay, it’s kind of that. Instead, this is a list of four things that have come … [Read more…]
Sometimes, I wonder if I was happier before I fell into the world of personal finance. My life is more fulfilled now. My priorities are more concrete. But there is something to be said about blissful ignorance. Yes, it’s ephemeral. It was only a matter of time before that bliss came crashing down quite literally. … [Read more…]
In our budget, we currently set aside between 42%-48% of our after-tax income. It is also worth pointing out that 10% of both our salaries is taken out pre-tax and put into our pension funds. So on the surface, it looks like were are living on a fairly small portion of our income. But just … [Read more…]
In the last installment of this series, I confessed to being a supremely awkward being. I wasn’t lying. Just when I thought I couldn’t embarrass myself any more in front of my bosses, I had my evaluation meeting. Halfway through the meeting, one of the beads on my necklace cannonballed down my shirt. Thankfully, we … [Read more…]
I thought I had goals. But it turns out, I have mostly hopes and dreams when it comes to personal finance. Paying off our mortgage in the next 10 years isn’t a good goal. Staying out of debt isn’t a good goal. Increasing my net worth isn’t a good goal. They’re undoubtedly important aspirations, but … [Read more…]
We all have twenty-four hours in a day. Some of us have the resources and wherewithal to leverage that time more effectively than others. While we may not all be on equal footing in that regard, we all make choices about how we spend our time. For too long, I viewed my days as an … [Read more…]
Last week, it was the Democratic sound bite heard round the Internet – or at least, my private Facebook feed: “When you’re white, you don’t know what it’s like to be living in a ghetto. You don’t know what it’s like to be poor.” Bernie Sanders’ comment on institutional racism and systemic poverty eviscerated the … [Read more…]
Given the choice between perfection and courage, choose courage. Perfection is easy because there is often a measure of safety involved. There’s no great unknown, no proverbial leap. No net needed. As someone who has strived for perfection for nearly three decades, I haven’t only mastered the art of playing it safe, I’ve relied upon … [Read more…]