Blogging about personal growth in financial independence, health, and happiness
This is going to be a short weekly update because I have my mom in town, but it’s definitely been a busy week! A week that included some productive job interviews and cheap wine. Continue reading “Weekly Update: Job Interviews and Cheap Wine”
My organization has multiple fiscal years for some odd reason (multiple funding sources), but the date that employees care about the most is July 1. This is when we get our annual salary increases. They aren’t raises per se because they’re only loosely tied to performance—everyone gets one, and it’s more of a lifestyle cost adjustment. It’s between 3-5% typically. And in the past, avoiding lifestyle creep wasn’t on my radar.
Could I have picked a more clickbait-y title? You’re welcome. But it’s 100% true too. This is my second weekly update post, and it’s been one hell of a week. This is a pretty long post because there’s some background that needs to be established, but bear with me. I eventually get to the part about lighting money on fire and walking away. But I’ve also discovered that the value of happiness doesn’t have a price tag. And as trite as that sounds, it’s so true.
Continue reading “The Value of Happiness: Why I Walked Away from $40k”
I have already written about the inspiration for my blog name, which is the children’s book The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. While one specific chapter in that book gave this blog its name, the other chapters also have relevant life lessons to share, like Chapter 14, and specifically the lessons it imparts about passion and the need for change. Monotony in work can affect the rest of your life and wellbeing.
This is my first weekly update on the blog! Basically a short overview of relevant things that happened in my life this week; my hope is that putting these updates out will help me get into the habit of writing more consistently. Without further ado, I’ll start with the good news: starting a new side hustle.
Continue reading “Weekly Update: Side Hustles and Vet Bills”
The Personal Finance community has some pretty strong views about budgets. About whether or not you need one, about the proper way to allocate money, and about what tool is best. Excel spreadsheet user? You should totally be using Personal Capital. No, you should use Mint. No, nothing beats a good old-fashioned spreadsheet! While I hate to add to the noise of the budget debate, I am a fervent convert of You Need a Budget (YNAB).
It has officially been one year since I started my free 34-day trial, and I can honestly say that using YNAB has changed my life. Without it, I never would have gotten my financial shit in order, and I never would have found the personal finance and FIRE community. I finally feel like I have control of my finances, and I want to shout YNAB’s praises from the rooftops. Conveniently, I have a blog now! Complete with virtual rooftops galore!
So here it goes. Reasons why I love budgeting in YNAB: Continue reading “An Ode to My YNAB Budget”