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Travel Hacking My Way to Jordan

travel hacking jordan

Here’s the deal. My mom is awesome. Like super awesome. Like raised-two-daughters-as-a-single-mom-and-still-got-her-Ph.D.-in-the-middle level awesome. She’s always been supportive and wonderful, and I love her bunches. And she turned 60 this year, so I wanted to do something extra special to celebrate. For the past year and a half, I’ve been saving up credit card points to take her to Jordan (without spending a whole lot of money), and I figured I’d outline what I did here in case it’s of interest to others. I couldn’t write about this travel hacking strategy sooner because I didn’t give her the gift until last month, but we won’t be going until Spring 2020 (for her birthday I told her that we would be going, then we picked dates…).

via GIPHY
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What I’m Saving For: 2019

row of piggy banks

2019 is shaping up to be a wild and exciting year for me, so I want to make sure that I’m saving for what’s coming up. There’s a few things listed in my budget categories at the moment, and I thought it would be helpful if I went through those here (as well as how I’m approaching each). I use the YNAB Budget System, so when I refer to categories, that’s what I mean. You can read more about my love for YNAB here.

Also, today is a very special day, and my GIFs are themed accordingly. You’re welcome.

via GIPHY
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Charitable Giving in My Budget

charitable giving in my budget blog post

Happy Thanksgiving! I love this holiday so much because it emphasizes reflection on what we’re thankful for, and it’s the perfect start to the holiday season. The air has started to get crisp, and my whole neighborhood smells like woodsmoke from people starting to use their fireplaces. It’s all very hygge. But it’s also a time to think about your charitable giving.  Continue reading “Charitable Giving in My Budget”

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Financial DNA and Learning from the Past

financial dna and learning from the past

I’ve had a lot of fun over the last year going through my family’s genealogy. Digging into rumors and fact, old documents and family stories (Spoiler alert: I was lied to as a child, and we are not, alas, illicit descendants of Queen Victoria). And as I’ve done that and have seen some of the struggles that my ancestors overcame, I’m struck by how much my financial heritage—my financial DNA, so to speak—influences my life now.

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Weekly Update: Family Time

This weekly update is going to be super short because I’m currently  with family celebrating my mom’s birthday. It’s great to be with loved ones, and I’m even more glad that I was able to surprise her for the weekend!

And StarDog is thrilled to be staying with the pet sitter. He views it as his own extended sleepover, and he always has a ball. She doesn’t have cats, so he gets to sleep in the bed there…

dog on carpet stretching laying down
StarDog getting comfy

Weekly Gratitude

Like I mentioned last week, this will be a weekly section on what I’m grateful for every day. I’m hoping that by documenting these, it will remind me to be more mindful about the good things in my life.

  • Monday: Sold something on Poshmark! It’s been awhile…and I’m grateful to get something else out of my apartment. And…money.

  • StarCat vet appointment family handsome cuddle fur
    The handsomest kitty.

    Tuesday: StarCat had a relatively painless annual checkup at the vet, and everyone there could not get over how handsome he was!

  • Wednesday: I heard back from a super awesome company that I really want to work for, and we’re going to do a preliminary phone interview next week. Fingers crossed!
  • Thursday: I finished the second case interview in the first round of one of my job applications. Glad that’s over…
  • Friday: I managed to get a business lunch scheduled at my favorite ramen restaurant. And I’m always grateful for delicious free food! We event got bubble tea afterwards.
  • Saturday: Spending time with family! My flights were pretty painless (despite a 6am departure), and my mom didn’t suspect a thing, so she was shocked. That’s something worth celebrating because she’s pretty sharp, and I was sure she’d guess.
  • Sunday: Well, this is technically taking place in the future since this post goes live before dinner, but I’m taking my mom to her (and my) favorite steakhouse. I’m grateful for good food and people that I love. And dessert. I’m always grateful for dessert.

Whatever you’re doing this weekend, I hope it brings you joy. I’d love to hear about your plans, and what you’re grateful for this week—write me a comment below!

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10 Pieces of Financial Advice for My 20 Year Old Sister

Lately, during my phone conversations with my little sister, I have this overwhelming urge to bombard her with financial advice. All of the things that I wish I had known before I racked up credit card debt and bought a new office wardrobe. Before I spent some of my first real money on a classy pair of “big-girl” diamond earrings. Before I got my first apartment and spent absurd amounts of money on takeout. You get the drift…

But usually our phone calls are short because she’s busy studying or going between commitments on campus. Plus, she’s 20 and thinks she has all the answers. So I thought I’d compile my thoughts here in the spirit of encouraging student financial health in others, and maybe in the hope that having a written response will be helpful to her. So here we go!

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