Blogging about personal growth in financial independence, health, and happiness
Y’all. I AM SO EXCITED FOR TODAY. If you don’t know why based on this title and the date, you probably won’t enjoy today’s blog post very much. In honor of the premiere of Avengers: Endgame, in which ALL CHARACTERS HAD BETTER LIVE, DAMN IT, I decided to distill all of the films in the franchise to their money lessons. Which, I’ll be honest, was quite the stretch in some places. And I couldn’t have done it alone; my BFF Lyra valiantly assisted to save the day with a number of these. Thanks, boo!
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”
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”
When I decided to start a blog, I had a lot of trouble choosing a name. I wanted it to be something that meant something to me, and I didn’t want a name that was flip or too “cute” (I didn’t think that would fit my goal for the blog or my tone). Several great ideas I had were already taken, so I decided to turn to some of my favorite books for inspiration. Continue reading “The Origin of a Name”
One of my goals that I’m talking about in this blog is Financial Independence. This one means a lot to me. When I graduated college, I spent money a little too freely. I needed a new wardrobe for my new life as a professional, I needed new furniture, I needed fun things and dinners out and travel. I needed to adopt not one, but TWO new animals (for a total of 3). And now, three years later, I’m stepping back and asking myself how I can be more strategic about getting to my financial goals because I’ve taken the time to figure out exactly what those goals are.