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Books of Q1 2019

After writing my book lists at the end of last year, and realizing that it was so long I had to break the list into two separate posts for non-fiction and fiction that were each massive, I decided to write quarterly book posts instead. So, for your reading pleasure, here are the books I read from the end of December 2018 through Q1 2019. I’m traveling this week, so there’s a good chance I’ve read a couple more books to add to this list, but you’ll just have to wait till the end of Q2 for those!

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. That being said, my first preference is for you to check any recommended books out from your local library! Read more about my affiliate philosophy here. You can also check books out in e-book form and download them to the Kindle app, which means you don’t even have to put on pants and leave the house to get your book. Isn’t technology grand? Occasionally, books I read and review are also available for free through Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited program, and I make sure to note if that’s the case.

In the list below, the books are labelled by level of recommendation:

  • Drop everything to read this book (DEAR for short)
  • Highly recommended (HR)
  • Good book (GB)
  • OK
  • Meh don’t bother (MDB)

Non-Fiction Books

  • Refinery29 Money Diaries by Lindsey Stanberry. HR. I really enjoyed this book. I haven’t spent a lot of time reading the Money Diaries series on Refinery29, but it was kind of fun to read about how other women are spending their money from week to week and see how it compares to me. Stanberry also has some great financial advice for women starting out in the workplace, though I wouldn’t say any of it is wildly different if you’ve already read other personal finance books geared toward millennials. If you haven’t, this is definitely not a bad place to start! 
  • Fed Up by Gemma Hartley. DEAR. Hartley’s article in Harper’s Bazaar about emotional labor went viral last year, and this book deal was a result. And thank God for that. She does a great job of discussing what emotional labor is, why women carry the bulk of it, and why that’s a problem. As a woman, I found myself nodding along and thinking, “well, duh” quite a bit. It would be interesting to hear what a guy thinks while reading this. The only comment I have: I wish more time in the book had been spent on solutions (and not just for married couples). But that’s a pretty minor complaint, and everyone should read this book.
  • The Financial Diet by Chelsea Fagan and Lauren Ver Hage. HR. This book was a fun read, and I loved the great breakout sections featuring experts in different areas. Including Cait Flanders, who is one of my favorite writers! There’s some great advice in here about how to find your first apartment, cook at home, and be financially savvy. It’s a wonderful book for recent college grads who are overwhelmed by adulthood. I actually sent a copy to my youngest sister last fall based on recommendations from Twitter, and I decided I should finally read the book for myself. I’m glad I did!
  • The Nature Fix by Florence Williams. HR. Williams goes around the world learning about what science has to say about the effect of nature on our physical and mental health. This book was a compelling read about why it’s important to get outside, and specifically to get out in nature and not just on city streets. While we can’t all disappear and go camping for weeks on end, it did have some easy action items. One I’ve adopted since reading is putting cypress oil on my dryer sheets, and now my whole house smells like a lovely Japanese forest. Placebo or science, it makes me happier!
  • Becoming by Michelle Obama. DEAR. This was such a wonderful and fascinating read. It was interesting to read more about Obama’s early life and hear her perspective on her husband’s meteoric rise in politics. I think everyone should read this book. It combines discussion of politics, race, and gender in a witty and endearing memoir. Michelle kicks ass.
  • Rest by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang. HR. Pang analyzes the benefits of rest to our creativity and productivity by comparing habits of great thinkers throughout history, from artists to scientists to politicians. He breaks down rest into component parts, including naps, sleep, deep play, walks, exercise, etc. and explains why each are necessary to perform at our best. He also talks about how society has shifted to celebrate overwork and stress, to the detriment of our health and wellbeing. I’m hoping to bring some of his takeaways into my own routines, especially as my schedule seems to get busier and busier.
  • The Geography of Genius by Eric Weiner. HR. Weiner writes about his attempt to find out what makes places of genius special. From ancient Athens to Calcutta to Vienna to Silicon Valley. It was an interesting read, and I definitely learned something about these places. He dispels the myth of the lone genius; instead, these cities fostered genius in their people and gave rise to multiple creative geniuses at one specific point in history. There are several common threads, but one of them is exposure to new ideas from around the world; none of these cities were isolated or cut off from inspiration.
  • The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll. HR. I’ve been using a Bullet Journal setup for some time, and I love the method and its flexibility. Before this, I always carried around both a paper planner and a small notebook, but the ease of combining both in something that is customized especially to my life is really attractive. It means all of my notes, ideas, to-do lists, and calendars are in one place. I can tie ideas together and easily make plans. Despite already using Carroll’s unique journal system, I found reading the book to be really helpful. It introduced several new ways that I can document my life and my tasks to meet my goals, both personal and professional. This is definitely worth the read if you already Bullet Journal or if you’ve been looking for a better way to organize your life. The book is well-written for novices and experts of the method alike. Bonus tip: this is the notebook I use. It’s wonderful and magical and I will never look back at my sad Moleskine notebooks again.
  • Pass the 65 by Robert Walker. Not going to lie; this is the most boring book on this list. It’s basically the only thing I read in January (other than the occasional mindless romance to give my brain a break–see below). That being said, it gets the job done. It’s a good resource if you are studying for the Series 65 exam, though I definitely had to supplement it with other study materials to absorb what I read. It’s a standard textbook price at $50, but pro tip: I used a free Kindle Unlimited trial (normally $10/month) to read it, so it was free!

Fiction Books

  • Warprize by Elizabeth Vaughan.
  • Warsworn
  • Warlord
  • Warcry
  • Wardance
  • Warsong. GB. Look, these books aren’t groundbreaking. But sometimes I like a good familiar romance series when my life is chaos and I can’t focus on anything with more substance. Vaughan tells a good story, despite some plot issues and one-dimensional characters. It’s also a little weird that the first three books are not fantasy, and then in the next three, suddenly wyverns show up. But whatevs.
  • Twilight by Stephenie Meyer.
  • New Moon
  • Eclipse
  • Breaking Dawn. GB. Ok, so when I was looking for something to procrastinate with while studying for my exam, I realized that all of the Twilight Saga movies were on Hulu. So, of course, I watched them. And then I decided that I probably needed to reread all the books too. Really, the same rationale as above. And now I’m kind of regretting deciding to honestly list all the books I read…
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January No-Spend Month: Recap

Last week, I wrote that I was doing a no-spend challenge in January. I’m really excited about how this went, and I saved enough money to pay off one of my student loan groups well in advance. It was an exciting accomplishment for January!

via GIPHY

I thought it’d be helpful to record what I did spend money on for the month. I don’t include some of my basic expenses like rent, pet insurance fees, medical expenses, cell phone, and electricity. I also left off any expenses that would be reimbursed by my work. I don’t feel that bad about leaving things out since I don’t report my spending monthly on a regular basis ;). The table below reports my spending decisions as well as notes about each expense.

via GIPHY

This article contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Affiliate, I get a small commission from purchases made through my links. This comes at no cost to you, and I only recommend items that I believe in (in today’s post, my recommendations are point discounts for purchases). Read more about my affiliate decisions here.

Without further ado:

PurchaseAmountNotes
FINRA exam registration$175The registration fee for my Series 65 exam, which I’ll take in February. First thing I bought in January, and definitely a worthwhile purchase!
Etsy shop fees$13.33Spent more money on Etsy fees than I made on sales last month…Hopefully this trend will reverse soon.
Charity donation$5An automatic monthly donation
Hulu and Internet$42.98About as low as I can get it…though next month, this will drop $2!
Airbnb$118.55A really great booking for my youngest sister’s graduation in May. And, they allow dogs, so I’ll save money on pet-sitting!
Transportation$42.91Gas, a couple of parking meters, and a Lyft when I couldn’t stand the idea of taking the Metro…
Credit Card annual fee$95I was going to cancel this one (my Delta SkyMiles card), but I don’t have status yet this year, and they offered me an incentive of 7,500 extra miles to keep the card.
Groceries$80.20Way less than my normal monthly expenses! While I did plenty of eating out of my pantry and freezer, I really didn’t want to deal with no fresh produce for a month. This covered the basics for the month.
Amazon.com (Airbnb gift card)$29.99
At the beginning of the month, I found an awesome deal where if you paid for your Amazon order at least partially with American Express credit card points, then you got $30 off an order of $60+. The great part is you only need to pay with at least 1 point. So I used 1 point on my $60 Airbnb gift card and got $30 off! It’s a great deal that is still active, so if you want to see if you qualify, check it out here. Bonus, there’s a similar deal with Chase Rewards points, but it’s only $15 off $60+. See if you're eligible here!
Auto maintenance$414.76Some weird sounds in my engine, plus an oil change. Thankfully there was nothing serious going on, but they did recommend some preventative maintenance. I love my auto shop because they don’t try to upsell me, so when they do recommend maintenance, I trust them.
Student Loans$235.51This is my standard monthly payment. It’s above the minimum requirement, but not by all that much.
Retirement contributions$200I contribute this to my Roth IRA--$100 with every paycheck. Even though I don’t max out my 401(k) yet, this makes more sense than contributing to my Roth 401(k) because I can get lower fees by investing on my own in low-cost index funds through Vanguard, instead of being limited to the smaller selection of funds my employer provides.
Vet bills$1165Ouch…StarDog and SunCat both had annual exams this month, plus vaccines, and stocking up on flea/tick/heartworm preventatives. A small amount of this will be reimbursed by pet insurance because we did some lab work on SunCat to check on her health after her scare last fall. And, I’m just relieved that they’re both healthy now!
REI$27They had a great sale…I couldn’t resist. I got some good travel accessories, though I’m still keeping an eye out for a good travel backpack.
Chipotle$8.25My cheat meal eating out as a reward for studying. No regrets.
Student loan payment$679.56This month, I paid off one of my student loan groups that has been a thorn in my side. It has the highest interest rate (6.55%) and has been taking way too long to pay off for such a low amount. I decided to pause some of my other savings goals and just get this wiped out. I don’t regret it at all. Now, the payment I used to make on this monthly will go to another loan with the same interest rate (my other highest).
Series 65 study materials$100Bought a practice question set for my exam...can't wait till this is over.
Charity donation$60Annual membership cost in my women’s education group—the fee goes to fund scholarships for women in higher education.
Total, omitting student loan additional payment, auto maintenance, and vet bills$1233.72I'm omitting the student loan payment because it was an optional payment that was made possible by spending less on everything else. And the auto and vet bills were both one-off large expenses that I couldn't put off till the end of the month.

Recap and Strategy

This kind of spending isn’t sustainable long-term, but it was great for a turbo-charged month of saving. And it felt really good to knock out one of my higher interest student loan groups.

Another big benefit of this no-spend month was having a goal to work toward. It felt good when I didn’t spend money, like I was winning at a game. And it made it much easier to focus on studying for my exam next month since I didn’t have money-spending activities to distract me…

A couple of things made this feasible–I had plenty of food in my freezer to work through; leftovers and broth and frozen vegetables. Working through those wasn’t fun but did help with my grocery budget. And freed up space in my freezer for future batch-cooking! I had dried beans in my pantry, which made for several meals. I did spend some of my grocery money on flour, so I was able to make bread several times during the month.

One of the most important pieces of this no-spend month was setting my own rules. I knew I’d be better able to stick with it if I built in one fast-casual cheat option (my Chipotle). I also knew that there would be things that just made sense to buy this month. Study materials, vet bills, and my Airbnb purchase. I wasn’t going to wait on these things just because it was January.

If you’re thinking about a no-spend month, think about the things you’ll need. Both in terms of prep and exceptions to the “rule.” I also highly recommend making sure you know why you’re doing it. On that front, I loved Cait Flanders’s book, The Year of Less. She’s a wonderful writer and human being.

Well, it’s been a fun month. I enjoyed seeing how low I could get my spending, and the grocery bill was especially low this month–usually it’s 3x higher in a regular month (though that includes staples like paper products).

I’ll probably do another month like this later in the year because I enjoyed the challenge. Any advice on hacking my monthly spending more? I’d love to hear it!

via GIPHY
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New Year and New Goals

Ok, I know that the New Year is actually not really the optimal time to set new goals. But there’s something so enticing about a new year and new possibilities. And this “new goal” has been in the works for awhile and is finally turning into reality. In the past year, I’ve made a lot of progress toward ongoing goals. I’ve paid off my credit card debt and traveled. I’ve focused more on self-improvement and read plenty of non-fiction books. But I also had some set-backs; I didn’t get a job I thought I wanted, and then spent seven months trying to figure out my life. That included clarifying my professional goals, turning down a few seemingly perfect opportunities that weren’t right for me, and thinking about relocating to a lower cost of living location. I wrote all about 2018 in my last post.

drinking champagne from fridge 2018 new goals
I need a drink after that 2018… (via GIPHY)
Continue reading “New Year and New Goals”