There are times in life where I have been padding along, existing on autopilot. I need something to shake things up and keep things interesting. Sometimes that's cycling in and out of hobbies, looking at my career, reaching out to friends, or trying something new. This week, it was the Frugal Friends Symposium.
Wonderful as always, Jen and Jill!
Your Invitation to the 2022 Spending Symposium – EP 218 – The Frugal Friends Podcast
Disclaimer: I met Jen ages ago when she interviewed me about my AirBNB business. She and Jill are great. I don't get any kickbacks for sharing this fabulousness.
Favorite Quotes and Thoughts
Goals
"I'd rather have the big lofty goal and fail at it, and that goal be worth failing." - Bernadette Joy, Crush Your Money GoalsI heard this and it was a full-stop moment. Our current goals are very in alignment with "Keep on keeping on," which is fine since we are in a good space. However, that's not how you grow. I'm determined to set a new goal, although I want to take a bit of time to think about what it will be.
"Your goals need to mean so much to you that it makes you cry." - Sami Womack, A Sunny Side Up Life
Yep, definitely need some time to think this one through.
Ideal Life
"What do you want your life to look like?" - Courtney Florey, Declutter & Dwell
I am all about this. This blog is all about this. It was a great reminder to do a reevaluation. When was the last time I stopped to think about the pieces in my life? Are we still living the life we want to be? Is everything still worth the space it's taking up in my life?
"When you get one area of your life together, the rest follows." - Jessi Fearon
I've really been feeling it this year. I'm back to the gym and my physical and mental health has gone way up, coupled with my productivity and my focus. It has been such a relief to focus on one thing and see the success in front of me. I've struggled with depression for years, and I'm down to 10mg/day of my citalopram (from 40mg... for those not in the know, the max "healthy" amount is 40mg/day and absolute max is 60mg... this is a big deal! My doctor is proud.)
Keeping On
"I am too driven to drown." - Rachel Rivera, Beautiful BudgetYes, yes, a thousand times yes. I can absolutely do the hard thing, and I will come out stronger. This statement feels so empowering.
"If something isn't working, find something that does." - Jade Warshaw, More Feast Less Famine
This is a fabulous reminder that the sunk cost fallacy is real, and that sometimes you need to let go.
Lifestyle Creep
"The cure for lifestyle creep is to pay attention." - Anjie, Rich by Intention
This was exactly what I needed to hear today. I started by moving a bunch of items from my Amazon cart to my Wishlist instead. Then I looked over our expenses using our Personal Capital. Where have we been creeping up? I found some spots where we can make some cuts, much to no one's surprise.
"Would you be embarrassed if people knew what you're spending on?" - Caroline Vencil
Yes. Yes, I would. The insane amount of Starbucks and the $1,400 on new clothes from this year (mostly Poshmark, though!) are actually embarrassing to admit. But there they are, and I will definitely be paying more attention. When I moved down, I had to be insanely frugal, because there were no other options. I kept myself in the positive with AirBNB, and then after we got married, our finances were significantly less tight. It's time to increase the direct deposit amount that goes directly to my savings.
Minimalism
"Triggers of spending can be any emotion, including celebrating and excitement." - Allison Baggerly, Inspired Budget
Thinking through why I've made impulse purchases... usually it's looking for a small shot of dopamine on an otherwise uneventful day. I definitely need to work on this.
- Let go of the things you don't need and keep your favorites.
- If you can replace it for less than $20 in 20 minutes, donate.
- What do you value enough to pay someone to do? Buy back your time. - Rose Lounsbury
With my Little Free Library project, our house has been inundated with books. There isn't time to read them all, and even if there was, the public libraries are open again and I can get almost any book I could possibly want to read. I purged all of my To-Be-Read pile, bringing all of it outside to the book bins for stewards to grab from, and it felt great.
I've definitely been less focused on my weekly purges and posting items in my Buy Nothing group. I cleaned out my closet and my kitchen and posted all of it, and it felt great to let things go.