If you or anyone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis or considering self-harm, please please please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or text the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 So I haven’t touched this site in awhile. I find that when my life is full and I’m feeling satisfied and fulfilled that my creative juices flow a little bit more slowly. I interpret that as a good thing most...
Read MoreI used to be a runner. About 5 years ago I regularly signed up for 5Ks and two very memorable times ran half marathons. The Napa to Sonoma half was memorable because wine. The Wisconsin half was memorable because hypothermia blankets. Then I got sick and fell out of habit. Well, I’ve decided that one of my physical health goals this year is to run again regularly. So I’ve been using the C25k app to get back into fighting...
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As I watch my little orange kitten separate a stack of boxes with his paws and attempt to shred every one with his little tiger teeth it occurs to me that everyone’s gotta have a goal. Otherwise, what are we living for amirite? Well, this year is the year of physical health and in order to properly track my achievements I gotta start with a goal. Four of them to be exact. In no particular order are 4 attainable, measurable goals...
Read MoreI’m going to be blunt. Not because I particularly like sharing every detail of my life (despite the evidence of this blog suggesting otherwise), but because I hope the steps I took to gain financial health may help others who are struggling. It’s not easy to admit that I didn’t always have my shit together and that I’ve made some mistakes. I wasn’t one of those people who was born knowing about amortized assets. And don’t be fooled...
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In previous posts we talked about budgeting and how we can save, pay down debt, and contribute money into a retirement account all at the same time. To recap: pay yourself first (i.e. automatic deductions into retirement at least up to company match), then take care of high interest debt first and as quickly as you can while saving a little something. Re-calibrate these percentages as you pay off debt and have more to put into...
Read MoreIn the last post I talked about setting up your budget so that you can save for retirement, build an emergency savings plan, and pay off debt all at the same time. What I didn’t mention is that when I have a plan I am a very impatient person. And even with my budget designed to do all three magical things at once I wasn’t paying off my debt as quickly as I would like, which led me to…getting a second job. The real...
Read MoreOne thing I struggled with when I set up my budget is deciding how much money I put towards debt and how much I put towards emergency savings and retirement. As I said before, I automatically set up my retirement deductions based off my company match. That money leaves my paycheck before I see it, so it’s easy to make a budget without it. The next thing I did was start a savings account. Knowing I had more debt to pay off I started...
Read MoreThis one is short and sweet, because I covered a bit of it before. Today we’re going to talk about savings and budgeting. Step 4: Your First $500, $1,000, 3-Month Fund When you’re making your budget and building in a savings plan it can be daunting to think about starting small and getting to a 3- or 6-month emergency fund. Take comfort in knowing you’re not alone. Studies show that only 28% of Americans have saved a 6-month...
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