I started this blog by crediting Mr. Money Mustache with finally shaking me out of my default consumer habits and helping me realize that a different life was not only possible, but fairly easy to achieve. But this wasn’t the whole truth. After thinking about it more I realized that my actual inspiration for retiring early is my Mom. She retired herself last week at the age of 55. Her husband retired a year ago at 59. After a lot of hard work they were able to retire almost 10 years earlier than social security and medicare allow. Continue reading “My Inspiration: My Mom”
Category: Musings
The Curious Case of My Heart During A Job Search
I found myself falling into a familiar trap last night. I had talked to a friend who mentioned a large company in Seattle that she has recruited for that pays very well, but is almost notoriously difficult to work for. It is said that your experience there completely depends on the team with which you’re placed, which is not that different from most companies. However, when reading reviews of the company by actual employees the overwhelming feeling is very negative. Continue reading “The Curious Case of My Heart During A Job Search”
Unexpected Expenses and Releasing Worry
Today I arrived home after a full, but surprisingly stress free day at work to find a “not a bill” from my insurance company. This document which stated that it was “not a bill” on the front page said that I owed $361 and change for a procedure I had in November that the insurance company assured me was completely covered. This made me unreasonably angry and resulted in me calling the insurance company and emailing/texting several people for information. Apparently I can’t contest this document, its supposed charge and the multiple pieces of incorrect information it holds until I receive the “real” bill. In the grand scheme of things even if I was lied to and end up having to pay these charges this seemed to represent a larger problem that’s been in the back of my mind: unexpected costs. Continue reading “Unexpected Expenses and Releasing Worry”
My Surprising Consumer Mindset
New York City seems to be the consumer capital of the US – everything seems to be defined by outward symbols of wealth. This might be a result of the industry I’ve chosen to work in and the type of people that are usually attracted to it, but even outside of my profession I have seen this trend. The default here is always to do things that cost money to enjoy life: go to a bar for a drink despite having a bottle at home, go out to a diner to eat regardless if you have the same bacon and eggs sitting in your fridge, go to a movie for $15 instead of watching something slightly older on the huge TV in your living room. I wasn’t even aware that different behavior was possible until I visited my partner’s family and they seemed to have a much happier life without a lot of these outings that have become normal for me. Not only do they often have people over for home cooked meals instead of being served in a room full of strangers, but they also obviously value people over things — time over money maybe. Continue reading “My Surprising Consumer Mindset”
Advertising: The Anti-Consumer Nightmare
“Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don’t need.” –Tyler Durden, Fight ClubI have a difficult relationship with advertising – and not just because I currently work in it. Originally I simply understood that advertising was a necessary and even welcome evil simply because it allows a lot of content to be provided free: websites, magazines and originally television shows. And I appreciated that ad agencies were the first major industry to embrace the idea of creativity being vital to their work and trying to encourage it in the office culture and environment. However, once the fact that happier employees are more productive employees spread the idea of working to attract employees has become almost mainstream. Even older institutions are taking this onboard. Continue reading “Advertising: The Anti-Consumer Nightmare”
Advertising: My Job History and FU Money
I first decided I was interested in advertising in college, before Mad Men became a runaway success and brought the profession into the light of pop culture. Originally I was looking for a fun, less stuffy profession compared to my mother’s 30 years working for various Fortune 500 companies full of pants suits and colorless, cubicle filled offices. Through job fairs and speaking with the lovely Alums in my college’s alumni network I first became interested in advertising and thought it would be a wonderful way to explore the creativity I was looking for in an office environment while using my main set of skills: organization and persistence.Continue reading “Advertising: My Job History and FU Money”
My Vice: Gadgets
Whenever I see a press release, demo or review for a new fun technology my heart starts racing. Something ignites within me and in that moment I believe I need that new shiny toy. My brain tries to provide seemingly good reasons why I ‘need’ it.
I still haven’t mastered this feeling – not at all. I actually made the large mistake of buying the new iPhone 6 a few months ago after playing with a few of them and comparing my iPhone 5 which could barely keep a charge for a few hours with what I originally thought was a ridiculously large phone. This impulsive decision created a ripple of financial consequences that finally shook me out of this cycle. Continue reading “My Vice: Gadgets”
My Vice: Eating Out
I had three main aspects of my New York life that I let eat away at my hard earned cash:
1. NYC Rent (already addressed with our move)
2. Fancy Foreign Beaches
3. Eating and Drinking Out
Today I’ll tackle #3: Enjoying food and drink outside of my home. Unfortunately I’ve never been someone who enjoys cooking. I’ve been told that for others cooking helps them relax. Others claim that cooking and baking is fun in the same way chemistry lab can be fun – mixing different things together to see what you can create. I’ve never felt that way. Cooking to me has always felt like a waste of time simply because of two facts: That I eat really quickly and that I am not a good cook. Seeing all the time I spend cooking what turns out to be a mediocre product that I gobble up in a few minutes is quite unsatisfying. I’m left with a full, but not happy stomach and a kitchen full of dishes.