Last week, I traveled via plane for the first time since COVID-19 hit our globe. It was time. I had avoided it for so long, mostly just because I didn’t want to deal with the extra hassle I assumed COVID had brought to travel. But I wanted to go to a work conference in Denver, and when my company supported it and said they would pay for me to go, I decided to go for it. I’m so glad that I went, but upon reflection after returning, I keep coming back to this whispering feeling: everything is better at home.
Continue reading “Everything Is Better At Home”Meal Planning, Grocery Shopping, and Hannaford Rewards, Oh My!
When friends and family find out that Mr. Dink and I cook 95% of our meals at home, we get a lot of wide-eyed stares. We LOVE to treat ourselves occasionally to a fancy dinner out, but eating out for us is rare and typically for a special occasion or celebrating small wins (and we like it that way).
Even though the numbers are down from pre-pandemic levels, a new survey shows that 7% of people eat out an average of 4 days per week, 16% 3 days per week, and 44% one day per week. No judgement at all, and by all means, if you have the money to afford this and eating out truly brings you joy, you do you. But if you’re looking to decrease your eating-out habits (whether for monetary, health, or other reasons), I’m hoping that sharing our process of how we plan and shop for meals with you today might give you a little inspiration!
Continue reading “Meal Planning, Grocery Shopping, and Hannaford Rewards, Oh My!”Warning: Your Community May Change Once You Embrace Slow FI
The other day, I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts, Martinis and Your Money. It was the monthly happy hour episode, where the host, Shannon McLay, talks about a financial topic with a few of her friends. In this particular episode, they were talking about the importance of community. This got me thinking about my community. It made me reflect on how important community is to me, but it also made me realize how much my community has changed in the last few years. I started contemplating why this was so, and every reason kept circling back to when I started embracing slow financial independence (slow FI).
Continue reading “Warning: Your Community May Change Once You Embrace Slow FI”Is It Time To Get Rid Of Expectations?
I’ve been thinking a lot this week about expectations. How we all have them. How unhelpful they are. How Buddhist thought says they are a major cause of human suffering. How they relate to my financial independence journey. We are all littered with expectations every day. But how does that go for us? If expectations are met, we are left feeling happy and fulfilled. But if our expectations aren’t met, which so often is the case (because, let’s be honest, usually we have no control over this), we are left feeling at best empty and sad and at worst resentful or even depressed. So, what’s the point? Is it time to get rid of expectations for good?
Continue reading “Is It Time To Get Rid Of Expectations?”That’s Not A Professor’s Car!
That is literally what someone, actually the husband of a good friend, said to me one day when I showed up to their house after getting my first big-time, adult Professor job. It was 2015. I had just gotten out of my 2002 Toyota Camry, which was given to me by my dad when I graduated from college in 2009, when I was greeted with this exclamation. “That’s not a professor’s car!” I was completely caught off guard by it. I had no idea how to respond, but I’m sure I just shrugged it off with something like “oh, I’m sure I’ll get a new car soon”. This experience, my friends, is a huge part of what’s wrong with our society!
Continue reading “That’s Not A Professor’s Car!”The Power Of Living Intentionally
I’ve written in the past about spending intentionally, but today I want to go a bit broader. Today I want to talk about living intentionally. Do you live intentionally? Or maybe you’re wondering, what does it mean to live intentionally?
Continue reading “The Power Of Living Intentionally”How We Manage Our Money As A DINK Household
Last week on the blog, I wrote about our COVID wedding(s), and how spending on our values saved us from busting our budget. Writing that post made me realize that I haven’t actually shared with my readers how Mr. Dink and I manage our money as a couple! How could I have let such an obvious and crucial post of a personal finance blog slip through the cracks? Well, rest assured folks. The wait is over.
Continue reading “How We Manage Our Money As A DINK Household”The Tale of Two COVID Weddings: How Our Values Saved Our Budget
Mr. Dink and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary last weekend! If you’re quick with math, you may have already realized that, yes, we had a COVID wedding. On Christmas of 2019, we sent out save the dates for September 19, 2020. The pandemic may have changed our original wedding plans, the months leading up to September 19th may have been an incredibly stressful time, and we may have had to make some really hard decisions, but we didn’t let COVID-19 ruin what was important to us about our wedding. The fact that we had taken the time to really think about what mattered to us, what our values were around our wedding, ended up being our savior. Looking back on how our wedding(s) turned out, we don’t regret a thing.
Continue reading “The Tale of Two COVID Weddings: How Our Values Saved Our Budget”Faith and Money: Letting Go of the Shame
Did you grow up going to church? Do you belong to a church community now? In the past, I would have avoided those questions. I would have made any excuse not to talk about church or religion. The truth is, I did grow up going to church, I do belong to a church community now, and I’m no longer ashamed to say it.
Continue reading “Faith and Money: Letting Go of the Shame”Slow FI And The Evolution of Friendships
Lately, with summer having been in full swing and COVID-19 restrictions becoming more and more lax, I have been spending a lot of time with friends. Not surprisingly, I have also been spending more money when it comes to friends. But spending money with friends has been easy because of the joy it brings. Rather than worrying about spending, I’ve found myself reflecting on how far my relationships with my friends have come since I’ve started taking a slow path to financial independence (FI). I’ve noticed how my friendships have changed and evolved. Some friendships have ended, and that has been hard, but for the most part, my friendships have changed for the better since slowing down my journey to FI.
Continue reading “Slow FI And The Evolution of Friendships”