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An update on my unofficial clothes shopping ban

Oh hi, friends. It’s Thursday. Despite my best attempts to keep at a normal posting schedule, things keep getting in the way, and Tuesday posts are particularly taking a hit for some reason.

This week, which was supposed to be quiet, unexpectedly turned into a shitshow Monday night. It involved both me witnessing an attempted serious crime/spending the evening talking to the police (serious to the level of I wrote everything down afterwards so I can remember in case it goes to trial and I’m called in. ETA: I am fine though, don’t worry!) AND the arrival of both my youngest sibling and car troubles that started happening an hour before they arrived here (thank goodness the previous owners of my car bought it new and therefore I know they took care of it, plus I still get a free oil change once a twice a year from them, aka my parents!).

I got up early both Tuesday and Wednesday mornings to be at the mechanic right when they open before going to work, and you know how I write posts the night before they go up? I was too tired last night to stay up as late writing as I normally do, so I got up way too early in order to finish writing this on Thursday morning because I AM GOING TO PUBLISH A POST TODAY, DAMMIT.

Let’s talk about something that’s not attempted [serious crime what the fuck] or car issues, shall we? Continue reading “An update on my unofficial clothes shopping ban”

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How to save money on car insurance: terrifying decision edition

Last year I wrote a post about saving money on car insurance. It included a lot of the basics—shopping around, getting a policy for a full year instead of 6 months, and paying for that year up front instead of monthly. Plus it’s the same company I have my renter’s insurance with, so I got a bundling discount there.

Well it’s that time of year again (not a coincidence that this is now the second year in a row I’ve opened up a new credit card around this time 😂). And I’m back with more money-saving tips. Except that they aren’t the basics this year. I’m actually terrified to do this: I’m dropping the comprehensive and collision coverage for my car. Continue reading “How to save money on car insurance: terrifying decision edition”

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Revisiting trade-offs and consciously consuming time

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about the ever-present trade-offs in my life; this latest round of soul-searching was prompted by the fact that I spent multiple days last week too exhausted to do anything. Everyone needs a day off here and there, but half a week spent on the couch? That’s obviously an opportunity to start questioning the choices that led me there (although to be fair I got a lot of reading done!).

I’ll be the first to admit I’m still not great with time management on a day-to-day basis. That’s a constant work in progress. But I’m starting to think that there are two big things I’ve been doing with my time that aren’t necessarily worth it. Curious what they are? Let’s dive right in. Continue reading “Revisiting trade-offs and consciously consuming time”

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The power of small (literal) steps

My primary form of transportation is walking. Most of my trips are in the 15-25 minute range, but I’ve certainly been known to walk 40 or 50 minutes to get somewhere.

Last weekend I found myself looking at a 2.5 mile/50-ish minute walk and felt a bit overwhelmed: that’s a ridiculously long walk (never mind the fact that it would take me probably 40 minutes on public transit so I might as well get some exercise in)! Who would do that?!?[*]

And then I realized: most days I do double that and think nothing of it since it’s just routine. Continue reading “The power of small (literal) steps”

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A Maximalist’s Guide to Minimalist Packing (guest post at Tiny Ambitions)

Remember that time I bought a 38 liter carry-on backpack right before my trip to the Azores? In the year since that purchase I’ve been experimenting with carry-on packing. And that’s been an interesting experience, especially given that I am very much not a minimalist (if you need a reminder of that, let me direct you to that photo of my desk!). Continue reading “A Maximalist’s Guide to Minimalist Packing (guest post at Tiny Ambitions)”

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Doing hard things, part 3: the plot thickens

In case you missed it, I asked for a raise and a title change in January.

When I left off with part two of the Job Saga over a month ago, I’d been doing a lot of waiting to hear back about my raise/title change request. While I’m still largely in waiting purgatory, things have certainly happened since then.

I hadn’t yet applied for the internal position when I wrote that post, but I changed that a few days later. And was granted an interview. Continue reading “Doing hard things, part 3: the plot thickens”

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No one else cares about your money: a #WomenRockMoney post

This post is part of the #WomenRockMoney Movement, a group of female personal finance bloggers who have come together to inspire more women to own their finances. Thanks to Chelsea for putting together this collaboration and the amazing homepage for the movement!

Happy International Women’s Day, everyone! If for some reason you’ve missed the fact that I’m a huge feminist and am therefore all about this day (and month) of celebration of women, well…surprise! When Chelsea at Mama Fish Saves asked who wanted to be part of this collaboration, I couldn’t sign up fast enough. She asked us to write a post about our most important piece of money advice for women, and I didn’t want to add to the multitudes of how-to posts about fundamentals like the basics of budgeting (especially since I don’t budget… 🤷‍♀️).

While I was thinking, I realized there was an incredibly essential thing that I wish I’d known earlier: no one else cares about your money. You are the only one who does.

That sounds disingenuous, especially from someone who blogs about her money and certainly appreciates when people read what she writes. But let me explain. Continue reading “No one else cares about your money: a #WomenRockMoney post”

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Looking ahead to debt-free life

It’s happened, friends. The credit card debt is GONE. I don’t yet have a zero balance screenshot for posterity but it’s going to happen. Soon. Yes, I am side-eyeing all of my various financial institutions collectively because I see them making sure charges get posted to my credit cards way sooner than it takes for my payments to get sent over.

Anyway. The fact remains that IT’S GONE! 🎉

ETA: I spoke too soon!

I’m not completely debt-free yet, but all of a sudden that day seems so much closer. After the extra $350 I just sent over to my student loans last week, I’m sitting on about $800 left on those. Continue reading “Looking ahead to debt-free life”

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Doing hard things, part 2: waiting

Last week I told you all how I’d asked for a raise and a title change for the first time ever in my life. And I also wrote about all the awful things my anxious brain has been thinking about in response. While this is still incredibly uncomfortable, I’m pleased to say that the title of that post is still accurate: nothing horrible has happened (yet)!

I was told it would be at least a week for the high-level conversations to happen, which would mean in theory they would happen by last Friday. I haven’t heard anything back yet about how that went. But I do have more to report.

That first post was about the first conversation I had with HR. The day I wrote it, I had a second conversation with HR. Continue reading “Doing hard things, part 2: waiting”