Picking up knowledge from where the system drops us off
There’s a lot of conflicting information out there on how to invest your money. But there’s also a ton of reliable information outlined in books like The Intelligent Investor, The Simple Path to Wealth, and Your Money or Your Life. The common theme of these books is that index investing is the guaranteed, reliable way to invest and profit in the stock market in the…
This post is directly inspired by CGP Grey’s Youtube video on Themes. My theme for June, July, and August 2020 is the “Summer of Respect.” In his video, he suggests doing away permanently with New Year’s Resolutions, and replacing them with themes. Resolutions are great in theory: they provide a chance to reflect on the prior year, and to target an area of your life…
December. A month of family, holidays, a wedding, and absolutely reckless gambling. My savings rate ended up at a catastrophic -108%. I spent more than 2 times what I brought in this month. If I adjust my savings rate to ignore my gambling, we’re at a healthy 28% rate of savings this month. But that’s not too helpful is it? It’s just a convenient “what…
November was my first full month being car-free. With how little I used my car for my 6 months of ownership, it’s been a pretty smooth transition. I also have the safety net of having a really cool friend/roommate who lets me borrow his car when the need arises. Most commonly, these instances of borrowing end up being trips to Aldi. Obviously, my general goal…
I was able to enjoy a few amazing weekends in the month of October. Weather has been permitting for outdoor fun. I got to experience some river kayaking, made possible during this time of year by a wet suit. I ate out just about every meal during this kayaking trip, and during the rest of the month, I’ve been eating lots of pizza and more…
September began with plenty of driving! I ended up making 2 trips home at the very beginning of the month, blasting tens of pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere for the benefit of socializing with family. I spent the weekend lounging and eating especially well with my mom and dad. Home cooked meals, and nights spent around a fire. After living away from home for…
August began with a busy weekend for me. On Saturday, I played a round of golf with my brother and his two friends. Then we went grocery shopping for barbecue supplies, and enjoyed a late afternoon barbecue. Potato salad… sausages, corn, asparagus. Sunday was a day of TONS of driving for me. Six hours total. But it was for a very special and unique experience:…
July was a month full of luxury for me, leading to me falling significantly short of my 40% savings rate goal for this month, as stated in my June Expense Report. Here’s my categorized spending chart for the month: My saving grace this month was a $400 bank account opening bonus. This additional income propelled my savings rate from a mediocre 18%, to a more…
Since beginning to keep track of my expenses in March, June has been my lowest spend month! Looking back on my month of June, I squeezed in a lot of fun, and I have a skyscraper of savings towering above all my other expenses besides by home/rent category. Part of the reason why I chose to represent my monthly expenses and savings in a 3D…
Welcome to my May 2019 Expense Report. Above is a visual breakdown of my monthly expenses. It’s fun to read my previous month’s expense report, and gander at my optimistic expectations for each coming month. Hopefully my optimistic expectations and future guidance begin to materialize, but each expense report has been a reality check for me. As I look over my personal finance spreadsheets at…
