In defense of kid lit and rereading

So I went to CampFI two weekends ago. And then, instead of having time to recover from that (#introvertproblems), I jumped right in to chorus concert week where I spent multiple evenings at rehearsal (remember my plan to go to bed at 11? Impossible when you get home at 11, assuming you’re lucky and don’t have to wait 20-25 minutes in the metro station for a train home so it’s even later) and had to dedicate my entire weekend to it. So to say I’m exhausted is a bit of an understatement.

I was adventurous and went to barre Tuesday night for the first time in the better part of three weeks (yes, that’s how busy I’ve been); I am very consciously making the choice to skip it tonight in the hopes that that’ll allow me to finish up this post and go to bed more or less on time. But other than that, I spent Monday and Tuesday evenings in an exhausted stupor on the couch, too tired to do things that’ll make my life easier, like putting dirty dishes in the dishwasher (my roommate isn’t currently home so I’m not forced to clean for her sake), or to work on the things I want to get done. My impending car insurance renewal isn’t going to research itself, after all.

That’s made it hard to figure out what to write about lately. It’s hard to pull money lessons out of sheer exhaustion, and even harder to dedicate the time to sit down and write a post. Hell, I haven’t even spent any money so far this week thanks to the seriously well-stocked fridge (again, good thing my roommate isn’t here because it wasn’t just my half of the fridge that was full!) my mom left when she departed my apartment on Monday morning. Bless her for that, especially because this is a week I’ve been too tired to think about making food for myself, let alone grocery shopping and actually making it. I may have spent the bulk of the last two evenings on the couch but at least I had healthy food to eat while I was there!

So let’s talk something a bit different today. And let’s start off by revisiting my bookshelf. Continue reading “In defense of kid lit and rereading”

I went to money nerd camp (aka CampFI Mid-Atlantic)

It’s likely if you’re in the DC area and reading this (or you happen to live right near where I grew up ?), you’ve probably met me (so people can attest to the fact that even though I’m anonymous I am a real person!). Because I love meetups. I love the large group meetups, I love smaller meetups, I love one-on-one meetups. The community really makes this ridiculous blogging hobby I have worth it.

And I just made my debut appearance at a large group event: I spent last weekend at CampFI Mid-Atlantic with about 70 other money nerds. Continue reading “I went to money nerd camp (aka CampFI Mid-Atlantic)”

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”

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)”