Money Diary #64

Morning: Hear parents up around 1 in the morning, shower, and get dressed to head to the airport for their trip. Around 3, they tell me they are leaving. I am kind of awake, say goodbye, and fall back into bed. Bring the computer to bed and turn on Audrey Hepburn's Sabrina. I drift in and out of sleep. Dad texts me at 5:30 that they are at the gate and then texts again around 7 as they take off. Finally get up and brush my teeth. Make scrambled eggs, air fry bacon, and pour a glass of the Kroger cold-pressed orange juice for breakfast. Still hungry, I eat some more of the caramel chocolate fudge cheesecake (LOL) and wash it down with a glass of Coke. Dad texts that they've landed. Watch Sabrina some more, and it's definitely a movie that I'll watch again. Parents call to let me know they're at their friends' place.

Afternoon: Put King of Queens on in the background and warm up the Chick-Fil-A sandwich for lunch. Wash it down with two glasses of Coke. Do a coconut oil pull. Do a hot water facial and wash my face with Dove soap. Take a shower, finish the last of the cheesecake, and air fry some chicken tenders. Read a few Money Diaries, one of which comments on how "hard my dad worked at a job he hated (CEO of a large company) so [the diarist] could do whatever we wanted in life." Another one exclaims "I'm sure there is an alternative universe me who learnt how to code and can now afford to eat meat more than a few times a week, lol." Watch Rick Steves visit Tuscany and then switch over to Larry, Curly, and Moe & their antics.

Evening: Decide to do the longer work project tomorrow and watch I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched instead, lol. Dinner is cauliflower fried rice, egg curry, and ground turkey stir fry. Do a coconut oil pull, brush my teeth, and bed around 11.

Money Diary #63

Morning: Up at 7, realize that the iPhone didn't charge last night for some reason, so I plug it in a different location. Get up, brush my teeth, and drink a cup of tea. A work email comes in, so I log on and finish some action items. Air fry bacon and eat that with another cup of tea. Go run errands with Dad at 9:30 (bank, gas for his car, Kroger, and Chick-Fil-A). At Kroger, we get medicine for them, chicken that's on clearance (for when they get back from the trip), clearance tres leches cake, clearance caramel chocolate fudge cheesecake, green bell peppers, cold pressed orange juice that's on sale, and Kroger brand cold-pressed orange juice on clearance. Pay at self-checkout, and as we're heading out, Dad realizes he forgot to scan the medicine, so we head back to the cashier to pay for that. Then off to Chick-Fil-A. 12-count chicken nuggets, 2 large waffle fries, and a sandwich (for me tomorrow). Come home and shower. Do the CfA survey from yesterday to get a free sandwich coupon.  

Afternoon: Split the 12-nuggets with dad for lunch and everyone has the fries. Try the Kroger brand cold-pressed juice which is just . . . okay. Will not be getting it again. Walk around the house a bit and do a coconut oil pull. A work request comes in, so I review that and send it off. Eat a bite of the caramel chocolate fudge cheesecake. YUM. Keep an eye out on email and walk some more. Parents pack for their trip and then milk tea and Ritz crackers for an afternoon snack. Read for a while, and here is what I learn:

• The most draining thing: "trying to work effectively with people who have an agenda other than improving the business" 

• On picking a manager: "Don't ever work for someone you don't want to become."

• Work & rest ethics: "The best work ethic requires a good rest ethic."

• Acknowledge when you need rest: "I decide to take a full day off to recoup. I'm a strong believer in treating mental health as you would your physical health, so I listen to my body and mind and acknowledge that it needs rest."

• Aim for better tasks: "Productivity is a distraction. Don't aim for better ways to get through your tasks as quickly as possible. Rather, aim for better tasks that you never want to stop doing."

• Truth: "You can be whatever you want, so be the person who ends meetings early."

• Books that I want to read: Hiding from the Internet and Kakeibo: The Japanese Art of Saving Money

• Something to pay attention to: "Learn how narcissism works on a deep level, specifically how manipulation through positive emotion works."

• When someone is rude: "It's thrilling to be extremely polite to rude strangers."

• Three gates before you speak: "Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it kind?"

Evening: A few work emails come in during the early part of the evening, and I finish the two quicker requests and send them off. Leave the bigger request to work on tomorrow. Dinner is pretty early at 6:30 since they are leaving really early in the morning tomorrow. Air-fried salmon, cauliflower fried rice, regular fried rice, cauliflower, aubergine, and mangoes. All washed down with Kroger cold-pressed orange juice (which I realize isn't regular oranges, but rather Cuties). With that realization, it's actually pretty good. Do a coconut oil pull, brush my teeth, and bed around 9.

Money Diary #62

Morning: Up around 6:30, check email, and see that my 8 am webcast has been moved to a different day. Get up, brush my teeth, and drink a cup of tea. Have a hardboiled egg, buttered toast, and another cup of tea for breakfast. Walk around a bit, confirm receipts from the work trip, and then prep for my 11 am meeting. Parents head out to Albertsons to get mangos and another grocery store to grab ground turkey. Once they get back, I go shower and jump on my call. One of the stakeholders thanks me for teeing up the question and setting the background. It's nice to hear that, and the meeting ends in 10 minutes. I try some of the ground turkey stir fry. 

Afternoon: Jump on my noon call and request to get involved in one of the international projects that's going on. Eat a late lunch at 1 of rice and ground turkey. Do a coconut oil pull. Head to my 2 pm call with my manager where I go over a few things and I get a follow-up action item. I finish that item and send it off to her. She introduces me to a colleague who works in an area I'm interested in, and I set up some time with her next week. Log off and head out to run errands with Dad. Get gas in my car and then go to a nearby grocery store for floss, travel-sized toothpaste, hairbands, bacon (50 cents off!), coconut cream, chia seeds, and chicken nuggets. Then head to Chick-Fil-A for a sandwich for me, two large waffle fries for everyone, and nuggets for Dad. Also get a coupon for a free sandwich for next time. Once we're back home, we have Chick-Fil-A. They have tea, and I wash it down with a glass of Coke. Also make a coconut cream parfait with chia seeds and put it in the fridge for tomorrow. 

Evening: Read for a while, and here is what I learn:

• On a rich life: "We go to college football games and have season tickets to the Lions. Yes, they stink but it's indoors and they sell cold beer. I guess we are simple people, and that's okay. I just like knowing that we have enough, enough to never worry about money, peace of mind with a simple portfolio. Enough is what I spent my money on."

• Truths: "You only need one word to be happy: enough. You only need one word to be unhappy: more."

• Find work that is not stressful: He earns $4.5 million/year, but the biggest factor is that he says the work is not that stressful. That leads to career longevity and creates generational wealth.

• Lucky people: "The luckiest people find a way to know what they want and then they do it."

• Charity starts at home: "5 years to spend with your family is more precious than money. Causes for a stranger should not be a higher priority."

• On beating the market: "I don't know of any asset that beats the market over 2 or 3 decades. Not housing, not commodities, not precious metals, and not bonds."

• On the hedonistic treadmill: "In my first job out of college, I made $42k a year. I make over $300k now and wouldn't even consider a role for less than $200k. Yes, my situation has changed as I'm no longer a single, 22-year-old kid. But still, the idea of living on $50k per year seems impossible. The idea of living on $150k seems doable, but it'll hurt. It'll hurt me more than continuing to do the stressful job."

• When guaranteed money changes things: "Recognize that when 215 out of 230 is guaranteed, it doesn't incentivize much more. Same goes for when it's 225 out of 250 and 250 out of 300. 

• When guaranteed money doesn't change things: "The above logic only applies if you want the 215, 225, and 250. You reach a point where it turns on you and you lose out on the 295, 345, and so on."

• How things can change: "I couldn't imagine not loving my job in 2015. After all, I get paid to think and apply. I would often leave work thinking, 'they're paying me for this?!' What could be better than that, right? Well, fast forward to 2022 and things aren't so rosy. It would have been impossible to imagine then that company politics would change to the point that I'm now very glad that I began pursuing FI in 2015. I still like my work for the most part, but I don't love it the way I used to, and the daily stress is beginning to outweigh the daily delight. That ratio of stress to delight has a way of changing over time. I count myself lucky that I loved my job as long as I did, and I count myself lucky that I still like it now. But I'm grateful to my younger self for getting on the FI bandwagon when I did."

• How management thinks: 

• "You're never really 'off' and you have to not just be okay with that but have the drive to seek that out."

• "I make enough to know that there is no such thing as 'enough.'"

Dinner is rice & ground turkey stir fry; do a coconut oil pull & brush my teeth; and bed around 10:30. 

Money Diary #61

Morning: Up at 7, brush my teeth, and drink a cup of tea. Mom tells me mangos are on sale at Albertsons for 3 for $1, so I download that digital coupon. Log into my 8:30 call, and the computer promptly logs me off a few minutes later. I restart and sign in again. Jump on my 9 am meeting that ends in 15 minutes. Walk around a bit and then go shower. Keep an eye out on my inbox and have a very early lunch of cauliflower fried rice & fish stew at 11:15 since I have a meeting that starts at noon. Do a coconut oil pull.

Afternoon: Noon meeting goes until almost 3, whew. Eat a couple of Lindor chocolates & prep for tomorrow's meetings. An afternoon snack of tea. Read for a while, and here is what I learn:

• "Having so much of your self-worth wrapped up in something as fickle as your career is really tough."

• "Live where your money goes the farthest."

• "Hard work isn't enough without luck and opportunity."

• "My net worth isn't based on my productivity and how busy I am doesn't equate to how happy I am."

• "It is easier to make money work out when you are happy than it is to make yourself happy at a job you don't care for."

• Remember to honor the journey: "In the few weeks before I graduated from school, I took some time to visit my favorite spots on campus and reflect on the overall experience. Graduating was exciting, but I wanted to honor the journey too."

Evening: Walk around some more and watch TV. Dinner is a smorgasbord of stuff: cauliflower fried rice, aubergine, fish stew, cucumbers, and some really old Ben & Jerry's Coffee! Coffee! Buzz! Buzz! LOL. Do a coconut oil pull, brush my teeth, and bed around 10:30. 

Money Diary #60

Morning: Up at 7:30, brush my teeth, and make scrambled eggs for everyone. Have that, buttered toast, and tea for breakfast. Watch a video about the organizational changes. Go shower and try the new psoriasis shampoo. Prep for a meeting with my manager later this morning, and then jump on my 10:30 call. Once that's over, surf the internet a bit and then sign into my 11:30 meeting with my manager. She gives me really good advice on last week's "crisis" (in my mind), and I reflect on what I can do differently next time. Send a couple of follow-ups and head to my noon call.

Afternoon: Once the noon call ends at 1, I air fry shrimp and have that & cauliflower fried rice for lunch. Feel tired, so I do a coconut oil pull and lay down for a bit. I get up, send a couple of emails & prep for tomorrow's meetings. Eat an afternoon snack of tea and Ritz crackers. A former colleague asked me to be a job reference, so I send over info for that. 

Evening: Still feeling tired, so I spend the evening reading. Here is what I learn:

• On why my manager is so awesome: "No win is too small for her to celebrate, no failure is too big to move past quickly."

• On what I want the next phase of my career to look like and figuring how to stay a technical individual contributor:

• "In 20 years, someone will likely be in the role I am in now, so there's no reason I couldn't be the person doing that."

• "Doing a good job in corporate America means you get raises until you price yourself out. In a technical corporate job, voluntary early retirement is a norm. I've rarely seen people above 55 unless they are extremely technical. The company only needs a handful of those. You can take the management track instead, but it is grueling out there and again, no guarantees. Few survive."

• More than the sum of its parts: "You can turn cross-disciplinary skills into something more than the sum of its parts."

• Things to remember about Corporate America:

• "It is not safe for most people to assume that they will be gainfully employed between 45 to 60 years old. This is independent of whether you have a road map for your career. This is the reality."

• "Opening your own business means you're less reliant on a particular boss liking or not liking  you."

• "Take a good look at 'what makes you tick' and which environment will stimulate you to want to give 100% every day. You don't want to 'bang a square peg into a round hole' personality-wise every day."

• "Do a bit of soul searching because whatever caused you to rage quit at the old company will likely be present at the new company to some extent."

• "You work each week and get paid for that week."

• "A good used car salesman": "Being a good financial planner is like being a good used car salesman, it's really hard to do and be ethical since being unethical can be so rewarding."

• On why comparison is the thief of joy even after you've won the game: "Let's say you hit it really big in NYC and make $5-10 million/year. Now you have enough to play in high society, buy a townhouse in the Upper East Side, buy tables at charity balls, have a summer house in the Hamptons. But, if you play that game, it can actually be worse. Now, you're rubbing elbows with the global elite who work a lot less than you and can easily outbid you on choice apartments, art, etc. They can afford yachts and private jets, while you might take a few Netjet flights and get invited on occasion on a friend's yacht. They get to actually buy the companies you can only advise."

• On an amazing trip to Portugal: "Fly into Porto and immediately take the train to Pinhao, enjoying the fairytale-esque views from the train along the way. Stay for three or four nights at the Casa do Visconde de Chanceleiros where you can lie around at their scenic pool overlooking the river and valley and read/tan. Eat dinner at the Casa every night because it is amazing. After about 4 days, take the train back to Porto and stay in an apartment near the Sao Bento station. Take a class painting classic Portuguese tiles at Gazete Ajulejos. Eat dinner at Muu. Wander around the city checking out the tiles and the sights in the river district. After I guess 3-4 more days take the train down to Lisbon. Stay in the Principe Real district. Do a food tour with Culinary Backstreets. Check out the Mercado de Campo de Ourique and have some piri piri chicken while there. Also eat at Cervejaria Ramiro, have a drink at Pavilhao Chines, check out the Jerónimos Monastery, and take a day trip to Sintra to see all of the palaces (my favorite being Monserrate)."

I air fry fish and dinner is that fish with cauliflower fried rice. Do a coconut oil pull, brush my teeth, and bed around 10.

Money Diary #59

Morning: Dad wakes me up at 6:30 since I have a 7 am webcast. Get up, brush my teeth, and log onto the call about organizational changes. Once that ends at 8, eat breakfast (buttered toast & an omelette with onions and peppers) and drink a cup of tea. Prep for my 9 am call and sign into that. Parents head out to Walmart to get some psoriasis cream and psoriasis shampoo for me. Do some prep for my meeting with my boss at 11 and then go shower. Meeting with boss goes well, and I do some quick action items before my noon call.

Afternoon: Noon call ends by 12:30, walk around the house a bit, and then lunch is a couple of slices of cheese pizza from Costco (apparently, there was still some leftover). Do a coconut oil pull and do work for a few hours. Manager emails around 4, I respond to that, and then call it a day. Parents buy tickets for their trip on Saturday. They're heading to the city where I grew up to visit their friends, and will be there for a week.

Evening: Walk around the house; dinner is cauliflower fried rice, aubergine, and egg curry; and do a coconut oil pull. Brush my teeth and bed around 10. 

Money Diary #58

Morning: Mom tells me they're heading out to Kroger, I'm guessing it's a bit past 7, and I wake up. Brush my teeth and drink the cup of tea that she left for me. Walk around the house a bit and listen to music. Once they get back, I make scrambled eggs for everyone with the clearance eggs they bought. I'm not a huge fan of these eggs. I walk around some more, read a few articles & Money Diaries, and take a shower. Here is what I learn:

• On parenthood: "My favorite moments are the ones when I'm channeling my inner 3-year-old with my 3-year-old. Parenthood as time travel!"

• On a lovely bathroom: "My bathroom gets the best sunlight in the house so I've filled it with plants and it's basically a greenhouse. I love being in here."

• On getting older: "It's strange seeing yourself go from the one being taken care of to the one taking care."

• On staying a specialist: "Questions around its core identity -- what the company stood for -- began to plague it as it looked to build itself into more of a sports generalist."

Afternoon: Lunch is cauliflower fried rice, fish stew & aubergine. Do a coconut oil pull. Take a nap for an hour while golf plays in the background on TV. Walk around the house a bit more and then do work for 45 minutes. Drink a glass of Coke & split the remaining pizza with parents as a snack. Watch reruns of The Munsters.

Evening: Dinner is cauliflower fried rice & fish stew, do a coconut oil pull & brush my teeth, and bed around 10. 

Money Diary #57

Morning: Up at 7, Mom lets me know they're heading to Albertsons, and brush my teeth. Dad calls to ask what drinks I want from the store, and I tell him Coke Zero. Once parents are back, we have breakfast of toasted bread and an omelette. Mom tells me they didn't get Coke Zero there because Dad didn't want to do double coupons since only one checkout stand was open, LOL. They are going to Costco and another Albertsons, so they head out. I tell them to bring back a cheese pizza from Costco. I walk around the house for a while and listen to music. That helps my nerves quite a bit. Dad calls to say that this Albertsons doesn't have too many Coke Zeros, so I tell him to get a couple of Cherry Cokes. They get regular Cokes and orange Fantas for themselves, and I'll bring back the Coke Zeros & Cherry Cokes to SO. Once parents get back, I go shower & shampoo my hair. I seem to have developed an infection-type scab around my ear and Mom helps me to treat that. 

Afternoon: Lunch is a couple of slices of pizza, and I wash that down with Coke. Mom wants to try a Cherry Coke so she swaps one of the regular Cokes for a Cherry Coke, and I'll take the rest back to SO. Take a nap for an hour, walk around the house more, and then start working around 4. Take a snack break and drink a cup of tea. 

Evening: Continue working until 7, and then walk around the house for a while. Dinner is a couple more slices of pizza (with roasted veggies this time), do a coconut oil pull, and brush my teeth. Watch I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched re-runs and bed around 11.

Money Diary #56

Morning: Up at 7, drink a cup of tea, and eat a fried egg for breakfast. Shower, prep for my morning meetings, and jump on my back-to-back calls at 10:30. They finish within an hour, and I send a couple of follow-up emails. 

Afternoon: Lunch is rice & fish stew. I am exhausted and I take a nap for half an hour. A colleague calls at 3, but I want to first finish what I'm working on so I power through and then call her back at 4. After 45 minutes, we still haven't reached a resolution, so I request we continue the conversation next week. I know she is not thrilled, but I'm mentally exhausted after this week. Have Thai iced tea for a snack.

Evening: Continue stressing about things at work. Watch TV, dinner is rice & fish stew, and brush my teeth. Bed around 10:30.

Money Diary #55

Morning: Up at 4:30, check email, and ultimately get out of bed at 6:30. Get an email from work that I was expecting that announces the beginning of the organizational changes. Brush my teeth, drink a cup of tea, and respond to an email from yesterday. Eat a fried egg and drink another cup of tea for breakfast. Jump on my 9 am call with a colleague who looks for people who might be interested in working in one of the other offices. Right after that call, I get an email that knocks me off my game. I stare at it for a while, text my boss, and she, being the awesome person she is, immediately calls me back. She hears the worry in my voice, tells me to not worry, and helps provide perspective. I stare at the computer for a while and don't do anything. I sign into my 11:30 call with my manager and another colleague which ends early, so I jump onto my one-on-one with my manager next.

Afternoon: I ask her how her relative and she are doing, and while she was cheerful on the last call, and she is always the consummate professional, I can tell that her personal news is having an effect. She is truly a superwoman to come back to work so soon, and I hate the fact that I bugged her this morning. I talk through several things with her and head to the 1 pm department meeting. I feel my nerves rising again and sit for the next hour wondering about what to do. My mom knocks on the door, and I realize it's past 2. Eat a very late lunch of rice & fish stew and then take a shower. Prep for meetings tomorrow and mom makes thai tea with really old tea leaves she found in the pantry. Dad drinks it, says it's tasty, and then we all realize it's from over 7 years ago, LOL. 

Evening: Just veg for a while, dinner is rice & fish stew, and another work email comes in, so I sign on and answer that. Bed around 10:30. 

Money Diary #54

Morning: Up at 3:30, check email, and fall asleep again. Repeat at 6:30 and then it's a struggle to get up until 8. Drink a cup of tea, eat a fried egg, and go shower. There was supposed to be a departmental meeting today, but it gets canceled and rescheduled for tomorrow. A really long project comes in that I decide to start tackling tomorrow.

Afternoon: Lunch is cauliflower fried rice & fish stew & I chew on a good bone marrow for a while. Do a coconut oil pull & brush my teeth. Jump on my 1 pm call that runs until 3. An email comes in that I respond to and jot down notes to go over with my manager tomorrow. I read an article on subtlety in corporate America & how "even if you prevail in the current situation, you're going to be dealing with at least some people who will hold a grudge. They will just be more subtle about it."

Evening: It'll be my first time talking to my manager after her sad personal news (and the first time that someone I'm close to is going through this), so I talk to my dad for a while about it. Dinner is rice & fish stew. Do a coconut oil pull, brush my teeth, and bed around 10.

Money Diary #53

Morning: Up around 7, brush my teeth, and drink a cup of tea. Jump on my 8:30 call that ends at 9, check email, and sign into my 9:30 meeting. Once that ends at 10, go shower & get ready for my 11 am meeting. That finishes at 11:30 and I eat an early lunch of cauliflower fried rice & aubergine. 

Afternoon: Jump on my noon call that runs until 1, eat a couple of Lindor chocolates, and sign into my 2 pm call that runs an hour. I walk around the house a bit, do a coconut oil pull, brush my teeth, and then hear my computer ringing. A colleague calls me, we walk through her request, and I send a follow-up email. Make tea and eat a coffee cracker. I also read why index funds are the way to go: "the big winners of tomorrow are really hard to identify for an investor. But, as success unfolds, the cap weighting will automatically get you on the bus."

Evening: A friend from the old job texts me and we chat for an hour. SO texts that my favorite burger place has a new burger (with coupon!!), and I immediately ask if he can ask his mom and his other friend for their coupons as well, lol. Dinner is cauliflower fried rice, aubergine, and air-fried shrimp. Do a coconut oil pull, brush my teeth, and bed around 10:30.

Money Diary #52

Morning: Up around 7, check email on phone, and put on a jacket since it's a bit chilly. Brush my teeth, drink a cup of tea, and log on around 7:30. While I don't have any meetings today, my manager will be out for a few days, so I want to be online in case anything comes up. Walk around the house a bit, eat a fried egg with some cauliflower fried rice for breakfast, and go shower. Keep an eye out on my inbox and read a WSJ article that talks about how "our life's mission is to please those who can grant or withhold approval: parents, admissions officers, and job interviewers. As a result, many of us don't now what we believe or what matters to us." Oof, so much truth. Text work a couple more receipts from the trip last week. 

Afternoon: Watch my inbox, lunch is cauliflower fried rice & some veggies, and watch I Love Lucy (the California episodes are the best!). Wash dishes and then read a few Money Diaries and other articles. One of them talks about how "my time is precious to me as are my boundaries. My new year's resolution is to be firmer with them." Here are other things that I learn:

• Why I am where I am today: "My dad moved to this country with only the clothes on his back. I've always been humbled by this, particularly since I never wanted for anything ever."

• Something I need to learn: "I love the commitment she is making to enjoying living in a new city, even it ends up being temporary."

• Books to read: Your Own Worst Enemy and Limbo: Blue-Collar Roots, White-Collar Dreams

• What wealth is: "Wealth gives you the power to do things your own way, including not pursuing even more wealth for no particular reason."

• On white collar work: "The most disconcerting thing about the white collar world is the indirectness. At first, it seems like a secret, coded language. I worked for someone from the UK and it was 10x as indirect."

• A reminder: "When you need a service, find the provider yourself, making an unrestricted search and guided only by your own interests, preferences, and intuition. Do not accept a service from a provider who has found you."

• When presented with a $4.5 million/year offer: 

• "No way was I walking away from that offer at 50 if I had a networth of $10 million. If you had $50 million, that's a different story. If you had $10 million and were making $300k, then I'd be gone tomorrow."

• "You are making legacy-changing money. It likely won't last that long -- I'd milk it until it went dry."

• "As a spectator, I saw people in that situation typically only lasted in that type of position for about 5 years before there was a reorg, merger, new CEO who brought in new executives, or the company tanks & they'd be out of a job."


• "These kinds of jobs don't usually let you coast. It's a political death match every day with everyone else wanting those big compensation packages."

Evening: Drink tea, read another Money Diary (there's a comment about how "I love this diarist's drive to put energy into more than just her primary career choice. Seeing her intentionality in regards to networking, making new friends, and attending to multiple side hustles made me inspired to do more"), and dinner of cauliflower fried rice. More reading ("tough times are there to keep us humble during the good times" and "it's amazing how much lower your stress is when you don't have to worry about how you will afford to feed yourself"), and I learn about an app called TooGoodToGo. Try coconut oil pulling, brush my teeth, and bed around 10:30.

Money Diary #51

Morning: Up around 7, lie in bed a while, and brush my teeth. One cup of tea, and then family drama for the next 2 hours. Oof, I am so tired of this. Go shower.

Afternoon: Lunch is rice & fish stew. Fall asleep around 1 and don't wake up until almost 4. Read some Money Diaries. Here is what I learn: 

• On wanting less: "You want a lot less when you aren't being sold and marketed to constantly."

• On tying in personal finance and personal health: "If I want Chipotle, I make myself walk there and back, which is a 40-minute round trip. It doubles up as exercise & fresh air, and if I'm too lazy to walk, then I don't 'earn' the Chipotle."

• What financial peace is: "Financial peace lies in what you don't need to talk about."

• How compulsive spending comes about (and how it's related to compulsive eating): "when lovely things that were off limit growing up are now accessible & I want all of it"

Evening: Tea & some coffee crackers for a late snack. Boss emails with some sad personal news. :-( Watch TV, dinner is rice & fish stew, and brush my teeth. Bed around 10:30.

Money Diary #50

Morning: Up around 6:30 after hearing my dad's voice on a Skype call with a friend of his who lives on the other side of the world. Lie in bed for a while and try to predict the organizational changes. I am stressed about it. Brush my teeth and drink an initial cup of tea. Breakfast is a fried egg, buttered toast, and another cup of tea. Go shower & get dressed to go grocery shopping. Lots of veggies at the local Asian grocery store and we're back home at 10:45. I do more research & try to predict the organizational changes. I also read how "there's no point worrying about something until there's something to worry about." Oy vey, I wish I could do that. I pause as another article I'm reading asks, "what would it be like to not put so much pressure on work as the only source of meaning in my life?" Again, oy vey, if I could only do that. Honestly, I have the perfect job -- I enjoy the work that I do, it provides a great deal of personal satisfaction paired with awesome WLB, and most importantly, my manager rocks. 

Afternoon: Lunch is the leftover Chinese from yesterday and wash it down with Coke. I attempt to take a nap but ultimately can't (which is definitely a first for me). A sign that I am anxious & stressed. I watch some golf, eat a Lindor chocolate, and drink tea. Spend some time reading various Money Diaries. 

Evening: Dinner is the last of the Chinese food while watching I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched, brush my teeth, and bed around 10:30.

 

Money Diary #49

Morning: Up at 6:45, Mom lets me know they're heading outside to the garden, and brush my teeth. Text a few colleagues on my phone through the office chat for help on a question for a 7 am meeting next week. One colleague in particular is very helpful and offers to have a quick Zoom call with me, where she provides additional guidance. We chitchat for a while as well and I learn we've lived in a bunch of the same cities! Once that call ends, make scrambled eggs for everyone and have that with a slice of toast & another cup of tea. I read for a while and realize that even though I had started this daily money diary to keep an actual money diary, it's turning more into a journal to recap each day, which I enjoy a lot more. An email comes in letting me know that the 7 am meeting next week is canceled, yay! Go shower & shampoo my hair. 

Afternoon: Parents grab Chinese takeout for lunch to celebrate the holiday, and once they're back, eat Mongolian chicken & rice, fried rice, and lo mein. Wash that down with a mango/ginger energy drink (will not be getting it again, lol). Keep an eye out on email, watch I Love Lucy & Bewitched reruns, and then play old episodes of Scooby-Doo in the background. Fall asleep for half an hour and wake to a few texts from SO. Tell him I fell asleep and that's what he figured, haha. Have an eggroll with a coffee cracker along with a cup of tea for a snack. Peel garlic for my mom, which is oddly satisifying & really meditative. Watch old episodes of Mr. Bean & think about the organizational news. Feel anxious about it and read how "the older I get, the less confidence I have in the future being at all predictable from the past."

Evening: Dinner is leftover Chinese, brush my teeth, and bed around 10. 

Money Diary #48

Morning: Mom wakes me up at 7 to let me know they're heading out to Lowes. I lie in bed for a while, get up around 8, and brush my teeth. Parents come back with some new plants for the garden, and everyone has buttered toast & tea for breakfast. Shower & jump on my back-to-back calls starting at 10. Eat ramen with egg for an early lunch at 11, and jump on my 11:30 Zoom call.

Afternoon: During my noon meeting, I get a meeting cancellation for my 1:30 call, so I read some WSJ articles for a while on how a great manager "understands what somebody needs to be successful and then sets the conditions for them to be successful." My manager is exactly that. Eat half of a boba ice cream bar, head to my 2 pm call, and take a break after it ends at 3:45. A cup of tea afterwards. Text manager a few things on our office chat and then call it a day around 6.

Evening: Walk around the house a bit and eat a Lindor chocolate. Talk to SO about a potential upcoming trip to Miami for the Formula 1 race. He really wants to go & book flights now, but I tell him to make sure with his sister since she works abroad & is coming back to visit next week for a few weeks. I am also okay with not going to Miami (lol) but I have a feeling it will end up happening. Dinner is rice, cauliflower stir fry, and fish stew. Brush my teeth and read a Money Diary on how the diarist is "fiercely independent and love spending time on my own and when I met L, for the first time in my life, I really wasn't looking for anyone and was thriving on my own." Bed around 10:30.

Money Diary #47

Morning: Wake up around 7, and oof, I am so tired. Traveling took a lot out of me. Brush my teeth and drink a cup of tea. Lay on the couch and send a couple of emails. Keep an eye out on my inbox and see several projects come in. Still feeling tired, so I go shower to wake myself up. 

Afternoon: Lunch is cauliflower fried rice & an omelet. Review the projects that came in this morning and jot down some notes for a meeting with my manager. Sign into my 2 pm Zoom call and listen in. It ends around 3:45, I send a couple of emails about a topic that I'm not sure why I was pulled into, and have a cup of tea with a hashbrown for an afternoon snack.

Evening: Watch TV, dinner is homemade bread & air-fried shrimp, and brush my teeth. A work email comes in that I need to connect with my manager on, so I set up some time with her tomorrow. I read about how "a rich life is determined by where the money is spent, rather than how much is spent." Bed around 10.

Money Diary #46

Morning: Wake up at 7 and feel good after getting plenty of sleep last night. Brush my teeth, shower, and get dressed. Check out of the hotel around 8:45 and make myself a couple of cups of coffee in the lobby. Manager finishes up a call and we head into work around 10. We stop by the campus coffee shop where she gets coffee and a spinach danish & I get a breakfast burrito. She needs to run upstairs to her 10:30 meeting, so I hang out at the coffee shop until the barista finishes making her drink. Deliver it to her and then settle in to do some work & prep for my weekly meeting with her at 11:30. That goes well and finishes pretty quickly, so we pack up to leave for the airport and grab some lunch.

Afternoon: Head to a salad place in a nearby city that she really likes & I get a Cobb salad and Swoon lemonade. Make a note to price check the lemonade since it's no sugar & really tasty. In the middle of lunch, we get a notification that our flight is delayed by 3 hours! Finish lunch and head back to campus (I suggested that we head to the nearby mall, lol). I finish up a project while she takes a call. Back on the road to the airport at 3, go through security, and make our way to the airport lounge. I eat mushroom brie soup, ham/cheese combo, brownies, rice krispy treats, and some pasta. Wash that all down with iced tea. Once I'm sufficiently full (lol), I do a bit of work. We board around 5:45 and take off.

Evening: During the flight, eat the other half of the breakfast burrito and the to-go box of brownies & rice krispy treats that I had made myself in the lounge (lol). Once we land, parents are there to pick me up. Manager sends a really sweet text about the trip, I respond to that, and back home around 10. Drink a glass of Coke, attempt to empty out luggage (and fail miserably), and brush my teeth. Fall sleep at 11.

Money Diary #45

Morning: Can't sleep and I'm awake by 3:40. Decide to get up and shower. Straighten my hair, get dressed for work, and listen to music. Meet manager at 7:30 to head to Starbucks. She gets an oatmeal, coffee, and water. I just get a water since my tummy is very excited/nervous. Get to work and it's a beautiful campus. Start doing work until my 10 am call. He is a senior leader at the company and gives me good advice regarding next steps using a Blackberry/Apple analogy. Jump on another call and do more work. Find my manager who introduces me to people as they stop by. Meet my manager's manager and then we walk downstairs for lunch.

Afternoon: Lunch is salmon, pasta, asparagus, ground beef with sour cream, and part of a grilled cheese/tomato soup combo. Listen to the meeting about the upcoming changes and feel anxious. Afterwards, talk to a senior leader about an area I'm interested in. Manager had arranged a meeting between her manager and myself, so I attend that and it's nice to meet her in person. We talk about what I'm interested in for the future, and I leave feeling energized. I text manager that my decision not to get coffee in the morning after waking up so early is finally hitting me now, lol. Eat a cookie and try to do more work, but I read the same paragraph over & over for an hour and realize it's time to call it a day. Manager texts that her late afternoon call got pushed past 5 so we might be here a bit later than expected. I so respect that about her. Her call finishes around 6 and we head back to the hotel.

Evening: Wash my face, change into a hoodie & flats, and head to dinner around 7. We go to a nearby steakhouse and I remark how nice this town is. She gets a chicken salad, tomato soup, and risotto. I get a filet mignon with mashed potatoes and a shrimp skewer. We chat for over 2 hours and she gives me a lot of good things to think about. Back at the hotel around 9, send off an email, and bed at 10.

Money Diary #44

Morning: Up around 7, brush teeth, and drink a cup of tea. Make scrambled eggs for everyone and have that with another cup of tea. Walk around the house a bit and then go shower. Surf the web.

Afternoon: Lunch is rice and fish stew at noon. Flight is delayed so I nap for an hour. Hungry again lol so another cup of tea and some coffee crackers. Get dressed, put on earrings, and leave for the airport around 2:15. I'm at the gate by 3 and walk around a while. Gate gets changed so I take the train to the new terminal. Get 20 nuggets at McDonald's. Take a picture of the receipt and send to work. Eat 10 of them and save the rest for later. Get vanilla cold brew and a water at Starbucks, and send a picture of the receipt to work. Manager texts that she is here, so we meet up.

Evening: Board flight, eat some nuggets, land, and head to the rental car. It takes a while to get through the rental car line, so we chat while we sit in the car. Once we're at the hotel, finish the nuggets, lay out clothes for tomorrow, and fall asleep around 12:30.

Money Diary #43

Morning: Up to my 7:15 alarm, brush teeth, and put things into the car to bring back to parents' place. Kiss SO goodbye, and as I'm driving back, I realize I forgot the juices we bought yesterday. When I get to parents' place, SO texts the same and says he can drop them off later in the afternoon. It's a tad out of his way, so I tell him I'll grab them after getting back from the work trip. Breakfast is a couple of slices of toast with a hard-boiled egg and some tea. Walk around the house a bit & try on pants for the work trip (um, the usual ones don't fit & barely make it past my thighs, lol).

Afternoon: Lunch is plant patties with the last of the espresso coconut water. Shower & wash my hair. Watch Masters on TV, pack for trip, and get my boarding pass. An afternoon snack of tea and hashbrowns. Walk around the house for a bit.

Evening: Do a clay face mask. Dinner is cauliflower fried rice, plant meat stir fry, and air-fried shrimp. Brush teeth and bed around 11.  

Money Diary #42

Morning: Wake up, check email, and see it's 6:30. Go back to sleep for a while. See that it's 8, lay in bed for a while, and keep an eye out on my inbox. Watch more Ultimatum and eat the superfood parfait for breakfast. Call my mom, brush my teeth, and prep for my noon call.

Afternoon: That call goes well, and I'm done with meetings for the day. Fall asleep with Ultimatum in the background, and when I wake up, it's an hour later. Start watching Monster-in-Law, and once he is done with work, I get dressed to go out. Our first stop is a golf store and then we stop by the Middle Eastern store so I can pick up some juices for my parents ($4.31). The store owner tries to sell us meat as well, but it's too expensive here and we can get it cheaper elsewhere. We politely decline and head out. Last stop is Costco where we first order pepperoni pizza ($10.77). Walk around the store and end up grabbing 4 limoncello white chocolate almonds & a pullover for him since it's on clearance ($41.06).

Evening: Watch more Monster-in-Law. Eat 3 slices of pizza for dinner and wash it down with IKEA strawberry apple lemon juice. Shower, watch The Blind Side, and bed around midnight.

Groceries = $56.14

Total = $56.14

Money Diary #41

Morning: Up around 6:30, brush my teeth, and drink a cup of tea. Look at work emails, do a few projects, and prep for my 9 am meeting which is interesting. One of the attendees rubs me the wrong way, and instead of deciding to bite back, I try a different tactic of making her feel important on an issue that doesn't matter to me. That seems to work, and I make a mental note of that. Go shower, jump on a couple of back-to-back calls with my manager and other colleagues, and then eat an early lunch at 11:30 (rice & fish stew with onions). 

Afternoon: A larger group call at noon followed by a quick one-to-one with my manager. I'll see her on Sunday since we're flying together. Send a couple more emails and log off. Head to SO's place. Once I get there, gather an Amazon package for him since he's at work, pack a few things I'll need for the work trip, and listen to music. Text with SO on what we want to do for dinner. He mentions there is an event happening at the nearby lake (with free food!), so we decide to go there. Sign into a 5 pm Zoom call about careers in my field. 

Evening: Listen to that for a while, take some notes, and then once SO gets home from work, we head to the lake. Eat a sausage taco, some pizza, nachos, and brisket. Also eat a superfood parfait full of strawberries, blueberries, coconut shavings, and chia seeds which is amazing and drink some lemonade. Wash everything down with a vanilla/chocolate frozen yogurt and then take a couple more superfood parfaits to go. YUM. Stop by the local Bath & Body Works since there's a sale on men's body care and we have a couple of free coupons for mini sizes. He gets a mini men's body lotion, and I get another mini men's body lotion along with a couple of full-sized men's lotions (Teakwood & Clear Horizon). After coupons, the total is $9.66. Get home, eat one parfait (will save the other one for breakfast tomorrow), and start watching The Ultimatum. Fall asleep on the couch while watching it, and wake up around 11:45 to go to bed.

Miscellaneous = $9.66 

Total = $9.66

Money Diary #40

Morning: Wake up around 7:15, brush my teeth, and drink a cup of tea. Jump on a 8 am call with a senior member of the group who is really helpful in putting this week's news in perspective. I always enjoy talking to her and set up some time to connect with her in-person next week. Have a quick 9 am call to go over a project with a colleague and then go shower. See some comments from another stakeholder on a work project that kind of annoys me, and I start my meeting with my manager at 11 with that annoyed vibe. One of the many things I love about working for her is the ability to show how I'm really feeling, why I'm feeling this way, and just the ability to be authentic. We laugh about how we're both feeling these days, I walk through the issues with her, and she gives me really good perspective on how to think about things.   

Afternoon: Lunch is a chicken & chorizo burrito followed by espresso coconut water (which is just as weird as it sounds). Then a long meeting from 12:30 to 4. By the end, I am kind of delirious and am so happy it's over. Eat an afternoon snack of a croissant and drink tea. Try on the clothes I'll be wearing next week for my work trip. 

Evening: Prep for my meetings tomorrow. Eat dinner of fish stew & cauliflower fried rice at 7:30. Wax my eyebrows and they turn out not too bad. Success! Surf the web, brush my teeth, and bed around 10:30.

Money Diary #39

Morning: Up around 6:45, brush my teeth, and drink a cup of tea. Dial into a 7:30 Zoom call about the organizational changes, and my manager IMs me during it to see how I'm feeling. Have I mentioned how much I love working for her? Sign into an 8:30 call and work on projects as I listen in. Take a shower, eat lunch of cauliflower fried rice & fried fish, and prep for my 11:30 meeting with my manager. 

Afternoon: That call goes well, and I'm on a series of meetings straight through 4:30. My last call is one with a colleague from a different group that I'm interested in learning more about, and her feedback to me is super candid & gives me a lot to think about, including whether my interest makes sense for my career. Jot down some notes to connect with my manager on and eat a snack of tea and hashbrowns. 

Evening: Do more work, dinner is cauliflower fried rice & fish stew, and bed around 10:30.

Money Diary #38

Morning: Hear emails pinging on my phone around 7, get up, and see emails & meeting invites about organizational changes to the company. Brush my teeth, drink a cup of tea, and jump on a 8:30 Zoom call about the changes. Once that ends, drink another cup of tea, have an omelet for breakfast, try to focus on work to get my mind off of the organizational changes, and then go shower around 11. Cut my fingernails as they've gotten too long for my liking and are starting to get in the way.  

Afternoon: Eat lunch of cauliflower fried rice & an omelet and head to a 12:30 Zoom call (also about the changes). I connect with my manager right after on substantive things as well as our respective reactions to the changes, and I always feel better after talking to her. Work a bit more, and then a 3 pm department Zoom call about the changes. Drink a cup of tea and eat an Amy's burrito for a snack once the call ends. Also split a Hershey's cookies 'n cream collider with Mom, which is really tasty. 

Evening: Work for the next several hours to get projects completed and to prepare for my meetings tomorrow. Dinner is cauliflower fried rice, goat stew, and plant meat stir fry (which is absolutely divine). Wash that all down with cold-pressed orange juice. There are storms anticipated tonight, so watch the news, brush my teeth, and get a text for a tornado warning. We all go to the closet for 15 or so minutes, watch the weather for a while, and bed around 11:45.

Money Diary #37

Morning: Up around 7:15, brush my teeth, and drink two cups of tea. Then go shower. Use bar soap to shampoo & rinse my hair since it's kinda disgusting at the moment. Cut my toenails since I haven't cut them in a couple of months. Read for a while, and here is what I learn:

• Amen: "I like making a living just being myself."

• On playing the career long game: "The mental, physical, and emotional stamina necessary to ensure this career for any significant amount of time requires a goal that you are passionate about. The best goals are the ones that excite you. And the most exciting goals are the ones that, through their pursuit, enable you to live a fuller and truer version of yourself because they align with deeply held personal values. Seek career longevity in service of a different goal (i.e., living your best life)."

• On finding your niche: "Find a career niche where you can pair professional fulfillment with near total control of your schedule for the long haul. Cultivate skills that require less in-person commitments and can be performed remotely."

• On the secret to career longevity: "Do good work for good people for a long time."

• On career truths:

• "Making it to the top levels involves cashing in all, or nearly all, of the leverage you've built up over the years for the most prestigious title available to you and the highest possible compensation."

• "When you cash in all your leverage to make partner, you have no leverage left to insist on your terms."

• "The twin pillars of our contrarian career philosophy are designed specifically to strip employers of their leverage: (i) get your finances to where you don't particularly need the money; and (ii) get your mind to where you don't particularly need the promotion. When the usual incentives no longer motivate you, that's when you get to dictate the terms of your own employment."

• "You can't do good business with bad people."

• "Sometimes when someone like a boss says you will exit once you get your bonus, it gives insight to themselves, not you."

Afternoon: Lunch is the remaining fried rice from yesterday, along with cauliflower fried rice & goat stew, yum. I am not kidding myself today and know that I need a nap. With NBA in the background on TV, fall asleep for an hour. Walk around the house a bit, drink an afternoon cup of tea, and watch some golf.

Evening: Do the "harder" part of the work project and finish up the entire thing. Dinner is rice & goat stew, brush my teeth, and bed around 10.

Money Diary #36

Morning: 

• Mom wakes me up at 6 since we're heading to our local Koreatown which is 1.5 hours away. I stumble out of bed, brush my teeth, and lie on the sofa. Drink a cup of tea and have a croissant and a fried egg for breakfast. Go shower, get dressed, and then we leave around 7:15. Stop for gas, drive to Koreatown, and the first stop is the local supermarket. Mom wants to buy fish & Dad is hesitant since the fishmonger isn't wearing any gloves. Mom asks the fishmonger to put on some gloves and ends up getting three kinds of fish (perch, carp, and butterfish). I also spot some pre-packaged goatmeat, so we get that as well along with lots of veggies. At the counter, the cashier gives my dad a rewards card, and since we spent over $60, we get a free package of boba ice cream as well. 

• Drop the groceries off in the car, and head to the Asian bakery next door for 3 garlic cheese toasts and 2 milk toasts. I don't want to sit at the table outside the bakery since it doesn't look super clean, so we go back to the car and I immediately bite into a milk toast. Ahh, heaven, so tasty. I also take a couple of bites of the garlic cheese toast. Decide to walk around since the Thai place that we want to do for lunch doesn't open until 11, and Dad spots a place that has freshly-squeezed sugarcane juice. He's really excited about it and we'll come back once it opens later in the morning. 

• Head to a Japanese store where they buy sandals, and back to the grocery store to walk around a bit more to waste time. I spot some Pandan extract that I'm interested in trying and get that along with coffee crackers and coconut crackers. After paying, Mom wants to sit so Dad and I go to the Thai place and order 2 veggie fried rices (medium hot) and one veggie panang curry (medium). We then head next door and get the sugarcane juice. After grabbing the Thai food once it's ready, we're back in the car and try the sugarcane juice, which is so yummy! Last stop is the ethnic grocery store that's nearby where they get lots of snacks and veggies. Start the drive back home and I fall asleep in the car.

Afternoon: Once we're back home, eat Thai food for lunch and surf the web for a bit. It's around 2:30, and I'm feeling tired so I close my eyes with golf playing in the background on TV.

Evening: And . . . 2.5 hours later, I wake up, LOL. Damn, that was a good nap. Eat a very late snack of the leftover slice of garlic cheese toast & some coffee crackers and drink tea. I don't want to take sneakers on this work trip, and my original plan of black flats isn't going to work since they are unfortunately on their last leg. Find a pair of Puma ballet flats that I had forgotten about! Walk around in those for a while to break them in. Watch TV, decide to do the "easy" part of the work project today, and then an at-home hot water facial. Dinner is the leftover Thai fried rice, and I split a boba ice cream bar with parents. Read for a while, and bed around midnight. Here is what I learn:

• Tip when traveling for work: "When I traveled for work and wanted to see a city, ask work to pay for your flight to get in the weekend before and/or leave the weekend after. So fly in on Friday but you don't have to be there until Monday, and you can pay for the hotel for the weekend."

• On the benefits of WFH: "My stress level is near zero, there aren't any office politics, and my meeting load is way down compared to when I was in the office."

• When you're FI and are offered a job at 3x your current salary: "You have a high net worth, and you've been offered a 3x increase. I can't imagine why you'd stay since you haven't shown any need for the 'stability' that staying would offer. The stability of your current job is a handicap for you here."

Money Diary #35

Morning: Up at 7, brush my teeth, and check my inbox. Breakfast is a hard-boiled egg and a croissant with tea, and then I go shower. Get dressed and head out on errands with parents. First up is Costco where we get garden stuff, a light blue Fila sweatshirt for me that's on sale, Lindor chocolates, riced cauliflower, and limoncello chocolate almonds. I had thought that the almonds were $5.99 but instead they are $9.99. Since parents have already paid, we don't return them, but I mentally kick myself for not double checking the price before I grabbed them. I see that a work project has come in, so I'll check that after getting home. Up next is Harbor Freight where dad gets a chainsaw that's on sale, and with coupon, he gets a tarp for free. Then to the Middle Eastern grocery store next door where Mom says everything is too pricey. Dad tell me later to keep an eye out on the date syrup if it drops in price from $6.49 to $5 and that he wants to get the $1.99 juices next time. Last stop is the grocery where we get cold-pressed orange juice, chicken chorizo burritos that are on sale, and two dental rinses (one of which is ultimately free we realize after getting in the car & looking at the receipt).

Afternoon: After getting home, turn on laptop, check email, and see that a few projects have come in. Eat lunch (split a Totinos cheese pizza with mom) and drink a glass of orange Fanta. I tell her that at Winco, these pizzas are running $1.50 each and I remember when they were less than a dollar! I'm feeling lazy, so I download the projects to work on later. Read a couple of WSJ articles, and I'm feeling tired. I lay on the couch, close my eyes, and apparently fall asleep for an hour for a glorious nap, LOL. Get up and get an afternoon snack of 2 croissants and tea (with milk this time). Also try some of the cauliflower fried rice that is being made for dinner. Get a at-home hot water facial and it feels really good. Read for a while, and here is what I learn:

• Ain't that the truth: "Post-pandemic bodies don't necessarily fit pre-pandemic wardrobes."

• Career longevity is the most important: Money is important, but a sustainable & long-lasting career should be a priority. 

• What is the incentive:  Anytime there is profit sharing, "the incentive is to keep equity partnership as small as possible to capitalize on the profits of the non-equity employees."

• On Corporate America politics: "They could simply block the transfer because you are needed more where you are, either long enough to get you out of the running for this job, or permanently. This doesn't have to be official -- one phone call from one VP to another, or between an exec and a leader who also reports to the exec, and things out put on indefinite informal hold."

• I want to read these books: A World Without Email, Time Smart, Do Nothing

• On client relations and maintaining good WLB: "I have two client rules. One, fire them if they don't pay. Second, fire your three worst clients every year. I can't tell you how much easier the job is by simply following those rules."

• Spending time with myself > money: "The concept of time = money makes white collar workers work more. After all, you are always on edge because you could be doing more. But, sometimes it's better to cut the grass and be by yourself for an hour rather than to pay someone else to do it."

• What I am aiming for: The combination of simplicity and beauty. Simplicity is a gift. Figure out how to have beauty without compromising the simplicity of my life.

• Truths about Corporate America: "It's a job, not a family" and "any job is soul-killing if you make it so. The trick is not to care."

• On net worth: "If your net worth went from $6 million to $3 million, that would make a bigger difference to your life than going from $6 million to $10 million, particularly if you don't like your job."

• On epiphanies:

• "Major life decisions and accomplishments that look subtle compound overtime."
• "It's always worthwhile to make others aware of their worth."
• "To be agreeable while disagreeing -- that is an art."
• "People will buy into any idea that is good for them and creates satisfaction and reduces worry."
• "You never know who is observing a situation you are in."
• "Altruism is really, really rare."
• "You learn far more with your mouth shut than with it open."
• "Everybody lies. So, in any given situation, I say nothing and wait for the first lie to emanate from the other person."

• My personal finance philosophy: As one Money Diarist put it, "figure out what spending actually adds value to your life and stick to the minimum viable product elsewhere."

• Something I should try: From another Money Diary, "every month, when I make a non-essential purchase (basically, anything outside groceries such as clothes), I put it in a Google Sheet and color-code it green, yellow, or red depending on how much I liked or needed it. I've been looking at it recently, and there's stuff in there from January that I haven't touched since I bought it -- it's been really eye-opening and made me take a hard look at my spending habits."

• A good daily reminder: Each day, only do things that I like and want to do. Things that I enjoy and make me happy. Start every day with a sense of adventure and excitement.

Evening: Do a couple of the easier projects for work and decide to do the longer one on Sunday. Mom helps me go through the closet and pick out a laptop bag and small carry-on to bring on next week's work trip. Dinner is cauliflower fried rice and air-fried tilapia along with a glass of cold-pressed orange juice. Brush my teeth and bed around 10:30.