Money Diary #67

Morning: Up at 6:50, text Dad, and lay around for a bit. Mom calls to let me know she's at her friend's place. Go check the mail, walk for a while, and brush my teeth. Sign on for work, review & send off a project, and then go air fry bacon & drink a glass of cold-pressed orange juice for breakfast. I had put on 4 slices of bacon, and when I went to flip them over, one of them was missing, lol. It fell under the top pan in the air fryer. Get camera ready for my 9:30 Zoom call. Once that's over, I work for an hour on some projects that have come in. Mom calls to let me know there is a sale at Costco on one of the sweatshirts I'm interested in, but I want to see if it drops further in price. I'm done with meetings for the day, so I migrate with the laptop to the sofa. 

Afternoon: Air fry chicken tenders for lunch and drink a glass of orange Fanta. Have the last of the tres leches cake for dessert. Keep an eye out on my inbox, watch I Love Lucy, and brush my teeth & do a coconut oil pull. I reach out to my manager since I don't have a meeting on my calendar, and she immediately forwards me the invite. A few projects come in towards the end of the afternoon, so I review and complete them. Go shower and use the psoriasis shampoo. 

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

• On what the important things are: "Do things you like with people you like."

• On a content life: "He never wished for anything beyond providing for the needs of his family."

• On an ideal week: "Your whole week consists of spending little to no money, except it's jam packed with fun things you did for free or at very little cost."

• "Careers are a journey": "Sometimes it's pushing uphill and sometimes it's a flat road."

• Truth: "A lot of times who your contact can connect you with or even get you a position matters the most -- not even your degree or experience matter at those times."

• Books I want to read: Designing the Obvious by Robert Hoekman and Your Life . . . Well Spent by Russ Crosson

• A reminder on staying humble: "I had to pay for a bagel in quarters this morning because it's two days until pay day." 

• Oof: "Due to my marriage situation, I cannot fathom getting invested in my career as it would lead to more marital problems, including my extended family relying on me for money."

• The lemon law of jobs: "The worst jobs are open over and over. Good jobs in good corporate cultures, not so much. People don't leave these jobs often, so they are harder to find."

• Good relationship advice: "I go along with him on having us spend on 'stuff' *I* don't want. I don't, however, attempt to 'reorient' him. It works for us because while he's naturally more of a spender than I am, he never proposes anything we can't actually afford."

• On surviving corporate America: "Make self-preservation effortless."

• On acquired tastes: "No one is born thinking that they need first-class tickets or a $100,000 car. These are acquired tastes, and just as one can learn to desire such things, one can unlearn these unhelpful urges."

• People's need to be "seen": "It seems like everyone who has money needs everyone else to know they are rich. It's interesting to see culture shift and people's need to be 'seen' these days."

• A tenuous difference: "The difference between 'happy kid in a thrift store shirt' and 'kid who went to bed hungry last night' is very tenuous."

• Something to think about: "Build a company to solve your own problems."

• This is A: "If you believe one person who says you can't, you have to believe one person who says you can."

• From within: "Peace truly comes from within."

• On working regardless of net worth: "I have one friend with a net worth over $200 million and an income of $2-4 million per year."

• Remember: "No one is paid based on how smart they are, they are paid based on the return value of the work they do."

• Seek out an environment that's conducive to learning: "Understand that asking for more responsibility doesn't always mean you will get the best possible scenario that is conducive to learning."

• On poverty: "Poverty is not a reason for admonition. Poverty is a reason to offer support."

Evening: Another project comes in during the early evening that I need to connect with a colleague on, so I set up some time with her tomorrow. Dinner is cauliflower fried rice, egg curry, and ground turkey stir fry. Do a coconut oil pull & brush my teeth. Bed around 11.