tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-135502592019-09-20T15:28:57.005-04:00Better Than NeverBudget Living for Late BloomersChrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392552248911691182noreply@blogger.comBlogger955125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13550259.post-53028504099544870762019-01-23T06:06:00.000-05:002019-01-23T11:17:08.884-05:00So Relatable<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NaATp3Hkcvk/XEhFzsBlZdI/AAAAAAAAUTU/dXGYlxUg4jQ6TPqS1-uLGZGea1aNabhoACLcBGAs/s1600/so-relatable.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="674" data-original-width="1600" height="268" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NaATp3Hkcvk/XEhFzsBlZdI/AAAAAAAAUTU/dXGYlxUg4jQ6TPqS1-uLGZGea1aNabhoACLcBGAs/s640/so-relatable.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">It's probably obvious after five months without a new post, but my blogging days have trailed off. I could blame the blogosphere itself, which would at this point recoil at being called "the blogosphere." Now, it's a platform, a media package, a sponsored campaign. But it's not just the changing times. My blog, while mildly popular, was never a big player, and I never minded. I liked the freedom I had to post whatever I wanted, whenever I felt like it. I loved the conversations we had in the comments, the friendships we forged over the last 12 or so years. I've met some of my closest friends and best internet pals through blogging, and I'll always be grateful to it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But things have changed, namely me. I'm a little older, a little wiser. I still want to share all the best parts of my life, but I'm craving a different setting. An intimate space that offers more room than an instagram caption, and more privacy than a public blog. Which is a long way of saying <a href="https://mailchi.mp/e90ac9ded88d/sorelatable">I'm launching a weekly newsletter</a>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://mailchi.mp/e90ac9ded88d/sorelatable">So Relatable</a> (a play on a common writing workshop critique, about which I have many thoughts we may explore in a future issue) will be about creative projects, ambitious goals, great reads, delicious snacks, tiny budgets, and my latest Trader Joe's obsession. Basically, all the same things I've been blogging about for over a decade, but delivered straight to you inbox. Think of it as a tiny love letter from me to you, because that's how I'm treating it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It goes without saying that I'd be honored if any longtime readers migrated from this space to that one, but I'll say it anyway. I'd be honored if you subscribed to <a href="https://mailchi.mp/e90ac9ded88d/sorelatable">So Relatable.</a> I plan to publish the first issue on Sunday, February 3, and every Sunday after, for as long as we're having fun. And oh, we will have fun. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">You can <a href="https://mailchi.mp/e90ac9ded88d/sorelatable">sign up here</a>. See you soon! </div>Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392552248911691182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13550259.post-18899359886442427412018-09-08T16:27:00.005-04:002019-04-24T06:31:09.602-04:00Right Here, Right Now: Summer 2018<div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Hey, there! If you like this post, you'll love <a href="https://mailchi.mp/e90ac9ded88d/sorelatable">my weekly newsletter.</a> Sent every Sunday morning, it's about creative projects, ambitious goals, great reads, delicious snacks, tiny budgets, and my latest Trader Joe's obsession. Think personal blogging circa 2007, but in email form. <a href="https://mailchi.mp/e90ac9ded88d/sorelatable">Sign up</a>, and I'll see you this Sunday! </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_9gYeM0kEkY/Wa6o4WpExQI/AAAAAAAANDs/F-Ky6BL0qec5oy8ncJd5GIMtp8RFKminACLcBGAs/s1600/pexels-photo-68806.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1074" data-original-width="1600" height="428" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_9gYeM0kEkY/Wa6o4WpExQI/AAAAAAAANDs/F-Ky6BL0qec5oy8ncJd5GIMtp8RFKminACLcBGAs/s640/pexels-photo-68806.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">It's been a long, strange summer! The blog took a backseat but now that autumn is approaching (in some parts of the world - here in North Carolina, we'll be enjoying beach days until at least October) I hope to have more time to write about living on less and doing more with your budget. In the meantime, here's a snapshot of what I've been up to these last few months. </div><br /><h3>Celebrating</h3><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">The birth of my brand-new nephew, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BnMca44BIDh/" target="_blank">Oliver</a>! He was born in the middle of August, just like his Aunt Chrissy, and I got to spend last week with him (and my sister). Babies don't do much besides cry, poop, and wear adorable onesies, so it was a quiet visit. (At times, very quiet - waking a sleeping baby is basically a cardinal sin.) Despite the low key vacation, I was grateful for the chance to meet the newest member of our family while he was still brand new, and I look forward to a lifetime of knowing him. </div></div><div><br /></div><h3>Reading</h3><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The best book I read this summer was <a href="https://amzn.to/2LRI7Q1" target="_blank">The Ensemble</a> by Aja Gabel. It was exactly the kind of novel I love best - multiple points-of-view, a timeline that spans decades, a plot that grapples with art and love and creativity. The main characters are members of a string quartet and even though I can't carry a tune, I found myself deeply invested in each narrator's arc, musical and otherwise. Other books I read included <a href="https://amzn.to/2Q24GVo" target="_blank">the March trilogy</a>, a graphic novel about the Civil Rights Movement (thanks, book club!) and <a href="https://amzn.to/2NiHEv3" target="_blank">The Simple Path to Wealth</a>, which I plan to review on the blog - stay tuned! </div><br /><h3>Writing</h3><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The novel, as usual. In the meantime, I do have some big news! You're looking at the winner of the <a href="http://weymouthcenter.org/cos-barnes-2018/" target="_blank">2018 Cos Barnes Fellowship in Fiction</a>. This merit-based fellowship is awarded annually to a North Carolina writer, and my prize is a week-long residency at the <a href="http://weymouthcenter.org/" target="_blank">Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities</a>. I'm honored, thrilled, excited, and grateful for the recognition and the encouragement. As a slow writer working on a Big Thing, I don't have many opportunities for publications or awards. When I receive one, it's like a burst of much-needed energy, the kind of affirmation that says, "Yes, keep going, don't give up." </div><br /><h3>Watching</h3><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Nathan ordered me a last-minute birthday present and signed up for an Amazon Prime trial subscription to get two-day shipping. We plan to cancel it when the month is up, because we don't want or need Amazon Prime, but in the meantime we made the most of it and watched the first season of Mr. Robot. It was pretty good, but not worth an annual $120 for Prime. We also caught up on The Handmaid's Tale (terrifying, beautiful, brilliant) and that's pretty much it, and recently dove back into The Good Place, which is one of the most wonderfully wild shows I've ever seen. We don't watch as much TV in the summer, which is how it should be. </div><br /><h3>Eating</h3><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm still focusing on protein! My new favorite meal is a morning smoothie with a frozen banana, a cup of frozen strawberries, two tablespoons of peanut butter powder, a scoop of chocolate protein powder, and a cup and a half of unsweetened almond milk. It's got something like 25 grams of protein in it, with the bonus of being delicious. I usually drink it in the car, on my way to work, which is a life I never imagined I'd live, yet here we are. </div><br /><h3>Drinking</h3><br />Rosé all day.<br /><br /><h3>Coasting </h3><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Every summer, I get to a point where I realize I haven't been in the beach in weeks. Which is a shame, because I LIVE AT THE BEACH. And now that summer is winding down and the tourists have gone home, it's time to act like it. We've had a number of <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BmEv446BiUU/" target="_blank">great beach days</a> these last few weeks, including kayaking to Masonboro Island (my favorite place in Wilmington), fighting crowds at Wrightsville Beach, eating donuts at Carolina Beach, and taking a boat out to Lea Island. I see a quite many more dips in the ocean in my future, and I'm not at all mad about it.<br /><br />How was your summer? <b>What did you eat, drink, read, watch, write or celebrate?</b> How excited are you for September? It's one of my favorite months, and I'm hoping for a good one. </div>Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392552248911691182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13550259.post-57578045242559807112018-08-26T09:03:00.003-04:002018-08-26T09:03:43.237-04:00This Is 36 <div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AqMpnamJAHg/W4Kj5cT-s-I/AAAAAAAAR50/T1AJUvnbWz0PJbURtOci3eTEoeZNTriOgCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-08-26%2Bat%2B8.57.28%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="beach run" border="0" data-original-height="327" data-original-width="593" height="352" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AqMpnamJAHg/W4Kj5cT-s-I/AAAAAAAAR50/T1AJUvnbWz0PJbURtOci3eTEoeZNTriOgCLcBGAs/s640/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-08-26%2Bat%2B8.57.28%2BAM.png" title="beach run" width="640" /></a></div><br />Earlier this month, I turned 36.<br /><br />36 is not a milestone birthday in the traditional sense. I'm not starting a new decade, or reaching a halfway point. I'm just sort of moving along. Growing, I think, and learning, I hope, and becoming more myself than ever before. This past year felt big, though from the outside it probably looked fairly quiet. My footing became more sure, my place in the world more concrete. I cared less about so many things, and more about so many others. This shift has been going on for a while, but it never ceases to make me grateful. I guess that's the word I've been searching for - I feel grateful for each moment, each experience, each step forward. For each birthday, milestone or not.<br /><br />For the last 5 years, I've marked my birthday with a digital time capsule, which has been a nice way to reflect, take stock, and move forward. Here's this year's installment.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Thirty-six</b> is a career, rather than a job. It's nearly one year at a company where I feel valued and appreciated, where I enjoy what I do and hope to do it for a long time. It's learning both tangible and intangible skills, everything from new software to new confidence. It's the stability of a good paycheck and good benefits and a clear path forward. It's still having complicated feelings about the notion of work, because I know how rare my situation is, and how many others continue to toil at unfulfilling jobs. It's acknowledging my privilege and doing my best to advocate and vote for change, so everyone can feel good about how and what and why they're contributing.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Thirty-six</b> is a family that is suddenly bigger. It's a week-old nephew, a brand new human I will know and love for the rest of my life. It's trying to manage complicated relationships and then learning to step back, because I can't control other people. It's also my chosen family - friends who are also in the thick of life where shit is getting real. Professional successes, personal failures, tragic endings, new beginnings. It's the realization that our 30s are a decade of reckoning, and being glad we can reckon together.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Thirty-six</b> is writing, still. Working on a novel, still. Feeling gratitude for the process, for the gift of always having the work in the back of my mind. It's viewing writing as the invisible scaffolding upon which everything - my routines, my experiences, my purpose - is built. Some days the writing is difficult and slow, other days it is less difficult and less slow. Thirty-six is more patience with the process and less competition with everyone else. The work will be ready when it's ready, and not a moment sooner.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Thirty-six</b> is a narrow yet deep. It's pulling away from social media, the online spaces where I spent so much of my 20s and 30s thus far. It's sharing less and reading more, trying my hardest to focus on things that matter, at least to me. Thirty-six is understanding that the best parts of yourself don't have to be put on display or serve as proof. That just being comfortable in your own skin, with your own thoughts, is proof enough.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Thirty-six</b> is local politics, knocking on doors and making phone calls, and hoping it makes a difference. It's trying hard to stay engaged, even as the country nosedives into chaos and buffoonery. Thirty-six is wondering how we'll look back on these years, because picturing the future is sometimes easier than dealing with the present. Then it's sighing, picking up another packet of GOTV literature, and knocking on more doors, because the present is all we've got.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Thirty-six</b> the strongest and fastest I've ever been. It's delighting in my body and the things it can do. It's good food and plenty of moisturizer and nothing too complicated, because simple is sustainable. Health is wealth, and I've never been richer.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #606060; font-family: inherit;">PS:</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #606060; text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This was <a href="http://christinehennessey.blogspot.com/2013/08/this-is-31.html" style="color: #6aa84f; text-decoration-line: none;">31</a>.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This was <a href="http://christinehennessey.blogspot.com/2014/08/this-is-32.html" style="color: #6aa84f; text-decoration-line: none;">32</a>.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This was <a href="http://christinehennessey.blogspot.com/2015/08/this-is-33.html" style="color: #6aa84f; text-decoration-line: none;">33</a>. </span></div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #606060; text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This was <a href="http://www.betterthannever.org/2016/08/this-is-34.html" target="_blank">34</a>. </span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This was <a href="http://www.betterthannever.org/2017/08/this-is-35.html" target="_blank">35</a>.</div>Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392552248911691182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13550259.post-68630111138330166942018-07-29T12:43:00.000-04:002018-07-29T12:43:32.984-04:00Slow Sunday <div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M0eLm8rjyf8/W13t6LUiujI/AAAAAAAARao/AQx-fGHJxnI-h2uY6i4eMVc44BYG6WYEwCLcBGAs/s1600/muffins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M0eLm8rjyf8/W13t6LUiujI/AAAAAAAARao/AQx-fGHJxnI-h2uY6i4eMVc44BYG6WYEwCLcBGAs/s640/muffins.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Here's the thing about getting paid on the last day of the month: the last few days leading up to that paycheck tend to be pretty lean. It's even worse when those days fall on a weekend, which is when most of my spending tends to happen. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Needless to say, today has been slow and quiet, relaxing yet industrious. I planned to run this morning, but when I woke up a thunderstorm was raging outside. We've had the wettest summer on record, so I shouldn't have been surprised. Instead I worked on my novel and organized my desk and finished reading <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BlyRkfABMOG/" target="_blank">an excellent book</a> I borrowed from from the library. Last week, a friend at work gave me a gallon of blueberries from her grandparents' yard, so I made <a href="http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/blueberry-oatmeal-muffins-44023" target="_blank">oatmeal blueberry muffins</a> to share with her, and <a href="https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/07/blueberry-crumb-bars/" target="_blank">blueberry crumb bars</a> to share with Nathan. Our grocery budget was already at zero for the month, so I tried to salvage a few other things. I massaged a wilting bag of kale with lemon and garlic for tomorrow's lunch, threw some brown bananas into the freezer for smoothies, and cut up the rest of a watermelon. The chickens got the kale ribs and the watermelon rinds, the compost got the banana peels, I already ate a muffin and it was delicious. In an hour, I'm going to hit up a pay-what-you-can yoga class, and then meet my friend Kat for ice-cream, because there's always room in the budget for ice-cream. Later, I'll swing by another friends' bon voyage barbecue and hope it stops raining long enough to cry my goodbyes in their backyard. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Despite the constraints of this day – thunderstorms, funds – it’s been a lovely day. Sometimes joy is easier to feel when your options are limited, when the choice is clear. </div>Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392552248911691182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13550259.post-11252826860420472992018-07-18T07:38:00.000-04:002019-04-24T06:30:49.959-04:00Less Like A Mess<div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Hey, there! If you like this post, you'll love <a href="https://mailchi.mp/e90ac9ded88d/sorelatable">my weekly newsletter.</a> Sent every Sunday morning, it's about creative projects, ambitious goals, great reads, delicious snacks, tiny budgets, and my latest Trader Joe's obsession. Think personal blogging circa 2007, but in email form. <a href="https://mailchi.mp/e90ac9ded88d/sorelatable">Sign up</a>, and I'll see you this Sunday! </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--g3LTCayKK0/W08mcT07uYI/AAAAAAAAROc/L8ot4r81Xocrwx1fZAD_nvYOM5wpnh_yQCLcBGAs/s1600/beached-whale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--g3LTCayKK0/W08mcT07uYI/AAAAAAAAROc/L8ot4r81Xocrwx1fZAD_nvYOM5wpnh_yQCLcBGAs/s640/beached-whale.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I gave myself a deadline to finish a draft of my current novel by the end of summer. By "draft" I mean a thing that starts and ends, with a conflict that makes sense, a conclusion that surprises yet satisfies, language that sings. Something that looks less like a mess of scenes and more like an actual book. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The summer is half over and I haven't made as much progress as I'd hoped. As it turns out, writing a book is hard. The characters don't listen, the plot unravels mid-sentence, and after three years I still can't figure out which point of view to use. (Currently: all of them. I told you it was a mess.) I also have a habit of reworking the first section until it shines, while the latter pages languish. Which means my first chapter is one of the best things I've ever written, but there's no scaffolding beneath it. I should probably fix that. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Meanwhile, I've been cheating on my novel with shorter fiction. Earlier this summer, I was grateful to see <a href="http://www.christinehennessey.com/writing/" target="_blank">two pieces find homes with dream journals</a> - a reward for bad behavior, but I'll take it. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">*</div><br />"<a href="http://flywayjournal.org/fiction/material-remains-christine-hennessey/" target="_blank">Material Remains</a>," Flyway Journal<br /><br /><i>Our backyard was large and sprawling, cut off from the rest of the neighborhood by a tall white fence. For as long as we could remember, Dad mowed the lawn every Sunday and Mom grew sunflowers near the shed. But that spring, after the trouble started, we were the only ones who ventured past the sliding glass door. </i><br /><i><br /></i><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i>*</i></div><br />"<a href="http://monkeybicycle.net/an-ocean-this-big/" target="_blank">An Ocean This Big</a>," Monkeybicycle<br /><br /><i>Raquel is not a marine biologist, but she can tell right away that the whale washed up on Bellhaven Beach is dying. </i><i>It’s late winter and the wind gusts, cutting through her coat as she walks along the shore. </i><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392552248911691182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13550259.post-24915306476221244752018-07-16T17:12:00.000-04:002018-07-16T17:12:23.838-04:00Three Hundred Words<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XvhVsV4lWy4/W00FMroeEhI/AAAAAAAARME/fcVW-1uP-tguS1UsoOH1YkVJlvLYkU9HQCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-07-16%2Bat%2B4.50.31%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="325" data-original-width="596" height="348" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XvhVsV4lWy4/W00FMroeEhI/AAAAAAAARME/fcVW-1uP-tguS1UsoOH1YkVJlvLYkU9HQCLcBGAs/s640/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-07-16%2Bat%2B4.50.31%2BPM.png" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As usual, I've neglected this blog for weeks on end. It used to be that summer meant a break from drudgery - that I had fewer responsibilities and more time to fritter away in the sunshine. Then I became a grown up, and suddenly summer is busy, busy, busy. Longer days. More social activities. Seasonal chores like mowing the lawn, rinsing our swimsuits, and sweeping sand from every crevice. Summer is languid, seems to go on forever, but the days pass by all the same. I blink and it's half over, lost in a river of rosé. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">*</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">That's one side of the story, the one I post on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/thenewchrissy/" target="_blank">Instagram</a>. The other side is that the world's problems are part of this river, too, threatening daily to sweep us away. It's why I barely tweet, and instead spend my time scrolling through my feed, gasping at the latest horrors while feeling helpless and afraid. It's why I push myself to stay active with local politics, even though it's rarely glamorous - I need to do something tangible, and hashtags just don't cut it. I've yet to find the balance between listening and contributing, so mostly I just listen. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">* </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But having a voice matters, too. Even if it's just a few minutes spent rambling on a blog hardly anyone reads, even if it's just crafting a few paragraphs to push into the void. So really, this is a long-winded way to say I would like to visit this space more often, and share the things I think about, big and small (but mostly small). I've missed you, and I hope you're well, and that together we can create something new. Something that doesn't quite fit anywhere, but makes us happy despite - or even because - of that simple yet inscrutable fact. </div>Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392552248911691182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13550259.post-70605030422004672902018-05-27T08:35:00.002-04:002018-05-29T10:24:46.922-04:00How to Get Started with YNAB <div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M3tgwKEldBQ/Wwqco40DnHI/AAAAAAAAPrg/wklAWpKg3OYB1bKkjnNzZK_1Fltd_vq0wCLcBGAs/s1600/YNAB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="538" data-original-width="960" height="358" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M3tgwKEldBQ/Wwqco40DnHI/AAAAAAAAPrg/wklAWpKg3OYB1bKkjnNzZK_1Fltd_vq0wCLcBGAs/s640/YNAB.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Last week marked a special anniversary in our household - we celebrated two years of budgeting bliss with <a href="https://www.youneedabudget.com/" target="_blank">YNAB</a>. This is worth bragging about, because You Need a Budget is more than a app. It's a lifestyle and a way of thinking that completely transformed our finances.<br /><br />Like a lot of people, I didn't have great mentors when it came to money or any kind of financial education. I still have a lot to learn (like investing, and mortgages, and how to retire before I'm 80) but these days, I can confidently say the day-to-day stuff is under control. We know exactly where every penny of our money is going, we plan ahead for upcoming expenses, we have zero credit card debt, and we live well below our means. These are all hard won victories, and YNAB was our not-so-secret weapon. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've sung YNAB's praises so often and to so many people that I have a ready-to-go introductory email I send to folks who are interested in learning more. Because I love spreading the budgeting love, I decided to publish that email as a blog post. Think of it as a love letter from me to your bank account, and may it lead to budgeting bliss for you, too. </div><br />*<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">First things first: <span style="text-align: justify;">here's </span><a href="https://ynab.com/referral/?ref=A8Kwmnqr5Ve9IO8W&utm_source=customer_referral" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">my referral link</a>. W<span style="text-align: justify;">e'll both get a free month if you use it to sign up, which is an excellent way to start your new financially-savvy life! </span></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Second things second: this app has a learning curve and some quirks. I've been using it since May 2016 and it took me a few weeks to really get the hang of it, but it's absolutely worth the initial effort. So don't give up, even if it frustrates the heck out of you! Pain is temporary, but debt is forever - unless you stick with YNAB. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Finally, I'll be up front with you: this software is not free. After the 34-day trial, it costs $84 per year, which works out to less than $6.99 a month. I got two weeks into the trial, realized it would change my life, and immediately started a paid subscription. Worth every penny. (If you need more convincing, check out <a href="https://www.youneedabudget.com/a-late-bloomers-crash-course-in-budgeting/" target="_blank">this guest post</a> I wrote for the YNAB blog because I'm a huge dork.)<br /><br />If you're brand new to YNAB, the two things that you need to know to get started are the power of embracing the YNAB mindset, and the magic of setting up your categories.<br /><br /><h3><b>The YNAB Mindset</b></h3><div><b><br /></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ssa5oNTWnUw/WwqaaAIO-zI/AAAAAAAAPrE/4_h1Jne93x0vo1XrBNH6_kjff5D65WrEACLcBGAs/s1600/chrissy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="838" data-original-width="1600" height="334" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ssa5oNTWnUw/WwqaaAIO-zI/AAAAAAAAPrE/4_h1Jne93x0vo1XrBNH6_kjff5D65WrEACLcBGAs/s640/chrissy.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Why, yes. This is a custom illustration of me, made by YNAB, to accompany my guest post on their blog.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The basic idea behind YNAB (that's pronounced "why-nab" if you're cool, which you are) is that you decide what to do with your money BEFORE you spend it. <b>This is key. </b>YNAB's language is to "give every dollar a job," which is really just a glorified way of being intentional with your funds. How does this look in real life? Well, the second I deposit any money (IE, pay day, freelance checks, birthday cash) I figure out what those dollars need to do before I get paid again, which means assigning a category to every single cent. Rent, groceries, dog food, wine - it's all there, and it all gets a piece of the pie. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Later, when I spend money, I log it and categorize it (for example, a trip to my beloved Trader Joe's counts toward "Groceries") and it automatically deducts that expense from both my overall balance <i>and</i> that category. You can do this using the smartphone app or on your desktop. Personally, I do most of my budgeting on my laptop and log transactions as I go on my phone. You can also import transactions directly from your bank account, like in Mint, but I prefer to do it manually. It makes me more aware of my cash flow and really just takes a few minutes a day to make sure my YNAB balance matches what's in the bank. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now, here's the part that everyone has trouble understanding: <b>you only budget the money you currently have, not money you expect to get later. </b>So even though I am salaried and could feasibly budget a whole year at once, I only budget my money as it hits my bank account, and not a moment sooner. Let's face it - life is wild, and anything can happen. When it comes to your finances, don't assume anything and work with what you have, when you have it.<br /><br /><b>How this mindset has changed my finances: </b>In the past, I'd feel the desire to go out to dinner and would dutifully check my bank account balance because I was "responsible." I'd see some money there and think, great! Cash to burn! Then, a few days later, I'd realize that our annual car registration was due, or the dog had to go to the vet, or I needed to buy someone a wedding gift, and curse past-Chrissy, who had frittered away all her funds on tacos and beer.<br /><br />Now, I almost never look at the balance in my checking account. Instead, I look at individual categories. I feel the desire to go out to dinner? Then I pull up my budget, glance at the "Dining Out" category, and see what I'm working with. If the car registration is due, no problem - I've been setting aside a few dollars every month, so the money is just sitting there, waiting to do its job. Life still throws us surprises, but they're no longer a daily occurrence. My balance has achieved balance.<br /><br /><h3>Setting Up Your Categories</h3><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HH8B8JKU2lo/WwqbeyepRGI/AAAAAAAAPrQ/CwE_Fz0QNo4yXL5LWUxtCYAY0NIQUCG4wCLcBGAs/s1600/June%2BBudget.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1225" height="312" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HH8B8JKU2lo/WwqbeyepRGI/AAAAAAAAPrQ/CwE_Fz0QNo4yXL5LWUxtCYAY0NIQUCG4wCLcBGAs/s640/June%2BBudget.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A screenshot of June's budget-to-be, with dollar amounts whited out because privacy.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />So now you're thinking, "Categories, eh? How do those work, and why are they so magical?" Friend, I will tell you.<br /><br />YNAB comes with pre-set categories for common expenses, like rent, utilities, Netflix, etc. Because we are each special and unique beings, you can and should customize these categories to suit your lifestyle and needs. I added ones for alcohol, Calvin, and donations, for example. You can also move money from one category to another as you go, which is why I joke that every now and then I have to borrow money from my dog.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />This system works best if you keep your most important and inflexible categories, which YNAB call "Immediate Obligations" (like rent, electric, water) at the top, followed by "True Expenses" (groceries, gas, clothing), followed by "Just for Fun" (dining out, fun money, booze) at the bottom. This helps you prioritize, because you just kind of work your way down the list until you have no more money left to budget. (As you can see from the screenshot above, I renamed these "Monthly Bills," "Everyday Essentials," "Treat Yourself," "Future Funds," "Annual Expenses," and "Long Term Savings," because I love a good theme.) </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Also, if you need to adjust your budget, you know that you can transfer money from the "Just for Fun" categories pretty easily, but should probably stay away from the "Immediate Obligations." </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One of the best parts for me has been a category I created called "Future Funds." This is stuff I want to save for in the long term, like plane tickets, birthday gifts, or other big-ticket item. YNAB also encourages you to add your savings account (I have one, thanks to YNAB) and assign those dollars jobs, too. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, instead of having a $2,000 in savings just sitting there, you have $2,000 sitting there, but you have it assigned to categories, like $1000 to emergency fund, $500 to new car, $500 to collapse of society. Same account, just a different way of looking at it. Plus, when you tie a reason to pile of cash, you're less likely to spend it on something else.<br /><br /><b>How creating categories has changed my finances</b>: Like everything else YNAB-related, setting up your categories is an exercise in intentionality. It forces you to examine what you spend money on, and decide whether it's worth creating a space for it in your budget. (Do my chickens have their own category? Yes, they do.) Categories are also a great way to make your goals seem real and possible. For example, I have a category in my Long Term Savings group called "Dream Home," which I would like buy someday. I also have one called "40th Birthday Trip." It's empty right now, but every time I open my budget, I see it. I'm reminded of that goal. And soon I'll start funding it. One step at a time.<br /><br /><h3>Budgeting vs. Spending</h3><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VTEF6QQ-RD4/WwqiP-JpjwI/AAAAAAAAPrs/er-1YFc3zZ0-tHo4JHy--d72TqOWIIYmACLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-05-27%2Bat%2B8.18.34%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="249" data-original-width="525" height="302" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VTEF6QQ-RD4/WwqiP-JpjwI/AAAAAAAAPrs/er-1YFc3zZ0-tHo4JHy--d72TqOWIIYmACLcBGAs/s640/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-05-27%2Bat%2B8.18.34%2BAM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">YNAB also has cool charts and graphs. That big spike is when I bought a car, mostly in cash. </td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A quick note: it's important to remember that budgeting is not the same as spending. While you <i>budget</i> every dollar, you shouldn't <i>spend</i> every dollar. Ideally, anyway. Sometimes a dollar's job is to sit there for a very long time, in service of a long-term goal (like "Dream House") or for peace of mind ("Emergency Savings," anyone?).<br /><br />YNAB is like learning a language - the best way to become fluent is to immerse yourself in it. So <a href="https://app.youneedabudget.com/referral_program" target="_blank">start your free trial</a>, set up your categories, and start thinking about what you want out of life and how your budget can help you achieve those goals.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I've really just scratched the surface of YNAB, so here are two more resources to help you out as you begin your journey. These videos are great - I watched both of them (they're about 30 minutes each) while drinking a glass of wine, and that's when things really started to click (and why I now have a "Wine" category): </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VICxkAeDVDM" width="480"></iframe> <br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/K77djjWmdQc" width="480"></iframe> <br /><br />Try it out and let me know what you think! Drink a glass of wine while you watch the videos! Become a financial rock star! I'm still working on that last step myself, but thanks to YNAB I feel like I'm on my way.</div></div></div>Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392552248911691182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13550259.post-76497120694339058962018-05-17T07:06:00.000-04:002018-05-17T09:04:04.211-04:00Right Here, Right Now: Spring 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HgP_rPTh9rA/Wv1Zx-RSotI/AAAAAAAAPfg/1DSMP139e48y_wOqcB5NRZblmNW3ImSHgCLcBGAs/s1600/coffee.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HgP_rPTh9rA/Wv1Zx-RSotI/AAAAAAAAPfg/1DSMP139e48y_wOqcB5NRZblmNW3ImSHgCLcBGAs/s640/coffee.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I have a lot of half-finished budget-friendly blog posts in my drafts folder - an intro to YNAB, a review of Republic Wireless, a chicken update, a mediation on the power of plans - but I don't feel like working on any of those today. I have 30 minutes before I need to get ready for work, it's a dark, wet day, and there's a full cup of coffee on my desk. In other words, the perfect morning for a little life update. So, in that spirit, here's what I'm currently up to. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: justify;">Watching </h3><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A lot of Jeopardy!, mostly. We've been watching consistently for about two years, and I'm getting better and better at the game. It's not so much about what you know, but more about what you know about Jeopardy!. Plus it feels better than "regular" TV, since it forces us to think a little bit. We don't always get a chance to watch it at 7:30 pm, but here's a hot tip - the <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jeopardy/" target="_blank">Jeopardy! subreddit</a> has a thread for each night's game, and in that thread a very kind soul posts a link to the episode, which he uploads to Google Drive, every single day. I'm not a religious person, but I'm pretty sure he's an angel. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: justify;">Eating </h3><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Protein, baby! I hopped on the macro train and spent a few days analyzing the balance of my diet, and guess what? It was about 90% carbs. After some trial and error and a few new habits, I was able to get that balance to a better place, and maybe it's psychosomatic, but I feel leaner, stronger, and more energetic, especially in the afternoons. I'm also spending a bit more on food, because as it turns out simple carbs are really cheap, but hey. Health comes first. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: justify;">Reading </h3><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Somehow, this has been the slowest year for reading yet. I've only finished eight books so far! To be fair, I started and abandoned multiple books, but still. Right now, I'm reading <a href="https://amzn.to/2rP1HVC" target="_blank">You Think It, I'll Say It</a> by Curtis Sittenfeld, and I'm about to start <a href="https://amzn.to/2InhYeN" target="_blank">What We Lose</a> by Zinzi Clemmons, which is May's book club pick. My to-read list grows every longer, so hopefully these long and light summer days will offer more time for books! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: justify;">Writing </h3><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As always, I am working on my novel. As always, it's a slow, plodding affair, filled with starts and stops. Every time I have a breakthrough, it requires more work than I anticipated, but things are moving forward. In the meantime, I've cheated on the book a few times with shorter pieces, and one was published yesterday in Flyway Journal! It's called "<a href="http://flywayjournal.org/fiction/material-remains-christine-hennessey/" target="_blank">Material Remains</a>," and it's about two sisters, a family tragedy, and a very deep hole filled with strange and sinister things. I'd be honored if you checked it out. Also, if you like my writing and want more, I have <a href="http://www.christinehennessey.com/writing/" target="_blank">a website</a> with links to almost everything I've published. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: justify;">Spending </h3><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Too much! We still <a href="https://app.youneedabudget.com/referral_program" target="_blank">have a budget</a>, of course - in fact, I celebrated my two-year YNABiversary over the weekend via a shopping spree at Costco (oops). Still, I've gotten in a bad habit of spending most of our money in the first half of the month - probably because we both get paid on the last day of the month. Once it's gone, however, it's gone. We don't pull from savings or move too much money around. We just suffer. So if you see me eating beans and riding my bike more during the last few days of May, that's why. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: justify;">Planning</h3><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Speaking of spending, we have a few trips coming up over the next few weeks, and I am very excited for them. One is a weekend on Long Island for my sister's baby shower (I'M GOING TO BE AN AUNT!!!) and the other is a trip to a mysterious location for my Texas BFF's 40th birthday. I say mysterious because we're still deciding where to go - stay tuned! I know I will. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: justify;">How About You? </h3><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Tell me what you're watching, eating, reading, writing, spending, or planning right now. I'm super nosey and I'd love to add some new things to my list! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: justify;"><i style="font-weight: normal;">* Amazon links are affiliate and I may earn a teeny tiny commission if you click them. Thanks! </i></h4>Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392552248911691182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13550259.post-30073543401565514812018-04-29T08:12:00.000-04:002018-04-29T08:12:36.644-04:005 Frugal Things: Spring is Here!<div style="text-align: justify;">Two Sundays, two blog posts. Maybe this one-new-post-a-week routine will finally stick! In this week's update, we return to an old favorite: five frugal things. Big or small, every choice that keeps a little more cash in my bank account is a win. Here are a few ways we're staying on budget, despite the siren call of spring. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U_9R347jjT0/WuWs4XXPuLI/AAAAAAAAPEE/l6P2Tc1x0t4m0VZ-ziF8BvvyLcSFOyKOQCLcBGAs/s1600/agriculture-ball-shaped-cooking-5808.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U_9R347jjT0/WuWs4XXPuLI/AAAAAAAAPEE/l6P2Tc1x0t4m0VZ-ziF8BvvyLcSFOyKOQCLcBGAs/s640/agriculture-ball-shaped-cooking-5808.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><h3>1. I bought a last minute plane ticket to New York.</h3><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">A few weeks ago my mom fell at work and broke her hip. After surgery and some new screws, she is healing well and should be back to normal in a few months. In the meantime, she can't put weight on her leg and has been stuck at home. Thanks to my budgeting powers, I was able to buy a plane ticket for relatively cheap and spend a few days entertaining her. And, because my job is awesome, I worked remotely from my parents' kitchen table, which means I didn't have to use PTO. While the trip wasn't the most exciting (we watched A LOT of HGTV and MANY Lifetime movies) I was grateful for the ability to show up for my family without putting anything on my credit card. </div><br /><h3>2. We paid off our truck.</h3><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Two summers ago we bought a truck from Nathan's parents. We made a down payment and have been paying off the rest in very small monthly installments ever since. This debt wasn't high on my list of things-to-pay-off, since it was essentially an interest-free loan, but as we got closer to $0, I became more eager to see it gone. Last month I moved some things around, cut a few extra corners, and came up with the last $500 a whole three months early. I sent it off and was very pleased with myself, only to discover that, according to my father-in-law's calculations, I had actually overpaid them by $125. "Are you sure?" I asked. "Yes," he said, and who am I to argue? So they gave us a refund and I put it straight into our vacation fund. (We have a lot of travel coming up this summer and fall.) Next up: paying off my car by the end of the year. </div><br /><h3>3. I attended a meeting about my new retirement benefits. </h3><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">My company recently switched 401K plans. Last week, we had an introductory meeting with our new financial advisors during which they walked us through all the nuts and bolts. Next week, everyone in the company can sign up for individual meetings with the advisors for more specific guidance, and you better believe I grabbed a slot! Now that I'm an expert at budgeting and successfully living well within my means, the next step in my financial journey is figuring out how to retire before I'm 80. I'm really excited about all these new perks and also the chance to talk to a professional about the best path forward. I'll keep y'all updated! </div><br /><h3>4. We started selling eggs again. </h3><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">It's spring, which means my chickens are laying eggs again! A chicken's cycle is tied to the length of the days, so during the dark winter, they slow down production significantly. Some people keep a light on them to trick their bodies into laying year round, but I feel like the ladies deserve a break, as inconvenient as it may be. In the spring and summer, though, I remember why I love keeping chickens. I've already sold two dozen to my neighbors, and I have another 12-pack ready to go. While the extra cash the ladies bring in is nice, I really love knowing that my friends and neighbors are enjoying more eggs from happy, healthy, free-range hens. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: justify;">5. Our windows are wide open. </h3><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">North Carolina is a land of extreme weather. We had perhaps the coldest winter in recent memory, and our summers are hot and incredibly humid. Spring, while brief, is a gift - it's warm but the mosquitos have not yet arrived. The mornings are cool enough to run without drowning in your own sweat, and the afternoons are the perfect temperature for drinking a beer in the sunshine. And, most importantly, we can open our windows. This means that we're not running the heat OR the air conditioner. I try to stretch this season out as long as I can - one year, we almost made it to July before we broke down and turned on the AC - not just because it's a literally a breath of fresh air, but because I also love the lower electric bill. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Have you had any frugal wins lately? </b>Share them here, on <a href="https://twitter.com/TheNewChrissy" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, or tag me on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/thenewchrissy/" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, which is where I've been spending the bulk of my online time these days. More soon! </div>Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392552248911691182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13550259.post-27178701430412515012018-04-22T10:09:00.000-04:002018-04-22T10:09:26.975-04:00The Next Big Thing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EwG09iuOYBs/WtX-1e8EEeI/AAAAAAAAO2s/gXjj6HDwKxkGGrMCuXZVFfQ6v-uKa5v6QCLcBGAs/s1600/air-aircraft-airplane-194987.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="918" data-original-width="1600" height="366" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EwG09iuOYBs/WtX-1e8EEeI/AAAAAAAAO2s/gXjj6HDwKxkGGrMCuXZVFfQ6v-uKa5v6QCLcBGAs/s640/air-aircraft-airplane-194987.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Most of us are constantly looking ahead, instead of paying attention to what's right in front of us. How many times have you scheduled a trip or an event because you "need something to look forward to?" How often do you count down the minutes until 5pm? How often do you skim past most posts on social media, only pausing to comment or like on big announcements - the wedding, the baby, the new job?<br /><br />In fact, you may have seen the title of this post paired with the image above, and felt a small thrill of anticipation. Is this post an announcement? A reveal? Am I about to embark on a new adventure and turn my world upside down?</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Sorry to burst your bubble, but the answer is: none of the above. There are no big changes on the horizon. I am not on the cusp of a cosmic shift. Everything is fine; I'm just chugging along. And even though things are mostly good, steady and fulfilling, I still feel a twinge of wistfulness, a tiny voice whispering <i>"But what's next?"</i> in my ear. <i> </i></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I started thinking about this phenomenon when I followed the Boston Marathon earlier this week. Watching Desi Linden cross the finish line to win first place, 11 years after she first ran the race, made me cry at my desk. (To be fair, I cry easy.) The cold, the pouring rain, the fact that her winning time was not even her fastest, the way she hung back for a teammate and still finished first. What a race! What an accomplishment! What a Big Thing! </div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">If my first response to the Boston Marathon was tears, the second was jealousy. I, too, wanted to do something <i>big</i>. Not run a marathon, exactly (though I am not opposed to taking on 26.2 again one day), but something exciting and impressive, that required hard work and sacrifice. It's been a while since I've set a big, scary goal and worked for it. (Not counting novel-writing, which is a goal so big and so time-consuming that it's just part of the fabric of my life, a fear I live with and write through nearly every day, and nothing, at this point, out of the ordinary, which I guess is a pretty Big Thing when you think about it, but I digress.)<br /><br />I'm not sure what my next challenge will be. There are some things I've been meaning to try, some directions I'd like to push myself in. Lately I'm drawn to physical challenges. This past winter, I started focusing on speed during my runs, and set a new half-marathon PR. I've been lifting weights at the YMCA, watching tiny new muscles grow. I've been eating more protein. I'm not sure if these changes will lead to a new Big Thing, or if I'll simply enjoy feeling stronger in my body. I suspect not everything I do needs to be a Big Thing, that really I only need one thing at a time. All I have to do is figure out what it will be, and how big. </div>Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392552248911691182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13550259.post-16436335589486938222018-03-25T08:59:00.000-04:002018-05-01T10:40:26.611-04:00A Simple Trick For Building Better Habits<div style="text-align: justify;"><i>(I'm going to ignore the fact that I went two months without writing a blog post. I blame a combination of work, novel-writing, and the coldest Wilmington winter ever. In other words: life.) </i><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-B8x1DaGZxh4/WreSSj6TIeI/AAAAAAAAOQ8/lIzoTJQ5ODclVqtUkaYUpGEbDZxSlEPHQCLcBGAs/s1600/calendar-handwriting-notebook-636246.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="424" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-B8x1DaGZxh4/WreSSj6TIeI/AAAAAAAAOQ8/lIzoTJQ5ODclVqtUkaYUpGEbDZxSlEPHQCLcBGAs/s640/calendar-handwriting-notebook-636246.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />There's nothing I love more than a good habit. This proclivity isn't because I'm smack in the middle of my 30s, either. Even in my wild youth, I always made my bed first thing every the morning. Always buckled my seat belt as soon as I got in the car. Always <a href="http://www.betterthannever.org/2013/03/wash-your-bowl.html" target="_blank">washed my bowl</a> when I was done eating.<br /><br />Of course, I have bad habits, too; nobody is perfect. One habit that I've touched on a bit was drinking a glass of wine (or three...) at the end of the day. In my "<a href="http://www.betterthannever.org/2017/12/our-biggest-budget-wins-in-2017.html" target="_blank">Best Budget Wins of 2017</a>" post, I mentioned that I'd cut down on my drinking, which was better for my wallet and my health. This habit was especially hard to break, because relaxing on the couch with a delicious beverage had become routine. Not only that, I enjoyed it! What I did not enjoy, however, were the slow mornings, the extra calories, and the fact that alcohol was such an integral part of my day. (Coffee, on the other hand, is a totally acceptable crutch.)<br /><br />So, I decided to cut back and it was not nearly as hard as I feared! Here's how I did it, in three simple steps.<br /><br /><h3>1. Set a measurable goal. </h3><br />"Drink less" is a great idea, but it's not specific enough to work as a goal. After all, less is relative. It would be easy to rationalize that two drinks on a Tuesday night is less than three, or one bottle of wine on a Saturday is less than two. Yes, I'd be drinking less, but the benefits at that point are negligible. Plus, I know myself. I am very disciplined - until I start drinking. One sip and all bets are off. So for me, the best route was to skip drinking entirely. I started with two evenings a week, and I could choose any evenings I wanted. At the beginning of the week, I'd look at my calendar, see what was going on, and identify ahead of time which days were best for not drinking. Book club was out, obviously. But a night when I had a run scheduled after work was perfect.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1mPMmliSVOY/WrecHP3IiPI/AAAAAAAAORg/kWNiJ0tMZkMwKuw8rwpcxJter9Sy540BACLcBGAs/s1600/cup-drink-hand-373926.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1mPMmliSVOY/WrecHP3IiPI/AAAAAAAAORg/kWNiJ0tMZkMwKuw8rwpcxJter9Sy540BACLcBGAs/s640/cup-drink-hand-373926.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><h3>2. Find a healthier replacement. </h3><br />One thing I discovered was that it wasn't so much the glass of wine I loved, but the ritual of a special drink at the end of the day. Settling onto my couch between my dog and my husband, especially during the cold winter months, while sipping something delicious and shouting out the answers to Jeopardy! is, for me, the height of relaxation. So I knew it was important to find a replacement beverage that would scratch that same itch. I'm not a fan of La Croix or seltzer, so I asked for an electric kettle for Christmas and bought myself a bunch of herbal teas. And wouldn't you know it - holding a hot cup of tea is way cozier than a bottle of cold beer.<br /><br /><h3>3. Keep track of your progress. </h3><br />This is my favorite part. I love tracking things - I have more spreadsheets than I care to admit, tracking all sorts of mundane-to-anyone-but-me facts and figures. After trying out a few different apps, I downloaded HabitShare (available via <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.habitshareapp&hl=en" target="_blank">Google Play</a> and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/habitshare-habit-tracker/id1048191045?mt=8" target="_blank">iTunes</a>) and it's awesome. You create a habit, set a goal for how often you want to accomplish said habit, and then start tracking. Keeping track is simple - a green dot means you did it, red means you missed, and gray is a skip. Here are two screenshots of my booze-free progress for February and March:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IbdjmPMbzUg/WreaR06tf9I/AAAAAAAAORQ/B45A3K7rjkcntP_B3eb7mAOcRttl-dKgwCLcBGAs/s1600/habits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="930" data-original-width="1044" height="570" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IbdjmPMbzUg/WreaR06tf9I/AAAAAAAAORQ/B45A3K7rjkcntP_B3eb7mAOcRttl-dKgwCLcBGAs/s640/habits.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />My twice-a-week goal ended up feeling so good that I upped it to three times a week at the beginning of 2018. Most weeks, however, I actually hit four. As a bonus, I've also found that when I do drink, I imbibe less overall. For example, I drank four days in a row this past week, but I only had one beverage each time. So a total of four drinks for a whole week - not bad, especially compared to what I was mindlessly drinking out of habit just a few months ago.<br /><br />I like HabitShare so much that I now have a bunch of things I'm tracking - a daily writing goal, a goal for workouts, a reading goal, etc. When I lie in bed at the end of the day, it feels great to go through my habits and check off the ones I accomplished. Some days are better than others, which is why I like looking at the month as a whole - it keeps things in perspective and helps me see how my habits are building over time and affecting one another. The less I drink, for example, the more I run and write and read. A fair trade, I'd say.<br /><br /><b>Do you have any tricks for tracking habits or creating good routines? I'd love to hear them! </b></div>Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392552248911691182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13550259.post-29185874680609396592018-01-28T18:24:00.002-05:002018-01-28T18:28:15.876-05:00The Budget-Friendly Benefits of a Depth Year<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6lDvPnomJns/Wm5Ztz0eO1I/AAAAAAAANTw/k4iG7eONvC4wogUb2KxgYuLynkQ1wtkMQCLcBGAs/s1600/pexels-photo-694587%2B%25281%2529%2B2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="1600" height="336" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6lDvPnomJns/Wm5Ztz0eO1I/AAAAAAAANTw/k4iG7eONvC4wogUb2KxgYuLynkQ1wtkMQCLcBGAs/s640/pexels-photo-694587%2B%25281%2529%2B2.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br />A few weeks ago I came across a new-to-me blog, Raptitude, thanks to a post titled "<a href="http://www.raptitude.com/2017/12/go-deeper-not-wider/" target="_blank">Go Deeper, Not Wider</a>." The thesis is that humans are flighty creatures who love novelty. To combat this tendency, the author, David Cain, suggests a "Depth Year," in which you turn away from new experiences and possessions, and instead "find the value in what you already own or what you’ve already started." Instead of becoming a Jill-of-all-trades or spreading yourself thin, you commit to one passion or pursuit and go as deep as you can.<br /><br />I liked this idea immediately. It echoes a lot of what I said in my <a href="http://www.betterthannever.org/2018/01/2018-goals-bridge.html" target="_blank">2018 Resolutions</a> post, which boiled down to doing more, going further, digging deeper. I decided to make the Depth Year my unofficial theme for the next twelve months. If you're still searching for a goal or focus for the coming year, give it try - especially if any of your goals are financial.<br /><br />Because the Depth Year is essentially another way to embrace frugality and live within our means. You choose to give up new possessions in favor of what you already have and learn to appreciate what you already own. There are plenty of examples of ways to do this in the original blog post, and there's even <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/2048565808760384/" target="_blank">a Facebook group</a> devoted to the endeavor where folks share what deep things they're pursuing.<br /><br />As for me, my two Depth Year activities shouldn't come as a surprise. Finish all my writing projects (but mostly the novel) and get better at running. Both of these things take time, but not money. I have my fingers and my legs, and I don't need much else. Plus, the time I spent on these pursuits is time I'm not spending on things that cost money. I achieve my goals and preserve my budget - what could better?<br /><br />Writing is pretty self-explanatory, so I won't focus on that right now. Instead, I'll talk a bit about running.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>I started running in 2010, after my roller derby league fell apart. It was a fun and healthy way to kill time, and I found I really enjoyed long distances - especially the time to unplug and think. (I never run with music or podcasts or books on tape - running is one of the few times in my life that I am not actively consuming something.) I got so into running that I even completed two full marathons - Austin (in 4:45) and Houston (in 4:20).<br /><br />Then I moved to North Carolina. I still run and continue to race an annual half marathon, but I don't really train or challenge myself. As a result, I haven't gotten faster - for the last few years, each half marathon I've run has actually been slower than the last.<br /><br />This year, as part of my exercise in Depth, I'm actually trying. My yearly half marathon is on March 17th, and I'd like to run it in 1:55, which would be a new PR by a cool minute and a half. To that end, I've committed to running three times a week - a tempo run, a speed workout, and a long, slow run. While I like other workouts and am often distracted by shiny, new things like spin, yoga, and kettlebell, I'm putting running first until the race is over. I'm focusing, and committing, and going deeper. Or longer, as the case may be.<br /><br />So far, it seems to be working. Each Sunday I add a mile to my long run, and each week, despite the increased distance, my overall pace-per-mile is slightly faster. This morning I headed out early, in an effort to beat the rain. I ran a misty 8 miles at a 9:32 pace, and my legs feel fine. Just three weeks ago, I could barely walk after 6 miles at 9:47. Progress is happening, step by step. The trick, I've learned, is to keep going.</div>Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392552248911691182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13550259.post-13573573305032000532018-01-07T09:00:00.000-05:002018-01-07T09:00:10.435-05:002018 Goals: A Bridge<div style="text-align: justify;">Despite being a person that loves goals and resolutions and new beginnings, I did not set any expectations for 2017. No blog post laying out a detailed plan for the new year, no single word to serve as my guiding mantra, no resolutions for improving myself day by day. Looking back, it makes sense. The end of 2016 and the beginning of 2017 were rough. Obama left office, <a href="http://www.betterthannever.org/2017/03/goodbye-dear-friend.html" target="_blank">my dog died</a>, and my husband resigned from his job, and that was just the first three months! Getting through the day was challenging enough, never mind self-improvement.<br /><br />This year, I'm feeling a bit more optimistic. While the political climate has been as bad as I feared, I'm now better equipped to resist and fight for change. We may be <a href="http://www.betterthannever.org/2017/06/how-to-survive-on-one-income.html" target="_blank">surviving on one income</a>, but we've stuck to <a href="https://ynab.com/referral/?ref=A8Kwmnqr5Ve9IO8W&utm_source=customer_referral" target="_blank">our budget</a> and managed to live within our shrunken means. Writing is still a long, slow process, but progress is happening, even when I can't see it.<br /><br />Maybe it's a consequence of social media and seeing everyone's highlight reel, but the last few New Year's Eves have been melancholy. At the close of each year, I've looked back and thought, "That was okay. Not great, not exciting, not really notable. Just okay." I would tell myself the past year was one of growth, of laying down the foundation, of making room. But you can only use that reasoning so many times before it starts to sound like an excuse. And so, to ensure that on the eve of 2019, I can look back with pride at all I've accomplished, I'm getting back to my roots. I'm setting goals for next year, and I'm choosing a word to guide me.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HpEhnoBWdPQ/Wkpx_6gEtuI/AAAAAAAANJs/4d8VFN_FMaQ6-SglXsuzNm3xGmU4jmB_gCLcBGAs/s1600/memorial-bridge-jc-findley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="472" data-original-width="816" height="370" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HpEhnoBWdPQ/Wkpx_6gEtuI/AAAAAAAANJs/4d8VFN_FMaQ6-SglXsuzNm3xGmU4jmB_gCLcBGAs/s640/memorial-bridge-jc-findley.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large-5/memorial-bridge-jc-findley.jpg" target="_blank">photo credit</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><h3>Bridge </h3><br />The word I've chosen for 2018 is "bridge." Both a noun and a verb, a bridge is a structure carrying a path or road over a depression or obstacle. It's a time, place, or means of connection or transition. And finally, it's a passage connecting two sections of something - to bridge a gap, to carry forward.<br /><div><br />For me, bridge will serve as a reminder that life is always in transition and that we're constantly moving, growing, and changing. I hope it will encourage me to trust the foundation I've laid and to follow risker paths - to try harder in all things and take the higher road. Despite some upheaval, my life has felt fairly stable for some time. It's time to build a bridge that will take me to the next stage.<br /><br />Another reminder of my word-of-the-year are the literal bridges that lead to and from Wilmington. We are a city surrounded by water on all sides - ocean to the east, river to the west. I cross bridges regularly, and in 2018 I hope each one is a tiny burst of encouragement.<br /><br />That said, here are some more specific goals I will attempt to bridge this year. </div><div><br /></div><div><ul class="vis" style="background-color: white; color: #3b3e41; display: inline; font-family: "Open Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.64px; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><li style="display: inline; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></li></ul></div><h3>Art & Writing </h3><br />I've been working on both a novel and a collection of short stories for years. In 2018, I want to finish both of these projects and sell one of them. I also want to write more flash fiction, read more nonfiction, and pitch more essays and articles. More, more, more. To accomplish these things, I'll do the following:<br /><br /><ul><li>Write every day for at least 30 minutes. </li><li>Pitch one essay or article a month. </li><li>Write four new short stories to round out my collection. </li><li>Write ten new flash fictions. </li><li>Read 36 books. </li><li>Spend a long weekend on a DIY writing retreat. </li></ul><br /><h3>Health & Fitness </h3><br />Health, too, has been pretty stagnant. All my runs are the same average speed. I've been attending the same kettlebell class for six years (!). My skin is beginning to show its age. All the habits that once worked just fine are no longer cutting it. I'm 35, and if I want to age gracefully, I need to try a little harder, mentally and physically. Here are some ways I will do that:<br /><br /><ul><li>Set a new half marathon PR. </li><li>Build more muscles. </li><li>Substitute herbal tea for wine/beer three times a week.</li><li>Stick to my simple skin care regime. </li><li>Do one new-to-me thing a month.</li></ul><br /><h3>Money & Debt </h3><br />Over the last two years I've become a budgeting guru, so much so that it's no longer a challenge - it's just the way I live. Which means it's time to up my personal finance game and take things to the next level - especially if I ever want to retire. Some things I will attempt this year to make the transition easier:<br /><br /><ul><li>Continue to rock my budget and live within my means.</li><li>Pay off Nathan's truck. ($650 to go.) </li><li>Pay off my car. ($4,000 to go.) </li><li>Save $500 per month ($6K total).</li><li>Learn how to invest. </li></ul><div><br /></div><div>This probably seems like way too much to do all at once, but that's the thing - I'm not doing it all at once. A year is a pretty long time, with plenty of opportunities to try, fail, and try again. At the end of twelve months I want to feel proud of what I've accomplished, how far I've traveled, and all the bridges I built to help carry me forward. </div><div><br /></div><div>Here's to a productive, happy, and healthy 2018. Let's make it a good one, okay? </div></div>Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392552248911691182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13550259.post-38737903951686096622017-12-31T18:05:00.003-05:002018-01-01T10:50:41.410-05:00The Best Books I Read in 2017<div style="text-align: justify;">Another year of reading in the books! (Get it? In THE BOOKS?) As always, I was humbled and dazzled by the books I managed to read this year - there were so many good ones, most of them heartbreaking in one way or another. (I'm a sucker for tragedies.) I'm also beginning to see patterns in my reading, and how the writers with whom I choose to spend my time reflects what I'm doing or thinking or struggling with at any given moment.<br /><br />This year, I read my most diverse range of authors yet, which was wonderful and necessary - especially during a year so rife with political tragedies and systemic inequalities. Many of the books helped me see the world in a new light, or expanded my view of an issue, or showed me something about myself I'd previously ignored. While other areas of my life felt stagnant (another post for another time) I grew more as a reader this year than in any other. For that I am grateful, and I have the following books to thank.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SsnUmwSrN4A/WklsZXGWj0I/AAAAAAAANJc/MvShiNlO0BIU7J1daZ9CIGB8kH2AycFtACLcBGAs/s1600/books-2017.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="587" data-original-width="940" height="398" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SsnUmwSrN4A/WklsZXGWj0I/AAAAAAAANJc/MvShiNlO0BIU7J1daZ9CIGB8kH2AycFtACLcBGAs/s640/books-2017.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><h3>The Best Books I Read in 2017</h3><br /><b>Total books read in 2017: </b>29<br /><b><br /></b><b>Gender breakdown: </b><br />Female: 19<br />Male: 8<br />Anthologies: 2<br /><br /><b>Diversity breakdown:</b><br />White: 15<br />POC: 13<br />Anthologies: 1<br /><br /><b>Genre breakdown:</b><br />Novels: 16<br />Memoir/CNF: 10<br />Short story collections: 3<br /><br /><b>Month I read the most books: </b><br />August and November (4 each)<br /><br /><b>Month I read the least books:</b><br />October (1)<br /><br /><b>Most fun I had while reading:</b><br />All the Lives I Want, Alana Massey. (A collection of essays about famous people the author has never actually met. Not the best book, but definitely fun in a surreal and sometimes sad way.)<br /><br /><b>Most overrated book/disappointing ending:</b><br />I'm Thinking of Ending Things, Ian Reid. (A book club pick that everyone hated. We chose it based on its great reviews, and it did NOT live up.)<br /><br /><b>Best family drama: </b><br />Little Fires Everywhere, Celeste Ng. (She's basically the queen of family dramas, and consequently the writer I most aspire to be like.)<br /><br /><b>Prettiest prose: </b><br />Imagine Me Gone, Adam Hazlett. (Gorgeous writing, but every page was a fresh wave of grief. Proceed with caution.)<br /><b><br /></b><b>Best book club pick: </b><br />White Tears, Hari Kunzru. (Some people in book club hated this novel, others loved it. No one was in the middle. For the record, I loved it.)<br /><br /><b>Best book by a friend: </b><br />Felt in the Jaw, Kristen Arnett. (Stories about lesbians in Florida, and that's all you need to know.)<br /><b><br /></b><b>Most engrossing book: </b><br />Stay With Me, Ayobami Adebayo. (A doomed marriage. Tragic offspring. Magic misconstrued. And it all takes place in Nigeria, which is one of my favorite settings. Couldn't put it down.)<br /><br /><b>Most epic book: </b><br />Pachinko, Min Jin Lee. (This book covers about 80 years and five generations, and Lee manages this task beautifully.)<br /><br /><b>Most disturbing book: </b><br />Her Body and Other Parties, Carmen Maria Machado. (There are images from this book I will never forget, and that's good. I don't want to forget them. "The Husband Stitch," especially, is a masterpiece.)<br /><b><br /></b><b>Best book of 2017: </b><br />Little Fires Everywhere, Celeste Ng. (We're all shocked, I know.)<br /><b><br /></b><b>The full list of books I read in 2017, in order: </b><br /><b><br /></b>The Wangs Vs. the Wold, Jade Chang<br />Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, Carlo Rovelli<br />A Thin Bright Line, Lucy Bledsoe<br />Commonwealth, Ann Patchett<br />The Red Parts, Maggie Nelson<br />The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead<br />White Tears, Hari Kunzru<br />The Small Backs of Children, Lidia Yukanvitch<br />Hourglass, Dani Shaprio<br />The Idiot, Elif Batuman<br />Scratch: Collected Essays, Manjula Martin<br />The Refugees, Viet Thanh Nguyen<br />All Grown Up, Jami Attenberg<br />Imagine Me Gone, Adam Hazlett<br />Hunger, Roxane Gay<br />A Beautiful, Terrible Thing, Jennifer Wait<br />The War of Art, Steven Pressfield<br />Another Brooklyn, Jacqueline Woodson<br />All the Lives I Want, Alana Massey<br />Felt in the Jaw, Kristen Arnett<br />I'm Thinking of Ending Things, Ian Reid<br />The Fire This Time, Jessamyn Ward<br />American War, Omar El Akkad<br />Little Fires Everywhere, Celeste Ng<br />Sing, Unburied, Sing, Jessamyn Ward<br />Stay With Me, Ayobami Adebayo<br />The Futilitarians, Anne Gisleson<br />Pachinko, Min Jin Lee<br />Her Body and Other Parties, Carmen Maria Machado<br /><b><br /></b><b>See also: </b><br /><a href="http://www.betterthannever.org/2016/12/the-best-books-i-read-in-2016.html" target="_blank">The Best Books I Read in 2016</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://christinehennessey.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-best-books-i-read-in-2015.html" target="_blank">The Best Books I Read in 2015</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://christinehennessey.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-best-books-i-read-in-2014.html" target="_blank">The Best Books I Read in 2014</a></div>Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392552248911691182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13550259.post-62255251922508590912017-12-21T07:20:00.000-05:002017-12-21T12:40:05.107-05:00Our Biggest Budget Wins in 2017<div style="text-align: justify;">2017, y'all. Where to begin? It's kind of crazy to think about how this year started versus where we are now. At the beginning of 2017, we had two dogs and two incomes. I worked at a marketing agency and my husband was a paramedic. Our big financial goal was to save $10K for a down payment on a house. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now? After a steady six months of searching, I have a swanky new job that I love. My husband went back to school and is working part time on the weekends. Our beloved older dog passed away in February. We're slowly rebuilding our savings after a rough few months, and I spent most of that down payment on a new-to-me car instead of a house. In the end, a mix of highs and lows, set backs and steps forward. Not much different from most years, if you think about it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">That said, there were a few things we did right in 2017. Here are our biggest budget wins over the last twelve months, and here's to many more in 2018. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-87hMW0yYg_o/Wjuk_zH-OnI/AAAAAAAANJI/59qOE80PMIcIfazKeUlhChHKmvqJyZIdACLcBGAs/s1600/staircase.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="626" data-original-width="940" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-87hMW0yYg_o/Wjuk_zH-OnI/AAAAAAAANJI/59qOE80PMIcIfazKeUlhChHKmvqJyZIdACLcBGAs/s640/staircase.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span id="goog_709668946"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><h3>1. We did not adopt a new dog. </h3><br />A few months after our <a href="http://www.betterthannever.org/2017/03/goodbye-dear-friend.html" target="_blank">best boy passed away</a>, friends as well as strangers started asking us the inevitable: "Are you going to get a puppy?" It was an understandable question - we'd been a two-dog household for the last seven years, and I think dogs are the most precious beings on earth. That said, our answer was and has remained, "Nope." I loved sharing a home with Seamus and Calvin, and we were lucky they got along as well as they did. That said, having one giant dog is a whole lot easier and cheaper than having two. And during a time in our lives when funds are limited and time is a scarce, one dog is more than enough. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><h3>2. We rekindled our love for camping. </h3><br />We managed to go on two camping trips during Wilmington's brief window of perfect weather. We were avid campers in Texas, but fell out of the habit after we moved to North Carolina. As it turns out, camping is the perfect low-budget activity - especially since we already have all the necessary gear. Cooking over a fire, hiking on trails, reading books, and playing board games because there's nothing else to do? Yes, please. We're already looking forward to more trips in 2018. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><h3>3. We cut way back on wine and beer. </h3><br />I was in the habit of having a drink or two basically every single night. For me, it was less about the buzz and more about unwinding after work - pouring a glass meant the day was done and I could finally relax. However, I often imbibed more than I meant, which made waking up early to write unpleasant/impossible. In October, I set a goal to skip booze entirely two nights a week, and the habit has not only stuck, but grown. I'm drinking less than ever and, as a result, saving more than ever. I also sleep better, write more, and feel fitter. My new trick for telling my body it's time to relax is to sip a cup of herbal tea while watching Jeopardy!, which means I've finally become the senior citizen I was always meant to be. Lean all the way in, y'all. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><h3>4. We did not use our credit cards once. </h3><br />After we made the final payment on our credit cards, paying off a total of <a href="http://www.betterthannever.org/2017/05/5-ways-to-pay-off-13k.html" target="_blank">$13K in debt</a>, I was determined to never live outside my means again. Despite a lot of life changes, a wedding in Nebraska, a new car, and traveling for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, we've stuck with that goal and left our credit cards alone. This meant we paid for everything in cash, and that was an incredibly good feeling. It required a lot of planning and budgeting (thanks, <a href="https://app.youneedabudget.com/referral_program" target="_blank">YNAB</a>) and the key was looking ahead, setting small goals, and putting aside money each month. Not exactly rocket science, but something we'd never been able to achieve before this year. While we did incur some new debt (a small car loan and some new student loans) I feel good that we paid for our day-to-day living expenses in cash, saved up for bigger things, and did not borrow from the future for any extras. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><h3>5. We found a great deal on a used car. </h3><br />I wrote all about my <a href="http://www.betterthannever.org/2017/09/how-i-bought-used-car-on-budget.html" target="_blank">new car saga</a> back in September, but here's a brief update: the car runs like a dream, gets great gas mileage, and remains an amazing deal. One of my 2018 goals is to pay it off completely by the end of next year, a full 18 months early. I'm optimistic that this is possible, especially if I funnel all <a href="http://www.betterthannever.org/2017/08/how-to-start-freelance-writing.html" target="_blank">my freelance income</a> toward it. Fingers crossed! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><h3>6. I landed a new job. </h3><br />The best financial decision I made was to l<a href="http://www.betterthannever.org/2017/09/how-learning-to-budget-helped-me-get.html" target="_blank">ook for a new job</a>. This was difficult, because my previous job was mostly fine, the job market in Wilmington is fairly dismal, and applying for jobs is time consuming and demoralizing. It would have been easy to settle and stay where I was, but I knew I deserved more, so I kept trying until I got it. As a result, I've been happier at work and our budget is in much better shape, thanks to my new and improved salary. I'm really glad this new job came towards the end of the year, because it means I'm ending 2017 with a win. And after a year like this, I needed one.<br /><br /><b>How did your year go? </b>Did you make strides in your financial goals, experience set backs, or - like us - a little of both? </div>Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392552248911691182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13550259.post-2685921101659389432017-11-13T06:00:00.000-05:002017-11-13T06:00:15.527-05:00How to Throw a Fancy Wedding for $10K<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GSDTrMkskro/WgbqXUPAqxI/AAAAAAAANG8/j7OIZjZ80MM4U4bsQF_L8B7Ff8jwtaLDgCLcBGAs/s1600/wedding2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GSDTrMkskro/WgbqXUPAqxI/AAAAAAAANG8/j7OIZjZ80MM4U4bsQF_L8B7Ff8jwtaLDgCLcBGAs/s640/wedding2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Over the weekend, Nathan and I celebrated our five year wedding anniversary. (Well, I use the term "celebrate" lightly. We've both been sick all week, so it was more a "snuggle under a quilt and drink a bottle of wine while watching Jeopardy" kind of celebration. We plan to go out for a fancy dinner next week, when we're feeling better.) </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Five years feels significant - especially when added to the ten we already had when we got married. A grand total of fifteen years with one person is a lot, and sometimes thinking about how far we've come stuns me. Who would have thought that weird guy I met at a college party who, at the time, lived in an actual tent, would end up my husband? Not me, that's for sure. Yet here we are, and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In honor of our anniversary, and in keeping with the loose theme of personal finance, I'm re-sharing an article I wrote a few years ago about what where we splurged and where we saved in regard to our wedding. We got married pre-budget, pre-YNAB, pre-any idea of how money actually worked, but we were still fairly frugal people who loved a good deal. Some things never change. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vm5lD31LhJI/WgbqXCav-zI/AAAAAAAANG4/hRa4Obk9HYooC2nkszegry7xLhzW9dD2ACLcBGAs/s1600/wedding3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vm5lD31LhJI/WgbqXCav-zI/AAAAAAAANG4/hRa4Obk9HYooC2nkszegry7xLhzW9dD2ACLcBGAs/s640/wedding3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">When Nathan and I decided to get married on our ten year anniversary, we didn’t know we’d both be back in school, with the bank account to prove it. At first, our $10,000 budget seemed like more than enough – until we started actually planning. As it turns out, weddings are really expensive! For a moment we considered postponing the event for a few more years (we'd already waited ten, after all), but quickly realized that was ridiculous. Instead, we saved where we could, splurged as needed, and ended up with a perfect day. Here are some of the choices that got us there. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: justify;">Save: Location.</h3><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For a couple that met in New York, lived in Texas, and had recently moved to North Carolina, <a href="http://www.betterthannever.org/2012/01/where-to-wed-that-is-question.html" target="_blank">choosing where to wed</a> was not a cut and dry issue. We originally wanted to get married in New York – that's where our relationship began, and many of our friends and family still live there. Unfortunately, every venue we looked at was prohibitively expensive. I'm talking $4,000 for an empty barn with no heat or indoor plumbing. We switched our search to North Carolina and almost immediately found a historic train depot for only $600 - tables and chairs included. While we saved a ton of money, it meant that we were essentially hosting a destination wedding. However, considering how scattered our friends and family were, a large contingent would be traveling no matter what. We might as well make them come to us. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: justify;">Splurge: My dress.</h3><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Our wedding was five years ago, but every time I'm in a department store or thrift shop, I find a perfect, beautiful, and dirt-cheap wedding dress that would look amazing on me. Part of me regrets that I didn't go that route, and instead bought <a href="http://www.betterthannever.org/2012/01/dress.html" target="_blank">a dress from David’s Bridal</a>. It was on sale, yes, but it still clocked in at $600. The main reason I chose it (besides being very beautiful) was because I only had one opportunity to go dress hunting with my mom and two younger sisters. Sharing the experience with them was really special, and worth every penny.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t9k3ytVMIu8/WgbqZ3wpBKI/AAAAAAAANHU/5vSOlcx3Kx8sz5kPcUYTS4Oi7buBS5PUACEwYBhgL/s1600/wedding8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="425" data-original-width="640" height="424" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t9k3ytVMIu8/WgbqZ3wpBKI/AAAAAAAANHU/5vSOlcx3Kx8sz5kPcUYTS4Oi7buBS5PUACEwYBhgL/s640/wedding8.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: justify;">Save: Friend-ors.</h3><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thanks to our super talented and generous friends, we avoided most of the usual vendors and relied on their kindness instead. One of my bridesmaids, who is a professional baker, made over 100 vegan cupcakes for the wedding. Another friend, who is actual pastor, officiated the ceremony. Two of our friends known for their epic dance parties took on DJ duties. My old college roommate served as day-of coordinator and bouquet-maker, crafting lovely arrangements from flowers we bought in bulk at Sam's Club. And we all had a great time drinking mimosas while decorating the space and assembling centerpieces. The only actual vendors we hired were caterers, because I was not about to ask my BFFs to cook dinner for 60 people. (Even I have my limits.) By the time I walked down the aisle, our handmade wedding was filled with so many personal touches and so much love, that even if I had all the money in the world, I wouldn’t have changed a thing.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: justify;">Splurge: Party bus.</h3><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Our wedding venue was located 30 miles down a long, dark highway, in an area unfamiliar to 90% of our guests. We wanted everyone to have a good time (IE, drink as much as they wanted) and we needed them to be safe. Asking everyone to find a taxi seemed complicated, and Uber and Lyft hadn't come to coastal North Carolina yet. So we dropped $700 (more than the cost of the actual venue!) and rented a bus to take guests back and forth from the hotel to the wedding. At the end of the night, my brand new husband and I also boarded the bus back to Wilmington, because as it turns out, we needed a ride and we are not fancy. While the party bus was one of the most expensive items in our wedding budget, the peace of mind it provided was priceless.<br /><br />In the end, it didn’t matter how much we spent or which corners we cut. The things I remember the most – all our loved ones in one place, our first kiss as husband and wife, the awesome dance party – ended up costing the least. Funny how that works.</div>Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392552248911691182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13550259.post-54333787964401254302017-10-29T10:21:00.000-04:002017-10-29T10:21:25.969-04:00The 5 Stages of Budget Living<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-47IfRUL6L_g/WfXZyVUXRdI/AAAAAAAANGg/_ILNOvBPflM-lD2u0NZ2KJbb5CZ8ybSfQCLcBGAs/s1600/pexels-photo-72296.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-47IfRUL6L_g/WfXZyVUXRdI/AAAAAAAANGg/_ILNOvBPflM-lD2u0NZ2KJbb5CZ8ybSfQCLcBGAs/s640/pexels-photo-72296.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The grass is always greener on the other side.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I've sat down four or five times in the last two weeks, with the simple goal of writing a blog post. Each time the same thing happens - I open a draft, stare into space, sigh heavily, and close the tab. It's not that I don't want to blog. It's just that the topic I felt so passionate about a few months ago - living on the cheap - has lately felt more like a chore. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is not to say I've already switched gears and abandoned my tiny baby budget living blog. I will continue to write sporadically about my adventures in living on less. It's just that I've entered a new phase. Much like Elizabeth Kubler-Ross's <a href="https://grief.com/the-five-stages-of-grief/" target="_blank">five stages of grief</a>, budget living, too, is experienced in steps. Allow me to illustrate. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: justify;">Stage One: Denial </h3><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">You're living the good life, focusing only on the moment at hand. Delicious dinners at your favorite restaurants. Good wine and craft beer. Flights and hotels to see friends and family. Donations to all your favorite charities. You tell yourself that you're not being completely irresponsible - it's not like you're buying fur coats and fancy cars. You're frugal enough that you can rationalize pretty much anything. Meanwhile, your credit card debt is mounting. Interest fees are eating you alive. Your student loans are so staggering that you wonder if someone accidentally added an extra zero when you weren't looking. Eventually, your worries about the future begin to erode the joy you feel in each moment. Your life is not sustainable, and your denial is no longer working. It's time to face the facts. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: justify;">Stage Two: Anger </h3><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The facts are not good, and you are not happy. In fact, you're angry. Angry at the inflation of tuition, which has made Sallie Mae a permanent part of your life. Angry with your parents, who did not teach you how money actually works. Angry about capitalism in general, which forces you to work within an unfair and inhuman system. Angry at your past self, for being young and dumb and irresponsible, and whose mistakes you must now pay off. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: justify;">Stage Three: Bargaining </h3><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Okay, you tell yourself. Anger is only helpful if I use it as motivation. I may have made mistakes in the past, but I'm smarter now. I'll only make good decisions from here on out. I'll make a budget and stick to it. I won't eat at any restaurants for the next ten years. I'll ride my bike as much as possible, and wear this cardigan even though it has holes in the sleeves, and skip holidays and birthdays, and eat lentils three days in a row, and start up a blog about budget living. I will embody thrift and frugality and watch my net worth rise like a phoenix from the ashes. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">(In case you were wondering, this is the stage I've been at for the last year or so. Which brings us - and me - to stage four.) </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: justify;">Stage Four: Depression </h3><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">You've been doing everything right, making sacrifices left and right. And it's working, but wow! is it slow going. As it turns out, racking up debt is a lot faster than paying it off. As a consequence, your passion and enthusiasm begin to lag. You're tired, plain and simple. Lentils, which you once lauded for being cheap, nutritions, and delicious, now turn your stomach. Your home, which you once appreciated for its low rent and reasonable comfort, now seems drab and dull. You watch your friends make big transitions - starting families, buying houses, publishing books, going on glamorous overseas trips - and you are jealous. Restless. And - yes - depressed. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">(Hello, stage four! How not-nice to see you.) </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: justify;">Stage Five: Acceptance </h3><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Acceptance looks different for everyone. In the original five stages of grief, it's described as an understanding that your life will never be the same after the death of a loved one, and that the reality you are left with is your "new normal." While facing your debt and embracing frugality is not even close to the trauma of as losing someone, acceptance is still a key moment. At this stage, you will recognize that budget living is not a phase, but a way of life. You won't emerge on the other side, ready and able to spend like you did when you were younger. You won't reward yourself for paying off debt by buying, for example, a sailboat. Instead, you will continue to save your pennies, watch your budget, and live within your means. This is your new normal. This is your life. Accept it, embrace it, and find joy in hard work and simple pleasures. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is the stage I'd like to reach, but I'm stuck somewhere between bargaining and depression. Which is... normal, I guess. On the bright side, writing this out has made me feel a bit better about my debt-free journey, slow as it may be. It takes some of the pressure off, too - I don't have to be perfect or thrilled about my life at every moment in order to share the ups and downs. I just have to be honest - with myself, my readers, and my wallet. That, I can do. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the meantime, tell me what stage you've reached, and how you plan to get to the next one - especially if you're sitting pretty at acceptance! </div>Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392552248911691182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13550259.post-48335282794306877392017-10-16T06:00:00.000-04:002017-10-16T14:03:05.077-04:005 Frugal Things: Back on Track<div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rIXsHncgcaU/WeOhz-2W7WI/AAAAAAAANGA/6pD6K72zzKIepacNQTlH_HVa_zgRAS3hQCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-10-15%2Bat%2B1.58.17%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="597" height="414" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rIXsHncgcaU/WeOhz-2W7WI/AAAAAAAANGA/6pD6K72zzKIepacNQTlH_HVa_zgRAS3hQCLcBGAs/s640/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-10-15%2Bat%2B1.58.17%2BPM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Camping at Carolina Beach State Park = Good, Cheap Fun</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Apparently starting a <a href="http://www.betterthannever.org/2017/09/how-learning-to-budget-helped-me-get.html" target="_blank">fancy, brand new job</a> means there is even less time for blogging than usual. Sorry for my silence these last few weeks! The good news is that I've settled into my new role and as a result I feel more energized about every area of my life. Exercise? Killing it. Writing? Every morning. Dinner? A masterpiece. It's amazing how fixing one part of your life improves everything. A rising tide, right? </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Even though I haven't been blogging regularly, I remain frugal and budget-minded. We took on some debt recently and after paying off our credit cards, seeing our net worth sink was not a good feeling. The current goal is get out of the red as fast as possible, which means continuing to live like I did not just get a big raise. That should be pretty easy, to be honest. Frugality is a habit and we've been practicing for pretty much our whole lives. Which brings us to these most recent frugal accomplishments. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h3>1. Chased down a freelance check. </h3><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I am still committed to cutting way back on freelance work, but before that change took hold I did one last big project for a friend of a friend of a friend. It only kind of wanted to do it, so I gave a pretty high quote for the work, thinking they wouldn't be able to afford me. Apparently their budget was bigger than mine, so off I went. Of course, the hardest part of freelance is actually getting the check, and it took a few polite reminders until they finally acknowledged my invoice. I put the money straight into savings, which we had to dip into for the <a href="http://www.betterthannever.org/2017/09/how-i-bought-used-car-on-budget.html" target="_blank">down payment on my car</a>, and that was a big help. </div><div><br /></div><div><h3>2. Wrote our booze budget on the fridge. </h3><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">While I am still fully committed to <a href="https://ynab.com/referral/?ref=A8Kwmnqr5Ve9IO8W&utm_source=customer_referral" target="_blank">YNAB</a> and check it multiple times a day, my husband remains supportive but hands-off. Like, he'll tell people how great YNAB is and how it changed our lives, but he does not open the app and look at our categories. Since the only thing he ever buys is beer and/or wine, I started jotting our booze budget balance on the dry erase board in the kitchen where I plan our weekly meals. So far, it is appearing to keep him in line. (Except for when he slips extra 1s and 0s in the total posted. I see you, Nathan.) </div></div><div><br /></div><div><h3>3. Joined The Produce Box. </h3><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">For the last year or so, my <a href="https://seekingmisadventure.com/" target="_blank">good friend Kat</a> has been getting her veggies via a weekly subscription to <a href="https://members.theproducebox.com/signup?referral=45870" target="_blank">The Produce Box</a> (<-- my referral link). It's basically a CSA, but the food comes from a variety of North Carolina farms and is delivered to your doorstep once a week. I haven't done the math, and it's almost certainly more expensive then just buying the same items at the grocery store, but I'm considering it a frugal win for a few reasons. First, when you eat 95% of your meals at home, it's easy to lose your cooking mojo, fall into a rut, and order a pizza. By getting a box of fresh ingredients each week, I feel excited and motivated to cook them. Second, budgets aren't just about spending less. They're about making sure you spend your money mindfully, in a way that aligns with your morals. Supporting small farms, getting produce locally, and eating veggies when they're in season makes me feel good about my choices and healthier, too. Plus my monthly grocery budget hasn't gone up as a result, so it's a win all around. </div></div><div><br /></div><div><h3>4. Paid off a small debt. </h3></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">About a year ago, I went to a chiropractor three times a week, for three months. My back had been bothering me for a while, and in a moment of desperation I got roped into an extensive and expensive treatment plan. Even though I stopped going months ago, I've continued to make monthly payments. I'm still not sold on chiropractic care (even though I must admit my back has been much better ever since) but I definitely felt the pain each time that automatic withdrawal hit. Which is why I'm so happy that I just made my last payment. Now I can put that money toward other things... like paying off my car faster. </div><br /></div><div><h3>5. Enjoyed free snacks at work. </h3><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The best part of my new job is that we have a fully stocked kitchen filled with all types of healthy snacks that are free for the taking. String cheese. Chobani yogurt. Snapea crisps. Luna bars. An espresso machine! As someone who lives for snacks and hates spending money, taking advantage of these freebies has been a wonderful and delicious perk. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">That's it for me! I'm hoping to get back to blogging once a week, so stay tuned for more adventures in the life of a late bloomer on a budget. </div></div>Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392552248911691182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13550259.post-5131383158722573982017-09-25T06:38:00.000-04:002017-09-25T06:38:50.556-04:00How Learning to Budget Helped Me Get a New Job<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KZyxsf1lAqw/WcUbs3FftVI/AAAAAAAANFc/JzCCn-_nz4cZtt8lJ6mcAl42iqsnBY85gCLcBGAs/s1600/pexels-photo-317377.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1132" height="424" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KZyxsf1lAqw/WcUbs3FftVI/AAAAAAAANFc/JzCCn-_nz4cZtt8lJ6mcAl42iqsnBY85gCLcBGAs/s640/pexels-photo-317377.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Those who follow me on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/thenewchrissy/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/thenewchrissy" target="_blank">Twitter</a> have already figured out the news. For those who prefer blog posts, I'm happy to share it here as well: I got a new job! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It all started with my budget. No, really. As you're probably well aware because I never shut up about it, I began using YNAB in May 2016 to manage my money, slay my debt, and become a budgeting superstar. (Want a referral code? <a href="https://app.youneedabudget.com/referral_program" target="_blank">Here you go</a>.) The YNAB method, in which you give every dollar a job and budget to zero, helped me understand how far my money actually went.<br /><br />At first this was thrilling. In the past, managing my money amounted to putting out fires and occasionally getting scorched. With YNAB, I was able to make decisions about how to spend my money in advance, stockpiling kindling for a controlled burn. (And with that, I believe this 🔥 metaphor is finished. Thank goodness.) </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Once our immediate emergencies (like <a href="http://www.betterthannever.org/2017/05/5-ways-to-pay-off-13k.html" target="_blank">paying off $13K in credit card debt</a> and <a href="http://www.betterthannever.org/2017/06/how-to-survive-on-one-income.html" target="_blank">learning to live on one income</a>) were handled, we started to look ahead. And the future... well... it didn't look great. Sure, my husband was back in school with the hopes of eventually landing a lucrative career, but my earning potential had stalled out. To make up the difference, I picked up a lot of <a href="http://www.betterthannever.org/2017/08/how-to-start-freelance-writing.html" target="_blank">freelance work</a> this past year. While the extra cash kept us from dipping into our savings, it wasn't sustainable - I was stressed out, overworked, and constantly juggling deadlines. Plus my own writing, which is incredibly important to me, suffered from lack of time and attention. A few months ago I realized that the side hustle lifestyle, despite the way it's glorified and celebrated, simply wasn't for me. I didn't want to hack my paycheck or monetize my free time. What I wanted was a job that paid enough, so I started looking for one.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ArI6S6LbeTY/WcUbuLFxKpI/AAAAAAAANFg/rGmxIjzzzqk5DrgqcZ6-yRfztaaqQ4GAACEwYBhgL/s1600/New%2BJob.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1102" data-original-width="735" height="900" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ArI6S6LbeTY/WcUbuLFxKpI/AAAAAAAANFg/rGmxIjzzzqk5DrgqcZ6-yRfztaaqQ4GAACEwYBhgL/s1600/New%2BJob.png" width="601" /></a></div><br />Job hunting, as I'm sure you know, is not a pleasant process. Everyone says that it's easier to find a job when you already have one, but I beg to differ. When you're already working 40 hours a week it's really hard to find the time and the motivation to pick through job boards, rewrite your cover letter, schedule screening calls, attend interviews, and write sample articles. (I was applying for marketing and content writing jobs.) Needless to say, my job search was a long and slow process, with a lot of false starts and shattered hopes. And then a really good opportunity opened up right here in Wilmington. The company is growing by leaps and bounds, a bunch of my friends already work there, the benefits are AMAZING, and the job description sounded as if it was written just for me. I applied. I interviewed. And reader - I got the job.<br /><br />Today is my first day as the Content and Social Media Specialist at a company that bills itself as the "worldwide leader in cloud banking." This position is in-house so, unlike the marketing agency where I previously worked, I only have one client to focus on. This will allow me to pitch more ambitious campaigns, all while taking a deep dive into the fintech world, carving out a niche for myself, and working for a company that truly values its employees.<br /><br />I'm grateful today for a lot of reasons, not least of which is YNAB. Budgeting my money showed me its value, which in turn made me question my own. If I wasn't so in tune to my finances I might not have realized how much I was worth, or found the motivation to make more. <br /><br /><b>When was the last time you started a new job? Any tips for my first week?</b> I don't love being the new person, but my company seems really good at onboarding new hires and preparing them for success. Another awesome bonus! </div>Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392552248911691182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13550259.post-50785325851958817762017-09-18T07:00:00.000-04:002017-09-18T07:00:18.730-04:00How I Bought a Used Car on a Budget<div style="text-align: justify;">Announcing that I bought a car on my budget living blog is kind of ironic, I know. But what if I told you I planned for this purchase, budgeted my dollars, and found a great deal? For someone who previously only bought cars from family members, I'm pretty proud of myself. Here's how it happened.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pI7NJCalEK0/Wb2bykA_1QI/AAAAAAAANFE/W4YmVZaZfRk9J_vBDsRY2D2P9LTERttTACLcBGAs/s1600/New%2BCar.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1102" data-original-width="735" height="900" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pI7NJCalEK0/Wb2bykA_1QI/AAAAAAAANFE/W4YmVZaZfRk9J_vBDsRY2D2P9LTERttTACLcBGAs/s1600/New%2BCar.png" width="601" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">First, some history. About twelve years ago, Nathan and I bought a 2005 Ford Escape from his parents. They had purchased it for themselves but their needs unexpectedly changed - unfortunate for them, awesome for us. The car was practically brand new, in excellent shape, and they sold it to us for a steal. (They are very kind and generous people.)<br /><br />For the next decade, we drove the hell out of that car. After 180K miles, multiple trips all over the country, two giant dogs that love to go for rides, and some strange sounds coming from the engine, it was clear that we were running on borrowed time. To prepare for its inevitable demise, I started a "New Car" category in <a href="https://ynab.com/referral/?ref=A8Kwmnqr5Ve9IO8W&utm_source=customer_referral" target="_blank">YNAB</a> about a year ago, diligently saving as much as we could. We were making great progress and my dreams of buying a used car in cash seemed within reach. Then we started <a href="http://www.betterthannever.org/2017/06/how-to-survive-on-one-income.html" target="_blank">living on one income</a>, and progress slowed significantly. The Escape, along with our savings account, limped along. And then our yearly inspection was due. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">To no one's surprise, the Escape failed spectacularly. I won't get into the nitty-gritty because this isn't an episode of <a href="http://amzn.to/2fng0La" target="_blank">Car Talk</a>, but suffice to say we were looking at $1500 of repairs just to<span id="goog_1866231186"></span><a href="https://draft.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_1866231187"></span> make it road-worthy. Instead, we decided to go ahead and buy the new car we'd been saving up for. While we didn't have quite enough to buy one outright, we did have a hefty down payment, along with whatever we could get for a trade in. Financing, we hoped, would be minimal. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Our criteria was as follows:<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">A used car from a dealer. </li><li style="text-align: justify;">Less than 50K miles. </li><li style="text-align: justify;">As fuel efficient as possible. </li><li style="text-align: justify;">2010 or newer. </li><li style="text-align: justify;">Something we could drive for the next ten years. </li></ul><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As you can see, we weren't that picky - we were open to pretty much anything that checked these boxes. We bank with USAA, and they have a great car buying tool that allows you to set parameters and search dealerships in your area. The same day the Escape failed inspection, I started searching to see what was available. Two cars in particular quickly rose to the top of my list - a 2016 Hyundai Elantra, and a 2014 Nissan Sentra. </div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Elantra was newer, a little fancier, yet $1500 cheaper. It had 50K miles, but didn't come with any kind of warranty, which made me nervous. The Sentra was in great shape, had only 25K miles, and came with a lifetime Powertrain warranty from the dealer, which ultimately sealed the deal. As our salesperson explained, most people only keep their cars for a few years, trading them in for something newer and shinier. Since we were planning to drive our car for the next decade, we would definitely take advantage of the warranty at some point. In other words: sold. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1Kf2LsSRAiY/Wb2YtSTjuEI/AAAAAAAANE4/U5CihBUO5r4p-PP7Ghs5AQPpzSRqmickACLcBGAs/s1600/nissan%2Bsentra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="755" data-original-width="1024" height="470" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1Kf2LsSRAiY/Wb2YtSTjuEI/AAAAAAAANE4/U5CihBUO5r4p-PP7Ghs5AQPpzSRqmickACLcBGAs/s640/nissan%2Bsentra.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My new-to-me car!</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">And because a budget blog is nothing without cold, hard numbers, here's what we spent on our 2014 Nissan Sentra: </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">Cost of car: $13,125 (included title, tags, and registration) </li><li style="text-align: justify;">Cash down payment: $7,000</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Trade in for Escape: $1,500</li><li style="text-align: justify;"><b>Total of car loan: $4,625</b></li></ul></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Our car payment is $136 a month, which means we will pay it off in three years. Except that's a pretty low payment for us, so we're aiming to pay it off in half that time. Obviously, I'll keep y'all updated. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Overall, buying a used car was a good experience for us. I'm sure if we'd looked longer or were "car people," we could have found something cooler/cheaper/better. But we didn't, and we're not, and after thinking long and hard about our goals, lifestyle, budget, and what was available, this car feels like the right fit. Plus it's cute. (Hey, budgeting doesn't have to be practical all the time!)<br /><br />The only negative (pun obviously intended) is seeing our bank account take a hit. Not only did we spent a large chunk of our savings, we also took on a not-tiny amount of debt. Thanks to YNAB's handy line graph of our net worth, the downward plunge is glaringly obvious. On the bright side, it's great motivation for paying it off as fast as possible.<br /><b><br /></b><b>What kind of car do you drive? Or are you one of those lucky people who are car-free?</b> We used to be a one-vehicle family, but Wilmington is just big enough and our public transportation is just terrible enough that it's hard to get by with one car. </div>Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392552248911691182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13550259.post-37216318562014955722017-09-14T13:35:00.000-04:002017-09-14T15:39:27.328-04:00Good Reads From Around the Web<div style="text-align: justify;">Here are some good reads I've been collecting over the past few weeks. Most of them are about work, food, writing, space, and activism. ✨<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lG2DeHXZ-4E/Wbq9hcjVttI/AAAAAAAANEA/aK1yADjuIssVz-ZR3FP_T-HHnQeo2HgkgCLcBGAs/s1600/saturn_rings4.en.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lG2DeHXZ-4E/Wbq9hcjVttI/AAAAAAAANEA/aK1yADjuIssVz-ZR3FP_T-HHnQeo2HgkgCLcBGAs/s640/saturn_rings4.en.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/saturn-rings/en/" target="_blank">photo credit</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/07/when-the-boss-says-dont-tell-your-coworkers-how-much-you-get-paid/374467/" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">When the Boss Says, 'Don't Tell Your Coworkers How Much You Get Paid',</a><span style="text-align: start;"> The Atlantic. </span><br /><span style="text-align: start;"><br /></span><span style="text-align: start;"><a href="https://www.thecut.com/2017/09/what-happens-to-ambition-in-your-30s.html" target="_blank">This is What Happens to Ambition in Your 30s</a>, The Cut. "The female dissatisfaction chronicled by Betty Friedan in The Feminine Mystique was prompted by a widespread awakening to the bullshit promises of domestic happiness, manufactured by culture to make female containment look good. Now another bullshit promise has taken its place, and another generation is waking up."</span><br /><span style="text-align: start;"><br /></span><span style="text-align: start;"><a href="https://www.wired.com/story/surviving-this-summer-on-the-internet" target="_blank">Surviving This Summer On The Internet</a>, Wired. I took Facebook off my phone a few months ago, and deleted Twitter a little while later. While I still spend plenty of time on social media thanks to my day job, it's harder to access when I'm out in the world or with friends. It's been a good change, and this article does a nice job explaining why. </span><br /><span style="text-align: start;"><br /></span><span style="text-align: start;"><a href="http://gizmodo.com/a-few-last-words-on-best-spacecraft-of-our-lives-befor-1803889697" target="_blank">A Few Last Words on the Best Spacecraft of Our Lives Before It Dies</a>, Gizmodo. Reading this made me feel sad yet hopeful - a rare combination these days. </span><br /><br /><a href="http://time.com/4891560/north-carolina-elections-supreme-court/" target="_blank">Democracy in North Carolina Could Disappear. Is Your State Next?</a>, Time. "[Republicans] passed aggressive gerrymanders that gave their party 10 of the closely divided state’s 13 congressional seats and super-majorities in both houses of the state legislature. They also sought to disenfranchise Democratic-leaning constituencies — especially African-Americans and young people — by imposing sweeping new voting restrictions, including cutbacks to early voting, strict voter ID requirements and reductions in voter registration opportunities." <br /><br /><a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/whitneyjefferson/vegetarian-instant-pot-recipes?utm_term=.qq2xYm5Y0#.uc8pzy3zq" target="_blank">23 Vegan Instant Pot Recipes</a>, Buzzfeed. Nathan got me an <a href="http://amzn.to/2gbp9tw" target="_blank">Instant Pot</a> for my birthday. It's the first new kitchen gadget I've gotten since our wedding five(!) years ago, and I can't wait to make delicious dinners in less than 15 minutes. First experiment on my list: steamed dumplings. Coconut yogurt is a close second.</div><br /><a href="https://www.thecut.com/2017/08/martha-stewart-interview-how-i-get-it-done.html" target="_blank">How I Get It Done: Martha Stewart</a>, The Cut. Is Martha the most productive woman in America? Probably.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.eater.com/2017/8/17/16146164/the-whiteness-of-artisanal-food-craft-culture" target="_blank">The White Lies of Craft Culture</a>, Eater. I love a good local beer as much as (and probably more than) the next person. This article made me think about my choices in a more nuanced way. Here's an excerpt: "[F]or a movement so vocally concerned with where things come from, the proprietors of craft culture often seem strangely uninterested in learning or conveying the stories of the people who first mastered those crafts."<br /><br /><a href="https://electricliterature.com/im-almost-40-and-still-getting-my-stories-rejected-am-i-running-out-of-time-cbff9d81659f" target="_blank">I'm Almost 40 and Still Getting My Stories Rejected. Am I Running Out of Time?</a>, Electric Literature. Spoiler alert: no.<br /><br /><br /></div>Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392552248911691182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13550259.post-92007225921402420222017-09-04T11:44:00.001-04:002017-09-05T11:40:51.292-04:00Traveling to the Path of Totality: Boneyard Beach, SC<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NNhtwCHoTYQ/WaqdCDkJe_I/AAAAAAAANCw/83fG2Ysdxg4nmOqmOyoIbEGBql1eveS7gCLcBGAs/s1600/P1040057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NNhtwCHoTYQ/WaqdCDkJe_I/AAAAAAAANCw/83fG2Ysdxg4nmOqmOyoIbEGBql1eveS7gCLcBGAs/s640/P1040057.JPG" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The first thing you need to know about my husband is that he does not like to do anything the easy way. If there is an opportunity for complicating a process via do-it-yourself ingenuity, or going above and beyond when it is completely not necessary, he's all for it. The North American eclipse on August 21st was no different. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nathan was the first person who told me about the eclipse - he started talking about it over a year ago. "No matter what's going on, we're taking that day off," he said. He was very excited because we live just three hours from the Path of Totality, which meant we had the rare chance to see the full show. "Cool," I said. I may have even shrugged. There was a lot going on at the time, and a solar eclipse was the last thing on my mind. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dm1ZZ7afhHY/WaqdEp6-M5I/AAAAAAAANC0/S9z3tsO7wAAag-uO2OpjkriRH5SS5rX4ACLcBGAs/s1600/P1040058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dm1ZZ7afhHY/WaqdEp6-M5I/AAAAAAAANC0/S9z3tsO7wAAag-uO2OpjkriRH5SS5rX4ACLcBGAs/s640/P1040058.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Fast forward a year, and Nathan has been plotting our trip for months, finally coming up with a perfectly complicated plan. We, along with our friend Chris, would wake at three in the morning on Monday, August 21st. We'd hop into Chris's truck, which would already be loaded up with our kayaks. We'd drive three hours to Awendaw, South Carolina, where there was a boat launch into Bulls Bay. From there, we'd kayak about four miles to the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refugee and land on Bulls Island. After that, it would be a three or four mile hike along a pristine shore to <a href="http://www.bullsislandferry.com/index.php?page=boneyard-beach" target="_blank">Boneyard Beach</a>, a stretch of sand peppered with trees bleached by the sun and weathered by salty air. Websites refer to this area as "a living Dali painting" which, Nathan insisted, was an ideal location for viewing something as strange and surreal as a solar eclipse. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vC3pIvei0gE/WaqdB5OS2NI/AAAAAAAANCo/ipTfFhtNib4P2aRC0r0_O7OALBvQhhVLwCLcBGAs/s1600/P1040052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vC3pIvei0gE/WaqdB5OS2NI/AAAAAAAANCo/ipTfFhtNib4P2aRC0r0_O7OALBvQhhVLwCLcBGAs/s640/P1040052.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Did you catch that? We're talking six hours of driving, eight miles of kayaking, and six or seven miles of hiking. And all this the day after I got back from a week-long trip to see my family in New York. Needless to say, I was less than enthusiastic. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">"Why can't we just stay in Wilmington and watch it?" I asked. "The sun is going to be 96% covered here. Is another 4% really going to make that much of a difference?" </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">"I know I'm being a fanatic about this," Nathan said. "But if ever there was a thing to be fanatic about, this is it." </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">"Fine," I said. "This eclipse better be worth it." </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Spoiler alert: it was totally worth it. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IIQ_ujd3WoY/WaqdF567LxI/AAAAAAAANC8/jyUtQzSeNQEF48g41jfP8ydI82kkmDYJQCLcBGAs/s1600/P1040065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IIQ_ujd3WoY/WaqdF567LxI/AAAAAAAANC8/jyUtQzSeNQEF48g41jfP8ydI82kkmDYJQCLcBGAs/s640/P1040065.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Nathan's plan went off without a hitch. We arrived at our destination in South Carolina, sleepy and excited, at about 6:30 in the morning. Already the parking lot of the boat launch was filling with cars and trailers - we were luck to get a spot. A ferry taxied folks over to Bulls Island, while other people took their own boats out on the water. We were one of the only groups with kayaks, and with good reason - it was a long, hard paddle. Thanks to a wrong turn through marshes and inlets, it took us about four hours to reach the island. It was a beautiful day, though - a little overcast, humid but with a nice breeze. When we finally pulled our boats onto shore, my arms cried out in gratitude. </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SPZtlK_3dW4/WaqdIZoGT_I/AAAAAAAANDI/UT6l61iNEp8JUnazOjmLK_uzpi-aAZoxgCLcBGAs/s1600/P1040095.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SPZtlK_3dW4/WaqdIZoGT_I/AAAAAAAANDI/UT6l61iNEp8JUnazOjmLK_uzpi-aAZoxgCLcBGAs/s640/P1040095.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The walk to Boneyard Beach was easy and pleasant, thanks to a few beers we drank on the way. (Gotta stay hydrated.) When we finally reached the gnarled trees, I definitely felt like I was in a Dali painting, or maybe on the set of Jurassic Park. We found a good spot on the beach among the white branches and upturned roots, went swimming in the warm water, had lunch, and waited for the eclipse to begin. </div><br /><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ieO7B2-dQL4/WaqdKQfCt-I/AAAAAAAANDU/lyAhHciUIQAPmrkcUewRc9Y1wnNNeZEHgCLcBGAs/s1600/P1040110.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ieO7B2-dQL4/WaqdKQfCt-I/AAAAAAAANDU/lyAhHciUIQAPmrkcUewRc9Y1wnNNeZEHgCLcBGAs/s640/P1040110.JPG" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Because we were in the very center of the Path of Totality, we would witness three full minutes of total solar eclipse, beginning at 2:43 p.m. At around 1:30 p.m. we could see it beginning with the help of our NASA-approved glasses. One thing that surprised me was how bright the day remained as the moon's shadow closed in on the sun. Even when only a sliver of the sun remained, it was still very clearly day time. I thought the eclipse would happen gradually, the afternoon darkening as time ticked by. Instead it didn't get truly dark until the moment the moon eclipsed the sun, and then it happened almost instantly. We tore off our glasses and watched the sky in awe. We saw it all - the sun's corona a brilliant white circle behind the moon, the solar flares erupting around the edges. To the west of us, heat lightening sparked, making the whole experience even more surreal and beautiful. Because we were on the coast in South Carolina, we were among the last people in America to see the eclipse, which felt significant. A farewell party, honoring it one last time before it disappeared over the ocean. </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SYVpY0awaqo/WaqdH1Epi1I/AAAAAAAANDE/ayTFxYD_9L44ZeoZnolDx5H_HYVVCSeMgCLcBGAs/s1600/P1040098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="968" data-original-width="1600" height="386" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SYVpY0awaqo/WaqdH1Epi1I/AAAAAAAANDE/ayTFxYD_9L44ZeoZnolDx5H_HYVVCSeMgCLcBGAs/s640/P1040098.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fF_kVRpXUpc/WaqdIq-jHPI/AAAAAAAANDM/uT17p21MFCgdheY5MQVfVF4VC6Q-GLMPACLcBGAs/s1600/P1040109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fF_kVRpXUpc/WaqdIq-jHPI/AAAAAAAANDM/uT17p21MFCgdheY5MQVfVF4VC6Q-GLMPACLcBGAs/s640/P1040109.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">And then the shadow moved away, the sun reappeared, and the day grew bright again. Almost as quickly as it had happened, it was over. We hung out for a little while longer, then began the long trek home the same way we'd come, but different than we'd been. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">And for the record, I'm glad Nathan made this trip complicated. Those three miraculous minutes made the whole journey worth it. </div>Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392552248911691182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13550259.post-60616267897775755292017-08-30T10:29:00.000-04:002017-08-30T14:26:57.860-04:00How to Start Freelance Writing<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l6RLYA299tM/WabKiicWqsI/AAAAAAAANCY/KIAJ2YZHpDwoLwu5z7R9LPfIbbFkq6W0ACLcBGAs/s1600/pexels-photo-317156.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1125" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l6RLYA299tM/WabKiicWqsI/AAAAAAAANCY/KIAJ2YZHpDwoLwu5z7R9LPfIbbFkq6W0ACLcBGAs/s640/pexels-photo-317156.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />After reading roughly one million personal finance blogs, you begin to hear a common reframe. "A side hustle will help you get out of debt, save for emergencies, and retire early." While I have some issues with the idea of glorifying the side hustle (wouldn't it be great if we all made enough money at our regular full time jobs?) I must admit the truth. Freelancing on the side helped us to wipe our credit card debt, and allows us to successfully <a href="http://www.betterthannever.org/2017/06/how-to-survive-on-one-income.html" target="_blank">live off one income</a>. As it turns out, the best way to make progress on your financial goals is to make more money. </div><br /><a href="http://www.betterthannever.org/2017/05/5-ways-to-pay-off-13k.html" target="_blank"><b>Related</b>: 5 Ways to Pay Off $13K</a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">A number of people, online and IRL, have asked me for advice on freelancing - how I got started, how to do it successfully, and how to actually make money at it. While every person's experience will be different, I hope my story answers some questions, puts things in perspective, and helps other decide whether the freelance lifestyle is for them. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: justify;">How (and Why) I Started Freelancing </h3><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My freelance journey began in late 2013. I was about to start my last year of graduate school and spent a lot of time thinking about what I wanted to do once I'd finally earned that bright and shiny MFA in creative writing. The city where I live doesn't have the best job market, and I wasn't keen on spending 40 hours a week in an office. Instead, I decided I would try to earn my keep as a full time freelance writer. Had I ever written for money before? Not really. Did I have a background in business or marketing? Nope. Was I a good writer? Yes, of course - I wouldn't have scuttled my career and gone into debt for an MFA if I didn't think I was talented. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I knew that diving in to freelance life the day after I graduated probably wasn't a good idea. It would be better to ramp up slowly, get my feet wet, and figure out what the hell I was doing before my rent depended on my success. Just as I was wondering how to do this, an acquaintance posted to Facebook that a local woman she'd been freelancing for was looking for a new writer, and was anyone interested? I messaged the acquaintance, met with the local woman, and landed my first client. I started working for her in January 2014, ghostwriting 600 word blog posts for small businesses for $50 a pop. It wasn't a lot of money, but it was something. More importantly, it gave me the confidence and the clips I needed to get more work. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: justify;">Ramping Up My Freelance Empire </h3><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As graduation loomed, I knew I needed to find more clients. At this point, Google was my best friend. I stalked places where jobs might be posted, such as <a href="https://www.craigslist.org/about/sites" target="_blank">Craigslist</a> and <a href="https://problogger.com/jobs/" target="_blank">ProBlogger</a>. I decided early on that my minimum rate was $0.10 a word, which worked out to $50 per 500 words. At this point I was mostly interested in blogging, since I'd been writing on the web for over a decade and felt comfortable in online spaces. As I applied for jobs and read more about what I was trying to do, I discovered the term "content marketing" and realized the career I thought I'd made up was already a real thing. (Want to learn more about content marketing? I highly recommend <a href="https://blog.hubspot.com/" target="_blank">Hubspot</a>. <a href="https://contently.com/" target="_blank">Contently</a> is also a great resource, and offers slick portfolio services for free - <a href="https://christinehennessey.contently.com/" target="_blank">here's mine</a>.) I sent letter of interest to local businesses I liked, telling them I was available for hire and including specific examples of how I could help them increase sales or leads or brand awareness. (I learned a lot of marketing buzzwords, which helped.) And I pitched ideas to all the local print magazines - because I live in a touristy town, we have quite a few. A number of these panned out, which was great. Local publications offer less competition and the pay was better, plus I got to write about things in my own community. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Early on, I landed what is known as an "anchor client" - a regular gig that made up roughly 50% of my income. I was writing about alcohol for a local startup, and it was an awesome opportunity that I held for nine months. Even though I was only part time, I had office space, company lunches, and all the free wine I could drink. (I can drink a lot.) Between this client, the local woman I was still writing for, my various other assignments, and a class I was teaching at the university, I was making decent money. (Before taxes, that is.) Everything seemed to be going pretty well, and then the inevitable happened. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: justify;">Losing My Anchor Client </h3><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Yup. The startup that was filling my pockets and making big promises? They cut the blog I'd been writing and decided to put their marketing dollars elsewhere. No hard feelings - business is business - but my bank account felt otherwise. Losing 50% of my income was pretty devastating, especially since I was still fairly new to freelancing. When I started, I didn't have a cushion built up in my savings account, or an emergency fund I could draw from during lean times. We were living paycheck to paycheck, which is a precarious way to run a business. At this point, I realized how naive I'd been. I assumed my empire would continue to grow, without planning for inevitable setbacks or slow months. You might say it was a wake up call. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">When you're a full time freelancer, you never stop looking for new clients and pitching stories to publications. I kept doing that, but I also started looking for full time jobs in Wilmington. At this point, I had a decent portfolio of work and a good understanding of marketing, which could make up for the fact that I didn't have a background in business or communications. I wasn't giving up exactly, but realizing that freelancing full time is a lot harder than it looks. The constant hustle ate up so much time, and cut into the time I spent on my own, non-paying projects - like writing a novel. I wanted more balance in my life, and working for someone else seemed like a good way to find it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: justify;">Full Time Job + Successful Side Hustle</h3><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Reader, <a href="http://www.betterthannever.org/2015/03/another-new-beginning.html" target="_blank">I got the job</a>. While I missed many things about freelancing (working from home, making my own schedule, going to yoga in the middle of the day) there were many other things I was glad to leave behind (constantly pitching to new clients, waiting for checks to finally arrive, wondering if I would make enough to pay my rent). The best part, however, was that the freedom of a dependable salary made freelancing on the side so much more enjoyable. Yes, that's right - despite my new job, I kept up my side hustle, and continue to hustle to this day. The difference is that now, I can be picky about the extra work I take on. I only write for publications I really love, like <a href="https://www.thebillfold.com/2017/08/im-halfway-through-my-30s-and-ive-made-a-terrible-mistake/" target="_blank">The Billfold</a>, or for those that paid very well, like the local print magazines. If I go on vacation using my hard earned PTO (no such thing for freelancers!) I can take a break from freelance without feeling guilty. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This balance - the steady job and the side hustle - had been great for both my sanity and my bank account. It keeps my skills sharp and allows me to add to my freelance portfolio, and the extra cash (around $300 to $500 a month) is extremely helpful, especially for long term needs, like a new used car or a Nebraska wedding. Of course, freelance work ebbs and flows. Sometimes I don't have a due date in sight, while other times (like this summer) I'm overworked and stressed out because I took on too much. Finding that balance is (never mind finding time to work on my own projects) is something I'm still working on.<br /><br /><b>Do you have a side hustle? How much extra does it pull in? Have you figured out how to strike that perfect balance yet? If so, will you share your secrets with me?</b> I could certainly use them.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Pq9K0_NXGAg/WabKikOvWII/AAAAAAAANCU/CnZbNVPRRsYd23tk6Rfn8TONHF9oIqtaACLcBGAs/s1600/Freelancing.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1102" data-original-width="735" height="900" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Pq9K0_NXGAg/WabKikOvWII/AAAAAAAANCU/CnZbNVPRRsYd23tk6Rfn8TONHF9oIqtaACLcBGAs/s1600/Freelancing.png" width="601" /></a></div><br /></div><br />Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392552248911691182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13550259.post-63319889001698291472017-08-15T10:11:00.000-04:002017-08-19T09:01:14.305-04:00Learning to Live with Intention<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1_DCZA_UCeY/WZL5QZDS_AI/AAAAAAAANBQ/eMfi6dNtWnIb6vHzstkfqqUxgXTpbz7pgCLcBGAs/s1600/Living%2BIntentionally.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1102" data-original-width="735" height="900" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1_DCZA_UCeY/WZL5QZDS_AI/AAAAAAAANBQ/eMfi6dNtWnIb6vHzstkfqqUxgXTpbz7pgCLcBGAs/s1600/Living%2BIntentionally.png" width="601" /></a></div><br />A few weeks ago <a href="http://www.betterthannever.org/2017/08/this-is-35.html" target="_blank">I turned 35</a>. If we've talked, emailed, tweeted, or chatted recently, you already know that this birthday, more than any other, has sparked a lot of thoughts and ideas. I've been jokingly referring to it as an "existential crisis," but that's not entirely true. I don't feel like I'm in crisis - more like I've reached a moment of reckoning. Despite my <a href="https://www.thebillfold.com/2017/08/im-halfway-through-my-30s-and-ive-made-a-terrible-mistake/" target="_blank">lackluster professional career</a> I'm an ambitious person with big dreams, and there's something about 35 that has a distinct "now or never" feeling. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the one hand, I know this is dumb. Age is arbitrary, everyone is different, and milestones are, at best, a moving target. Still. This birthday seems to have lit a fire within me, and I'd rather embrace it than question it. Which is why I'm deeming my 35th year as the one in which I learn to live intentionally. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One of my favorite quotes comes from Annie Dillard, a brilliant writer and fascinating person. Back in grad school, I read <i>The Writing Life</i> and this passage was and remains one of my favorites:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote class="tr_bq">"I have been looking into schedules. Even when we read physics, we inquire of each least particle, What then shall I do this morning? How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing. A schedule defends from chaos and whim. It is a net for catching days. It is a scaffolding on which a worker can stand and labor with both hands at sections of time. A schedule is a mock-up of reason and order - willed, faked, and so brought into being; it is a peace and a haven set into the wreck of time; it is a lifeboat on which you find yourself, decades later, still living. Each day is the same, so you remember the series afterward as a blurred and powerful pattern."</blockquote>This quote is shared all the time, by a hundred people a day. Search Google images, and you'll find that central idea - "How we spend our days, of course, is how we spend our lives" - photoshopped onto a countless images of the ocean. As an example, I made one in less than two minutes. Feel free to pin it.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-av5us19GMXQ/WZQktHlgnmI/AAAAAAAANBw/3pZcxsdNYtwCdF81cvvlspDVKylys3BNQCLcBGAs/s1600/How%2Bwe%2Bspent%2Bour%2Bdays%2Bis%252C%2Bof%2Bcourse%252C%2Bhow%2Bwe%2Bspend%2Bour%2Blives.%2BAnnie%2BDillard.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-av5us19GMXQ/WZQktHlgnmI/AAAAAAAANBw/3pZcxsdNYtwCdF81cvvlspDVKylys3BNQCLcBGAs/s640/How%2Bwe%2Bspent%2Bour%2Bdays%2Bis%252C%2Bof%2Bcourse%252C%2Bhow%2Bwe%2Bspend%2Bour%2Blives.%2BAnnie%2BDillard.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />While I like this snippet, it's context of the quote that I find even more powerful. The idea that routine, that scourge of free spirits, is precisely the thing that gives our lives meaning and shape. "A schedule defends from chaos and whim. It is a net for catching days." As someone who feels unmoored without her paper to-do list and color coded Google calendar, this is good news.<br /><br />And here is where I make a confession: despite my penchant for schedules, routines, and plans, I've allowed myself to become lazy. I used to get up early every morning and work on my novel. These last few months I've been sleeping late, hitting snooze until I'm rushing to get to work on time. I used to <a href="http://www.betterthannever.org/2017/05/how-to-take-perfect-lunch-break.html" target="_blank">make mason jar salads every Sunday</a> and eat them for lunch while reading a good library book. Lately, I zap a veggie burger in the office microwave and mindlessly eat it at my desk while scrolling through Twitter. Once upon a time I <a href="http://www.betterthannever.org/search/label/race%20reports" target="_blank">trained for marathons</a>. These days, it takes all my energy to make it to <a href="http://www.betterthannever.org/2017/05/why-ill-never-cancel-my-gym-membership.html" target="_blank">the YMCA</a> more than twice a week.<br /><br />So what happened? Nothing specific - just the slow loosening of discipline. An object in motion stays in motion, and I slowed down. Part of it was circumstance. Money had been tight and I've been distracted by finding more freelance work and worry about the future. Part of it was the election, and the feeling that nothing I do actually matters, so why bother. Part of it was a series of rejections and disappointments that took the wind out of my sails. But these are all excuses, and I can see, suddenly and clearly, that they are not good enough.<br /><br />I want to reclaim those hard won habits, get back on a schedule, and work toward a routine that is productive and affirming and results in good work and good health. Here is what that looks like for me:<br /><br /><ul><li><b>Wake up early and write.</b> I want to be at my desk by 5:30AM every weekday, armed with a cup of coffee and ready to write. The mornings are my most creative time, and too often I squander them by staying up late to watch one more episode of a show, drinking one more glass of wine, or laying in bed and scrolling through Twitter for an extra half hour when I should be falling asleep. To avoid these road blocks, I'm going to limit alcohol during the week, go to bed by 9:30PM, and sleep with my phone in another room. As my dear friend Nicola said, "I can end my 30s well rested, or with a published book." I choose book. </li></ul><div><br /></div><ul><li><b>Read more books.</b> I am firm believer in the idea that reading good books is a key part of writing good books. So far, 2017 has been a slow reading year for me - I'm only at 17 books. There are currently 19 weeks left in the year, so my goal from now until December is to read 15 more. This is not an impossible goal - especially if it encourages me to watch less television, stop squandering lunch breaks, and unplug from social media. Three birds, one stone.</li></ul><div><br /></div><ul><li><b>Get into fighting shape</b>. A few years ago, a favorite blogger talked about the idea of <a href="http://therewm.com/2013/10/23/fighting-shape-workout-motivation/" target="_blank">"fighting shape"</a> as a baseline level of fitness at which we feel good and capable and strong. I love this idea. These days I see fitness less as an exercise in vanity, and more as a way to ensure I'm capable of achieving my goals. When I'm fit and strong, and think more clearly, feel more optimistic, and have more energy for my goals. Lately, "fighting shape" has taken on a new layer - I want to be strong, mentally and physically, for the good of my inner life, but also for my outer life. In the last year or so, that includes the ongoing resistance against racism, bigotry, and white nationalism. This year I will get back to that place and make myself stronger so I can do more and help more. </li></ul><div><br /></div><div>That's pretty much it. While this list of intentions may seem short, I'll have to work hard to maintain focus and momentum. And that's okay. I'm building "a scaffolding on which a worker can stand and labor with both hands at sections of time." I am ready and willing and excited to change. </div></div>Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392552248911691182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13550259.post-10417650468570916532017-08-12T07:00:00.000-04:002017-08-12T07:00:33.700-04:00Weekends Reads From Around the Web <div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-liRubaNeJQw/WY4Bm6V2P-I/AAAAAAAANA0/PyaVRYmZaA8JxgfZEzV_dcgwC3JA8unUACLcBGAs/s1600/dragonfly-insect-animal-wing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1125" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-liRubaNeJQw/WY4Bm6V2P-I/AAAAAAAANA0/PyaVRYmZaA8JxgfZEzV_dcgwC3JA8unUACLcBGAs/s640/dragonfly-insect-animal-wing.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i>Some things I read and liked this past week... </i><br /><br /><a href="http://lithub.com/writers-protect-your-inner-life/" target="_blank">Writers, Protect Your Inner Life</a>, LitHub. "We’re living in a culture in which the Wall Street Journal publishes a front-page article about a dermatologist who pops pimples on Youtube, getting 2.4 million subscribers. As guardian of our inner lives, we must protect our inner selves from the Pavlovian part of us that responds, “2.4 million subscribers!” We must instead remember St. Exupery’s words that “what is essential is invisible to the eye.” We must wall off our inner selves from the colonizing part that assesses, quantifies, judges."<br /><br /><a href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/296898" target="_blank">How to Spend the Last Ten Minutes of Your Work Day</a>, Entrepreneur. I've started doing some of these (brain dump + a list for the next day) and I already feel more productive and less stressed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><a href="https://qz.com/1039331/mlms-like-avon-and-lularoe-are-sending-people-into-debt-and-psychological-crisis/" target="_blank">Multilevel-marketing companies like LuLaRoe are forcing people into debt and psychological crisis</a>, Quartz. "This isn’t a story about leggings, however. It’s not even a story about LuLaRoe. This is the story of rural and suburban disenfranchisement and the MLMs that offer desperate American women a chance at clawing their way out."<br /><br /><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/08/smarter-living/what-to-say-when-people-ask-why-you-arent-having-children.html" target="_blank">What to Say When People Ask Why You Aren’t Having Children</a>, New York Times. <br /><br /><a href="https://electricliterature.com/the-epilogue-of-the-handmaids-tale-changes-everything-you-thought-you-knew-about-the-book-82c67bc42888" target="_blank">The Epilogue of 'The Handmaid's Tale' Changes Everything You Thought You Knew About the Book</a>, Electric Literature."A big part of the horror of The Handmaid’s Tale is that, despite the suffering that women endure, future society regards the treatment of Gilead’s women as a simple fact of history; something to be learned about rather than cautioned against."<br /><br /><a href="https://www.dailyworth.com/posts/i-make-6000-a-month-freelancing" target="_blank">I Make $6,000 a Month Freelancing</a>, Daily Worth. Some good advice here, especially if you're new to the freelance lifestyle or considering taking the plunge. Related reading: <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/freelance-achievement-stickers" target="_blank">Freelance Achievement Stickers</a>.<br /><br /><a href="https://fsgworkinprogress.com/2012/06/how-to-have-a-career-advice-to-young-writers/" target="_blank">How to Have a Career: Advice to Young Writers</a>, Sarah Manguso. "Be relentless. All over the world, people are working harder than you." <br /><br /><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/08/annie-dillards-total-eclipse/536148/" target="_blank">Annie Dillard's Classic Essay "Total Eclipse"</a>, The Atlantic. We'll be traveling to the PATH OF TOTALITY for the big event on August 21st. In the meantime I'm psyching myself up with this amazing essay. The Atlantic will keep it up until the 22nd, so read it while you can!<br /><br /><a href="https://www.thebillfold.com/2017/08/im-halfway-through-my-30s-and-ive-made-a-terrible-mistake/" target="_blank">I'm Halfway Through My 30s and I've Made a Terrible Mistake</a>, The Billfold. I published this short essay on The Billfold last week and it seems to have struck a nerve. Let me know what you think. </div>Chrissyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07392552248911691182noreply@blogger.com