This Week’s BIG Idea
Like most people, I’ve always felt uncomfortable talking about money. Since I’ve started reading about the topic though, my opinion has changed drastically. Books like Your Money or Your Life, I Will Teach You to Be Rich, and Quit Like a Millionaire taught me that there’s value in having those discussions. At times, I thought I had a money obsession, but I don’t think that’s it. It’s not about money, it’s about what money enables you to do.
So I’ve been thinking about documenting my journey toward financial independence and I was wondering if that’s something people are interested in. After all, there are numerous blogs, subreddits, and YouTube channels dedicated to the same topic. What can I add to the discussion that hasn’t been brought up before? Is the purpose to add something new or to simply document my journey? Maybe talking about money could become an easier subject to discuss if I write about it regularly.
What I’m Working on
I’ve been thinking a lot about the content I post on the site. Ideally, the summaries you see here satisfy two areas: what I love writing and what you love reading. I wrote about this before and I even summarized it in the form of a nice Venn diagram. That said, this is easy to overlook. This is why it’s so important to take time to reflect and go back to the basics. Sometimes I see new opportunities that don’t excite me, but they could attract a lot of people. That’s when I go back to the aforementioned diagram and I look at the two parts. One part isn’t enough, you have to have the two to make the system work.
What I’m Listening to
Cowboy Bebop (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack): I love listening to soundtracks when I transcribe articles. That said, I often find myself listening to the same albums over and over again. It’s been hard to find new soundtracks to listen to and usually, when I sit down to work, I don’t want to spend time seeing if I’m going to like this or that. My favorite soundtracks so far include Ninja Gaiden: The Definite Soundtrack, the soundtrack of Studio Ghibli films, and music from Cowboy Bebop.
What I’m Reading
Playing with Fire by Scott Rieckens: when going to work, Rieckens listened to a podcast episode where Tim Ferriss interviews Mr. Money Mustache and it changed his life. From that moment on, Rieckens decided to leave his house, quit his job, and cut his expenses in half to become a member of the FIRE movement (financial independence retire early). For those unfamiliar, this subculture is about extreme saving so that you can retire as early as possible and live off small withdrawals from your investments. Playing with Fire is more of a memoir than a personal finance book that will teach you the ins and outs of FIRE. That said, you can learn a lot from reading it if you’re interested in retiring early.
What I’m Watching
Halo (Season 2): I’ve written at length about my relationship with entertainment. I have this tendency to feel guilty whenever I consume something that’s “unproductive”. This includes games, movies, shows, and so on. Sometimes, that’s exactly what one needs. With that in mind, I just heard that the first two episodes of the second season of the Halo television series are out. The first season wasn’t great, but I still enjoyed its campy nature. The show is available on Paramount+ and you can watch the first episode on Paramount+’s YouTube channel for free.
This Week’s Quote
“The more things you have, the more things you have to manage. Simplicity isn’t merely cheaper, it’s easier. Stop paying so much attention to what everyone else is doing and run your own race. How much time is spent reading other people’s posts on social media, watching other people’s exploits in the news, listening to other people’s ideas on podcasts? Go have coffee with a friend. Go make something. Go outside. All those hours spent looking at someone else’s life on a screen could be used to take action in your own life.”
James Clear
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