Cheers! It’s Friday!
Welcome to the Weekly Quick Hits Roundup!
If you’re new here, every week I write a weekly wrap-up of things that were going on here at Young Adult Money, a few personal updates/thoughts, and finally a few posts I read this week that I thought were worth sharing.
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We also have our giveaway roundup every Friday. This Friday there are 93 giveaways listed this week that end today (6/6) through next Thursday (6/12).
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Happy Friday everyone!
Here are some updates, thoughts, and more:
- Rental Income – My wife and I were elated when our renter renewed their lease for another year! Such a great feeling of not having to go through the process of finding another one for the next year.
- Interviewing/Job Search – Ongoing. I’m being very picky with the next position I take. Within my company alone there are a number of positions I could see myself taking. I wish I could say more about it at this time, but can’t because the process is ongoing.
- Balance – I received mixed reaction from my post Why a Balanced Life is Overrated. I still like the idea of “seasons” more so than balance, but I also have to admit that I’m looking at it through the lens of someone who does not have children.
I think putting children in the equation changes things. I think kids need as much balance and stability as they can get. Part of the reason I don’t want kids right now is because I want to focus on my career, personal development (mainly for my career and side hustles), and other priorities in my life (such as spending time with my wife). Not that you can’t do all these things with kids, but having kids obviously impacts your life and ability to embrace opportunities that require imbalance.
Below are the posts we published this week:
- On Monday I explained Why a Balanced Life is Overrated.
- On Tuesday Shannon shared 3 Money Practices that Ruin Relationships.
- On Wednesday Cat shared What’s the Most Cost Effective Trip: Cruise, Road Trip, or Plane?.
- On Thursday I explained How Complaining Saved Me Thousands of Dollars
Posts of the Week:
As usual, here are five posts from around the blogosphere that I enjoyed:
- E.M. from Journey to Saving had a moving and motivating post in Pushing the Boundaries
- Travis from Enemy of Debt asked How Much Does It Cost Businesses To Allow Credit and Debit Card Payments?
- Deb from Debt Debs had some great analogies in Curve Balls – When You Are Hit With Unexpected Financial Events
- Nikki from Debt Busting Chick laid it out in Being Transparent: The Truth About My Debt
- Raquel from Practical Cents shared My Story: From Renter to Homeowner
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Tell me something good that happened this week! Any big plans for June? If you have kids, did it change the way you view balance?
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Photo by Sam Howzit
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Thanks for sharing my ba$eball inspired post, DC! I understand how you feel about renting your basement apartment. I always feel stressed until I know that we have our basement rented for the next coop work term. So glad it’s Friday today! Yay!
Hey DC, thanks for the roundup, I’ll have to check the posts out. So the upgrade in the job is still ongoing huh? Good luck!
Congrats on getting the renters to sign for another year! It’s such a great relief and saves you the money of having to advertise your space. Having my child didn’t necessarily change the way I viewed balance, he just made the “balancing” process more difficult, because now I have yet another area of my life I need to give attention and his attention is usually taken from my hubby’s and that makes hubby feel left out. Again, I think you can never really win at the balancing game, you just have to do the best you can, when you can. Have an awesome weekend!!
Congrats on getting the renewal on your rental, that’s got to feel great! Something good that happened this week…we did put a pretty big chunk of cash in our SEPs so that was good. :) I’d say that having kids really didn’t change much in terms of balance or how I viewed it. It just gave us more people to juggle and think of in light of that. But, so much of it comes down to choices and priorities for us at the end of the day. Have a great weekend DC!
I think even when some people do have kids, they don’t find or strive for balance. My producer is one of those people. He has four kids and he works so much but then does something like a weekend away, but to me it;s how you interact daily that really matters. You can’t make up for lost time.
One good thing was the Kings winning game one! :)
Balance, the thing most people want. I don’t think it’s overrated but it can be difficult to obtain for many.
I started using duolingo to learn Portugues this week! Yay. I always wanted to learn more of that language. Thanks for mentioning my post! Have a great weekend!
Congrats on your renter renewing the lease. That is great news. I bet that saves you a ton of time and effort in having to get a new renter. I’m not sure if I have any really good news but I am hoping to hit up happy hour tonight and have a drink or two on a patio tonight.
I’m holding off on kids for the same reasons. I need the freedom of no obligations (especially financial) to live the way I want- at least for now.
I’m glad your renter renewed! That’s awesome. I agree about kids – right now, that’s not where my focus is at all. I think everyone has a slightly different perspective on what balance means to them, but I do think the seasons make sense, especially when I think of college. Thanks for including my post; have a great weekend!
debt debs Did not know you rented out your basement, always nice to hear about others who have a similar setup. Have a great weekend!
Joshua Rodriguez It’s a long process, and I’m being very picky/careful about what role I take on next. Hope you have a great weekend!
blonde_finance Thanks for sharing your perspective on balance. I’m curious to see what my thoughts are when I do end up having kids. Hope you have a great weekend as well!
I think you are completely right to not want kids while you know your focus needs to be elsewhere. Your balance will be totally reset when the time comes, so this is the perfect time to get ahead of the curve. Have a great weekend!
FrugalRules Congrats on putting away some cash in your SEPs! It’s definitely a good feeling to have the renter locked in for another year. That’s cash flow we can accurately forecast and (hopefully) depend on.
Beachbudget Hmm that’s interesting about your producer, and I could see myself doing something similar where I work hard on a project/task and then take some extended time off to be with my kids and family. Might not be realistic, but I could see myself doing it.
Raquel@Practical Cents Nice! I always wanted to become fluent in Spanish, but simply can’t justify pursuing it right now. Maybe if I was “set” financially and had time to pursue things that won’t necessarily pay off. Hope you have a great weekend as well!
BudgetforMore Patios are great! I haven’t really gotten into them, though, because I’ve had such bad allergies in the past :0 Kind of lame, but it’s something I have to deal with. Hope you have a great weekend!
brokeandbeau Yep we are on the same page on that one. I don’t see any huge rush. I also plan on adopting eventually so I also don’t feel a huge need to have my own biological kids.
JourneytoSaving No problem about including your post! Kids definitely are not my focus, though plenty of my friends are focused on them haha. Hope you have a great weekend as well.
Eyesonthedollar Glad you (and others) can see where I’m coming from on the whole having kids thing. I’m also REALLY glad my wife and I are on the same page. Hope you have a great weekend, Kim!
I felt the same way when I was your age, DC. When we were younger, my husband and I didn’t plan on being parents. We were focused on our careers and our shared passion of travel. And I’m so glad that I didn’t succumb to the pressure of starting family when I wasn’t ready for one. I love being a Mom but it’s because I waited until I was ready to be a Mom. You’ll know when you’re ready to be a Dad. There is a never a “perfect” time but there is a “right” time. Have a great weekend!
I’m with you on your balance. I think we all have a point in our lives when we need to work on ourselves and achieve our goals way before we add another life into that equation. I focused on my career quite successfully and now focusing on my entrepreneurial desire. So the kids and parenting will just have to wait.
DC @ Young Adult Money It does take time to learn a language but I guess it depends what kind of “pay off” the person is looking for. I have a few portuguese friends and may soon have a portuguese family member so learning the language will have a more social and cultural pay off. Plus it’s super easy and free to learn it with duolingo because you can just download the app to your phone and do the lessons when you have some free time. It’s a win, win!
Hey DC, congrats on the engagement, your site is kicking along nicely :)
Yes, definitely be picky on the job, we do spend around 1/3 of our lives their for the traditional employee and provided you are not too unhappy why not take the time :)
Have you ever been part of a blog carnival out of interest? How has your experience been with this?
All great posts. I sometimes have a hard time keeping up with all the great information. As I continually analyze my financial picture, in looking forward to FI, I am glad that I did not get my ‘senioritis’ for FI in my 30s. I do not think I could take it anymore…
Always keeping an eye out for the right company and/or position is so important, especially with the modern day pensions all but out the window. 30 years at a job is very uncommon and I think if you asked if that was anyone’s plan they would never even think about it.
ShannonRyan Thanks for sharing about you and your husband’s experience, Shannon. I feel like most couples we know can’t have kids fast enough! I’m sure I will love being a Dad, and I do like taking care of and being around my friend’s kids (well, taking care of = hanging out, not changing diapers or anything like that haha). One day : ) Hope you have a great weekend too!
Phroogal Yeah I’m in a similar spot. I really want to focus on my career and developing skills. Particularly I want to develop skills that will help me both in my career and in my entrepreneurial pursuits.
mycareercrusade Thanks! I comment on many blogs each day so I think that has something to do with it. I definitely am taking my time but it’s a bit interesting with my whole team knowing that I’ve gone to a few interviews and whatnot.
I did a blog carnival a few times but for now I don’t see it as a priority at this point. Too much else to work on!
No Nonsense Landlord I hear you about not getting “senioritis” for FI too early. I think I definitely need to take a deep breath and be a whole lot more patient about it. For both my sanity and my wife’s!
EvenStevenMoney Yeah pension is definitely not even a consideration. I am looking internally and there are a lot of really good opportunities. I just want to make sure I make the right decision for my career.
Thank you for sharing my post. Much appreciated and congratulations on your renter renewing their lease. I know from reading around that it’s one of those things every landlord needs – long term, good paying tenants!
Good luck on your job search, DC……looking forward to following along and see where your career taks you next. Thanks for the shout out!
Debtbustingchick No problem on sharing your post! It’s always a good feeling not having to look for a renter. The extra money is nice, too. It’s not a TON of money by any stretch of the imagination, but it helps with the bills and lowers our mortgage.
DebtChronicles Thanks! I can’t wait to write about where I end up – as soon as I found out haha. No problem on the shoutout, hope you had a great weekend!