Day #27: The Automatic Millionaire, Chapter 2

Chapter two talks about his trademarked "Latte Factor", the acknowledgement that small daily spending drains your wallet. Another way to think about it is the saying, "If you watch your pennies, the dollars will take care of themselves".

I do my best to watch both the pennies and the dollars. I've been loosening the belt a bit, being okay with an occasional hot chocolate and a cheap 6 inch sub from Subway for dinner while I'm at Barnes and Noble, writing away. More than 90% of the time, I pack my lunch rather than buy it. And if I'm eating out, I either eat half of it and save it for the next day's lunch or order something cheap, like a cup of soup. I don't go out to eat to taste certain foods, I go out to be nourished and spend time with friends.

I'm not going to complete the exercises in this chapter because I have my budget set up well that I'm within the limits I want, and I have lived it for nearly a year. I know my "Latte Factor" and it's either a part of my frugal want or it's not a transaction.

I'm looking forward to getting this medical debt off my back, but what I really ought to do is STOP THINKING ABOUT FINANCIAL STUFF!

Yeah. I yelled. I'm in Barnes and Noble and I'm writing about finance, which is good, but I really should write a song. Play piano. Or flute. Something! That's my gift! I'm just getting worked up about things that won't be affecting me for the next 40 years.

I have my 401(k) and my Roth IRA set up. I have a budget that works and most, if not all, of my expenses are automatic. I don't have to worry about a darn thing.

Perhaps I should shift my focus to composing or minimalism or fasting or Bible study.

Here I come, piano. I've missed you!

«Laura»

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Halloween Party and my costume

Image
This weekend, I attended an awesome Halloween party, and even dressed up as Hermoine Granger. I admit, it was a bit fun to dress up as Hermoine Granger. I took a lot of thought for my costume. I started searching for costumes on August 26th, and found a costume site on September 13th:  https://www.moviescostume.com/harry-potter-gryffindor-uniform-hermione-granger-cosplay-costume-adults-ver.html However, I didn't want to just drop over $100 on a costume I'll likely only wear once. What else can I do? Can I just build the costume from regular clothes? After all, Hermoine mostly wore a school uniform for the first few movies. Certainly I could do that. I set off to build my uniform. I got the skirt from Lands End. The socks , blazer , patch ,  tie  and wand from Amazon. The shirt came from J Jill, but I bought that about ten years ago or so, and the shoes I purchased last year from Belk. I referenced this guide to learn how to tie a Full Windsor Knot, a tie style wit
Read more

Board games and near the end of the gym challenge

Today was another success! Went to the gym after my two cups of coffee, warmed up the rest of the Picadillo for lunch, and finished a few chores. This evening, I was invited to a board game night with a few friends. We played Spinjas and Stuffed Fables. The gym was my last arm/chest routine day until the 31st, where I'll do the full body routine and see where I gained. I'm certain I didn't lose weight - way too many cookies and candies around to snack on, but hopefully I'm stronger. I certainly feel stronger and better, and that is enough to keep going. I'm looking forward to getting a better diet in January by not having sugar for the month, and continuing to go the the gym - just not daily. Stuffed Fables is a really cute game! We played Story 1 where a girl's blanket is stolen from a little girl's bed, and the Stuffed animals characters, Theadora, Stitch, Flops and Lumpy have to travel through the underworld to rescue the blanket and get back to bed b
Read more

Jose and Sons review

 I went with one of my friends to Jose and Sons Mexican restaurant on Glenwood Avenue and Pleasant Valley Road. I picked this place as I'd hear a lot of good things about it, and we were there early before the place got busy.  We were not impressed. The server was slow to get us our drinks, and did not get us chips and salsa, bur I could see his other tables got chips and salsa - turns out it was from a runner. We got ours eventually, (not from the server) but the first five minutes of our meal, we just stared at a bowl of guac and our two waters. No matter, maybe he was new. Maybe the kitchen was frying a new batch of chips. Maybe the bartender was new. While waiting, we noticed that the place looked like it needed new paint. In our booth, the pink paint was chipping off the wall. I was confused, because I thought they just moved here from downtown. They didn't even give the place a new coat of paint before moving in? The chips were warm, not hot, and the salsa was very sweet.
Read more