Wow, I am so relieved that October is (almost) over! Three significant events took place in October, and I’ve been tightening my schedule for the entire month. Half a week left and then it’s back to the regular amount of busy-ness.
I think my regular spending are starting to stabilize, I went through a transition period over the last few months when I did the math and realized I’m on track for a regular retirement at 65. Suddenly, I could be freer with my money and it’s been a process of figuring out what my values are. It’s still a work in progress and I’m having quite a bit of fun exploring, just moderated instead of wildly shoving my money at businesses/people to get that dopamine hit.
Spendings Report: $1,495
If there’s a record this month broke then it’s for the number of times the word “stress” showed up on my spending record.
- Stress coffee
- Stress candy
- Stress massage
- Stress dinner
- Stress shopping
Another record would be how much coffee I’ve consumed, three times a week the entire month! In the months before that it would be at most once a week, often a couple of times a month. I’ve found that it’s not even necessarily the energy boost but the dopamine hit I need for how overworked I felt. I’m strictly cutting it back down to once a week now because I’m finding that my mood has been trending more anxious and I feel less able to concentrate. In general, I like to feel all my body’s signals and give it an appropriate rest if I can, if that’s not possible then I’ll consider a chemical solution.
In addition to my master’s, I’ve had IB training for work, preparing for a school inspection, and helping a colleague with their certification (which will continue for another few months). As I’m typing this, I’m not super sure November will be calmer because it’s job-hunting season, and there will be plenty to do in preparation for that. My inbox is also piling up with a lot of to-do’s and reminders, just juggling many many things. On the surface I look like a duck on the water, calmly floating along, and underneath, madly pedalling against the current.
I feel like at the start of every decade of life there’s some sort of wild adjustment period, and as I’m heading into my 30’s I can see signs of it approaching. Hopefully, I’m better prepared for it than I was at the start of my 20s hahaha! With the end of my master’s in sight, I will have more free time, and maybe a new school/job next year as well. There are hobbies and areas of my life I’ve neglected which I can now un-neglect; drawing, singing lessons, romance, blogging, regular fitness etc. etc. . It’s both wonderful and scary. There are life worries coming up as well which I’m not even certain how to mentally prepare for, just getting the other parts of my life in order so I can take the time I need when they do happen.
Net Worth Update: things are looking up!
Looking at the trend over 2022 it has been a very flat yet bumpy ride. I don’t know enough about economics to comment about how I think the rest of 2022 will go but I sure hope 2023 is kinder to us all.
I had hoped to reach $300k by the time I turn 30 but who knows how realistic a goal that is anymore. I’m finding that I don’t care that much. My current life is very satisfactory, and being daring, I’m working towards being content, on having more content moments where I’m not thinking about how that moment could be even better.
Happy Halloween to you, and I hope you got something out of these monthly updates of mine 🙂
So I’m horrible at commenting, but I just wanted you to know that I read every update you post and I’m happy you write them 🙂 . Great job rolling with the punches and keeping going.
Thanks for taking the time to comment! Your blog was/is one of the big reasons I decided to start and keep going :))