In pursuit of financial independence and personal fulfillment

Month: June 2018

Book review: “Unfu*k Yourself: Get Out of Your Head and Into Your Life”

Gary John Bishop makes it clear in no uncertain terms: You are currently living the life you want to live, whether you like it or not.

Bishop says our brains are wired to win, and so we naturally and subconsciously act in ways that support our view of ourselves, even if that view is negative or harmful. Continue reading

The $1,000 day at the flea market

The soggy wad of bills in my pocket had grown from $80 to over $300 in just a few minutes. Eight strangers were huddled under umbrellas in and around our rented UHaul yelling at me to tell them prices and then negotiate a deal.

“How much?”
“$20”
“How about $15?”
“$17”
“No, $15”
“Yeah, sure.”

With every sale I lifted the flimsy plastic poncho, pulled the mountain of cash from my shorts pocket, and added to it or peeled off tens, fives and singles for change. There were always three people who wanted my attention and two others telling me I better watch the rest because they’ll all rob me blind if I turn around.

Welcome back to the flea market. Continue reading

What I learned from a home energy audit

I consider myself rather energy conscious around the house.

Nearly every lightbulb in the house is an LED. I close air vents in unused rooms. We keep doors and windows open early in the day to cool the house, then close them as the outside temperature climbs to reduce our air conditioning use.

There’s always more to consider, so I was thrilled when my gas company called to offer a free home energy audit, where an expert would go through my home and look for ways to reduce our energy consumption. Here’s what I learned. Continue reading

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