1- Mani/pedi. I got my nails done yesterday! It is one of my “20 for 2020” to do this monthly. Having them done a) looks pretty and put together; b) prevents me from biting them. And honestly, I have gotten conditioned to feel like my feet do not look nice in a non-pedi’d state.
(I will blame South Florida living for that.)
Monthly seems like the right interval for me, though obviously my manicure does not last that length of time. I may get some of my own supplies and attempt some home nail care (and polish changes) in between.
It felt good to check off this monthly goal. Even if it did cut into my allowance.
2- Allowances & financial things. I am contemplating sharing more of these things on the blog – within reason. Part of why I love reading blogs is that I am fascinated by the choices that individuals make. SO, I thought it might be interesting from a readers’ perspective to share my ‘allowance’ spending. Basically, Josh and I give ourselves a free chunk o’ change each month to do what we want with, no questions asked.
I recently decreed that any meal (lunch out, Starbucks, etc) eaten alone also had to be put into this category, mostly because I had developed some habits of eating out for lunch more often than is fiscally responsible and then throwing it into “Restaurants”.
(Lest anyone think I am too frugal with myself. . . well, this is definitely not and has never been the case. I think I am at a really nice balance as of late, though!)
This MIGHT be something that I put in the newsletter rather than post online. I have hired a consultant to finally help me put this together (same person who set up this site!) so it will actually be coming to fruition soon.
3- BOOK update. I was off yesterday and got A LOT done. A bunch of podcast stuff, some catch up work (which is fair because I have to go in late today since the kids have dentist appointments!), a workout, the aforementioned mani/pedi, and I got put G down for her nap mid-day, too. What I DID NOT accomplish was any work towards my book proposal. I know that I have enough to say for a planning-centric book (working title: Plan To Live: A Systematic Approach to an Intentional Life – or something like that)! I want to add my female, nearly-millennial voice to the planning / life management canon! But . . . I need to actually dedicate some protected time.
I’ve thought about whether this is the right time for this project, and I think it is! I am going to sit down this weekend and attempt to dive in for an hour/day. I will report back.
4- LINKS – in the blog world:
- OMDG’s Snowflakes post about attitudes towards trainees is important. Since I am now in a position of managing a program, I try REALLY really hard to fight these kinds of sentiments. Physicians are people too! And SO ARE MEDICAL STUDENTS AND RESIDENTS.
- Lagliv’s vacation recap – Christmas in Colorado. I immediately sent it to Josh with disbelief (“Could we EVER have a trip like this?”) and he replied “gives me hope”). I love fantasizing that it could come to fruition (though if I tried to ski the runs that she and her kids did I would 100% fracture something important, like a hip or femur.)
- The “Buyerarchy” of Needs in Spending from Trent at the Simple Dollar. Mostly because I love that term “Buyerarchy”, but also because it was a nice reminder that not everything has to be immediately ordered from amazon. (Guilty of falling into that habit.)
- Modern Ms Darcy is my go-to point for book recs, but I also saved her Soup recs!! These recipes look great.
5- And, four pod recs:
a) 3 Simple Strategies to Avoid Mom Burnout from 3 in 30
b) Money Meets Medicine! A FI-leaning anesthesiologist and a financial advisor = great combination. They have released a total of one episode so far, but it’s promising. Note, I pitched myself as a guest. Will let you all know if that comes to fruition. If you enjoy the podcast and think that would be a good idea, feel free to let the hosts know 🙂
c) Happier – their annual goals ep! One of my favorites to listen to.
d) ME on The Mom Hour!! (This actually came in after this post was published, but I had to share. Loved doing this interview on one of my favorite podcasts!).
24 Comments
I would definitely read your book. I think so much of that literature is oriented towards men and something from a woman facing demands of an in-the-office job, childcare, self, and home would be really welcome. I’ve been using a Muji monthly planner this year and really like it thus far – 2020 goals, reading list, and monthly to do lists in addition to a high level overview of the monthly schedule as I use Outlook calendar for everything time-sensitive.
I’m working on the Amazon issue. I’ve allowed myself 6 orders for 2020, we’ll see how I do. I work in the centre of my city – using my lunch to go and buy socks would give me a walk / keep me from adding a new book and random stuff into my orders.
First, love the blog – I check back everyday! I never comment…but have to chime in that I, too, would love to read your book.
I relate to your personality and approach to life so much. I love how you’re real and honest about the struggles of juggling parenting and a career and think you have amazing things to offer the reading community. All the best with it 🙂
This exactly. Me too!
SAME! I don’t comment, but I would read and purchase your book.
Me too! 🙂
So would I! 🙂
Aw! Thx for the link! I read LL’s colorado post as well and… man! That looked like a fun vacation! I would probably also break my femur, but it gives me hope too! I will say, our last couple of vacations (basically since Dyl turned 4) have been pretty fabulous. Before you know it, G will be 4 also, and you too can have the vacation of your dreams. 🙂
Raising my hand as someone who’s interested in the budgeting/allowance/financial topics! I love hearing about what other people do (dual-earning couples in particular). My husband and I also have “allowances”, which tend to get some chuckles from other people but it IS so nice to have our own pot of money. We also have individual bank accounts for our allowance, which I point out to people is extremely helpful when buying gifts or trying to surprise your partner.
Raising my hand as well! Even if you just share the percentage of gross monthly income that you devote to “allowances”, I’d love to know.
SO EXCITED that you’re on the Mom Hour, Sarah!! I love when podcast worlds collide!!
I feel that way about all of LL’s vacation posts. Especially the hiking/National Parks ones (I’m not a skiier and do not really aspire to take my kids skiing!). My kids are 7 and 5 and I feel like we are close, but not quite at the point of having an LL-type vacation! Goals! Vacations have gotten so much better in the last couple years though, so I totally agree that once G is about 4 things will change markedly for you guys.
+1 on the more financial sharing! As a professional with big childcare expenses and high cost of living city I am very interested in others’ spending habits!
Is your newsletter already being sent out? If so, how do I sign up? 🙂
Not yet – don’t worry there will be an announcement (and probably a pop up but don’t worry i will try not to make it too intrusive!)
Okay cool, thanks! Glad I didn’t miss it. <3
I can’t wait to ski with my kids because I don’t aspire to anything more than blues in Colorado. They went to ski school for the first time last year at 4 and 6. They loved it SO MUCH that they have been begging me to go back nonstop for the last year. Hoping this year’s round of lessons will get them to greens!
Hi Sarah, I am a doctor working part-time in family practice in Norway, and I would love to read your book. Look forward to it!
What kind of manicure do you usually get? I very rarely get them but have thought about trying to do so more often since my nails always seem to look terrible. I also prefer them very short. But every time I just get plain polish it seems to last such a short time before getting all chipped up. Or do you get the gel/shellac/dip/tips type??
Add me to the future book purchaser list – I’ve learned a lot from your blog! I just started using a very similar layout on my Hobonichi daily pages and it’s working super well for me – I’m supposed to track food and symptoms due to some health issues and I’m doing much better now that it’s all on one page with my day plan and to dos (I was trying a seperate tracking mini notebook and it was not working at all)
On the nails – a habit I cultivated last year was regularly planning in time to paint my own nails while watching a movie or a tv show. 1) prevents the dreaded double device-ing or multitasking (well, after the initial painting!) because I remind myself I need to let my nails dry so I need to just sit still and focus on the movie and 2) all week when I see my nails painted it reminds me that I do have me time and I do use it to look after myself.
I like doing it myself and using low chemical polishes but others I know swear by the sns powder style or gel polishes to make manis last longer.
Wanted to chime in that I would love to hear more financial thoughts in general! Newsletter or blog, numbers shared or not, whichever! I enjoy following the FI community, but I would love to hear more about high-earner conscious spending decisions from people with more typical savings rates!
Also would love to hear more about how other people do finances in a balanced way. I feel like a lot of things are either super frugal or all out investment types, and where is the balance? enjoying your money but also being somewhat responsible 🙂
Agreed on both the book and money front – I want to hear from you in any form :).
Re: Allowances, I’ve dabbled in whether this makes sense for us or not. I think generally I’m fine with our spending outside of food/eating out.
My husband is an uber under-spender, so I’m actually worried that would make him spend even less. If he thinks for a moment that we’re spending too much, he’ll immediately pull back (“Oh, I’ll eat at home for dinner – I don’t need to grab lunch because I forgot mine!”). I… on the other hand, would LOVE to eat out every meal.. so maybe I could do this for myself and see if my Upholder tendency would work in my favor with some rules.
so I’m actually currently re-listening to your guest interview on The Mom Hour a second time through! I know, late to the game there, but I love it! And actually the way you both discuss life planning, it all of a sudden makes sense! Between random lists and calendar fails, I have just not been able to get it together! All this planner love I have, and not much productivity to show for it haha!
I am definitely a disc-bound girl bc I LOVE being able to insert anything and everything I need to at any moment in time (also allowing me to design/customize templates specific to my needs). Oddly, my disc bound “planner” doesn’t have a calendar – that is in my phone – and the planner is for “organizing” all my lists.
But I’ve come to love your use of an “accessory” notebook along with your paper calendar! That’s been a huge problem … finding a planner that can fit my whole life in it – that won’t also drive me crazy with overwhelm. And although I’ve listened for months on both of your regular podcasts about your love of Hobonichi thinking “that would NEVER work for me!” (as in *not discbound*). But after hearing this interview, and how you actually manage many task items by embedding them IN your calendar… idk, I’ve seen this concept before – scheduling your to-do’s rather than listing them. But it has always resonated as more of a “chore list” being added into time slots of my daily life… which turns out to feel like…. a chore… but something about the way you describe your system just came through as a very pleasant and inviting experience, much more peaceful, and not overwhelming at all.
All that to say, I think I’m going to try a paper calendar planner again! AND you might just have convinced me to order the Wonderland 222! I realize in this podcast you’re talking about the Techo, and I’m clearly out of place in the timeline haha!! But I’m excited, and looking forward to a fun-filled start on 2021 planning! Who knows, maybe I’ll even formulate a “goal” or two! (also NOT my strong suit!!) but what can I say, you’re an inspiration! Thanks for all the ways your posts and episodes uplift the world around you!
There actually may be a mom hour 2.0 guest spot in the works 🙂 so i’m glad you liked it!
wooooo!! SO excited to hear that!!!