Sunday Summary - 02.20.22
Quick Trip to Disney
This week I took a 24-hour work trip to Disney, and I was on Cloud 9. I was able to see co-workers in person that I hadn’t seen since 2019, we were at the “happiest place on earth,” and it truly felt “normal” for the first time in ages. Disney is also a super nostalgic place for me, because I grew up going with my family pretty frequently. (Fun fact: I do not own a pair of Mickey ears.)
I’ve only stayed at the Grand Floridian when I’ve visited Disney for work, and that Deluxe resort experience stands in stark contrast to my first trip with Bryan (ever!) back in 2016. We did it so cheaply (when that was still possible) - stayed in an All Star resort, found round trip flights for $88, skipped the park hoppers, and we were able to do 5 days + 6 nights (4 in Disney and 1 in Universal) for ~$1,100 each. No one on the internet believes me, but it’s fine. IT HAPPENED!
We had only been dating for about a year when we went to Disney for his birthday and first-ever Disney trip, and even though we’ve been to much more exotic places together since - the memories from that trip are still some of the sweetest.
*Watch those linked videos at your own risk. They are some of my earlier ones and…we’ve come a long way. Bryan made his one and only sit down feature in video two, and we were dying laughing at our awkwardness earlier this week. You’re welcome.
Reading
I shared on my Instagram stories last week that this was “exactly what I thought it would be,” but I take it all back! While this is a romcom at its core - it’s deeper than expected and definitely hits on some darker themes. I’m about half way through the book when I’m writing this, and I definitely recommend it if you’re craving adventure in a tropical locale with a little romance on the side.
Watching
Surprisingly, I watched a lot this week despite being on the road. If you have Disney+, I highly recommend watching the WDW 50th Anniversary Special that originally aired on 20/20. It’s basically a short form version of The Imagineering Story, but it has footage and facts I’d never seen or heard before and lots of celebrity sightings!
For Marvel fans I recommend the Assembled series as a whole, but the Hawkeye episode I watched this week was especially good. They talk a lot about Jeremy Renner’s talent and mentorship on set, and it’s always refreshing to find out when actors are actually kind and likable both on and off the big screen.
Shoutout to this video that I stumbled across that discusses side hustles and “passive income.” I hadn’t heard of tiffanyferg before this week, but my gosh, she took the words right out of my mouth in the content creation section.
TL;DW(atch): It takes a lot of time and hard work to eventually receive passive income, be wary of “get rich quick” schemes, and content creation isn’t always the answer.
Discoveries
Since I was on the road this week, we cooked exactly one meal at home, so I’m repurposing the cooking section to tell you about a great sale going on right now and a useful Amazon Prime feature I put to use!
Amazon Try Before You Buy
This is a prime member perk that allows you to order clothing with zero up front cost, try on the item to see if you like it, and take 7 days to decide if you want to buy it. Think about this feature like a clothing subscription box with no styling fee or set number of items you have to try. When you’re browsing Amazon, the “prime try before you buy” logo is listed under eligible items.
When you’re ready to check out, select the radio button (as pictured), and you won’t pay anything until you’ve either a) manually purchased the item in your account within the 7 day window or b) let 7 days lapse without returning the item.
I tried out the program with this shirt because I wasn’t sure if I wanted an XS or S. I ended up going with a S for a slightly oversized fit, in case you were curious!
Aerie Buy One, Get One Swim Sale
I love a good bargain, and during your birthday month, there are so many great deals you can take advantage of! I’ve done a couple of videos on the topic if you’re curious. Old video warning pt. 2, but you can meet my friend Kesler in this one!
Aerie’s 15% off your total purchase is one of my favorites, so this week I coupled that birthday perk with their BOGO Swim deal and 2% cash back on Rakuten. I was able to get an $80 suit for $37! I also threw in this cream pullover that I think will be perfect for summer plane travel and cool hotel rooms after long, warm days on the beach. Rather than shopping for an entirely brand new summer wardrobe, I’m excited to pair just a few new things with my existing spring & summer staples.
The Latest
This week I uploaded what I would consider to be one of my more vulnerable videos. Typically I stick to facts, reviews, and happy-go-lucky content, but life isn’t always a walk in the park. As we close in on the last week of my 20s, I wanted to dig a little deeper, and I hope you feel like we’re talking friend-to-friend in this one. Even if this video doesn’t perform well or bring in high view counts, likes, or comments - this one was special to me. Hope you enjoy!
Re: Budgeting
Last week on instagram I posed the question, “Do you Budget? Why or Why not?” Answers were ALL over the place, so I wanted to share some of those answers along with my own two cents. PLEASE feel free to take it or leave it - I’m not offering financial advice here, just my own perspective.
This is a fantastic question and a great starting point. Here’s Investopedia’s definition of a budget: A budget is an estimation of revenue and expenses over a specified future period of time and is usually compiled and re-evaluated on a periodic basis.
I like to use a budget for general awareness. I have specific dollar amounts allocated to specific categories, but I review my budget holistically - over in one area & under in another = fine. The other primary reason I budget is to find opportunity. Through budgeting, I recently uncovered that I was under-contributing to my 401(k), I was leaving excess funds on the table that could have been working for me in the market, and I needed to re-evaluate my asset mix. Making those small changes is leading to tax savings and higher investment return potential. Since I’m playing the long game, the positive incremental returns I’ve observed over the last 3 months doesn’t change much for me today, but overtime that sum will increase and be incredibly helpful when it’s time for me to retire.
Here’s what y’all had to say about your own budgeting experiences
I thought this one was especially interesting, because this is sort of why I never cared to track my own expenses or income for a long time. (This is a real privilege that I do not take for granted.) What I’ve learned through my own budgeting experience, though, is that you can be safe financially while also missing out on a lot of opportunity with this mindset (re: my personal realizations above.)
Mad respect for this person and the good habits they formed when income streams were low. I feel like most people think that budgets are only necessary for the paycheck-to-paycheck population, but evidence would suggest that a lot of rich people with bad spending habits could have also benefited from a budget. If you have money and no sense, one day you could have neither.
Say it louder for the people in the back! Setting a realistic budget is step 1. I actually wrote an entire article on how to set a realistic budget that’ll be available on the website soon. Without a true understanding of what you bring in and spend today, it’ll be really freaking hard to reach a goal in the future. Be honest with yourself, figure out your spending habits, and work to overhaul or refine them now. I can’t underscore enough how helpful this will be if you figure it out while you’re young.
In the world of online shopping, it’s so easy to buy with one click and never feel the effects of those purchases until the credit card bill is due at month’s end. Keeping a pulse on your spending can help bring those online shopping trips to life and mayyy help you say no to the latest influencer trend on insta before your spending becomes an issue. I’d call this budgeting for “awareness.”
Whew! While there were many more responses to this question, I felt like those featured were representative of the varied responses I received. If you’re feeling inspired to budget after this little convo - get started! I highly recommend Copilot and did an entire video outlining its features that you can watch here. You can get your first month free with code A6M9T6 .
(I also get a free month if you use this code, so it's a win for everyone!)
Have a great week!