Lifestyle Archives - Ms. Financial Literacy

Browse Category by Lifestyle

Early Retirement, Financial Freedom, Financial Independence, Financial Planning, Lifestyle, Marriage and Money, Money Habits, Money Psychology, On Investing, Retirement Planning

Annual Recap: Year 2017 Non-W2 Incomes

Happy 2018, readers. I hope you’re having a beautiful start to the new year.

This time of the year is magical for me. I enjoyed sharing extra special moments with families and friends, combined with delicious, comfort food (for weeks in a row). I also loved the holiday decors both at home and while being out and about. These moments can really be savored all year long. Sleeping until 9 a.m. has been typical for my family and I this past week as our bodies recovered from all the festivities.

Finishing the Old and Starting the New

As of yesterday, we’ve taken care most of our financial matters for year 2017, with the exception of paying property taxes and filing for tax return. We made purchases in my i401k account, rebalanced our investment portfolio, updated our financial accounts and made a projected budget for this year. So far, the two biggest, one-time expenses we’re looking at are money going toward paying for two international trips. Other than the usual recurring basic expenses, we also have several home renovation projects we want to accomplish.

December 2017 Non-W2 Incomes Report

Spread the message. Encourage others to begin their financial learning!

Financial Freedom, Financial Independence, Financial Planning, Giving Back, Home Improvements, Lifestyle, On Investing, Retirement Planning

November 2017 Non-W2 Incomes Report

Our Services in the Community (also available to you)

November was a very rewarding and joyful month in my household. My husband and I started the month off offering free financial and fitness coaching services. In the spirit of the holiday season, this is our way of giving and expressing our thanks to those we care about and to you, readers of our blogs (I’m linking my husband’s blog here; He recently shared quarterly update on our total net worth on his blog).

There’re two more weeks left if you’d like my husband (and/or I) to take a look at your current financial situation and provide you a roadmap helping you reach your financial goals in year 2018 and beyond. To learn more about this offer, visit an older post here. We’ve already gifted about 50 hours of time so far between the two of us.

november income

On the topic of services, my husband and I have also attended several orientation sessions in preparation to do more volunteering related to financial education and financial literacy in the upcoming year. Some of the organizations we are networking with are Junior Achievement and Caritas (an organization to prevent and end homelessness).

Some Life Updates

Spread the message. Encourage others to begin their financial learning!

Early Retirement, Financial Planning, Lifestyle, Purchase Decisions

Early Retirement and Health Care Coverage and Premium

Back in September, 2017, when I shared on the blog that my husband was going to join me in early retirement, many of you asked about our health care insurance situation once he leaves his W2 employment. In this post, I’m sharing the process my family and I went through to get health care coverage for year 2018.

The Perceived Obstacle to Our Early Retirement

The thought of having to pay the high cost of health insurance premium out-of-pocket (we were thinking about $1,000/month) was one of the biggest reasons my husband and I hesitated about retiring early. Early retirement conversations first came up between us around year 2012. Back then, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was a mystery to us, and we were too lazy/busy to do more research.

I’m typically pretty resourceful and I’d search above and beyond to get the information I want. However, the following years continued to be big transition times for my family and I, and learning more about ACA was not on the priority list. So, as a couple, we reasoned (and made a compromise) that we’d have to work more years to save up for full, out-of-pocket health insurance premiums and retire when we reach our late 40s or early 50s.

New Information Helped Made Early Retirement Possible for Us

Spread the message. Encourage others to begin their financial learning!

Early Retirement, Financial Empowerment, Financial Planning, Girlfriend to Girlfriend Money Chat, Kids and Money, Lifestyle, Marriage and Money, Money Habits, On Investing, On Self-Development, Retirement Planning, Women and Financial Literacy

All I Needed was an Inspiration (and a Free Gift to You)

I Didn’t See Myself Being a Good Teacher/Coach

I’m what some people might call a Type A, perfectionist, or over-achiever. I have high standards for myself. Growing up and while in school, unlike many other Asian parents, mine didn’t pressure me to receive certain grades or go into a certain profession. I was always the one that was self-driven and put lots of pressure on myself.

Knowing that about myself, I didn’t pursue a career in teaching, despite having contemplated becoming a teacher during my freshmen year in college. Yet, somehow, being in academia attracted me (and the over-achiever in me) and I went on pursuing a doctoral degree. While finishing up my advanced degree, I was a teacher’s assistant for two semesters. I did not enjoy that experience. I lacked the patience. Being a mother has been a trying experience for me every day. I’m very thankful to have an extremely patient partner along my side.

inspiration financial coaching

Several months ago, when my husband suggested to me to consider doing financial coaching with him, specifically to work with couples, I immediately closed the conversation. It was not that I lacked interest. Everything I do and share on this blog stems from my strong desire to inspire, encourage and promote smart and savvy financial skills. I just didn’t see myself being a good coach. I lacked the confidence.

Self-doubts were casting all over my head. To give you an example:

Spread the message. Encourage others to begin their financial learning!

Lifestyle

“It’s a Gift to Your Body”

As the last of the leaves are falling off the trees, the days are getting chiller. This past week, I’ve been finding myself having a harder and harder time getting out of bed and head out for a run. I typically do my run (6 miles in distance) between 7:30 to 8:00 a.m. My goal is to finish my run shortly after Ruby wakes up. Then, we can begin the day as a family and have breakfast together.

Yesterday morning when I woke up around 7:30, I noticed the heater was running. We had the thermostat set at 69 degrees overnight. By that signal, I knew it would be cold outside. My husband checked the temperature on his phone. It was 43 degrees.

exercise routines

By my comfort level, 43 degrees is extreme temperature. I was trying to make excuses so that I could just stay in bed, underneath the warm comforter. Sure, I could put on long-sleeve top and bottom and even wear a hat and glove. I could even double each layer. With the appropriate clothing and winter accessories, no temperature should be too cold to head out for a run.

My Thoughts on Exercise Gears and Performance

However, I’m pretty typical when it comes to putting on clothing and exercising. I don’t like wearing more than three layers of clothing in general. Perhaps it’s my smaller frame. Anything over three layers on the top tires out my shoulders and I feel “too” bundled up. When I exercise, I prefer to wear one layer on top and one on the bottom. I can tolerate wearing a pair of shorts over a pair of long pants. Anything heavier would make me feel restrictive. And I feel like I wouldn’t be able to perform my best. Each time I exercise, I want to feel like I put out a lot. I push myself to increase my performance. I seriously feel wearing anything more than one or two thin layers would affect my performance.

As I continued staying under the blanket, my husband could tell I was struggling. I was either going to get out for my run right then or the run would have to wait until the next day. And I had no desire to remove myself from the warm blanket. I turned to my husband and started chatting with him. I felt guilty. Maybe he could say something to relieve my guilt?

Instead, every word that came out of his mouth was the opposite of what I wished to hear. Then, he said something very profound that had me paused my thoughts and pondered. He said, “It’s a gift to your body. I promise that by the second mile you’ll feel good and you’ll feel great by the time you finished.” And by “it”, he was referring to keeping up with my exercise routines.

My Current Exercise Routines, Leg Injuries and Past Setback

Spread the message. Encourage others to begin their financial learning!