Random Token July Post

New routines = barely any posts. Although, most of my usual blogs I read seem to have gone dormant since early spring, so I’m not alone. Good sign that everyone is off enjoying life.

1. I just cleaned out my work inbox. It’s been driving me crazy - keep remembering little things I never responded to. Clean inbox = piece of mind. Of course I cheated, so I’m only part way there, but that’s further than I was before. It did take me getting up at 6 am and working on it remotely from home this morning.

2. I finally hit 400 on LinkedIn! I thought I was a little lower but just checked today. Only 100 to go and I’ve hit my goal from last year.

3. Last night I rebalanced my 401k from what it was automatically enrolled in.  Took some figuring out and I have no clue with these things but feel much better my money is doing better than it was before.  Next up - going back to my other accounts and making sure they are in the right place financially.  And then on to helping any family members ;)

4. And while we're on the subject of retirement, am I the only one that worries about retirement? For some reason it’s come up in conversation the last couple of weeks with friends. And it seems like people are barely putting away money for retirement.  I keep being suprised that some people aren't putting anything away and they're in their 30s! It’s crazy and makes me even more nervous. Being in academics and out of the workforce for a chunk of prime investing years in my 20s, I feel like I’m still playing catch up, especially as compound interest is best when used young. So I’m attempting to max out my options - 25% into the 401k and buying an IRA. Granted my spending money is tight especially with the student loans but I forgo some of the expensive luxuries and opt for splurging on less expensive things (i.e. no more cable, but still have a Netflix subscription). The biggest decision is using public transportation over driving. I’d save over 500 hours a year (1.5-2 hours per day) if I drove, but it would cost me over $3k extra in parking and gas. And this way I get a lot of reading done! The thing that bugs me is people say that can’t afford it but you look at their lifestyle and you just see them creating a really lousy lifestyle later so they can enjoy a good lifestyle now. But each to their own. Hopefully it all works out in the end. End rant.

5. I've been riding my bike to work recently.  Well at least to the subway station.  It's been really nice and it's so much faster than taking the bus until you factor in the time to change and everything else.  I've tried it both ways - riding in work clothes and riding in clothes I change out of.  Still haven't quite figured that part out.  But I can tell you having a nice new functioning bike makes a world of difference.  It's so pleasent.

6. Heat wave is coming. So probably a hiatus on the bike riding for a few days.  I survived the last few but certainly felt it. This past week or so I’ve been feeling really good. Part of which I attribute to a good night’s sleep. So I’ve requested the AC unit be put in this week. I will still use the fans mostly, but when it gets really bad…. you’ll find me in front of the AC with Ben and Jerry.

7. Summer guilty pleasure = Big Brother. I can’t explain why, but I love watching the Big Brother shows. So pleasent suprise when I stumbled upon this seasons (the downfalls of not watching live TV - you loose track of what's about to air).  And this season is great - they've got a bunch of folks from past seasons.  So it's boiled down to the newbies vs. the veterans voting wise.  Which I have to say parallels remarkably close to the Federalists and the Republicans that I'm reading about right now around the very contested 1800 election (Adams vs. Jefferson).  The maneuvering, positioning, behind closed doors antics are strangely similar.  I'll be reading my book (American Afire) on my way home and then switch over to watching the latest episode of BB and it's like it's the same genre.

8. Weekend outside = tons of sleep. Last weekend I spent the day up in Ipswich visiting with friends - Noah was house sitting and Andrea and some other folks that were new to me made it up for a visit. It was a fun day of eating, chilling, lounging, visiting the beach and tons of sun. Then Sunday I made my way to see Cam and Maggie - babysitting and playing outside in the morning and then to the beach in the afternoon. Way more sun than I’m used to and I slept like crazy after. No sunburns!