Why I Haven’t Bought a House

For all that I’ve written on this blog over the past few years, I really haven’t said much about home ownership. Frankly, it’s a tricky topic. Not the least because it’s one of America’s sacred cows, and to even suggest that buying a house might not always be the best decision is likely to attract […]

The Changing of the Garage

Just a few weeks ago, my second roommate moved out and for the first time in my life, I have a garage space! My car barely fits. It’d be hilarious if it didn’t also piss me off. But nothing can really be done about it. For not having to scrape the frost off my windshields […]

It’s not about the money, it’s about the Mission

It’s the prevailing norm to want more money at your job. But at what cost? I’d be lying if I said I didn’t still have my eyes on reaching a six-figure salary. In software, this is very achievable with the right dedication and years of experience. Wouldn’t it feel great to reach that milestone? Wouldn’t […]

Life and Passing

Several weeks ago, I was driving to Dream Group when my mom called. I don’t like answering phone calls or texts when I’m driving, so I snuck a glance just long enough to see who was calling me, then let it go to voicemail. Mom never calls. She occasionally texts out of the blue, but […]

Strategy vs Tactics: Saving Money While Still Enjoying Your Life

I have at times been a junkie for blogs on Financial Independence. But I often grow bored with them, and the people on one particular forum that I enjoy visiting frequently annoy me because so many of them are wholly dedicated to not spending any money. What, is spending money wrong? So you have these […]

Reflections on Life and Career

I recently had a good talk with a close friend. As is often the case when catching up, part of our conversation involved relaying how our jobs were going, understanding, of course, that these are the lame but also important things that happen in life, and we wanted to cover our bases. His job has […]

Thoughts on History

The difficulty with reconstructing history is man-hours. For example, let’s consider the world right now. The interwebz tells me that there are about 7.7 billion people in the world, and 1.3 billion work full-time jobs. Even forgetting that there are competing definitions of full-time work, and not all work can be accounted for, this means […]

Time

I realized just a moment ago that one of the key motivators in my own approach to minimalism is the simple desire to feel connected. Who would have thought? A general philosophy about objects and possessions might actually be related to a bigger perspective on relationship, on how we relate to the things and the […]

On Writing About Money

So payday happened, and the total of all my accounts went past $100,000. That’s so exciting! So I shared it on Facebook. Except… Generic User: Hey, everyone, here’s the tacos I ate today! [picture] *Like* Generic User: Hey, everyone, my relationship is great! *Like* Generic User: Hey, everyone, check out this great hike I went […]