FIVE THINGS I TRIED IN 2020 FOR THE FIRST TIME

While 2020 may have been a pretty messed up year, I did still manage to try a few new things.  One of them was quirky (see #1), one was a complete fail (#2), and the best decision I ever made (#4). 

#1 BUYING STAMPS at the USPS website

Funny story, I didn’t go to the USPS website wanting to buy stamps. I went there to look up a zip code for Xmas cards. A misclick and a slow internet speed led me to the stamp store on the website. It had never dawned on me before to even consider buying stamps online. Which sort of astounds me because of how much I have embraced online shopping in the past 18 months. I decided for the heck of it fill a cart with 60 stamps and see what the shipping and handling would be. When I saw the $1.60 charge I began seriously evaluating my life choices. Why was I standing in line at the post office or even at Walgreens to get stamps when the post office would mail them to me for less than $2? Between gas, drive time, and wasted productivity standing in line the $2 was more than worth it!

Even if you don’t buy 60, the fee is still reasonable. I experimented and found out the fee for about 24 stamps was only $1.80. Still definitely worth it.

#2 AUDIO BOOKS...at least I gave them a shot. 

If you have been listening long enough you know I am an avid reader. I often talk to friends who work out, clean house, or mow the lawn while listening to audiobooks. My brother gets his listening in going to and from work. So I finally decided to give it a try. Generally I’m not a fan.

Maybe its because of the way my brain processes and thinks but I found myself not actively listening to the book. It was just playing and sure I was hearing the words but I was processing them. The feeling was very much like when I’m reading a physical book and find myself reading the same page 3 times because I’m distracted or tired. This really made it difficult to absorb anything from trade books on entrepreneurship or real estate. Even if we were biographies of classic literature I would find I had plot holes because of a part of the book I didn’t catch on to.

#3 ROBINHOOD for investing

If you aren’t in the know, RobinHood is the free app that makes stock investing affordable. I’m not saying “free” because we all know the saying and RobinHood does make money off your stock trading it’s just nor a per trade fee or commission. But I leave that for your own research...because honestly I find it rather confusing.

RobinHood allows you to own and trade a lot of major stocks and equities. All mainstream favorites are available as well as limited crypto coin, some VanGuard, and a lot of other options. It’s incredibly easy to use (I also currently use crypto.com app, which I find very difficult to use. To the point that when I’m done using it I log onto RobinHood for the sheer joy and tranquility using the app brings.) Once you’ve created your account link a bank account (or more than 1), do a transfer, find your stocks and equities then purchase. It’s really that easy and the commands and set up are intuitive.

I honestly regret it taking me this long to get involved in RobinHood. But not as much as I regret how long it took me to do the next thing….

#4 INVEST In VanGuard...why didn't I do it sooner

If I have one big regret from the past, it’s that I didn’t take VanGuard more seriously early on. It wasn’t until conquering (and I say conquering because it was a huge project) Tony Robbins book Master The Money Game. It was only after that book did I really began to appreciate VG. I had read about it, mostly because Warren Buffet had been saying for years that people should be investing in it, but I never made it a priority. I assumed (without research) it was going to be like any other stock, mutual fund, etc. The ones I heard about people investing $3000 in 10 years and pulling out $3500 afters fees if they are lucky.

Fast forward after beginning my investing and I have 3K invested in Vanguard across different funds. What blew me away: The first month I was skeptical still so I started small. I did $250, in 90 days that $250 had earned $13.00 in dividends. Way better than the dust it was gathering in at one point was the highest savings rate account you could find. Between the book and seeing the progress in action in Vanguard I am excited to invest and move my money over each month.

I could go on forever about VanGuard but I will leave that for its own episode, especially because there’s a lot of to uncover in that topic.

#5 MY HOME is under control in a household management binder

This is probably the most boring but helpful thing I did this year. I sat down and I created a House Management Binder. Women in the CIvil War era had similar books they would use to “ run a house” as they would call it. It was a master schedule, a cookery bible, a to do list, a calendar. And honestly, it was genius and still is.

I sat down (multiple times because this wasn’t easy to put together) and created a binder that now helps me run modern home efficiently. I created a weekly schedule for when things get done. What days I get the mail, what day I clean out the fridge, when I do laundry, etc. I created a list of 75 recipes with notations on cook book and page numbers. I created a year calendar where I assign quarterly, and semi-annual tasks to a specific month. I created a section that is simply for listing projects around the house and allocated one day a week to accomplishing items on this list. I created a section meant for tracking the things I need/want to buy. Not a grocery list but a ‘hey when you find a good deal on this get....”. Maybe its bed sheets because mine are starting to look straight out of the Hunger Games, or new pantry organization containers so it doesn’t look like a grocery store threw up in my pantry.

This binder has been amazing for me. It’s brought clarity and calmness to my home. It’s easier to keep it maintained and looking good. I’m not pulling my hair out trying to think of a variety of recipes so we aren’t eating the same things all the time. It’s less stressful. I’ve talked about this before that when you personal life is not in order, your professional life won’t be in order.