Mistakes In My Twenties|01: Savings

Most of us have the general idea that saving is important. The idea of having “a savings” is not a foreign thing, at least I would hope so. However, the skill and discipline of saving is another thing entirely. This is where I hit the wall. Fortunately for me, credit cards and loans are not currently something I am faced with, so as of today and unlike many others, I do not have any legal debts to drown in. I do have those other kinds of debts. You know the ones.Where your family still feeds you and pays your rent or loans you money to do this or that. Just because it’s not on paper, doesn’t mean they aren’t debts. I mentally have a stack of IOU’s that are in the reds.

I was so excited to start making money in my twenties that I didn’t even realize how extra excited I was at spending it. At the time they all felt like necessary things. I never anticipated the major stormy weather that would be just  few years away from knocking at my door. Now to this day, being unemployed and on my last thousand.I can’t help but look back at all those things and just SHAKE MY HEAD.  There were a few things that I could tick off as valuable investments in myself, but now that I need the money I just wish I had worked harder here and there to save up. The worse thing about realizing how much money you’ve spent, is looking at the area on your pay slip that says YTD (Year-To- Day) This area shows how much money the company has paid you from the very beginning. I used to look at that sum of money and cringe.If I had only saved harder…

The journey continues. I aim to end my Stagnant living and this realization of my poor saving habits is just one thing I need to springboard the long and challenging journey to a better more vibrant me. At least that’s the plan anyway.If anyone still reads blogs with no pictures, leave a comment down below to share your stories.

Advertisements

LONG DISTANCE RELATIONSHIPS. When the Internet fails us.

Skype, Facebook, Whatsapp, Emails, Twitch and Google Hangouts… Did I miss anyone? These are basically essentials when our relationship goes through a long distance period. Everything seems totally fine as long as these tools are at our fingertips. However, what about when they are suddenly no longer an option? What happens when the internet FAILS us? After a few nights of worry and unease, it is now time to stop the panic and listen up.

1. Pray- Now I don’t know about you reading this, but I believe in prayer. My sister once said that God is the one connection that will never fail and I agree. He is always there for us in good times and bad.  It is also the best way in my opinion to protect your loved one in a time when you are not physically close by. Pray for your partner daily for both things seen and unseen and place everything into the hands of the Creator.  Seek him for comfort during this time which may be more difficult for some than others. Lay your worries onto him.You never know what challenges lie ahead for either of you so develop your trust in God and use this time apart ( from loved one) to really work on the relationship with him.
2. Stay Positive- Life happens and life happens to everyone. However we can’t always be jumping to scary conclusions without having any proof. Jumping to conclusions usually results in sleepless nights or useless arguments when we can all be enjoying limited time. Internet failing does not always have to mean that they found someone else or tripped and fell somewhere in a mysterious ditch. Not saying these things aren’t possible, but if it is something that you are extremely worried about then there is one last thing that we may be forgetting.
3. Call- How can this be number 3? I sometimes forget that calling someone does not require the internet (requires phone credit though) I have become so accustomed to instant messaging or video chatting that I have long forgotten that there are home phones, cellular phones and even phone booths still in existence, and who knows how long this option will be here. Sometimes the best way to eliminate a lot of fears and insecurities is to simply call. Hear their voice, hear the tone, and hear the beautiful musical ring of their laughter. It was there before video and instant messaging and prayer was there even before all of them combined.

 

To those of us who know when our long distance will end and even to those of us who are unsure if it will ever end. Be strong and never stop looking for ways to get in touch with your one. There are certainly many options that I may not know of or may have left out so lets start up a discussion and drop by the comments section to share your thoughts.

Thank you so much for reading!!

No Internet? Keep Calm and Try These Things.

Whether you are about to embark on a short break or fast from the internet, or your internet provider has been treating you like crap this week (like mine), I believe we can both agree on how frustrating it can be to find something to do! Let’s face it, the internet is now part of our daily routine, habits and even personality (YouTube video while having lunch anyone?). It thinks for us and tells us what to do most of the time. I am no expert but I think I can safely guess that it is most likely the most distracting thing ever created next to the fact that it does provide a great source of information. So what did we used to do before? How did our parents survive life without it? I can’t tell you that but after struggling with internet failure for close to a week, I’ve developed a few things that I have been doing and also thinking about during this time without an active internet connection.

1. Read the Bible- Now ideally, I should be doing this every day, but often times I have found myself consumed by the many distractions found online. YouTube, instant messaging and just random searching. If you are someone who is hoping to include this into your daily life, consider turning the internet off for maybe just a day, or switching your devices to airplane mode. Feeding the spirit is just as important as feeding our body.
2. Create Something-Am I the only one who automatically reaches for their phone to Google search ideas? It’s as if something that was once natural is no longer something that comes automatically. It was God who created ideas, not Google. Our minds are filled with ideas. So don’t fret if you can’t think of a recipe at the top of your head. Look at the ingredients in front of you and create something! Don’t quit painting practice or guitar practice because you don’t have a YouTube tutorial, but rather just see what comes out of your mind from what you know already. Have fun learning and creating like old times.
3. Congregate & Connect- If you are without internet right now, you might be the only one so it may be hard to meet up with friends who are nose deep in their cell phones. However, we have immediate families that we see every day who we don’t message on face book or Whatsapp. Take some time out to go have a chat and I meant face to face. If you are struggling to keep entertained, create a game night where you play board games and puzzles. Dust off the old scrabble, monopoly or my current favorite Dominoes. Experience these moments that the internet has stolen from us. These moments where our family rooms was filled with family and the walls sung our laughter.Where the lines on our parent’s faces were not such a surprise because we noticed them daily. If you are able to, think about keeping these kinds of nights into your busy calendar .We may not be the same as the olden days but we can try to learn from them.
4. Journal/Scrapbook- This is one thing that has reappeared thanks to the famous bullet journal. However, I know for sure that I cannot afford to get an actual fancy journal on Amazon or wherever. Whatever notebook you find whether it has lines or if it is blank. Anything with paper that you can apply your thoughts too will work. Scroll through some old magazines that you’ve probably never even gone through and make cut outs of shapes, letters or inspiration. Write down your thoughts or feelings .Plan your day or even your future. Analyze you in this moment and embrace the buzz of your own thoughts and not the incessant DING! Of an incoming social media chat.
5. Rest- Goodness, Please tell me if I am not alone. Whenever there is no internet a wave of sleepiness overcomes me. As if I have just ran some marathon. This leads me to wonder if it is just boredom, or my body telling me that it is simply tired. We are so drowned within our bright screens all day till past midnight that we ignore the cries of sleep when our bodies signal it. This of course is what I think and you can maybe let me know if it is true and scientifically correct. So I believe that we should take this moment to catch up on the zzz’s that we have missed for the past few days. Enjoy the unburdened rest having no thoughts for the unanswered text messages or the unread and unsent emails.
6. Re-read a much loved book- I am still not able to buy multitudes of books like I have dreamed of. However, I remember when I was younger, the only books I would have for a good year or two were just the ones on my shelf, hand me downs or books inherited from older siblings. I ended up finding a few favorites and of course read them over and over again. There are still few that I will reread even to this day for example anything by Jane Austen. Go hunting on your book shelve and grab something that you know will be guaranteed to set you into a great,chill mood while you try to ignore all the work that you could be doing online. Try to remember the feeling you had when you first read the book. Where was it? Who gave this book to you or where did you buy it? Books have a weird way of carrying with them a lifelong history lecture. It’s a feeling the internet can simply never imitate.

 

As always thank you so much for reading! I would definitely love to read your comments and thoughts on things you do when there is no internet connection. Have a wonderful and meaningful week everyone!

P.S. I love comments. Allow me to get to know you who you are!

P.P.S. If you got this far,comment Some game night ideas that you and your family have tried before!