Money Monday: What I Spent $313.20 on Over a Weekend

Okay, so plot twist, people: I started traveling for work and that put a bit of wrench in this whole plan to only use cash. All of my expenses Monday to Thursday have been charged to a card, but I have managed to stick to cash for my Friday to Sunday expenses. With that being said, below I’ll be sharing my weekend expenses over two weekends.

Weekend 1

Sunday

I spent the last few days of July and first days of August in Maryland visiting my family. When I got back to Chicago on Sunday afternoon, I went to Whole Foods grab some food to supplement what I already had at home and picked up some other things for travel. I got plantain chips, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, coconut aminos, skyr yogurt, lavender room and body mist, and turmeric pills. I also donated the cost of a bag to the WF charity of the month. $44.95

Daily total: $44.95

Weekend total: $44.95

Weekend 2

Friday

I worked from home this day and made it through most of the day eating some frozen foods from Trader Joe’s, kale and cereal (not all at once, of course). I went into downtown after signing off from work to get my nails done and buy new running shoes. I got OPI VIPink nail polish and I am in love. It’s so bright and fun. I recommend getting a coat of the whitest nail polish available under the pink because it makes the pink pop even more. Anyway, the mani-pedi was $72 with tip and after a $10 discount because it was my tenth visit to the salon.

I headed to a running store and picked up some Adidas running shoes that fit my orthotics because my feet are messed up. And, to my surprise, they were on sale! $115.77

Why I'm Going on an All Cash Diet for August

Last year, I got really into learning how to be better with money because I realized that I wasn’t exactly, uhhh, good with it. I only ever made sure I had enough cash to pay my rent and utilities, and then spent the remaining money on whatever I wanted and basically assumed I had enough money to cover all of my expenses. I think we can all agree, I was not really setting myself up for success in terms of saving for the short term or long term. Once I started to learn more about personal finance, I wanted to talk to my friends about it all the time. We talk to our friends about everything, even things we consider to be embarrassing or secretive or anxiety inducing, but we avoid talking about money, though it is usually where lots of us could use the most help. So, internet friends, we are gonna talk about money. 

Next month, I am going to go on an all cash diet as a means of aggressively saving money. So, I will be paying for nearly everything I buy with cash. I say nearly because I will be using my travel rewards credit card to pay for a hotel stay and flight in August, and paying for rent and other bills electronically. When the cash runs out, so does my spending -- yikes! 

In June, I decided to move out of my beloved one-bedroom apartment into a two-bedroom apartment and have a roommate to cut my monthly fixed cost of living by about 45%. And since I did make what was for me such a drastic lifestyle change, I want to take this seriously and do what I set out to do - save money! 

Top Travel Podcasts for Women

About two months ago, I realized that there is a podcast for anything and everything. After simple Google searches of things like "top yoga podcasts," "top health podcasts," or, the topic of this post, "top travel podcasts," I found so much good stuff! Every once and a while (read: all the time) I just have an urge to go somewhere and experience something new. But, alas, commitments in Chicago keep me tethered for most of the year.

In my mind, travel podcasts would work to satiate my hunger for travel, but I'm sure you, the rational being that you are, know what really happened: it did the exact opposite. My silliness aside, I'm sharing some of my favorite travel podcasts for women below. I've been thinking a lot about solo travel and have been seeking out stories about women traveling alone to give me an idea of what it might be like, hence sharing about podcasts targeted to women. For me, it's always easy to take the leap and do the thing I've never done before, when I hear about someone doing it and loving it. While I don't know any of the women in the podcasts, their stories are real, raw and relatable. Throughout all of these pods, there's a theme of women overcoming, fighting through and sitting with fear when it comes to travel. There's something incredible about hearing what women gain when they push beyond their fear and head out the door and makes me want to have that experience for myself. I will say, lots of these pods are lacking in racial diversity and speak with mostly white women, but I still value the perspectives shared and am on the hunt for even more inclusive travel pods -- will keep you all updated on that front. And all of these pods foster community in some way, through Facebook groups, in person meets up or group travel -- how fun!

On She Goes
This podcast comes from the women of "On She Goes, a digital travel platform that helps women of color travel more confidently, more adventurously, and more often." Which is like heyyy, hello, that's meeeee! I love that this podcast specifically targets women of color and speaks about travel experiences that are unique to women of color travelers. The conversations are nuanced, entertaining and thoughtful. In particular, I am thinking about one episode in which the hosts were talking about backpacking and camping as black women and one woman mentioned the historical trauma that black people have with sleeping outside and being in the middle of nowhere. She also said once black people were able to own property (or even rent quality property) the sense of ownership and need to not sleep outside made the idea of camping seem all the more preposterous. These astute observations gave the phrase "black people don't go camping" a new meaning for me, and helped me begin to the answer the question of why black people might not go camping with some context on how historical trauma gets passed down and influences behavior. All to say, tune into this pod for even more astute observations. 

She Explores
Big, big fan of this podcast. A major theme is definitely hearing from women who do things outdoors, like hiking, climbing, ski mountaineering, etc. But also approaches these topics from a number of intersections like physical ability, age, race, sustainability and many more. It's important to broker conversations at these intersections because one, it's super cool to hear a story from someone who is like you doing some crazy amazing feet outside like walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain. It's also cool to hear from someone not like you doing that. There are also great conversations with women who are extreme outdoor athletes and amateur outdoor athletes, and all encourage women to own their title as hiker, climber, biker or whatever no matter their level of expertise. I've also learned so much about places right here in the US that sound absolutely beautiful from what the women describe and am working on a list of must-go places for right here in the States. Finally, I'm a big, big fan of this pod because it features diverse women in every sense and isn't afraid to call out the whiteness and maleness of the mainstream outdoor community.

18 Things I Learned in 2018

The year is coming to a close and I feel like lots of people share their accomplishments on social media, which is awesome because we all deserve to celebrate ourselves and year end is a great time to reflect on our good memories. But, through my yoga practice, I have found it more useful to focus on things that I have learned and will stick with me, as opposed to singular moments of success. So, instead of a post about all the wonderful things I did this year, I am sharing 18 things I learned in 2018 in hopes that you might be able to take something from them too.   

In 2018, I learned that…

1. I can do anything. Literally, anything.

2. I’m a damn good yoga teacher and make really great playlists for class.

3. Having cool things is cool, but having a savings account is cooler.

4. Everything happens for a reason.

5. All is well all the time.

6. Practicing non-attachment is hard and necessary when it comes to healing and forgiveness. Especially when forgiving those who have not asked for forgiveness (and probably never will) and for forgiving myself.

7. My health is the most important aspect of my life.

8. A successful romantic partnership with a man is in fact a partnership, not a relationship in which I am the object of his affection or a boost to his ego.

Why I'll Never Buy Another Occasion Dress

Earlier this year, I attended my first wedding as an adult and this weekend, I’ll attend my second. I say, “as an adult” because it’s totally different than being 12 years old and having your mom pick out your dress for you. As an adult, you have to consider, maybe with or without the consult of your mom, the stated attire for the wedding, the time of the wedding (day time or evening), the season, and appropriateness for the venue (i.e. church vs not a church). So much to consider!

With that being said, I’m here for the simplification of the whole process of getting “occasion” dresses. Occasion dresses being any dress you would not normally wear and buy specifically for an occasion. When I thought about the fact that I have had not one, but two prom dress sitting in a closet for five years, I knew this wasn’t a road I wanted to go down as an adult who is trying to be more conscious of the things I buy and the reasons why I buy them. Chances are, I’ll never buy another occasion dress because, to put it plainly, they are a colossal waste of money and waste of the time put into finding them. Since I want you to be free from this dress burden, too, I’m sharing some of my favorite ways to get around it. And they’re all eco-friendly!

1. Rent a dress!

For the wedding I attended in May, I rented a dress from Rent the Runway. Rent the Runway is a really incredible, innovative solution to exactly the problem I mentioned: women buying expensive dresses to wear once for some occasion. Renting tuxedos has been a thing for a long time, and Rent the Runway essentially allows those of us who wear dresses to do the same. You can rent a designer dress for a fraction of the off-the-rack price. I got my dress shipped to the Rent the Runway store in Chicago and was able to try it on there and browse other available styles if I decided I wanted to exchange my rental. It was so, so easy and I cannot recommend Rent the Runway enough.

Living from a Place of Gratitude

Thanksgiving is this week! A holiday that often brings families, friends, and friends who are like family together to share a meal. It marks the beginning of the holiday season for many and brings about more contact with those that we love. In elementary school, “What are you thankful for?” was the journal prompt for so many years in Language Arts. In recent years, my dad has also taken to asking the same question during Thanksgiving dinner. It is such a good and simple question and one that we should ask ourselves regularly, even when the going gets tough.

Last week, I finished my 200 hour yoga teacher training. Like, whoooaaahooohooo I was so pumped. I could not believe that I had found 200 hours (and then some) to devout to self study and learning a new skill while also working full time (and then some). Coming up on Thanksgiving, I can say without a doubt, my yoga teacher training experience is what I am most thankful for this year. It has taught me so many things that I will flesh out over posts to come, but I want to focus on the most timely lesson, which was learning to live from a place of gratitude.

Making a Healthy Transition to Fall

Fall is here in Chicago and I am oh, so excited. I’m a sucker for anything pumpkin flavored, and I love to get cozy under blankets on cool nights. In places like Chicago where we experience the full spectrum of weather, from below zero degrees in the winter to nearly 100 degrees in the summer, we often consider fall to be a season in itself. Last week, I had a conversation with my favorite yoga instructor and she presented the idea of fall not being a season at all, and really being a time of transition. A time of ups and downs of energy, inconsistent weather patterns, sun some days, clouds others. I’ve been thinking about fall as a time of transition a lot, and wanted to share some ways to stay grounded through this in-between time before the stillness of winter sets in.

Yoga Teacher Training: Letting Go of Comparison

Yoga classes can be intimidating, but I am here to say, there is no such thing as being "good" at yoga. Well, at least, that's what I believe to be true. 

For the past two weeks, I have been thinking a lot about letting go of comparison as a means of truly growing in my own practice, both on and off the mat. During a difficult posture in a class, the instructor simply said, "Let go of comparison." It was such a small statement, but it has stuck with me. In a class setting, it is easy to let your mind (and eyes) stray and think things like, "Their dancer's pose is better than mine," or "Why haven't I been able to reach the same variation of the pose as my friend?" Comparison takes away from celebrating what you can do, what you have done, and what you will do.