I asked some of my married colleagues yesterday if they were planning on having kids anytime soon. Pandemic aside, the answer was still no. They’re waiting to be completely stable (car, house, career) before bringing anyone else into the family.
I understand it. There’s a certain level of responsibility you need to take before you have a kid. Can you afford them? Do you have the time to look after them? Are you mentally prepared?
But one thing that’s always made me think is why some kids turn out so well and others don’t. …
You don’t have to go very far on the internet to find financial advice. Every other article seems to be about becoming successful. Every YouTube ad seems to involve a random guy sitting in a Lambo telling you how to make $41,022 per month online.
But the majority of it isn’t helpful.
I’ve recently been taking my finances very seriously. I’ve read a few books on finance and investment and dozens of articles on becoming wealthy.
The problem is, most financial advice involves using your money to make more money. Invest in assets, trade, start a business.
But what if you don’t have any money to spend? If you’re barely getting by and only have emergency savings, how are you supposed to buy shares in a company? …
One of the hardest parts about my last breakup was letting go of everything I had put into it. It was less about the pangs of loneliness and more about the love, time, and energy I had given that would now amount to nothing. Neither of us had really done anything wrong. It just wasn’t meant to be.
I decided in my next relationship, I’d put on the brakes a little bit. Not get too carried away. Sure, invest my time and energy, but only go ‘all-in’ when I was 100% certain of the person.
And then one day, I met someone. All my caution flew out the window and I fell head over heels for her. Within a few weeks of knowing her, I knew she was the one I wanted to marry. Luckily she felt the same way. And here we are, happily married. …
When it comes to finances, you likely have had to learn most of what you know on your own. Schools don’t teach you how to manage your money. Most parents give you general guidance like ‘don’t spend all your money on sweets.’ Chances are you just wing it. Learn as you go.
But one thing seems to be a recurring piece of basic financial advice: save.
From the first day you got your piggy bank as a kid, you were told how important it is to save your money. …
I bet you want to be wealthy. I know I do. I actually don’t know anyone who doesn’t want more wealth. Even if you want a simple life, chances are you want to have enough to give others.
Since I was a kid, I’ve dreamed of having enough to live a comfortable life, follow my dreams, and help those who need it.
But I now realize there is a lot more to wealth than a high paying job. My idea of it has also evolved from something simply based on money.
I see two aspects to it. Wealth has a material component (money, assets, investments) and a human component (skills, values, abilities). Your net worth is a combination of your material possession and the value you have. …
Life seems to be about chasing things.
Deadlines, money, promotions, a better life. So much time is spent trying to get stuff, but what if letting things go is how you actually live a happier and more fulfilling life?
If you listen to advice from most happy and successful people, you’ll hear the same thing repeated over and over again. How did they get where they are? They didn’t chase anything. They let go of something instead.
The innovators, stars, and billionaires of this world look like they made it because of their drive and passion. And to an extent they did. …
One of the most eye-opening conversations I’ve ever had was with my boss, exactly a year after I joined the company. As he reviewed my performance for the year, he said:
“Nathan, you’re doing OK. You’ve had a decent year all round. But if you keep this up, you’ll go nowhere in life.”
I was confused. If I had done ok, why didn’t I have a future? He explained to me:
“See, there are people at this company who come in every day, do almost the same thing, collect their paychecks at the end of the month and that’s enough. …
When I was in high school, I found a book online that claimed to teach you everything you needed to know about how to make women find you attractive.
As I skimmed it, looking for golden nuggets to hopefully make me more smooth with the ladies, I came across a chapter titled: How to never be cheated on.
I wasn’t in a relationship, but that bold claim was too spicy to ignore. …
We all do things we’re not proud of.
Earlier this year I found myself with a little more time than I was used to and ended up binge-watching a season of Love Island.
For those unfamiliar with the reality dating show, a bunch of attractive people with symmetrical faces and toned bodies spend 8 weeks in a villa together, get to know each other, and see if they can find love.
I started watching it as a joke. I was curious and wanted to distract myself with a bit of ‘trash TV’. …
When I was 11, a friend and I decided to try and hack into a classmate’s email account.
It wasn’t for malicious purposes. It’s not like they had bank account details or legal documents in their inbox. We just wanted to look cool in front of our friends.
One day after class, we logged onto one of the school computers and Googled “How to find your friend’s Yahoo password”.
Excited that Google found results, we eagerly clicked on the first link — a site that promised us we could find anyone’s password. All we had to do was type in our own email and password and the email of the person we wanted to hack. …