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Finding Little Moments of Joy

Brad
Posted by Brad Barrett

Finding Little Moments of Joy

While on vacation, I’ve been thinking about searching out moments of joy more frequently in daily life -- even if only in bite-sized chunks.

Last night I watched a viral video of two twin brothers listening to Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” for the first time. The pure joy and surprise on their faces when the famous drum solo hit was incredible to watch. It got me thinking about the enjoyment I get from listening to music and how infrequently I go back and listen to my favorites. Then I remembered two of my favorite YouTube videos and how they never fail to bring a smile to my face and watched them both:

Please hit reply and pass along any suggestions you have for finding small moments of joy in your own life!

How to Podcast Workshop Round 2

By popular demand, Jonathan is holding another ‘How to Launch a Podcast’ live workshop this Saturday 8/15 at 1 pm EST. Register now for the live event (a replay link will be sent out if you can’t make it at 1 pm):

Register For the Workshop

Back to Basics Personal Finance

What fees are you paying in a given month and why are you paying them?? What are you getting for those fees? Convenience? Bonuses? Nothing in particular?

Try to eliminate fees as much as possible, as quickly as possible! I pay virtually no fees in a given calendar year except on two very specific credit cards, but I’ve done that purposefully as the value I get is more than the fees I pay.

Everything else has gone away: ATM fees, any types of checking account fees (monthly, overdraft, etc.), “convenience fees” for paying something monthly instead of annually. The list goes on and on!

We talk about financial advisory fees and expense ratios on our mutual funds a lot on ChooseFI and those will add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars over an investing lifetime, but for the sake of this week’s exercise, try to root out these smaller and more insidious fees you may not otherwise notice. I suspect they add up to big bucks!

The Simple StartUp Fall Challenge

If your child missed out on The Simple StartUp Summer Camp, I have good news, we're adding more sessions! For 10 weeks this Fall, your child will be guided through how to start a business of their own using The Simple StartUp model, as well as learn how to start and run their first business. Both summer sessions sold out, so if interested, don't delay. And when you register by September 10th, you'll get $10 off with the promo code EARLYBIRD10.

Reserve your spot

ChooseFI Community Taking Action this Week

Last week I asked you to hit reply to this email and let me know what your wins were for the week. Here are a few that jumped out to me:

  • Laura said, “This is how I made my life 1% better, though it feels more like 100%! I sold my home for $11k over asking price and used the proceeds to pay for a brand-new manufactured home outright. This gave me the option to not work for a while, so gave notice at a job that wasn't a right fit for me. The very next day after I had given notice, my old boss reached out to me about a dream job. I landed the job with $20k more annual salary, at a great company and some terrific folks I have worked with before. Have 2 weeks of ‘Red X’ time before I start on 8/24. It's been an amazing few weeks to say the least.”
  • Soledad said, “I cancelled my subscription to Audible (app for audio books) and got a public library card and now I can listen to audiobooks for free! I cancelled my subscription to a meal kit delivery company and downloaded your recipe book. Going from $13 to $2 a meal! Thank you for the suggestions and push to take action...”
  • Estella said, “Brand new to FI and this week I moved my $1,000 emergency fund to an online savings account where I plan to grow it to cover my expenses for 3 months. Love taking action toward FI!”
  • Chris and Lindsey wrote that they “decided to refinance our mortgage and received a lower interest rate by 1.125%! We even were able to get $600 removed as part of the closing costs. Your episodes about refinancing gave us the courage to do this.”
  • Elly “made my life 1% better this week by calling my husband's dentist and asking what reduction they would give us on a $1,014 bill if paid immediately in cash. Answer - $125 off! Just goes to show, if you don't ask, you don't get”
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