InvestingGingerly

Hello! Here is a breakdown of our STR since we listed it mid February.

It’s been an interesting experience so far, I’m looking forward to getting more familiar with the different platforms and guests.

The egress windows and water heater will increase the overall value of the property, and we’ve wanted to do these for SO long!

I can say without a doubt that we’ve made the home nicer than it ever was when we lived there. So…that’s annoying 🙃

I like goal setting. I made a vision board for the first time last year, and I think it helped a lot. My 2023 goals are to put my phone away more. I love to scroll. I have FOMO and I think that constantly looking to see what everybody else is doing is going to keep me from “missing out”...I’m not sure what exactly I’m missing out ON so putting the phone down is big in my future. 

Getting outside daily. I was looking at foldable treadmills this morning. So, instead of buying one of those I’m going to go outside of my house and walk on the sidewalks around my awesome new house and see how that goes instead. I know I need a way to get some of my anxious energy out, and sitting in front of a computer is not the way it’s going to happen. 

I want to tile a backsplash in our rental, and I want to get estimates and actually get started on ripping out the concrete patio and putting in plumbing to a future ADU site. Eventually it’ll probably be a home for my mom, but we can rent it out long-term until then. 

My main goal is to build up rental income to replace my current income. I’d love to have the option to leave my job or at least for my husband to leave his part-time position. 

I’ll be two years sober at the end of April! I’m so proud of myself for cutting that s**t out of my life. I spent too much time and energy trying to feel comfortable in my body and on this planet. Going for it sober is harder in some ways and easier in others. 

Study Spanish! convinced me to buy Babbel, so now I am doing my daily lessons. It’s nice little bites, and the fact that I paid for it (about $200, I think for lifetime access and all the languages) makes me more interested in actually doing it. 

What big goals or celebrations do you have coming up? I’d love to hear about them

It was a busy morning.

Now, I only learned a few days ago that the license for a short-term rental in my city takes 20 days to receive.

I should have started that application earlier, but there was just too much going on with the new house.

What's required at your location will be different (cuz why not?). But always make sure you're compliant with your taxes.

Most places require you to file zero dollar tax returns if you have no sales.

Don't be embarrassed if you are "late" in exploring interests or even realizing certain things exist.

I thought I was the only person who wasn't investing when I found this space at 35.

I'm not. Turns out a lot of people have no idea investing is possible or that you can start with teeny tiny amounts of money.

Don't feel silly or shame yourself.

You're learning now, I'm learning, and we're all trying our best to find information that will better our lives with 1,000 other things going on in our lives.

Getting started is the most important thing.

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Let's not pretend money is a objective subject. It's not as easy as "oh, I'll just stop spending money"

Budgets are awesome, and I love looking at the data of my own spending, because it's interesting (yes, even when I overspend).

But it is an oversimplification to think that opening up a spreadsheet, or using a piece of paper, is going to magically solve the emotional actions associated with money. And therapy is expensive as f**k.

If you struggle with spending to hopefully get a big enough dopamine hit to make it through your day, I feel you. I am right there with you.

I spent so much money trying to feel like I fit in, hoping that this next dress/skirt/shirt/jacket/Coach purse would make me blend in with everyone, would help me feel like I belong.

It never worked, but maybe this next thing will...?

The biggest thing I can reccommend is to start tracking where you spend your money. NOT to beat the s**t out of yourself over it, just to record the amounts and things purchased. No judgement.

Credit card debt, seeing your paycheck sucked away covering multiple minimum payments is dreadful. I know because that's how I thought everyone lived, so I lived like that too. Learned helplessness.

There is a way out. You can do this. We can all make small moves in a positive direction.

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My Etsy store has new listings! For anyone looking for a way to get your finances in one spot, or for helpful visual worksheets to hang up in your living space, click over for a look and a follow

Tools to help you reach your financial (and life) goals by InvestingGingerly You searched for: InvestingGingerly! Discover the unique items that InvestingGingerly creates. At Etsy, we pride ourselves on our global community of sellers. Each Etsy seller helps contribute to a global marketplace of creative goods. By supporting InvestingGingerly, you’re supporting a small bus...

💾 Save this for inspiration if you're paying down debt, or if you need to pay down debt

Let me repeat, you are not a bad person if you're in debt.

I thought I was. I was so ashamed of how I let my behavior get so out of hand. I thought I was the only person who was SO IRRESPONSIBLE!

I wasn't.

I got tired of the anxiety and fear associated with trying to figure out how I was going to make all of my minimum payments every month for all of the things that I "needed".

I found less expensive ways to feel better than ordering stuff. I realized that one more f**king pencil skirt wasn't going to make me feel "as good" as the other people I worked with.

It wasn't my clothes that made me feel like I didn't fit in (it never is).

So if you're realizing you need to pay off some debt, or if you're in the throes of tightening your budget, I feel you. It is hard. It'll be difficult for a bit longer, but the relief from that weight is coming, and I believe in you.

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Revised contribution amounts for 2023

The amounts are per the individual, and not the account. These are also the employee contributions, employer contributions have different limits.

Even if you're not contributing the max to these accounts it's good to know what's out there 💰

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I saved about $12K by keeping all the records from my health insurance company in regards to my daughter's dental work.

Record keeping can be a drag, it's ONE more thing we have to do, but it is SOOOOO worth it.

Use any method that's easiest, voice recorder, notes app, can of spray paint and a wall.

Companies and government should (and usually do) keep records of customer interactions, but people forget. Some folks take fewer descriptive notes that others.

The point is to cover your ass.

I've seen tax payers get more time to protest a tax bill because an address wasn't right, I've seen the statute of limitations kept open for a $12K refund because an $80 bill was sent out a year prior, and I've submitted my own case for appeal for my own insurance company (and no one reached out to apologize for denying all my claims 🤔).

Keep records. Do it. You never know who is slacking, and if things get serious, you don't want it to be you.

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