According to a Facebook conversation, seeing humanity on “the other side” makes me an outcast
You know how the Internet has a fantastic way of making you feel ashamed and bullied and angry as hell, all at the same time? If you don’t understand this sensation, you have probably never made a comment on a controversial Facebook thread. I should know better, but today I decided to comment. However, one thing might surprise you: The person I’m arguing with is liberal, just like me.
This isn’t a cross-political-divide misunderstanding. It’s a disagreement coming from the same “side.” Also read as: Democrats are not all the same, just like Republicans are not all the same. …
Harness feelings of jealousy to figure out what you want
No one likes to feel jealous of a friend or a family member, or even a stranger on social media. But this jealousy is useful. It can help you figure out what you want to do with your life.
You first need to make a few conscious choices, however.
Here’s how.
What jealousy means under the surface
Jealousy isn’t inherently bad. This is important to understand. Otherwise, you’ll probably feel ashamed or guilty, then have a harder time using your jealous feelings to your advantage. …
No matter how boring your job is, you can include fulfilling work in your day-to-day
Your nine-to-five is dreadful — as in, going into the office actively fills you with dread. Or you’re at a dead-end job that you know won’t go where you want to go. Or you’re so overworked that you feel like you have no time for fun anymore.
I have been there. In every one of these situations. You’re like me, and you have a desperate need for creativity and joy in your work life. And guess what? Even after I launched a freelance writing business, I still felt much of this.
The good news is that you don’t have to blast your life into outer space to make a change. Small steps make a big impact. Here are my top tips for starting to include fun work in your day-to-day. …
How one entrepreneur makes $500 to $1,000 every month on the side and how you can, too
If you dream of turning your passion or interest into a money-making machine, you’ll want to hear what Anisha Mehta has to say.
I spoke to her in a recent episode of The Poor Me Podcast and learned that she makes about $500 to $1,000 a month (or more) through her company, Bollyblooms. All while working full-time. And she only devotes a few hours every month. Plus, she gets to teach kids how to dance Bollywood, which is something she loves.
Here’s her best advice.
1. Choose a side hustle you care about
If you pick a project for your side hustle that you don’t love but think might earn cash, you probably won’t stick with it. You have to be willing to put in a lot of hours and to fail over and over again. …
My experience on a diversity task force taught me a few troubling things
A few years ago, I worked in an office job as part of a Diversity Task Force. The president called us together to come up with solutions for how to add diversity in the workplace. I was thrilled about it, and to be included.
But during one of the meetings, I realized something: The managers in the room were thinking of diversity as a favor to future employees. A handout. Something we should do out of the goodness of our hearts.
No one thought of it as a massive loss we were taking as an institution. …
Also, the President’s.
I got a call from my Indiana-based mom to my cell earlier this week. During the conversation, she asked me if I had heard what was happening in Seattle.
“No. What’s happening?” I asked.
“The Antifa locked down several blocks and are holding it captive. They’re carrying around huge rifles.” She went on to say that the protesters say they aren’t part of the U.S. anymore, that they are their own country, and are checking anyone’s ID who comes in and out.
Also, they were giving away free food to anyone who needed it. …
There’s more to feel than optimism right now
This piece was taken from my an episode of my new podcast on feelings about money, The Poor Me Podcast. If you would prefer to listen, go here.
Essential workers have the right to be pissed off right now. But it feels like the larger culture doesn’t want to be angry. We want to be hopeful, we want to be optimistic — all of which are good things — but we need to also allow our full spectrum of feelings. We’re human, after all. It’s OK to be frustrated, to be scared, to have negative feelings.
Especially about going to work. Going to do your job. You go to a grocery store like you may have done for the past five years, and all of a sudden, you’re at risk. Your life is at risk. Of course you’re going to be angry. …
Emotions around money are about to get intense again. But you can confront them.
The last time we were collectively so stressed about money was in 2008. It’s about to get hard again. The coronavirus has created tsunamis in the world’s financial markets.
In general, money is an emotional thing. Whether you have cash or not, it can cause emotions to rage. If you have a lot of money, you might worry about putting it in the right pockets. If you don’t have enough of it, you might stress over how to pay for what you need. But it’s not only the amount of money you have that causes issues. …
Even with the COVID-19 suspension, you should keep making payments if you can
I’m here to share some good news: the government decided to suspend payments and interest on all your federal student loans until September 30, 2020 because of COVID-19. This means you don’t have to make payments on your student loans until the end of September. Plus, they won’t gain interest. Ready to buy a case of wine for a (digital) party because you don’t have to pay your student loans? I’m here to caution you against it.
For many, this freeze on payments is necessary. You might be struggling to pay for food. But if you are able, right now is the absolute perfect time to throw as much money toward your student loans as you can. Why? …
Growing up poor gave me tactics for surviving the worst. Here’s my best advice.
Let’s call this situation like it is — crap. In a lot of ways for a lot of people. Whether you got laid off, are a gig worker that can’t gig, or your retirement that you have been scrounging together has plummeted, it’s hard as hell. So how do you deal with it all?
There’s no magic potion. But I grew up in a household where having an unstable income was the norm. Therefore, I learned a few things about how to manage difficult financial times. Here are some of the lessons I’d like to pass on to you.
Don’t freak out about your income loss
This is easy to say, and really difficult to do. However, flipping out won’t help you at all. As a kid, I had a lot of anxiety about money because I always felt like there wasn’t enough. It’s the worst feeling, especially when you’re young and have no control over the situation. But these emotions don’t have to overpower you. …
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