A blog about college, investing, cooking, psychology, saving money and general life concepts.
At the beginning of this year, I wrote about losing my mentor and still holding onto a sense of excitement for how the year might end. It’s safe to say that the year is ending on a higher note, though some of the same somber undertones are still there.I’m officially on winter break now. I... Continue Reading →
Fall always does this to me, the air turns crisp, the trees start letting go, and suddenly it feels like the season is asking you to reflect, too. I’ve been rearranging my furniture, cleaning my place, and feeling grounded again. Tonight I’ve had soft music on, the kind I used to play during seasons of... Continue Reading →
What People See vs. What Built It From the outside, people sometimes assume I have it all together. They see my straight A’s as a student. They see my global blog that reaches readers in dozens of countries. They hear that I have an investment fund. And the conclusion they jump to is: That I'm... Continue Reading →
https://youtu.be/2zmaZ19ufZU?si=FtjdxAb-Ru69theR Push play and listen to this while reading, I promise it won't disappoint. Last night, I stayed up talking to a friend until two o'clock in the morning. She was opening up about a situation she was in, and I was sharing something I’d recently experienced. We got to talking about what we want... Continue Reading →
Tonight, as I was reading various blog posts on retirement and saving money, I got to a Reddit post where somebody asked if they were starting too late at 37. And people were quick to tell them, “No. I started later.” One even said they had to start over at 43. And it made me... Continue Reading →
Dear readers, This blog has now reached over 51+ countries, and I'm honored to have each and every one of you here. If you're not from the US, it's important to know that financial advice is not a one-size-fits-all approach. So it's important to understand that what might look great on a post might not... Continue Reading →
This is Part II to Why I’m Building a Life That’s Safe From the Noise, if you haven't read part I, I encourage you to read it first. With that said there’s a certain kind of exhaustion that doesn’t come from work or school or even parenting, it comes from being constantly surrounded by ignorance.... Continue Reading →
There’s a lot going on right now. Wars overseas, continuous cost of living increases here at home, funding shortages, and policies under the current administration that don’t seem to be helping people at all. https://youtu.be/Tc5W_3r4tew?si=YBwoGkp_QrUMFp6Q This is one of the pieces I have been listening to this week. Every time you turn around, there’s something... Continue Reading →
I once wrote a letter to Santa that said, “All I want is a box of eggnog and a million dollars.” I spelled my name backwards in the signature because I was that young and dyslexic. My mom saved it. I threw it away later in a PTSD-driven moment trying to forget my childhood. But... Continue Reading →
Today I graduated. The weather didn’t make a scene about it. No grand speech, no band playing. I didn’t put on a cap and gown. I didn’t walk across a stage or pose for pictures with extended family. None of that happened. I was at home. I went to the mall, bought some chocolates, and... Continue Reading →
Mid-Year Investment Fund Update It’s been a while since I’ve updated you readers on the investment fund. It now sits at $2,061 as of today, as the market continues to churn at the hands of the president and the chaos that has been coming out of Washington since January. Still, I am over halfway to... Continue Reading →
The End of a Chapter: Graduating from Tacoma Community College This might end up being a long blog post, so bear with me. Where do I start? Well, I graduated from Tacoma Community College ( Official ceremony/graduation will be in June). Friday marked the official end of the winter quarter. I took my final exams... Continue Reading →
When I First Started on My Finance Journey This will be the 200th post for this blog, and I think it's an important milestone to set aside some time and reflect. Back in 2018, I wasn’t in a stable financial place. I didn’t have a pot to piss in, so to speak, but in better... Continue Reading →
The scary truth and the real reason why I live like a broke college student even when I don't have to is rooted in a time in my life when the saying "I don't have a pot to piss in" was painfully true. I was terrified to my core during a period when my income... Continue Reading →
It's a Monday late noon, and I am sitting in a café that myself, my mentor, and my son used to frequent together. I hadn't stepped in it since the beginning of the year, and when I did, it was only for a brief while to get food to take home. However, as the kid... Continue Reading →
There comes a moment in life when things click into place. For me, it wasn’t a sudden epiphany; it was a slow dawning, a series of small wake-up calls that finally added up. I’ve been in school since April 2024, putting every ounce of energy into my classes, trying to prove something to myself, maybe... Continue Reading →
It's that time of year again ( the holidays), and as always, I've found myself looking at our first-ever serious investment that happens to be the Coca-Cola Company. There are stocks you buy for excitement, and there are stocks you buy to sleep well at night. Coca-Cola is the latter. It’s the kind of company that... Continue Reading →
Have you ever watched one small thing happen and realized later it wasn’t small at all? That’s exactly what happened to me recently. I was at an event where there’s usually a full hot lunch, catered trays, real meals, the whole setup. But this time? Snacks from Costco. No catered lunch. Instead, there were: granola... Continue Reading →
(A Reflection on Financial Readiness, Boundaries, and Emotional Bandwidth) Realizing You Can’t Help Everyone Financially I used to think that if you cared enough, you could help anyone. I don’t believe that anymore. Recently, a friend of mine was thinking about adopting a dog as a Christmas present for her son, a $300 expense, while... Continue Reading →
When you’ve spent your whole life just trying to survive, the first time you can breathe feels like wealth. You’ve paid down a few bills, maybe built a small cushion. For once, you’re not checking your bank app every morning to make sure you didn’t overdraft. That small moment of peace is exactly when the... Continue Reading →
I know it’s been a while since I’ve shared what life looks like on my side of the screen. School started on September 24th, and these past few weeks have been about building a rhythm that feels like mine for the first time in a long time. For nearly 18 years my routines have always... Continue Reading →
Titanic Inertia: When Legacy Becomes a Liability I want to walk you through a critical concept in investing that many overlook: the relationship between qualitative and quantitative factors. As you’ll see, this is about more than just numbers or spreadsheets; it’s about understanding how people run businesses, how financial data reflects behavior, and how investor... Continue Reading →
The Broke College Student 