Cold Emailing and Personal Finance Friend

On being grateful: I am trying to break into a new industry.

And this means a lot of cold emailing.

Half of the cold emailing leads to no response, but for the other half, I have met — and continue to meet — some wonderful folks who have allowed me to pick their brain on how they entered the industry.

Most importantly, I have learned to (1) separate the risks inherent in the business from the risks worth addressing and mitigating and (2) demonstrate that business of the company is my specialty.

Which Leads Me To . . .

Existing But Not Living

I haven’t posted in the past few weeks. I started this blog with the intention of blogging every Wednesday, but after my last post, I started to feel things were getting forced. That is, I was writing just to meet the every Wednesday goal, not that I had something meaningful to write and share.

Existing but not living.

That has been my past few weeks. A few ups, but mostly disappointments. And in the midst of those disappointments, I lost my desire to write. I am still in somewhat of a fog, but writing has become somewhat of a catharsis, and I want to get back on the horse.

Starting next week, I plan to re-establish the once-a-week post and share my Grateful and Frugal journey going forward.

Enough and Peace of Mind

On being grateful: I am grateful to recognize when I have enough. I have a roof over my head, eat 3 meals a day, and am surrounded with people I love.

Which Leads Me To . . .

Light At The End Of The Tunnel and The Tales Of Beetle The Bard

On being grateful: I am grateful that last week, a decision was made and I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

As a bit of background, for the past several years, I have been singularly focused on one goal. Everything that I do – or don’t do – has been focused on achieving that goal. And now, depending on how the next few months go, there is a slight chance I may achieve that goal.

Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel is a bit unnerving (even as I’m writing this, I am thinking to myself, “What’s next? What if what I want next doesn’t work out? How can I set myself up for success at whatever I may want next while at the same time preparing myself for the disappointment if it doesn’t happen?”), but at the same time, it is gratifying to know that the efforts of these past years may just pay off.

Which Leads Me To . . . 

Habits and Vegetables

On being grateful: I am grateful that I am (slowly) learning the importance of good habits. Paraphrasing something I have heard recently: what gets measured usually gets managed. On the personal finance front, I sit down each month to track what is coming in versus what is going out.

Which Leads Me To . . . 

Tuna Salad and Free Sandwiches

On being grateful: Thank you to the deli clerk at my local grocery store who made the tuna salad sandwich for me today. I loved watching you make the tuna salad from scratch and was even more grateful when I started eating the sandwich, and saw you had given me extra helpings of the tuna salad.

Which Leads Me To . . .

Trusting My Gut and Thrift Store Shopping

On being grateful: I am grateful that I am (slowly!) learning how to trust my gut more often. Take what happened a few weeks ago.

I was considering hiring a vendor for a personal project. This project is something that I can do myself, but from friends who have undertaken similar projects, I had heard that it’s easier to work with someone that does this type of thing for a living. With that in mind, I emailed a vendor, and his response gave me a bit of pause, but nothing that was too out of the ordinary. We arranged a call where I gave him the specifications of the project, and at the end of the call, he made a remark that indicated something was definitely off. Long story short, I have decided to undertake the project myself and not outsource it to anyone. While it would be nice to have help on this project, I am grateful that I caught wind of the vendor’s style of business early on – and doubly grateful for the reminder that no one cares more about me than I do.

Which Leads Me To . . .

Anticipation and Control

On being grateful: I am grateful that I am re-learning the joy of anticipation. And just anticipating something is as meaningful to me as actually experiencing that something. As a kid, I loved my monthly McDonalds visit for the happy meal toy. As much as I loved the actual experience of McDonalds, I also looked forward to that time of the month when I knew that in the next few days, a McDonalds visit was just around the corner.

Which Leads Me To . . .

Square Footage and Minimalism

On being grateful: There are days where I wish I could buy property in my city, but I am grateful that I am learning to appreciate what I already have. I live in a rather spacious apartment: over 700 square feet of living space for 1 person. While I do hope to one day become a homeowner, I love the neighborhood that I live in; I love that it’s less than 30 minutes away from work; and I love how my favorite restaurants are right outside my doorstep.

Which Leads Me To . . .

Moderation and The Perfect Frugal Day

On being grateful: I am grateful that I am learning moderation in all things. Yes, it’s important to live below my means, but I do love treating myself with little things every now and then – which means going to the nail salon every month. And leaving completely relaxed after getting pampered adds that extra kick in my step and keeps me going.

Which Leads Me To . . .