Hi, and welcome to my site! It’s a blog about personal finance and careers, told through the lens of my search for happiness and mindfulness in life. Why those things? Well, because most people view them as a necessarily evil to use in their pursuit of happiness in life… and I think they can be more than that!


As someone who is right in the thick of things when it comes to the FIRE movement, I cannot believe I haven’t written about it until now. But hey, better late than never, right? FIRE is an acronym, short for “Financial Independence, Retire Early.” It refers to a movement, especially popular among Millennials, where you save significantly more than the average savings rate (often upward of 50% of your income) in order to retire much earlier than the standard age of 65 (think 30s or 40s). You can think of it as “Freedom 55” on steroids.

A month ago I wrote a post about outdoor entertaining items that were going to be hard to find. That list proved prescient, and there are a few items that I would add to the list since then. The shortages make perfect sense – with the pandemic still not under control, those lucky enough to have backyards are looking to transform them into their very own oasis. If that describes you, but you’re not sure where to start, here are 5 ways you can transform your backyard into that paradise you’ve been dreaming about.

With sites like Upwork and TaskRabbit existing these days, you can outsource just about any skill you want to. There’s a certain pride you get to take in yourself for being able to perform the skill yourself though; not to mention the fact that many skills can either save you tons of money or even safe a life. With that in mind, here are 10 skills that, in my opinion, everyone should possess themselves.


Meditation offers a number of benefits that we need now more than ever: it can help us become more mindful and aware in the moment; it helps reduce stress and anxiety; it improves blood flow to the brain and makes it age more slowly; it can help improve your relationships with the people around you; and it can even help you sleep more soundly. For me, I know that I feel calmer after even a few minutes of meditation, and my brain no longer tries to run a mile a minute while I’m sitting still. That by itself makes the process worth it for me. If you’re interested in trying out meditation, here are a few tips to help you get started.


Hey folks. I’m writing this post today partly because, in all honesty, it’s been a week, and I need this exercise to help wind it down. I’m also writing it for you though, in you’re having a rough go and need a reminder that we can find joy in the little things. Maybe you read this list and feel better, or maybe you’re inspired to write your own list – either way, it’s good stuff. So without further ado, here are 50 small wins that make me happy.

The COVID pandemic has brought upon a number of unexpected purchasing trends, from a mad dash to buy toilet paper, to a shortage of exercise equipment, to outdoor patio heating. This spring and summer, with many of us still stuck at home, outdoor entertaining is going to be, by far, the most popular way we socialize. With that, there are going to be some purchases you may want to make now, ahead of the rush. Here are 5 items that you’re going to have a hard time finding before long.

Recently, I’ve been playing around with a penny stock as a form of entertainment. I invested a bit of money as a gamble, was happy to see that it paid off. My money doubled, and I sold. Had I left it in, it would have doubled again. This reminded me of an important investing lesson: timing the stock market is a fool's game.

With spring right around the corner, our minds tend to start to shift toward thoughts of greenery and the outdoors. For me, I’ve also been jumping the gun on that a bit by visiting my local greenhouse and bringing some plants home to liven up my indoors. Plants have been shown to improve our quality of life; I recently wrote about 6 pet-friendly houseplants you can bring home, but today I’m going to list off a few of my favourite houseplants for beginners.

A couple weeks ago, I wrote a post about why now might just be a great time to start a side hustle. If you haven’t read that post, go back and check it out! As a follow-up to that post, today I’ll show you a few different ways to monetize your side hustle.