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reviewkidoodle · 5 years

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Best Purchases of 2018

Here’s the post I’ve been meaning to write for a month and a half. Last year I started my now annual “Best Purchases” post from the previous year. I figure having certain items long enough warrants enough time to give them a fair review. Some of the items on this year’s list were purchased in 2018 although we didn’t start using them till this year but I’m still including them because I love them so much.

One || Our Patio Set

These pieces were individual purchases (two separate loveseats and a chair set which included the coffee table) so you could purchase as many or as few as the pieces as you’d like. After months of use they were very comfortable and I didn’t notice any adverse wear on the cushions (except from kids bringing food over to them). The cushions stayed the perfect firmness and we had only one or two spots where the wicker popped up… I was nervous there was going to be a lot more with four kids!

I’d HIGHLY recommend this set. I’d also highly recommend these covers for them, they are a little big which makes putting them on a breeze (no struggling to put ones that fit them like a glove on).

You can read the full post about the patio set here.

Two and Three || Apron Front Sink and Bridge Faucet

While we bought these months ago we’ve only been using them for a few weeks but so far I LOVE LOVE LOVE them. They both feel really sturdy and well-made. The sink has SO MUCH ROOM IN IT and I love that it came with a grate to protect the bottom of the sink. The prices on these two items are really affordable in comparison to similar items.

Four|| DW Home Gardenia Candle

If my home had a signature scent this would be it. I find all my DW Home Gardenia candles at Marshalls but in case you can’t here is the link to the Amazon one. It’s about $8 more than you’ll spend on it at Marshalls.

Five || Therapedic Weighted Blanket

Therapedic sent me some products in October or November that they wanted help getting the word out about. I just needed to do an Instagram post and a stories about them but I can’t stop talking about them (you’ll see another one of the items made the list in the clothing section). This weighted blanket is so different from anything we’ve ever had but we love it. I think I sleep better and deeper, it keeps me SO warm and generally is one of my favorite blankets EVER. The first few nights are so weird and I hate when it’s laying on my throat but otherwise it’s INCREDIBLE. My guess is that it’ll be a colder weather item for our bed because it really keeps you warm. The downside to it is that it’s pricey but I’d say it’s highly worth it (we have the large size which weighs 20 pounds but I’d get the extra large if you are putting it on a queen bed like we are).

Six|| J. Crew Chambray Dress

I wore this dress on repeat all summer. This unfortunately isn’t the best photo but it was so comfortable and was great to transition from spring to summer and summer to fall. It’s 50% off now too. (There are a lot of dresses from J. Crew Factory that are 50% off now that I’m in love with…)

This dress is almost identical, it just has scalloped sleeves instead of a tie on them.

Seven || Make + Model Joggers

I asked my sister for these pants for my birthday. When she got them about four months ago they had different colors but I’m in love with them. I wear them constantly. They are ridiculously soft and comfy. There are two downsides: the ride pretty low (careful sitting down!) and they pill very easily (I think mine show the pills easily because they are a very light blue so I’d highly recommend the dark blue or black joggers).

Eight || Jo Malone Orange Blossom Perfume

You’ve read my ravings about this perfume before. My mom and dad gave this to me for my birthday this year because I finally ran out of my original bottle and I’ve been in love with it for about eight years since I started using it. The smallest sized bottle lasts me for years.

Nine || Therapedic Memory Foam Slippers

I have worn these slippers EVERY SINGLE DAY since I got them, including this very second. They are under $20, so comfy and really keep my feet warm! (Though Therapedic sent me these free of charge I do not have to promote them… I’m only doing it because they are easily one of my favorite new things from this year.)

Ten || Siblings without Rivalry and Crazy Rich Asians

The fact is not lost on me that I’m recommending two completely different books in the same sentence. Crazy Rich Asians is hysterical and fluffy and about so much stuff that doesn’t matter. There are a few trashy parts but for the most part it’s pretty clean. If you want a good book to escape in this is it… I loved it so much I just started Rich People Problems (also hysterical but haven’t read China Rich Girlfriend yet).

Siblings without Rivalry is amazing. It is making me rethink everything about how I interact with the kids, how I want them to interact together and what I saw in front of them and about them that might be hurting them.

Eleven || Our Double Stroller(s)

This is the stroller that I take everywhere with us (it’s not our jogging stroller which I really adore though (sidenote: we have the single and double BOB jogging stroller and I cannot recommend them highly enough, they’ve last us YEARS, the expensive price is 100% worth it)). This is the stroller that gets us through Target and the grocery store. You’d be surprised at how many groceries you can fit underneath this thing… We chose it because it had great reviews and was pretty affordable!

Everyday stroller

Bob Stroller

Lastly, bonus item:

I got the a Mariposa platter just like this about two years ago and I am in LOVE with it and use it all the time. They are normally VERY expensive but I found the almost identical one to ours for $20 on Amazon, I don’t know if it’s a mistake Amazon made in pricing because they are normally $150ish but I just bought one for $20 this morning and there are only 10 left I think. It would make SUCH a good gift!

Have a great day and don’t forget to check out these posts (especially if you still have coffee in that mug to enjoy!):

2017 Best Purchases

Our Countertop Install

Our Updated House Tour

The post Best Purchases of 2018 appeared first on Migonis Home.

Best Purchases of 2018 posted first on aireloomreview.blogspot.com

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ronaldmrashid · 5 years

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Productive Things To Do If You’ve Been Furloughed With Back Pay

One of the greatest benefits of full-time work is getting paid whether you work or not. I miss that.

How awesome is it to paid when there is a snow day? How good does it feel when you’re out sick for a week and the paycheck continues to roll in? When you’re sipping Mai Tais on the beach thanks to your four weeks of paid time off plus national holidays, life is pretty good!

Now imagine if you got furloughed for a month or more during the holiday season. What a wonderful opportunity to spend time with the people that matter the most to you.

Although you miss the bi-weekly paychecks, you’ll eventually get paid once the government reopens for business. Almost all government workers got paid during the previous government shutdown. Expect the situation to be no different during the 2019 shutdown.

Now compare this work and pay situation with that of an entrepreneur or freelancer. If the entrepreneur doesn’t work, and if his or her employees don’t work, the entrepreneur does not get paid. Entrepreneurs don’t have a safety net as their full-time colleagues do. And therefore entrepreneurs must always have contingency plans.

In 2018, I got something worse than a furlough. I freelanced the entire month of October but didn’t get paid because the company I partnered with decided not to pay their contractors. But not to worry, the company paid all its employees for the work they did in October and provided 1-2 weeks of severance pay.

Freelancers like myself, however, got screwed.

So you see, if you are furloughed with back pay without having to work, life could always be worse. Therefore, it’s always good to focus on the positives and take every opportunity to do good.

In my case, I took my October robbery and decided to aggressively diversify my clientele. Further, I now insist on more upfront payment just in case. And don’t worry about me. I have plans to make them pay me what they owe. Nobody ever welches on a Financial Samurai and gets away with it.

Productive Things To Do If You’ve Been Furloughed

1) Spend time with your family. The #1 complaint working people have is their inability to find work-life balance. It’s usually the case where the complainer is working too much and feels guilty about not seeing enough of his or her family.

Well now is the time to spend quality time with your family even if it’s for no other reason than you have nothing else better to do. When your kids flee the nest or your parents pass away, you will regret having not spent more time with them.

2) Do a deep dive into your finances. Most people set it and forget it when it comes to their finances. Use this time to discuss your budget, your expenses, your savings rate, and your financial goals with your partner or family members. Make adjustments as you see fit. Managing your wealth should become routine, like brushing your teeth.

After a tremendous recovery since 2009, you may want to spend more time protecting your capital. What a shame it would be to make so much money only to lose it all.

3) Start the side hustle you’ve been putting off forever. A furlough is a good reminder of how dangerous it is to depend on only one source of income. The key to financial security is to generate as many income streams as possible so that if one goes down, your team of other income sources can keep you afloat.

The average financially independent person has at least five different sources of income. Meanwhile, no one income source accounts for more than 40% of their entire income. It’s important to build new sources of active and passive income to truly be free.

4) Brand yourself online with a website. During times of uncertainty, you want to plant your own flag on the internet. The law of attraction dictates that if you put yourself out there, other people with similar interests will come.

Don’t let the big social media sites own your brand. They’ve already gotten filthy rich off you in the process. Build your own internet brand and get rich off yourself.

5) Take an affordable local vacation. Given you don’t know exactly when the furlough or financial troubles will end, you probably don’t want to take an international vacation or a vacation that is hard to get to. Instead, consider vacations within a five-hour drive so that you can return to work more easily.

6) Follow up with neglected friends and family. There is undoubtedly a long lost friend you haven’t contacted for at least a year because life gets in the way. Make a list of three people whom you used to have great relationships with and reach out. Use this time to meet up and get reacquainted.

Happiness is all about having a good network of people you enjoy and trust. If you want to increase your happiness, work on building your relationships.

7) Look for a new job. If you’re furloughed or your company is going through financial difficulties, you should probably aggressively start looking for new work opportunities before things get worse. A furlough of any kind means there is serious dysfunction.

Getting ahead of the curve will likely increase your chances of finding new work. Just like negotiating a severance before mass layoffs will likely not only garner you a bigger severance and more job choices.

8) Build a larger emergency fund. Most people shouldn’t feel too much anxiety during a furlough because most last no more than one or two months. Further, if you’re going to get your pay eventually, covering a couple months worth of expenses shouldn’t be that excruciating.

However, if you are feeling anxious, then it’s important to not only build new income streams, but also ratchet up your savings so you won’t feel the same level of anxiety during the next emergency. Bad things happen all the time, so it’s wise to have at least six months of liquid living expenses liquid at any given moment.

9) Work on neglected house projects. Houses, cars, and machines tend to get neglected over time because we’re too busy doing other things. Use the furlough to fix broken items around the house, clean up the yard, change your house filters, clean the gutters, tune up the car, and grease those old tools. You’ll feel great catching up with all the deferred maintenance. You’ll likely save money in the long run as well.

10) Pretend you’ve retired early. If you’ve ever wanted to test drive early retirement life, now is the time to pretend you are retired. See how life is like without a steady paycheck. Record your feelings, good and bad.

If you’re feeling great during the furlough, then you just might be closer to retirement than you realize. If you feel incredibly anxious because of financial worry and you also don’t know what to do with your free time, you should probably keep on working.

Make The Best Of Difficult Situations

When we were growing up, we’d get three months of summer vacation and at least two weeks off for winter vacation to unwind. Once we started work, long vacations became a thing of the past.

Over time, we lose our physical and mental health. Stress starts building up inside our increasingly overweight bodies. Our minds start to deteriorate as we don’t give our minds enough time to reset through meditation and creative work.

Take advantage of a furlough. Use this time off to unwind.

Life is never going to go exactly the way we planned. But we can always take some action to improve our chances for a better life.

If I ever get the opportunity to be furloughed from a job with back pay, I’d use part of the time off to catch up with my family. Then I’d use the rest of the time off to aggressively look for more meaningful work with more stability.

I won’t be beholden to the government or to a single company for money. It’s just too risky not to diversify my income streams.

Retirement Savings By Age Show Why Americans Are Screwed

How To Be A Rockstar Freelancer And Get Paid More Than A Day Jobber

How To Negotiate A Severance As A High Performing Employee

What are some things you’d do if you got furloughed? Would you be OK to miss a couple paychecks so long as you eventually got paid? Will a furlough help motivate hundreds of thousands, or even millions of people to bolster their finances so that they can better withstand another financial delay the next time around? What do you think it will take for people to save more and diversify their income streams?

The post Productive Things To Do If You’ve Been Furloughed With Back Pay appeared first on Financial Samurai.

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