the tools you need to be set free
I received an e-mail from a reader heading into the next chapter of his life: a soon-to-be empty-nester! He has a big question for us: should he take a mini-retirement while he’s still young, or stick it out until fully financially independent (FI)? He has a great salary and a high net worth, but doesn’t […]
My sister is extremely generous. As a kid, she delighted in pretending to take the family’s orders one-by-one, then carefully carrying out miscellaneous items from the kitchen meant to represent our hamburgers (me), filet mignon (dad), and lobster a la carte (mom). Every gift she gives is carefully considered and tailored to the recipient. Once, […]
I’m sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor in Spain, bent over a jar of spaghetti sauce. For the life of me, I can’t get it to open. I twist until my fingers hurt. I try to use a tool with a rubber grip. I run the lid under warm water. My roommates are […]
“You live life on hard mode,” my coworker teased. We were out on our morning walk before heading into the office and as usual, I had just regaled him with a tale of one of my misadventures. Over the next year, it became a running joke. I described the mess in the kitchen as I […]
I try to walk in my mom’s high heels, dressed for the day in pearls and a little blue dress. I want to be pretty. I’m three years old. The never-ending quest for beauty begins young. I’m twelve when a girl at school announces to the lunch table that I still don’t shave my legs, […]
You have looked forward to this rare slice of time away from work for weeks. You have spent hundreds of dollars to venture across state, national, or continental borders. You have planned each day meticulously to make every minute count. And now you are waiting in a line. “Surely it will be worth it,” you […]
I have received several questions about how to pivot into a tech career. The draw of high salaries, flexible work schedules, and interesting problems gets people wondering: Should I break into tech?
If they decide it’s something they want to do, the next question is how?
There has been a recent push to get more people to ride their bikes to work. To that I say: put the brakes on, honey! The truth is that influential people are all getting into bed with the Big Bike industry. Despite how uncomfortable that must be, they continue to push for people to get […]
I walked up the path, double-checking I had the right address on my phone. A dog on the other side of the front door barked madly as it hurled itself against the glass. The hound gnashed and growled, as the app on my phone had warned me he might. The notes told me he only […]
Every morning my sister and I would wake up to the clatter of bowls set on our dining room table. We would roll sleepily out of bed, hair sticking out in every direction, and patter over to our seats. Our dad would get us ready, pulling my favorite 101 Dalmatians T-shirt over my head. He […]
