MJs Blog – Page 2 – A bit of this and that….

New Year, New Habits!

I hope everyone had wonderful holidays! I was able to travel and visit Boston — which is a new area for me. It was cold but with the right coat, some sunshine and coffee, I was able to enjoy the personal walking tour my adult son took me on. The mix of old and new is interesting.

I loved the indoor mall full of local vetted craftsmen. We walked down to the Long Wharf Pier and saw the “Boston Harbor.” Very modern now with jets taking off from Logan Airport just across the Harbor. While I am saying I enjoyed this walking tour, my body that is accustomed to the mostly desk sitting did not. So a detour for Advil was required along with a festive and hot Peppermint Mocha to warm us up. I can’t help thinking that “wow, I need to be training for old age!”

Now, with the New Year here I can’t put off that doctor’s quiet admonition, he wrote on the paper that you take up to the desk and hand them to check out, “diet and exercise.” After several knee injuries, an ankle sprain and foot fracture I may have gained a pound or 10. So, I know he is not wrong and, in the past, I have successfully achieved a healthy weight. However, in the past it may have been running (now out of the question), extreme calorie restriction (not healthy) or both — ended up sick. Therefore, I started researching to see if there was anything new and healthy to try. And there are some new schools of thought to approaching lifestyle changes but they still require will-power. I have heard that if you make something into a game, it is always more fun. While this may not become your favorite game, it may help you “up your game!” What game you say?

Bye, Summer!

Where did the summer go? Like a beautiful butterfly it flitted away …. and this year we have had a fall with lots of colorful leaves and blue skies. One thing I love about living in the North East is the seasons — well, winter is not always white but, it is usually more than cold enough for me!

Thanksgiving is only a few days away and I, along with everyone else, have been making multiple trips to the store. My church has been organizing baskets for meals for the community for those in need. This year my grown son is home visiting and helped me shop and it was so nice to have him to navigate the store with the cart! So while I am trying to finish shopping for our meal and asking my son what would he like for sides, I was trying to shop for family I know not. So I picked a lot of the same things I would for me and I wondered…. do they have a child who says “they like apple pie and pumpkin about the same so either is fine?” So which one to make….

Summertime, some other time?

Summer is vacation time for many people, especially, folks with kids! While out walking my dog, I ran into one of my younger neighbors walking her pup. We somehow started talking about vacations and my neighbor asked me these questions: How do you plan for a vacation? How do you start? How do you budget for that? While I didn’t have a ready answer then, these questions have been on my mind. Maybe, planning a vacation is an easy task for some, however, others may have a harder time. How do you know where to go or how much you can afford?

Happy Financial Independence?!

With school graduations happening everywhere, it’s not hard to reminisce about my own graduation. While some kids knew what they wanted to be when they grew up, many of us were still trying to sort things out. I remember thinking, how am I supposed to decide what I want to be when I grow up and select a college major and career trajectory for the rest of my life? I had barely been anywhere that didn’t involve visiting family or the place with the Big Mouse and his friends.

Unfortunately, just getting a college degree doesn’t guarantee a happily ever after, especially if that degree comes at a very high price in the form of student loans. So many people talk about living paycheck to paycheck and usually this is good in the sense that it means they have a job. However, it is not good as this also means the cash flowing in is usually already going out to pay bills, if there is even enough to cover the bills.

Cash flow is very important as it can be the difference in families keeping the lights on, feeding their children, and even keeping a roof over their heads.

Literally, a positive cash flow can mean someone does not end up moving in with family, sofa surfing, or worse, homeless. Ironically, this term – Cash Flow – is usually only discussed in the business realm even though it applies to personal finance as well. Lately, you may hear the term “income streams.” This refers to the various forms of cash flow. It’s trendy to discuss part-time jobs as ‘gigs’ and you can have several “side hustles” for income streams. This is another way to say having several jobs part-time, or otherwise, to keep the cash flowing in.

That all said, even having several income streams may not be enough to keep a positive cash flow. There are people who make six figures and still may be living paycheck to paycheck. If making a high salary or having several jobs is not enough to keep a positive cash flow, what else is needed?

What is the cost of Money?

What does that mean? When you borrow money there is always a cost – even if funds are borrowed from family, where the cost may be emotional capital. The primary cost is the interest charged on the loan. It can also be the cost of your time in earning the money, e.g. how many hours did you have to work to pay for the item. Let’s look at interest rate costs and how you may use borrowing money to your best advantage.

A Season of Love and Giving!

It’s that time of year again and, wow …. This year blew by! I hope this post finds you well, and you were able celebrate with your loved ones! I had a lovely Thanksgiving with my family and I am especially grateful my dad, my siblings and I and all of our practically grown kids were all together. Christmas was also wonderful as I was able to spend it at home with loved ones. While New Year’s Eve was quiet, it was welcomed to be able to rest and reflect on the year past and look forward to a new year and a fresh start.

Graduation is over…now what?

It has been a while since I sat down to write an article and I didn’t realize it had been so long! It feels like some days there is so much to do. I went to visit my family and saw my niece graduate from high school. She has done so well and it was nice to see the family. Interestingly, even though it has been years since I graduated, in many ways, they are the same: exuberant graduates, relieved and happy parents, supportive and happy friends. Speeches and pomp and circumstance but now with big screen TVs — this grad ceremony was held in the Toyota Center!

So … after the speeches and celebrations, it’s up the graduate to decide the next steps: college, trade school, working, or maybe a gap-year full of travel? Big decisions that can be literally life changing!

College costs have risen so high, it can exclude many students. However, there can be ways to make college more attainable besides just expensive loans.

Sweets for the Sweet!

Paul French Bakery and Café

https://www.pauldmv.com/

First off, OMG! The Napoleon – is so good it almost makes you cry – yes, it was that good. (In my defense I was also hungry and had been trying not eat dessert in preparation for the holiday season). The Napoleon is both flaky with this delicious rich vanilla crème and a light sweet icing on top. The is one of the best dessert pastries ever! The Strawberry tartlet is really good too. What helps it stand out is they actually used some salt in the pastry shell/cookie so it has a balanced not flat taste. The strawberries retain a smidge of tartness so it is a very balanced and tasty dessert.

Happy New Year, Muffin!

As we kick off the New Year, the common theme is that hopefully, 2022 will be a much better year! I know I am looking at 2022 as a New Year and a New Me. Ok, it’s the same thing as in years past: lose weight, get in shape and re-organize my house! So, as a first step on the first day, I decided to bake muffins albeit the healthier yet tasty muffins. These are not your giant super sweet (300+ calories) muffins. These Oatmeal Muffins are only

Merry “MJ Holiday Dinner!”

It’s almost Thanksgiving Eve and everyone is making plans. Some are going to cook and host, some will travel to meet up with family or friends and some may just order in take-out and rest! My mom used to make her “Holiday” dinner for all of the special occasions. She would make the pies the night before, get up early to bake cornbread for the stuffing, and make a big Turkey — using up all those weird bits in the bag. We thought that bag was disgusting but she cooked it for stock and flavorings for the best Cornbread Dressing as us Southerners call it. We always had green beans, candied yams and the best mashed potatoes. This was the celebratory meal for Thanksgiving, Christmas and sometimes Easter with the added bonus of deviled Easter eggs! (recipe for the deviled eggs to come later in the Spring).

If you want to cook something delicious but don’t have the skills or the time to pull off a huge “Martha Stewart” dinner, there are ways to still have a warm comforting meal. You can make the infamous TV Dinner or …. there is also an abbreviated version aka a Merry “MJ Holiday Dinner!”