Navigate your life to Financial Freedom

This month has been a challenging one with obstacles that have tried to slow me down. I set myself a few goals for May: to hit every Apple watch activity goal each day (burn 340 calories, 1 min standing time, exercise for 30 minutes), to lose the weight I had gained from lock down, and to quit the late night eating. It was all going well until Memorial Day weekend. It rained all afternoon on Sunday and I had not yet finished my Apple watch goals, but I put a raincoat on and went walking in the rain to get it done. I was only a week away from the end of the month and was not going to let rain fail me. The next day, Memorial Day, we went out for our morning bike ride and I fell. Banged up my knee and a few fingers, we weren't sure if I was going to be able to go back on another bike ride or even speed walk but I was ok. After a few hours of rest, I got back on my bike and finished the goals. This made me think of other obstacles that get in my way for other life goals. Sometimes I co...

Even with the shut down, JP and I still meal prep each week. This week we meal prepped shrimp Filipino pancit for lunch, spam sushi for breakfast and even prepped some dinners. If we do not meal plan, we will end up getting take out or ordering in. And during these extraodinary times, we definitely do not want to be eating out that much. Although, we had ordered a lot of Pho and Pizza. Spam sushi is one of my favorite breakfasts. A few years ago some coworkers gave me this awesome spam sushi maker and it took me years to finally use it. Once we started, we cannot stop. But you do not need a spam sushi maker to make this delicious dish, it just makes it easier to put together. I could eat these everyday. I love everything involved in this dish. You just take cooked white rice, slice up and pan fry your spam, add some wasabi and wrap it up in seaweed. Delicious!  This week we meal prepped shrimp pancit , which is a Filipino noodle dish. This is a very easy and low cost meal. ...

Unemployment is at an all time high and if you hadn't heard of furlough before, you probably have by now. Americans are struggling to pay their bills and support their families. Life as we knew it is out the window, there is no returning back, only moving forward to a new standard of life.  Almost 20% of Americans are unemployed. JP was put on furlough this month. We have been so grateful that he was able to find a job before this shut down occured and now we are grateful that we have the stimulus package to help us thru these rough times. If you do not know, Americans are able to receive an extra $600 a week of unemployment. This is on top of your already provided unemployment benefits for up to 4 months. As of now, this stimulus will go thru the end of July. So, if you have lost your job or been put on furlough, claim unemployment and receive this extra money to help you thru these tough times. You have also probably received your $1,200 check that was sent out. Of course, ...

In times of depression, bad luck or uneasy circumstances, I always find myself looking for that silver lining. By staying positive, I can move forward confident that things will turn around. That seems to be the case lately for me and hopefully you too are looking for the good out of all of this bad. One of the positives that I have found during this stay at home order is our car situation. You may remember that JP and I only have one vehicle right now since JP left his job in January. When he got his new job , we were planning on him taking me to and from work while we saved up for a car for him. I have been working from home now for over a month but JP still has to go out each day. It is nice that we don't have to worry about my transportation to and from work now since I stay home. We are also able to continue to save each month for his new vehicle.  Working from home has never been an ideal situation for me. I have always been one who has enjoyed going into an office to wo...

What a beautiful day today is in Denver, Colorado. I went on a 4 mile walk/run and reflected on everything that is happening in my life right now. I can easily say this is the most stressed and anxious I think I have ever been, which means, most of you are feeling the same way. It made me realize the things that I am grateful for, unhappy with and things that need to change. I am so grateful that I have a job right now. I am grateful that I am allowed the opportunity to work from home. I am grateful that the job I have is with a company I am proud of and with a team that is hard working. I am grateful that my mom's workplace, a preschool, is still paying her even tho they cannot work right now. I am grateful that my family all have their jobs still. I am grateful that JP was able to find a job nearly a month before this CV shut down and that he continues to work for this company. I am grateful for the internet and cell phones. They bring me closer to my friends and family when ...

These times are insane right now. Everything seems to be collapsing before our eyes and people are losing their jobs right now. My heart goes out to those who have found themselves in a situation where they cannot pay their bills. If you are this person, you are among the, at least, 59%. 59% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. If you are tight on money, here are the only things you should care about until you get paid again and on your feet.  Food - groceries only  Shelter - rent/mortgage  Utilities - electricity, water, not cable I think that if you have money in your bank, those are the only things you should be putting your money towards. You should only care about food and the necessities. Of course, if you have medications or other required medical items in your life that you must pay for, add that as well. If you have credit card payments or mortgages that you cannot pay, call up the credit card company/bank. Many credit card com...

I have seen so many food prep pictures online from the Coronavirus, did you food prep anything for your freezer? The average American spent $178.44 on Coronavirus supplies. We prepped meatballs , dumplings and lumpia. We also split up any meats we bought into meal sizes and chopped up different vegetables like bell peppers and froze those too. This is such a weird time and staying inside all the time will make me stir crazy for sure. I have been able to find the silver lining by getting excited about trying new recipes, working-out from home, running again and enjoying working in my yoga clothes.  While I don't think we over-prepared like others I have seen online, I do think we have prepared just enough. I saw people out there spending up to a $1,000 on stocking up. Each time we went to the store, not once did we fill an entire basket up. It makes me happy to see that the average American spent less than $200. Our grocery stores are now restocking and although man...