14 Comments
Sep 5Liked by Maria DeVoto

This is so inspiring, thank you for sharing this part of your life!

Expand full comment

Well done on your new Personal Best!

Expand full comment

Love the transparency! I also spend so much on groceries each month but I finally stopped by pre-packaged veggies and learned to chop my own and as sad as that sounds, it’s making a difference 😂🫣

Expand full comment
Sep 2Liked by Maria DeVoto

As someone who has spent a decade in NYC and heard people beat themselves up about rent, I firmly believe that it's a unique city where as long as you're spending less than half your take home (after 401k etc) on rent, you're fine. My home is my sanctuary and there is so little space there that's it's ok to prioritize living alone or other comforts. No car payments here, and peace of mind is literally priceless.

Expand full comment
author

Totally agree! And yeah, I think no car payments and other car expenses is part of why I spend more on rent than all my other expenses combined!

Expand full comment
Sep 2Liked by Maria DeVoto

Cannot imagine car payment/gas/insurance/parking! We are basically saving money lol

Expand full comment
Sep 2Liked by Maria DeVoto

Also check out pointsyeah.com for searching flights based on rewards - they tell you how to book it via credit card transfers. Also the Daily Drop email has been super helpful as I start my points journey.

Expand full comment
author

I will definitely check this out!! I feel like a newbie with credit card points because I’ve usually done cash back with my other cards

Expand full comment
Sep 2Liked by Maria DeVoto

I’m so intrigued by Bilt! Wish I had it when I was paying rent in NYC lol

Expand full comment
Sep 1Liked by Maria DeVoto

Tell us about your cat!

Expand full comment
author

He is 5 and very needy haha!! I’ll share pictures of him in my next monthly reset

Expand full comment
Sep 1·edited Sep 1

Enjoy reading these monthly takes as always, and as I don’t see it in your accounting, I’m wondering if you have health insurance as a fixed cost. As for the scarcity mindset, I think it can help as a freelancer (or someone who works for themselves) to imagine how much your peers with other types of jobs would be willing to pay for flexibility or free time, and then add in the expense of outsourcing meals and cleaning and whatever else people pay for because of their work. My guess is that if you add up those extra hours at $30 an hour, or even put a number of the value of flexibility, you’ll find you are living a life of abundance.

Expand full comment
author

Thanks! My health insurance is actually free right now - I was able to get on the state health insurance earlier this year after getting laid off from my full time role, and my income from my part time role is low enough to still qualify for the free plan. I'm super lucky to be on it now (I know this isn't possible in every state!), but we'll see what will happen in the future as my employment changes! I've had jobs where the health insurance was 100% covered and jobs where I had to pay a significant amount out-of-pocket for a subpar plan

Expand full comment