Life skills, lifehacks, effective habits, your 4 key financial numbers, and some escapist television.
| 🎞️ | Suits |
| 🎧 | The 4 Numbers You NEED To Be Tracking |
| 📖 | Effective Habits |
| 🎒 | Life skills via Reddit |
Watching 🎞️
Suits (TV show)
Jess: I needed something which needed low mental bandwidth, could be stopped and started, and had plenty of episodes. Viola: Suits fit the bill perfectly. It’s very dated —2011 feels like a million years ago— but satisfies both my need for escapist television and love of New York City.
Listening to 🎧
The 4 Numbers You NEED To Be Tracking (podcast episode)
Jess: This episode (8min) of Diary of a CEO is Ramit Sethi’s personal finance tip, which is to track four key numbers and aim for these approximate percentages of your income:
- Your fixed costs (50%)
- Savings (10%)
- Investments (10%)
- Guilt-free spending (30%)
I love <10min podcast episodes these days, because it’s about all the spare time I have.
In this moment, personal finance expert Rami Sethi breaks down the 4 finance numbers everyone needs to know and what exactly a ‘rich life’ is. Ramit says that most people don’t have even the most basic understanding of money, compare this to other areas of life such as driving, where we need to know the rules of the road before putting a key in the ignition. However, personal finance is actually incredibly simple and Ramit says that the four numbers you need to track are: your fixed costs like rent and groceries, savings, investments, and guilt free spending. From these numbers, Ramit says that he can see what are a person’s priorities and outlook on life. But more revealing is someone’s idea of their ‘rich life’. This is what a person’s life would look like if they finally reached the level of wealth they are chasing. Ramit says too often people’s answer to what their rich life is vague, for instance, saying they want to be able to do what they want when they want, or to have freedom. These answers are so vague as people have never really thought about this question before, but Ramit say they need to think about this potential future deeply and in detail so that they can truly envision it.
Diary of a CEO
Reading 📖
Effective Habits (newsletter)
Jess: I’m extremely choosy with my email newsletters, but Effective Habits has made the cut… for now 🔪
Here’s why:
- At a glance dotpoints of the contents up top, so you can skip to the part of interest
- Each section starts with a short explainer, then how to put the learning into action
- The title of each section links to the full article/reference
See ‘Kickstart 2024: 5 Actions to Crush Worry & Boost Joy!’ as an example issue, which covers:
- How to Worry Less and Be Happier
- Morning Light is Crucial for Happiness. Here’s How to Get It — Even if You Hate Mornings.
- Here’s How Inspiration Works in the Brain—And How You Make Your Brain More Creative
Learning 🎒
Life skills via Reddit
Jess: I rediscovered Reddit last year and became pregnant soon after. Reddit is a goldmine for all kinds of life skills and lifehacks, but really comes into its own for prenatal and new parent advice — I’m on there almost every day looking for solidarity and suggestions, like:
- Make sure there are jugs filled with fresh water around the house at all times
- Run a hot shower without the fan to help clear bub’s snotty airways
- Knowing you are ‘OAD’ (One And Done, AKA not having another child)
