It's Our Anniversary...

The world has changed in the last year. The pandemic. Politics. Work. The economy. Racial injustice. Looking at the calendar a few days ago, I realized I started Dough-Nuts last April. Just like I'm sure was the case for you, it's been a hectic last twelve months. I've written about several topics near and dear to me over the course of 52 weeks, and I'm feeling a little lazy this week, so I'm going to revisit some topics that are due for a refresh! Think of it like your favorite sitcom doing a clip show because the writers are on strike.

Are they toasting someone at another table while everyone else is toasting towards them? Here's to one year of bizarre stock photos!

Here are some of the concepts we tackled over the last year that I'd like to dust off for this phoned-in blog, with links to the original article for your (re)reading pleasure:

Emergency Savings

If I haven't hammered this home enough yet, here's another reminder. Set up an emergency savings fund! For those readers who don't have any disposable income right now - I encourage you to double-check your finances and see if you can set aside even a few dollars a week to build up some financial security. For those of you who have weathered COVID-19 in good fiscal shape, you definitely need to have emergency savings built up. The best time to build one is when the times are the best. If you're struggling to make recurring contributions, use unplanned windfalls like bonuses, overtime, tips, etc. to get to your goal. The 3-to-6-months-of-expenses measure is fine, but everyone is unique and you should save as much as necessary for the peace of mind desired.

Habitual Spending

Old habits can die hard. The Starbucks routine may have paused with many working from home, and I encourage you to use your break from high-priced caffeine to revisit your financial priorities. Is the daily special brew worth $58,400 to you over the course of your working life, or can you bare to make your own for under $5,000? Of course, coffee is not the only culprit. Dining out, going to bars, frequent shopping sprees, and pretty much any other recurring spend pattern can harm your personal finances immensely. When life starts getting back to normal, recognize the pitfalls of your previous behavior and make a permanent change to your spending.

Diversity

I reread this blog today and it took be back to how I felt at the time I wrote it. Several instances of excessive force (George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor to name a few) perpetrated against black people erupted into protests across the world. If there was any silver lining, it was that discussions about race became mainstream. Conversations that may have been once considered taboo in public were now being had in corporate boardrooms, classrooms, and between loved ones. Sadly, we are still seeing racially-charged crimes - most recently random attacks against Asians - continuing in our society. One thing I wanted to make perfectly clear today that I didn't discuss in my original blog is that you will lose in life if you hate for someone based solely on their race, religion, gender, etc. Whether it's in the workplace or in your personal life, if you choose to harbor disdain for a person based on a broad category into which they belong, you will miss out on something. It may be a great idea for a new marketing campaign, or learning more about someone's heritage. I encourage you to step outside of your comfort zone and learn more about someone who is not like you. You may be amazed - and become a better person for it!

Houses

Yeah, yeah, I know... I already did a whole series on home ownership. Honestly, I could probably dedicate this entire blog to home ownership. It's a big deal! But, why revisit in my recap? Because the housing market is bananas right now! In the last several months, Zillow has reported 8.6 billion visits (link may be considered NSFW) and home prices are out of control. With lumber prices going through the roof, new construction is becoming more costly, so existing home prices are going up. Combine that with everyone wanting out of the cramped studio apartment after a year of confinement, some current homeowners buying vacation homes, and near-record low interest rates, it's never been a better time to... sell! Now, I'm not suggesting you sell your home and move back into an apartment. But, if you're looking to downsize or sell off that under-utilized family lake house, the time to do it is now. Demand is still strong. It's only a matter of time before interest rates rise, people want to move back to the city life, or new construction catches back up to demand. I still believe houses are a good investment long-term, but taking advantage of favorable market conditions whenever possible can make a major impact on your financial success.

Family

I wrote a series on family and finances, plus a blog on having that awkward financial conversation with loved ones. While I felt I covered the main concepts sufficiently, I do want to touch on the intermingling of family and business. In my current role, I work with a lot of small businesses - many family-owned. Sometimes, it's a matter of practicality to have one spouse handling the operations and the other doing the administrative aspects. Or, perhaps you want to bring a son or daughter into the fold and pass it along to him or her when you're ready to retire. However, there's potential for your family dynamics to be altered by a working relationship. To mitigate this, I recommend setting some clear boundaries and expectations between family members when working together. Conversations about roles and responsibilities, transition planning, and finances will help deter issues down the road.

Well, thank you for joining me on this trip down memory lane. It's been a great experience, and I'm so glad I decided to start this forum for personal finance and career advice. I can assure you I have so many stinking topics to cover in the future that will keep you coming back for more Dough-Nuts every Saturday morning. While I don't collect detailed statistics on my readers (it costs a lot of money to get that information and I've got nothing to sell you to make it worthwhile!), and I believe in transparency, I do want to share some of the popularity of Dough-Nuts in cyberspace. Dough-Nuts has been read on five continents. We passed 500 unique visits recently. Other than my joke of a Pinterest page, I've done no marketing/SEO/promotion of my blog in any shape or form. I haven't even told many family, friends, or co-workers. I say this all to say: thank you. I know so many of you have shared Dough-Nuts with people in your life, and I'm grateful that you thought enough of my sassy take on personal finance and sweet GIF game to pass along to someone else. I truly hope this is helpful to you on some level - either generating some thoughts on finance, your career, or even just a laugh. The whole reason I'm doing this is because I enjoy helping see others thrive. Until next week... be safe, be kind, and be prosperous!