Adopt an adult dog from a shelter if you want a companion but don’t have time/ patience to train a puppy. They are already potty trained in most cases and love you all the same.
Inflation is currently ~6.8%% per year. If you are not getting more than that per year as a raise, you are getting a pay cut. If you are not earning more than that in returns on your savings, you are losing money.
If you have a bunch of cash sitting in a savings account making 0.03% interest, you are losing ~6.5% of your money every year. Invest it, put it in a CD that matches or beats inflation, etc.
Learn to do and enjoy things by yourself. You’re going to miss out on a lot of fun if you keep waiting for someone else to accompany you
Took up archery for a while. Guess what? I met a bunch of people who were in to archery.
If you want to divide something among two people (usually kids), you get one person to divide, and the other person gets first pick on which piece they want. Everyone wins and it ensures the person who divides is fair.
If ever you need a program you want for free (for example a video/photo editor) don’t search for “free”, search for “open source” to avoid limited trial versions, adverts and malware
Let someone know you’re picking up the tab for a meal AFTER they’ve ordered. This allows a considerate friend to order what s/he wants freely and also prevents a colleague/acquaintance from taking advantage of your generosity
If you really want to connect with someone, take them for a long, scenic walk. Not being face to face takes some of the pressure off, and the scenery puts you in the right mood to open up.
Find someone’s locked phone? Turn it in to their carrier. They will locate the owner by serial number. This LPT makes you a bro and returns the phone the fastest way to its owner who really just wants the photos.
If you borrow money from someone, don’t let it get to the point that he/she has to ask for it back. It sucks for both. If you can’t repay now, show intent by paying what you can and keeping the other person posted often
Even if measuring milestones and accomplishments is not part of your annual review at work, always keep a personal list with a short summary and dates so you can casually bring it up during those interviews
Write down great ideas when you get them; do that right away. You think you will never forget them, but you almost always will
Pack your toiletry bag the night prior to traveling and only use that travel bag when getting ready the morning that begins your travels. This way, you will identify anything you may not have packed the night before and will have time to add it to your toiletry bag before setting off.
Looking to buy or rent a house in an unfamiliar neighborhood? Find Airbnb there, stay a few nights and walk to the train, grocery stores, etc. Get a better feel of it
If you get paid bi-weekly, break your installment loans (mortgage, etc) into accelerated bi-weekly payments to save on interest, reduce the length of your loans, and simplify your budget
What’s an accelerated bi-weekly payment?
Let’s take this example:
You just got a $250,000 mortgage at 4%, 30 year fixed. Your monthly payment on the mortgage (not including taxes, etc) would be $1,193.54. If you multiply that by twelve payments, you pay $14,322.88 a year in interest and principle. Divide $14,322.88 by 26, or the number of two week periods in the year, you get $550.86, a number I’ll bring up in a moment.
Now, if you take that $1,193.54 and divide it by two, you get $596.87. If you pay this amount every two weeks you’ll be paying about $46 more every two weeks than if you were to pay semi-monthly (that $550.86 I mentioned above,) and that amounts to an extra full payment of $1,193.54 a year that goes directly to principle. Your total yearly payout is $15,518.62.
What are the results?
Here’s the interest you’d pay over the life of the loan (360 months) with a standard monthly payment of $1,193.54:
$179,673.77
Here’s the interest you’d pay over the life of the loan (now only 310 months) with an accelerated bi-weekly payment:
$151,482.12
Not only are you saving $28,191.64 during the life of the loan, but you are also paying the loan down faster, and will have paid off your house in just under 26 years instead of 30.
Theodore Lee is the editor of Caveman Circus. He strives for self-improvement in all areas of his life, except his candy consumption, where he remains a champion gummy worm enthusiast. When not writing about mindfulness or living in integrity, you can find him hiding giant bags of sour patch kids under the bed.