Last week, I posted about how my wife and I are challenging ourselves to buy nothing for one year (with exceptions, of course). Upon hearing this, a few of my coworkers were understandably skeptical. They tell me "You make a decent amount of money. Why challenge yourself to buy nothing?" I respond with a simple "I don't have to buy anything to make me happy." To an outsider who … [Read more...] about Conscious Consumerism: How a Frugal Minimalist Justifies Buying Things
Search Results for: conscious consumers
End Of The Year 2020 Review
End Of The Year 2020 Review It's that time of the year again. Time for an end of the year 2020 review. 2020 has been challenging and devastating. It's been a whole year since this pandemic crisis started. And boy, does it feel like such a long year. It's disheartening to hear so many stories of people losing their lives, their jobs, and their livelihoods. Fortunately, … [Read more...] about End Of The Year 2020 Review
Weekend Reflections 9-13-20: Fire, FIRE, and FISE
Weekend Reflections 9-13-20: Fire, FIRE, and FISE I woke up really early today and the sky was glowing a bright orange. I tried to take a morning jog, but couldn't. The blanket of smoke that created the orange haze was just too suffocating. It was hard to breathe. The weather app on my phone confirmed it: "Unhealthy Air Quality". They say we don't really have seasons … [Read more...] about Weekend Reflections 9-13-20: Fire, FIRE, and FISE
April 2020: The World Changed, But Our Lifestyle Hasn’t
April 2020: The World Has Changed, But Our Lifestyle Hasn't COVID-19 has turned the world upside down and throughout April 2020, many people have had their lifestyle totally upended and disrupted. Meanwhile, it feels like our lifestyle hasn't changed a whole lot. Maybe it just seems that way because my wife and I are already used to the new normal. Or maybe our lifestyle … [Read more...] about April 2020: The World Changed, But Our Lifestyle Hasn’t
Credit Card Strategy For 2019
Credit Card Strategy For 2019 Since I often get asked which credit cards to sign up for, I thought it would be a good idea to publish my credit card strategy for the rest of the year. So get ready for a long post! In general, every four months I sign up for a few credit cards. I strategically time credit card applications so that I can meet minimum spending requirements … [Read more...] about Credit Card Strategy For 2019
Monthly Money and Munchies: Finance And Food
Monthly Money and Munchies: Finance And Food Okay. So I've been slacking with the posts. It's not for the lack of ideas or post topics. In fact, my interests are so varied that there's a ton of potential topics I could write about. Truth is: I just haven't had the writing inertia lately. Between my roles as a husband, father, and physician... there is limited time, energy, and … [Read more...] about Monthly Money and Munchies: Finance And Food
Cutting Cable: The Benefits We Hope To Gain
Cutting Cable We finally pulled the trigger. A few days ago, I called the cable guy to discontinue our TV service. It was an easy decision. And it was something we should have done a long time ago. My wife and I have been thinking about it for while, ever since reading this, Why we didn't do it earlier, I don't know. We have been gradually decreasing our TV-watching to … [Read more...] about Cutting Cable: The Benefits We Hope To Gain
Buy Nothing Update: January Edition
Wow. January flew by really fast. If you recall from a previous post, my wife and I accepted the challenge to buy nothing for a year. In addition to a few exemptions for things we were already going to buy, we had planned to be mindful of our purchases through conscious consumerism. So, how did we do? Pretty good if you ask me. Below is a recap of our purchases. Food I … [Read more...] about Buy Nothing Update: January Edition
My Journey
2001 - Graduated high school. Decided to go to a state university on scholarship (great decision!) 2004 - Completed undergraduate studies with no debt (yay!). I skipped a year in undergrad because I went to a combine 7 year undergrad and medical school program. 2008 - Graduated medical school with $128,000 in debt (not too shabby). Matched into an anesthesiology … [Read more...] about My Journey