“Hey, I thought this was supposed to be weekly or on Wednesday?!”

So this column was supposed to have many different iterations.  At first, I thought that I would publish one of these each week (and maybe on a Wednesday).  Shortly after that decision, I realized that this goal was a bit ambitious.  Mostly because I would want to have a different post each week so that we weren’t posting only these wool-gathering things.  Because we have full-time jobs, that goal of two posts per week is unrealistic.

So I think it best for this feature to be more of a monthly check-in.  A collection of things that don’t necessarily fit into any single post.  I suppose this will be the more personal part of the blog. (probably only friends and family might be interested).  Maybe you will get a good book recommendation? And because I like alliteration, and there isn’t a good “W” word synonym for monthly we will just call this Wool-gathering!

Screen Detox

This month continues our screen detox for our family.  Here is an interesting article from Psychology Today about the damages that too much screen time has on the brain. While this is mostly for Simon’s benefit, I think that it has been good for our family.  Now, Lindsey and I may watch 30-45 minutes of something on Netflix after Simon goes to bed, but other than that we have had no TV.

The effects for Simon are amazing.  He is less moody and communicates much better when there are no screens.  I think it forces us to talk more and play more as well.  We will still use screens (we have a flight to Scotland for Winter Break), but hopefully, we keep it to a minimum.  Based on our recent experiences, this is a book that is on my wishlist:

Yay stock market crash!

Wait what???!!!

So yeah the stock market has taken quite a tumble.  The S&P 500 is down 9.28% since Sept. 20 and the Dow is down almost 8% since Oct. 3 (based on the close of day on Oct. 26) Interest Rates are also rising.

As a result, our net worth has lost $22K this month! (I will admit I did just throw up a little bit in my mouth, although it is nice to have enough money to lose that amount!)

So why yay???!!!

The stock market going down is a good thing for us because we are not retiring soon (as much as we would like to!).  We are still in the accumulation phase and contributing monthly to our portfolio.  In essence, I can buy the same thing I was going to buy last month at an 8-10% discount this month!

Retirement is a long-distance race. (a race that some never finish!) And you never lose money until you sell it.  Even after the 2008 financial crisis, the stock market tripled in the 7 years after.

So while losing $22K of your net worth is never fun (and it makes you check the market more!), it is only a short blip in the long road to financial freedom.

If you are interested in tracking your net worth, click this link to sign up for Personal Capital.  It’s Free!

Winter Holiday

Christmas break is quickly creeping up on us.  While we can’t wait for a break, we still haven’t really planned much!

We have a flight to Edinburgh with a 3-day stopover in Amsterdam on the way back.  Thanks to Chase UR we paid $343 total for 3 tickets!

We have our Airbnb booked for Edinburgh. Click here for $40 of your first stay!

Finally, we used SPG points (now a part of Marriott) for 3 nights at the Renaissance Amsterdam Hotel.

That’s it so far.  Since it is Lindsey’s first time in Scotland, I want to her show her some sights. (Maybe go to Glencoe or something like that) but we also need to remember that we are traveling with a toddler. A bonus is that Lindsey’s dad and my mom are going to visit with us in Scotland. So it’ll be nice to see at least some of our family at Christmastime.

On our bookshelf

Because of our screen detox, we have been able to get through quite a few books this month.  I continue my historical fiction binge.  Having read the following titles:

So, unfortunately, these are books 1 and 2 of two different trilogies! So I don’t know how either of these stories end.  I particularly like the James Heneage series because the Byzantine Empire is not often written about in historical fiction.  At least it gives me something to look forward to, but it is pretty frustrating!

Lindsey has been on a bit of a Bill Bryson kick recently.  Having read these two books.

We both read a thriller that we borrowed from one of our colleagues.  I quite liked it, but I think Lindsey didn’t quite like the ending but, nevertheless, thought it was pretty good overall.

Not many new books for Simon, so I think a trip to the bookstore is in order!

Have you tried giving up screens? How is your portfolio looking? Read any good books lately? Please leave a comment below!