I think I need to accept that life just never gets easier. Yes, you become stronger and smarter but as your resilience grows, so do the hurdles. Gone are the days of high-school-sized issues and injustices. It doesn't seem fair, but them's the breaks.
Women are awesome. My closest IRL friends may be male, and have been incredible supports when I needed it, but there are some things they will simply never understand. From crushes in long term relationships to emotional labour and pulling your financial weight, female friends get the gender dynamics that my dudes don't.
I'm very passionate about the state of the housing market and the huge effects it has on people's lives - mostly from a quite personal angle, but also at a more macro, societal level. A spirited conversation about this at our weekly all staff meeting about this very topic and what it all means for New Zealanders - especially in retirement - got me quite fired up and reaffirms that I'm in the right place (both at work and at home). It's incredible how much difference it makes being free of the "emotional and financial challenges of renting", as it was put.
This week's links
A great post on household division of labour and finances when the woman earns more (because things do not always fall neatly along the lines of High Earning Busy Spouse and Low Earning But With Lots of Flexibility Spouse)
Sherry sums up some thoughts on the circular logic of early retirement/financial independence more eloquently than I ever could have
Sometimes, YOU'RE the rich friend
A couple of things about poverty
How important is job satisfaction, really?
Graduating beyond frugal habits You're making life harder for yourselfWhat does money mean to you?
Sometimes less is just less - minimalism within reason, guys
