Income and outgoings
Our attitudes to work, money and life.
These notes are from yesterday’s Money Brunch (and the final one of 2024).
We covered a lot!
Spending over the festive period
How we can design work in a better way
Setting our own metrics for success
Some examples and pathways for building multiple income — and fulfilment — streams
Our intentions for next year
🎄 Spending over the festive period
I’ve been busy this shopping season, so I wanted to see how everyone else was feeling about Black Friday this year. A summary:
On spending:
Some of us have a list of things we need and want - and we track the prices - so if it’s an actual discount, we’ll buy
We’re unsubscribing from marketing newsletters as they come in
We’re investing in things we need — like a laptop or non-toxic pans — and buying them now because it’s a tidy point in the year to do so, not necessarily because of any deals (deals are bonuses though). We’d rather get it done and off the list
For those of us living in a different country from our families, travel home is super expensive and we are hoping that ‘Travel Tuesday’ discounts mean we can go home (but we’re not banking on it 😔)
We’re buying more on Vinted! ‘New with tags’ for the win
On consumerism:
We don’t trust brands when they say it’s a deal; we need to actually know the facts first
Brands we think are offering actual deals
D.Louise (waterproof gold jewellery, up to 60% off this weekend)
Lily & Roo (waterproof pearl jewellery, 25% off everything this weekend)
Our Place (up to 40% off non-toxic pans)
Here’s my referral code for a discount - you must click on this link and place an order on www.fromourplace.co/uk for £100 or more (excluding discounts, shipping, taxes and fees) during the same session to get (I believe) £20 off)
🎨 How we can design work in a better way
Take time out of working (and life admin) to really tap into what you want
Pauses create value through reflecting
There’s a lot of guilt involved in doing this, but you know it’s best for you; push through those feelings!
Try to go somewhere (even hop on a train out of town) to stop yourself defaulting to spending your time off work doing other non-work stuff
Don’t romanticise working for yourself:
It doesn’t have to be the end-game; there are flexible working options around, and freelancing
Build career (and life!) capital through other avenues
Enforce boundaries!
Take a lunch break
Commit to set hours and make sure others know these limits
Of course, you’ll make exceptions every once in a while — and that’s fine
Don’t work at 100% effort
Operate at a point where you’re being close to fired at all times(!)
Or a lower percentage, if the thought of being fired paralyses you (FYI in the UK we have pretty strong employment protections, after two years of service)
It’s critical that you set your own metrics for success — and these will change over time.
You can go backwards — or choose to stop progressing
Nothing is fixed!
Money is not the only way to ascribe or measure the value of your life
Resilience is not a badge of honour
Burnout is not a fixed point; it is hitting the wall and then pushing on
This period of pushing on can go on for ages, but the longer you do it, the more severe the long-term impacts will be
Your body will tell you more and more to stop
“I haven’t worked long enough to be burned out” ❗❗🚨🚨🚨❗❗
Crying at work is not normal or okay
🏗️ Some examples and pathways for building your own, multiple income and fulfilment streams
Design cards, and drop shipping printed cards directly to customers (automation!)
Joining a community or collective of peiople doing similar things
Networking — including, very importantly, maintaining relatinships with people in your network; this generates opportunities
I’d also add volunteering — for example, you can become a charity Trustee, which gives you the foundations for potentially moving into a paid Board role in the private sector further down the line
Just try things out, but see them through. Test and iterate!
🚀 Our intentions for next year
Experiment with making income
Generate more opportunities through networking
Explore more ways to make my money grow
Buy a place in Spain by the beach 🌴
Work through my ingrained beliefs
Figure out what’s next
Work on myself
Learn to rest better
Learn how to have fun
Learn to be and live, without focusing on productivity and optimisation all the time
Build fruitful relationships in my new job
Build my self-confidence and create a business of some sort