Simple Living

Planning for 2025: Building a Thoughtful Wardrobe and Budget As 2024 comes to a close, I’m reflecting on my year and planning for what’s next. Each year, I set strategic goals that help increase my productivity in acquisitions and prevent impulsive spending. This structured approach keeps my wardrobe refined and tailored to my actual needs, with an emphasis on quality and thoughtful purchases. Affordable Learning An important lesson I’ve embraced is the value of testing with affordable options before committing to high-ticket items. Lower-priced alternatives offer a way to experiment and understand what works best for my lifestyle without overspending. This doesn’t require buying a lot; instead, it’s about identifying essentials and choosing wisely. Investing When Ready Once I’ve identified what’s essential, everything else falls into place incrementally. This approach enables me to budget more effectively, focusing on a few high-quality items that truly enhance my collection. Here’s h

Personal Collections Review for 2024 Another year, another review of my personal collections. My last review was in 2021. I've dropped the Whisky collection as I'll treat it as consumables. I. Total Value ~$13,200 The value of my collections is actually modest, as only a few items make up the bulk of the monetary value, primarily my Rolex, Omega, and iPhone 16.  Remove those, and it's about ~$2,400 in value of the rest of my 'stuff.' This may change as I'm contemplating a major purchase in 2025 to finally acquire either a Rolex Submariner 14060 or an Omega Speedmaster Professional, budgeting ~$4,000 to $8,000 for such a major acquisition. This would double the value of my collections. II. Full Collection 1. Headphones -- 9 Total Value: ~$600 Decreased by -1 as I chucked the AKG’s and can’t find a 3rd pair of old Apple earbuds, while at the same time adding several wireless options as well as Lightning Apple Earbuds. I also cleared out my AirPod Pros (gifted) an

Cash Stash Goal I want to increase my cash on hand to $1,000 . I presently have $720 , separate from my regular savings and retirement accounts. I like having some physical cash on hand, which I squirrel away in several locations, rarely keeping more than $150-200 in my wallet. Most stashes are small, about $40-50 each. Current Stash Goals Here's my target breakdown for the $1,000 cash goal: Wallet : $200 Safe : $600 Med Stash : $50 Med Stash : $50 Med Stash : $40 Med Stash : $40 Small Stash : $20 I plan to grow these stashes gradually, adding about $20 per week , so it will take me a year to reach $1,000 . Long-Term Plan If this goes to plan, I’ll continue this for two more years , adding $500 per year until I max out at $2,000 in physical cash by 2026 . My future allocation will look like this: Wallet : $400 Safe : $1,200 Med Stash : $100 Med Stash : $100 Med Stash : $100 Small Stash : $50 Small Stash : $50 This strategy helps me feel secure with physical cash while keeping

2024 Budget and Wardrobe Update I'm planning to stick to a budget of around $500 for 2024. I’m getting better at managing my expenses and am on track to hit $740 for 2023. Planned Items Most of my budget will be allocated towards clothes and shoes: Shoes - $141 Air Jordan 1 Low (Size 10.5M) - $86 - Purchased Stan Smith White/Green (Size 10M) - $55 - Purchased Clothes - $216 Bomber Jacket - $200 - Skip for 2025 Polo Letterman Navy - $160 - Purchased Levi Denim Jacket - $36 - Purchased Uniqlo T-Shirts (3x)  - $50 - Purchased Blue Jeans - $50 - Skip for 2025 Watches - $40 Casio A168WG - $40 - Purchased Tech - $240 iPhone 16 - $200 - Purchased Anker 10k Power Bank - $40 - Purchased Total Spending So far, I've spent a total of $637 .  I may increase my budget to $800 if I need to replace additional clothing items, but I don't anticipate needing much more. Future Considerations The only unknown factor is whether I will upgrade to the iPhone 16, depending on how it compar

Paid Memberships and Subscriptions Overview It's easy to overlook ongoing memberships and subscriptions. Here’s a breakdown of mine: Groceries - $110 Costco: $60/yr Sam's Club: $50/yr Streaming - $108 Amazon Prime: $139/yr (Cancelled 2023) Netflix: $108/yr Disney+: $120/yr (Cancelled 2024) Utility/Maintenance - $400 Blink Camera: $30/yr Anti-Virus: $70/yr Car Wash: $300/yr Events - $110 Gym: $360/yr (Cancelled 2023) Museum: $165/yr (Cancelled 2023) Garden: $110/yr Total Membership Cost per Year: $728 Updates 2023 - Cancelled Amazon Prime: I decided to quit Amazon Prime as I mainly used it for free shipping, which I can achieve by bundling orders. 2023 - Keeping Costco & Sam's Club: Although I shop infrequently, I find the membership worthwhile for the cheaper gas. 2023 - Keeping Car Wash Membership: The unlimited car washes for $240/yr save me time and keep my car clean, making this expense justifiable. 2023 - Evaluating Cuts: I'm considering cancelling the Gym

Year-End Review: 2023 Purchases and Reflections Another year has gone by, and I’ve accumulated quite a bit of new stuff, from clothes to tech. 2022 was a banner year for me, but 2023 is the time to improve the quality of my wardrobe and invest in a new computer. Planned Purchases Tech - $106 Dell Precision 7530 - $250 - Sold JBL 510BT Headphones - $30 - Done Vuolao V8 Headphones - $16 - Done Apple AirPods 2nd Gen - $60 - Done Shoes - $311 Jordan 1 Mids 9.5 - $110 - Done Jordan 1 Lows 10.5 - $130 - Done Air Force 1s 10 - $71 - Done Clothes - $323 Uniqlo - Clothing Haul - $150 - Done North Face - Winter Jacket - $173 - Done Hobbies - $0 Swiss Army Knives - $0* - Done Total Expenditures: $740 I’m keeping it simple. For the Jordan 1s, I’m considering the Black & White Panda colorway or Green/Black/White to have something a bit more subdued than my current pair. I also added a pair of budget-friendly Bluetooth headphones. While I love the AirPods Pro, I’m finding it easier to have tra

Spring Cleaning: Selling Unused Items Overview I'm in the process of decluttering my space and making room for things I truly value. I've identified several items that I seldom use anymore, and I've listed them for sale. While selling electronics often means taking a hit on their original purchase price, it’s a step towards better financial management. Items for Sale Here’s a breakdown of what I’m letting go of and their respective prices: Victorinox INOX watch - $300 Swatch - $400 Timex - $170 Tiffany Ring - $250 Tiffany Bracelet - $200 iPad (2018) - $150 GoPro 5 - $150 Switch Lite - $125 PS4 - $175 Fire HD8 - $25 Sansa Clip - $40 Anker Speaker - $15 Financial Summary Total Cash from Sales: ~$2,000 This total represents about 60% of the original value of all these items. Reflection While it stings to see how much tech depreciates, especially selling electronics for less than half their original value, I recognize the worth of the experiences I had with them. B

2022 Wish List and Spending Summary As 2021 comes to a close, I'm planning my acquisitions for 2022, focusing on various collections and budgeting around $800. Summary Clothes & Shoes : $633 Knives : $58 Watches : $329 (final cost for SE2 only) iPhone : $200 Tech : $25 Final Total Spent : $1,245 Overall, I spent a bit more than expected, but each acquisition feels worthwhile. 2022 - Initial Wish List Clothes - $360 Uniqlo T-Shirts x3 - $45 - DONE Uniqlo Polo Shirt x2 - $50 - DONE Banana Republic Crew Sweater - $15 - DONE Uniqlo Heat Tech Shirt - $20 - DONE Uniqlo Ultra Down - $80 - DONE Northface Venture 2 Rain Jacket - $100 - DONE Adidas Red Gym Shorts x2 - $50 - DONE Total Spent : $360 Shoes - $200 ($110 spent) Air Jordan 1 - $110 - DONE Total Spent : $110 Total Spent Overall : $470 Wardrobe Refresh 2022 is a refresh year for my wardrobe. I’ve standardized on Uniqlo Supima Cotton T-Shirts . Despite being pricier than Hanes, Uniqlo’s Supima lasts significantly longer,

Updated Inventory List for Collections I've made some updates to my collections, adding a new category for Swiss Army Knives and shifting my focus from Clothing to Sneakers. Here’s the current overview: Inventory Overview Headphones: 11 Tech: 12 Watches: 7 Swiss Army Knives: 16 Sneakers: 4 Fountain Pens: 4 Whisky: 3 The only collection that hasn’t changed since 2018 is my Fountain Pens; all other collections have expanded or evolved. 1. Headphones (11) I reduced this collection by three items, letting go of my old MDR-ZX, ATH-EQ500, and WM-77 models, which I hadn't used in years. Breakdown: Over-Ear: Audio Technica - ATH-MSR7 Audio Technica - ATH-M50x On-Ear: Grado - SR80e In-Ear: AKG IG955 (Office) Klipsch R6i (Home) Beats Urbeats (Bag) Apple Earbuds x4 Wireless: Apple AirPods Pro 2. Tech (12) I added an iPhone 11, Amazon Fire 8 Tablet, and RG351p to my tech collection. I sold my Apple Shuffle and gave away my old iPhone 6s. I'm also planning to sell the LG K7. Brea

Primary Collections Overview I currently have about 92 items in my primary collections. By treating them as 'collections,' I can focus on carefully selecting which items to add, replace, or keep. Value Estimation Total Items : 91 Total Value : $12,000 Ten items constitute the bulk of the valuation at about $8,000 , with the Rolex and Omega making up most of that amount. The remainder of my possessions totals around $4,000 . I used a combination of depreciated and replacement costs to determine the valuation; for instance, I found my Rolex Explorer online for about $3,700 and used that as the basis for its value. It’s surprising how much money I’ve spent over the years accumulating these items, especially since it amounts to just 91 pieces. Reflecting on this, I realize that none of these are my 'primary' expenditures. I spend significantly more on food, housing, and transportation each year. My car expenses alone—including insurance, registration/taxes, gas, mainte