$pent Millennial

Who doesn’t love a good holiday newsletter! Here’s mine. Keep reading past the first sign off for a peek behind the filter…

Dear Friends and Family,

Season’s greetings! As the year draws to a close, I am filled with gratitude for the many blessings and adventures that 2023 has brought into our lives. It has truly been a year filled with growth, excitement, and unexpected blessings. 

Amidst the hustle and bustle, one shining source of joy has been our beloved dog, Rocky, who has proven to be the best and most brilliant canine companion in the whole world. His understanding of our human communication – verbal and nonverbal- and his remarkable ability to communicate back to us have added an extra layer of warmth and delight to our lives. While he does enjoy the opportunity to rest in the sunshine, he takes his duties as a therapy service dog very seriously. He is always looking for ways to comfort Jesse and me and does anything he can to ease our concerns and make us happy. His presence is a constant source of comfort, and this year, he decided to take on a special project that left us pleasantly surprised.

While Jesse and I do our best to remain grateful for our little piece of heaven in our grungy apartment, there are definitely things about it that get to us. One of those things is the gross carpet that has been here for who knows how long collecting filth from tenants long before we got here. Although I do my best with regular vacuuming and use all the cleaning and baking soda tricks, you just can’t get years of other people’s filth out from rental carpets. 

Hearing our grumbles and feeling our discontent, Rocky decided to take matters into his own paws. He embarked on a renovation project, transforming our entryway from a carpeted mess to a practical hard surface, perfect for handling wet and dirty boots. His thoughtful gesture has made a significant difference in our daily lives.

Speaking of renovations, the year started out a bit uncomfortable as water damage to our bedroom ceiling caused us to fear the moisture could lead to issues of mold. We notified our property managers and it seems our concern sparked inspiration as they not only addressed the damage in our unit but went on to replace the roof for the entire building AND a neighboring building as well. 

The property management’s responsibility to take on the major, exterior problems with the building left the fun indoor redecorating and updates to Jesse, Rocky, and myself. A new roof with no new roof bill took a bit of the sting out of not becoming homeowners in 2023. We are so grateful and excited by our renovations and updates. We cannot wait to see what else can be upgraded for us to personalize and enjoy as we relish our place as renters. 

While we are currently satisfied in our role as renters for many reasons and have not been bit, too hard, by the home-buying frenzy bug, we have taken steps towards consideration of possible homeownership in the future. We have begun our preparation by going to local open houses we come across in our neighborhood. 

Now, I can hear the warnings through my computer screen as I type this. Those open-house coffee dates are a slippery slope! Don’t worry, we have been crunching numbers and pairing our viewings and wistful dreaming with more pragmatic planning conversations at our monthly money dates and have an understanding that our current neighborhood would not be our ideal (or affordable) homeownership location. 

While we love renting in our neighborhood with access to nature paths and cute downtowns for walking dates and morning runs, it is not where we envision buying, a sentiment that has been reinforced by the outlandish asking prices of homes we have viewed. While we do not intend to buy in our neighborhood, we feel that looking is good practice. And of course, I am just nosy enough that I enjoy getting a behind the curtains peek into the overpriced homes I run past each morning – as weather permits. 

These morning runs are another highlight from the year. I have greatly enjoyed prioritizing my health and wellness by making time each morning for sunrise runs and meditation. Something I am sorry to be trading in for gym workouts as the weather becomes more treacherous for the winter. However, I will continue to prioritize movement and fitness. While I have felt a bit silly paying for an annual gym membership when I only partake in the indoor experience for about 3-4 months of the year, I have recently found a way to incorporate the gym’s workout app into my fitness routine year-round. The app’s short mini-workouts, warmups, and stretch sessions are great to squeeze in on busy mornings or between long hours at the desk. 

I will be putting these convenient workouts to use as work has been crazy lately! As I reflect on the past year, I can’t help but marvel at the whirlwind of success and growth in my professional life. Work has been nothing short of exhilarating, with a plethora of exciting opportunities for personal and career development seamlessly integrating into my bustling schedule.

In my quest for intentional time allocation, I’ve made the strategic decision to temporarily set aside my tutoring side hustle. Instead, I’ve redirected my boundless energy towards partner development and community-building initiatives. It’s been a challenge, but I thrive on challenges, and the results have been nothing short of spectacular.

I cannot take sole credit for these results. I have had help – from AI.  While it’s a controversial issue for some, I’ve embraced it as a personal mission. As the saying goes, “AI won’t take your job, someone who knows how to use it will.” I’ve not only embraced it but mastered it, incorporating AI seamlessly into my work to enhance efficiency and productivity. After all, who wouldn’t want a little extra help to conquer the demands of a dynamic work environment? Chat GPT has even helped me to write this very letter! 

In the pursuit of excellence, I dedicated my mornings to completing the rigorous Financial Educator Council’s course. The culmination of my efforts resulted in passing the test with flying colors, and I am now a proud Certified Financial Education Instructor (CFEI). Armed with this certification, I am poised to empower others by teaching them about personal finance, providing invaluable information, and equipping them with the tools to navigate the ever-changing financial landscape.

As we wrap up this year, I am excited to see what the next brings! Wishing you all a joyous holiday season filled with love, laughter, and the warmth of cherished moments. May your new year be filled with excitement, wonder, success and balance. 

Warm Regards, 

Everett, Jesse & Rocky! 

Hey there,

You got me! While our year indeed had its share of joy, growth, and excitement, it wasn’t all sunshine and roses. Here is a more honest look at those 2023 highlights: 

While Rocky really is a precious joy in our lives, his “genius renovation” was more of a hiccup caused by triggered separation anxiety during a roofing project last spring. The poor pup got so anxious and triggered during the project that he tried to dig himself out of the apartment, tearing up the entryway carpet in the process… 

This behavioral setback has us much more frustrated with our property management than with Rocky. For one thing, the roofing project was not a proactive response to our concern about water damage, but an unannounced, emergency project taken on after months of nagging complaints about the water damage and associated mold making me physically sick. Eventually, we informed them that we did not find painting over moldy water damage a sufficient solution and threatened to involve legal resources and building inspectors if the issue wasn’t adequately addressed. Recently, another tenant shared that they too had been sick from moldy water damage and the building had been inspected around that time and had failed. 

Management finally undertook the roofing project allegedly to avoid further trouble. However, they didn’t feel a need to inform us tenants of the project or the dates it would be occurring. So, Jesse and I unknowingly left Rocky home alone- like we did all the time, with no issues- to go to work. We came back and the place was torn apart and the poor pup was terrified out of his mind. I worked from home as much as I could for the remainder of the time the roofing was taking place, and we worked to find other last-minute solutions for doggy daycare when we were not home with Rocky. Let me tell you, I understand why poor Rocky was so scared. It sounded like the entire roof was about to cave in on us, and there was even sheetrock knocked loose in the process. The roofing project was an extremely drawn-out process with no timeline or information/ updates from property management. In all, it took at least 3 months to be completed. Above all, the lack of communication and respect is what still gets to me when I think about it now. 

We are slowly trying to re-train Rocky to be left home alone, but are still dealing with the aftermath. Our routines have been inconveniently impacted as we have to rearrange schedules and take extra precautions every time we leave him alone. Add calming dog treats into our budget… not to mention the emotional toll it has had on our poor Rocky. Thanks, rental property management! 

That being said, our doggo, Rocky, really is the goodest boy in the whole world with such a sweet soul and kind, obedient heart. He tries his best to be good and means so well. He continues to be one of our biggest blessings! 

As for the homebuying… while this experience might sound like one that would send us running towards a mortgage lender, that isn’t in the financial cards for us at this time. We are not ready (financially, emotionally, etc) for homeownership. We are still deciding on where we would want to live for a long enough term to make such a commitment. We are not working towards a “starter home”, but a forever home that we would retire into. 

While we have begun discussions on numbers of how much to save (down payments, emergency funds, etc), we are nowhere near being in a position to make that move. We are okay with that for now. While parts of renting and our somewhat crummy apartment get to us (like the aforementioned questionable property management…), we are happy to have four walls around us and a roof above us. 

Our visits to open houses are largely to gauf at how overpriced homes in the area are and to snoop behind the scenes. It is fun to know what the homes look like on the inside as I run and walk past them.  For now, we enjoy the wistful planning and dream talk about our future. 

As for the workouts, I have been working on being more intentional in making time for my morning workouts; however, this often means stuffing a piece of peanut butter bread in my mouth and hurrying out the door instead of sitting with Jesse for breakfast. There are mornings I am exhaustedly dragging myself out the door, tempted to turn back and crawl back into bed- but in the end, I do always feel better for having done it.

A real win for me with my workouts has been the way I have shifted my reasons for working out to be less focused on how the workouts might make me look, but instead more about how they make me feel. I truly enjoy my outdoor runs and walks, but also enjoy the endorphin boost from a good treadmill workout at the gym when the weather requires it. I need to be better about stretching and mobility workouts as well as incorporating more strength-building into my routine to truly help me be healthier.

I hope in the coming year, being better about this balance (in part with help from the Planet Fitness app and resources) will help with back pain that has flared up since I took a more sedentary desk job. At only 30 years old, there are mornings my back truly feels a good 30 years older!

Ah yes, and that job. It has been a busy year. I did decide that although I love tutoring, the 45-minute drive to sessions wasn’t worth the time or gas money. I have quit the side hustle and rearranged my schedule to increase my time commitment toward community tutoring and other community service around program development, fundraising, and other community efforts. Eventually, I hope to grow and leverage community partnerships in an effort to advance my personal and professional missions. For now, I am still putting in the work, and let me tell you, it is a lot of work. Most days I am exhausted and there are times I wonder what I am even doing. Am I actually helping to work towards solutions, or am I just hitting my head against a wall, wasting time, energy and talents that could be put to better use elsewhere- in a more direct role? Some days it feels like I am running in place, other days- backwards.

In what has become a blur of workdays that blend into weekends, evenings, early mornings.., I have taken to the use of AI  for efficiency and have found it to be game-changing, and necessary. It often feels like I am doing the work of 2-3 full-time positions, so I will take the help where I can get it! I promise you, this isn’t a situation of technology stealing jobs- nobody is hiring (or paying more) for this extra workload. So, it goes to the lowest bidder- AI.

This year, I did put in the early morning hours to complete the Financial Educator Council’s course and passed the test to obtain my CFEI. I am excited by the opportunity to use this certification to teach others about personal finance and give them information and tools to support them in their financial journeys. I continue to look for ways to continue learning and growing personally and professionally- but, to be honest, I am tired. Sometimes the lectures, readings, webinars etc feel like they flow in one ear and out the other. I begin to question my ability to retain it all and if it is just (again) a waste of time and energy.

In summary, Alanis Morissette said it best:

“I’m broke, but I’m happy.

I’m sane, but I’m overwhelmed.

I’m lost, but I’m hopeful.

I’m tired, but I’m working.

I care, but I’m restless…”

So, here’s to the real, unfiltered version of our year—a mix of challenges and triumphs, struggles and successes. Wishing you a genuine and joyful holiday season!

Cheers,

Everett, Jesse and Rocky!