The shopping season is here, and it’s coming for your wallet. Not only do we have Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year, but this American tradition has also spun off into a string of frenzied buying days. There’s now Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, and Giving Tuesday. Of course, I’m not a monster. I do love a good deal. But it’s hard not to be cynical and critical of our hyper-consumerist society. So for anyone looking to mindfully shop this holiday season, here are some things to consider before venturing out into the wild.
Read MoreHow to Prepare to Start Paying Your Student Loans Again /
Student loan forbearance began in March 2020 and, for over two years, borrowers didn’t have to pay anything towards their student loans, with no consequence. As Americans everywhere were met with new financial hardships, student loan debt relief was put in place, pausing all payments and keeping the interest rates at 0%.
Here’s everything you need to know about student loan repayment after covid relief and how to prepare for student loan payments to start back up again in 2023.
Read MoreHow to Apply for One-time Federal Student Loan Debt Relief /
It’s happening, y’all! The Department of Education launched a beta test of student loan forgiveness applications at 5:45p PT on Friday Oct 14, 2022. During this beta period, federal student loan borrowers may submit applications for some debt relief.
The applications won’t be processed until the official site launch later this month. However, according to a Department spokesperson, folks that apply for forgiveness during the beta period won’t have to reapply once the site goes live (or so they say).
Of course, a beta period indicates that the site, the application, and the process are in testing. During this period, bugs will be discovered – it’s the point of a beta test. So folks that apply now should manage their expectations.
Read MoreCollecting Dots: Some Recent Reflections About Money and Life /
Here are a bunch of different things I’ve been thinking about. Lately, my work has felt like collecting dots in the hope that a constellation of meaning will soon reveal itself.
Read MoreHow to Deal with a Stock Market Downturn /
Here’s everything you need to know about dealing with a possible stock market downturn and what you can do for yourself to prepare for your long-term goals.
Read MoreFive Financial Things: Meditations on Money /
Here are some things I’ve been thinking about lately.
Disclaimer: I’m probably not the first person to think of these things. I’m sure I picked these up from a fellow human expressing themselves through conversations, words in a book, dialogue in a movie, lyrics in a song, or eavesdropping on folks arguing over dinner (one of my favorite things to do). Sometimes it’s hard to remember where every insight originated. Sometimes they are slowly internalized through repeated exposure, like learning every lyric to a pop song you had no intention of loving. We’re all pulling from the same weird, swirling pool of ideas
Read MoreWhat Is a Buy List and How It Can Help You Build a Conscious Spending Habit /
I went to hang out with a friend and outside of her apartment, I found an Amazon package that I picked up and brought in with me. She said she didn’t remember what she bought. That’s part of the horror of online shopping; the ability to purchase so cheaply and frequently that you lose track of your purchases. But that’s also the beauty of it - it’s a two-for-one when it comes to pleasure and dopamine. You get the first dose doing the shopping and the next when the package arrives and you anticipate what’s inside.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter responsible for transmitting signals between the nerve cells of the brain. It directly impacts our central nervous system and plays a significant role in the body. While many of us have come to believe that dopamine is involved in rewards, it’s important to understand that it’s also involved in the pursuit of rewards. Some researchers argue that dopamine when acting within what has become known as the brain’s reward system, signals desire.
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