Welcome to Wise & Wealthy: A weekly newsletter full of proven ideas to become smarter and wealthier. I send this every Monday.
#102 – December 18, 2023
Was this shared with you? Sign up here.
Wise: Pleasant experiences
Living life to the fullest means being able to embrace both the good and the bad.
Life is not just about chasing after pleasant experiences. Otherwise, we become trapped in always avoiding anything unpleasant.
This can lead to an unfulfilling, unsatisfying life. We end up having a hard time finding true contentment.
The key is to learn how to detach from certain feelings. Not all feelings! We’re humans and emotions give depth to our lives. But that doesn’t mean we let emotions enslave us.
Unpleasant things are also a part of normal life.
In my new article, I share 10 small ways you can get better at detaching from craving pleasure.
↳ Stop Craving Pleasant Experiences
Wealthy: Holiday budget
Budgeting is the top advice from personal finance experts. After all, it’s hard to survive the holidays without budgeting, right?
In some cases, it makes sense to temporarily live on a budget, especially if you have financial struggles.
But budgeting in the long term won’t give you real financial freedom. It will only make you more financially cautious.
If you’re like most folks who can still cover their basic needs and just want to celebrate the holidays without overspending — then I don’t recommend being overly conscious of budgeting.
Because let’s face it: Budgeting brings up too many negative emotions. Who likes to live with restrictions on the money they earn themselves? It’s your money and you can do whatever you want. If you restrict yourself, you’ll get frustrated.
The key is to manage your wants. More on that in my other new article.
↳ How to Enjoy the Holidays Without Budgeting
One interesting thing
New research conducted by the University of Exeter reveals that even with air-conditioned workplaces, hot weather can significantly reduce workers’ productivity.1Source: Science Daily
The study focused on a high-tech factory in China, monitoring both outdoor temperatures and worker performance. Despite the controlled climate inside the factory, productivity declined by 0.83% for every 1°C increase in outdoor temperature.
I think this is also true for knowledge workers. For those who dream of working and living in a place that’s warm all year round, consider the impact on your productivity.
In recent times, I’ve learned to appreciate the value of colder weather.
Thanks for reading! I hope you found this edition of Wise & Wealthy useful.
All the best,
Darius
Join the 5-day Financial Freedom Challenge
I created a 5-day email course you can do alone or together with a group. It’s called the Financial Freedom Challenge. And it will help you to gain control over your finances.
Most people try to calculate their way out of poor finances. But money problems aren’t rational. They’re emotional. Manage your emotions well, and you’ll manage your finances better.
How to Unlock the Financial Freedom Challenge
You can join the challenge for free. For five days, you’ll receive a short email with a small challenge that inspires you to improve your relationship with money.
I highly recommend sharing it with your friends/family so you can go through the program together. It helps bring perspective. And it’s more fun that way too.
Join here for free: dariusforoux.com/financial-freedom