Writer exploring culture, technology, life design, and the human experience. Writing at BarryFralick.com
Sunday Notes 3/3/24
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Greetings friends. Here are this week's notes. From me: A friendly reminder to ask for discounts. My monthly internet bill went up to $80. Three years ago it was $40. I called the company and asked for a discount. They lowered it to $65. Not bad for a 5-minute call. This is one of those annoying little things everyone should do. Call your cable company, cell phone provider, insurance providers, etc., and ask for a discount at least once every year or two. Many times they will say yes and adjust pricing accordingly to accommodate your budget while retaining you as a customer. It usually helps to know competitor pricing as well. Be sure and let them know if you can get the same services cheaper elsewhere. Another tip: Take advantage of price match guarantees. I once saved $700 on a washer and dryer set at a big box store by referencing a tiny mid-west appliance store that had them cheaper. Thank you internet. The store manager approved the sale. It worked. I also saved hundreds of dollars on two wedding bands and an engagement ring by asking a chain jewelry store to price-match another. My wife-to-be was... impressed ;) Regardless, I hope you find these ideas practical and helpful. -- Self-care: Lessons From a Year of Low Energy by Natalie Lue is a well-written piece examining mental bandwidth and fatigue. It also gives 4 questions to ask yourself to help determine your needs when feeling sluggish. -- Life Design: If you're someone who is considering making major changes within your life I highly recommend this piece by Sasha Chapin. In praise of blowing up your life At any given time, your motion is being constrained by an agglomeration of previous decisions made by a previous you, decisions that might have little to do with your current wants. Maybe you spent years forming habits that you just don’t enjoy anymore, or you’ve carefully curated an environment that now feels stale. All of these factors, collectively, present a bulwark against change. It’s possible to modify your life while mired in this mass of ongoing circumstance, but it’s difficult. The human default is sleepwalking. -- More Life Design: 40 Unconventional Pieces of Advice That Most People Ignore
20. Follow your energy. If something in your life feels off, listen to your gut. Leave a relationship. Change your career. You can’t always connect the dots forward. -- Personal finance: A Few thoughts on Spending Money -- A quote: Sometimes you feel yourself drifting from someone, or you feel them drifting from you, and it’s not what you want, you’re sad about it, but there’s nothing you can do. Your job is just to respond to what is happening in front of you.
— Ava
-- Lastly, a question: Via Tim Ferriss That is it for this week's edition. As always, live well. Barry |
Barry Fralick
Writer exploring culture, technology, life design, and the human experience. Writing at BarryFralick.com
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