Over the last few months I’ve been reworking my relationship to money. I’ve documented it openly in hopes that it would help others feel less alone if they were learning how to manage their finances too. I’ve learned that an easy day for impulse spending are holidays that offer heavily discounted items you had no plans to purchase before the discount. Amazon’s Prime Day is this July 12th and July 13th and it's hard to ignore or to not want to add a million things to your cart.

The last two months prompted some unexpected, but welcomed changes in my day-to-day life. The biggest physical change is by far moving back to the east coast (we’re living in CT now!), but it’s the smaller changes that I’m noticing have shifted more of my mood and perspective on life. After letting go of some of the more energy-sucking habits I’d been holding onto, I feel less tense in the shoulders and less spiraling in my thoughts. I hadn’t realize how things like Twitter made me feel on a daily basis because I’d been on it for so long. I’d gotten used to the sense of dread that came with doom-scrolling and felt like that’s just what my day had to include.

I didn’t go into kicking the below habits intentionally. Life getting so busy, so quickly, forced me into having to prioritize moving and more immediate work needs and left me little time for anything else. Now that we’re in our new home though and I’m getting time back in droves, it turns out these are habits I don’t want to pick up again.