Awesome Travels, The Pause (And Why Going Broke Sucks)
by Ethan Harrer
Hello everyone, and happy to see you again!
The last time I have made a newsletter was back in December, and since then it has been a new whirlwind of updates. New lessons. Realizations. And I think it would be nice to talk about some of those.
As of recent, I have been in Ohio again, staying in my hometown and been laying low in terms of the content that I have been writing, making, etc. And to be honest, part of it is due to not having much to write, but also some incompetence.
Actually, scratch that. It’s all incompetence.
I have quite a bit to write. They are not many things that are ‘social media worthy’, but I remind myself that the purpose of this blog instead of focusing mainly on social media was to talk about the intimate details with people that actually care about me from a personal level. So, that’s what we are going to do.
Travels!
First off, trips have been taken. New experiences have happened. For one, Key West was amazing! Being down there in the middle of winter definitely helped in terms of getting away from all of the cold dampness of the northwest. Also, I was 22 years old when I realized in my mind that Key Lime Pie was named and made in the Florida Keys. Oops!
Secondly, back in November, I also revisited New York for the first time since late 2017. Although it has gone through some crazy times, New York City seems to be quite similar to when I first visited it; a city that never sleeps and keeps times square bustling. The only thing different is the loss of the 99 cent slice. Which is quite lame.
Overall, it has been very nice! But it definitely has not all been sunshine and rainbows.
Going Broke. Being Humbled.
Okay! Here’s where things have been interesting.
So you know how I took all of these trips? Travelling around for a few months? Here’s the thing; I made some pretty bad financial decisions in the process of all of this.
You’d think that in my time in Tennessee and Alaska, I would have saved up a good dime for myself. And to some degree, I did! But when you come back home for 3 months, keep pushing off working just because you have a safety net, and spend a lot of it on things you don’t need, reality sets in quick. And it did for me big time.
Mid January, I realized that I was in a big pickle the moment that I realized buying an iced coffee might not be possible. Immediately after, I got hit with the norovirus, and got food poisoning-like symptoms and was out of commission for 3 days.
This was one of the lower points in my life. I was sick, broke, and felt that I was a failure in my lethargically-fueled mindset.
After recovering, I went into overdrive and got a job quickly set up in Ohio that would help me get out of the hole I was in. I donated blood (well, tried to. Funny story for another time!). I drive 2 hours out for a freelance job. I didn’t buy those coffees when I went to a cafe.
Before I got here, I forgot a lot of the joys and freedoms of actually having money. This sounds dumb or illogical to most people, but when you have a card that magically buys things you want in the moment, it never really registers that you worked for these before. That you’re spending this money and making you further and further away from freedom.
So, now im building back up again, saving and making a budget for this month and for the rest of the year. With the way things look, ill have more in the bank than I ever have if I play my cards right. Because to be frank, I never want to be in that position ever again!
Blogs, Podcast, and A New Job!
As many of you know, my life force has come from making things like blogs, videos, and interviewing people that matter to me. I enjoyed it immensely last year, so I am going to be relaunching the content on a more consistent basis.
With that being said, as of today, I have a new job situated that I think you guys will enjoy! I will be talking about this new one in a future newsletter.
In the meantime, I cant wait to talk with you all and see how things have been. Feel free to comment and message!
See you again soon!
Ethan Harrer
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