A lot of pesto and no books, but I finally bought "casual shoes" š„³
The February 2024 edition of CONSUMED
I hope youāre enjoying The Mindful Consumer. This is a newsletter about paying attention to what you are paying attention toāand how it impacts your mindset, your mental health, and your money.
TMC is 1/3 of my jobāand I treat it as such. Iām always trying to be a mindful creator, and put a lot of time and thought into everything I share with you. And I could not do this work without the financial support of this community.
By supporting this project, youāll get access to everything I write, including future editions of this monthly newsletter. Also, my gratitude for helping me continue writing for a living. Thank you, friend. ā¤ļø
Hi friend,
At the end of every month, I share a list of what I consumed, as well as what consumed my time and my thoughts (and maybe even my money). What topics was I engaged in? What was I obsessed with (/consumed by)? What was I exploring? What inspired me? And where did my curiosity lead me? These are some of the questions I ask myself, as I piece this together.
My hope is that it helps me reflect on what I have personally been paying attention to, gives you some insight into whatās on my mind (and how my mind works), and leaves you with a few ideas or new pieces of content to explore. Itās also just really fun to put togetherā¦ and I love creating from a place of joy!
In this edition of CONSUMED:
The one financial task I completed this month (it changed, lol)
What I watched (a few good things on Apple TV)
What I read (not much, again)
What I listened to (podcast topics vary!)
What I ate/drank (a lot of pesto)
What I bought (FINALLY!!!)
Enjoy!
xx Cait
One financial task: Renew Canadian passport š«
I did not finish this task. I started it! I downloaded the application, filled it out, and got my two references. But I still havenāt gotten new pictures done. Being tucked away in a tiny town in the North of England, thereās nowhere to get passport photos done locally (except out of a machine, which isnāt an option for Canadian applications). After doing some research, I think the closest place I can get them done is about 30 minutes awayāin a direction I donāt often go. But, I have that information! I might even be able to head out there later this week. Still, I wonāt lie and say itās done, because itās not.
Tiny tasks required to complete this task:
Go get new passport photos
Print + sign application
Package it up + take it to the post office
Another financial task: Start saving for retirement (in the UK) ā
Iām going to save this for a newsletter of its own, but the one financial task I did cross off the list felt HUGE for me. This month, I finally felt as though Iād done enough research to make a decision about which account I would use to start saving for retirement here in the UKā¦ and I opened it (and invested a whopping Ā£35 š)! Iāve learned A LOT about the various accounts and options available over here, and itās been fun to see how my mind compares everything Iām learning to whatās available in Canada. Anyway, I think itāll make for an interesting topic soon. For now, it just feels great to say I ticked this off the list!
ā”ļø Marchās two financial tasks:
finish/ship my Canadian passport renewal application down to London
file/pay my Canadian taxes
CONSUMED // February 2024
What I watched
Iām someone who tends to only pay for 1-2 streaming services at a time. So when I want to watch things on one service, Iāll cancel another. Itās simple enough to do, and saves me the cost of around one full annual subscription (~Ā£100-130/year). This month, I swapped Netflix for Apple TV and watched:
LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY (it was good as you all said it would be, and no I havenāt read the book)
DEAR EDWARD (sad but I liked the character development, and no I havenāt read this book either)
GREYHOUND (do not recommend lol)
and I just started CONSTELLATION
I also watched a handful of webinars this month, which is unusual for me. Most of them were about investing in the UK, hosted by Female Invest (which I am currently a member of). But I also watched my agent be interviewed by the founders of London Writersā Salon (my online writing community). It was so special to witness how she connects with other people (I only get to experience her as my agent!), and to hear/feel her generosity in her responses to their questions. If youāre a writer who hopes to get an agent/a traditional book deal one day, her new book GET SIGNED is an incredible resource. (And you can listen to the interview on the London Writersā Salon podcast!)
What I read
February was another month of false starts with books. Iām just not enjoying much, so far this year!? Iām currently in a pattern of reading ~50 pages of a book then losing interestāeither because the writing is too slow or too predictable. WHERE ARE THE BOOKS THAT WILL SUCK ME IN!?!?
The only book I was genuinely hooked on was the first personal finance book Iām going to review. It started off slow, then I devoured the last 200 pages in just two days. Not sure if thatās ever happened with a PF book before!
A few articles I enjoyed on Substack:
On women using the Big Voice and being paid fairly (or at all...) by
- (just beautiful. If I were a literary agent, Iād want to get you a book deal, friend)
And this article on Purity Finance by Katie Gatti Tassin. Wow. ā¬ļø
āA healthy relationship with money requires an ability to save for Future You and joyfully invest in Present You, because youāll only ever experience your connection with money in the present (as Eckhart Tolle writes, āthe future never comesā).ā
āKatie Gatti Tassin
š If youāre curious and perhaps want to join me, in March Iāll be reading: I SURVIVED CAPITALISM AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS LOUSY T-SHIRT by Madeline Pendleton. Itās a memoir written by an American author, and I am definitely welcoming this shift in genres! Love a personal storyā¦
What I listened to
What relationships would you want, if you believed they were possible?
Why conflict is critical (I bought their new book, after listening to this, as conflict feels super unsafe in my body and thatās something I want to continue to heal and work on)
A testing year for democracy (I canāt vote, but want to learn more about UK politics, so have started listening to this podcast. Itās a good time to learn, because itās an election year in the UKāand in many countries around the world, which is what this episode is all aboutā¦)
And, holy moly, I listened to my body this month. There were some very clear āyesā and ānoā situationsāmostly in my professional lifeāand I DID NOT HESITATE to say them.
What I ate/drank
I did a lot of batch cooking this monthāmaking dinners that last 3-4 nights/week, which always feels like a gift to my future self. I tried a handful of new recipes, but some of my usual go-toās were my favourite recipes from the month. And, all included pesto!?
Creamy white bean lemon pesto orzo soup (thatās a mouthful)
I am completely obsessed with the seeded sourdough bread you can buy at M&S. At Ā£4/loaf, itās not cheap. And, I eat the whole thing every single week. YUM.
While away for my event at Alnwick Story Fest, Tall Man and I took ourselves out for a really nice dinner at Adam and Eve. We also got coffee at Scottās of Alnmouth, before doing an 11-mile (18km) walk along the coast. And we discovered that Grannies makes big and cheap sandwiches to go!
What I bought
I bought two things this month that I am SO excited about, for different reasons!
This mini rechargeable air compressor for my car tires. I didnāt even know these existed, until Tall Man showed me the one he hasā¦ and omg, it SAVED ME this month, when I woke up to a nearly-flat tire. This is something that will now live inside every vehicle I own. (I also love that I got it for Ā£19, as it seems to have gone up in price.)
And after having ācasual shoesā on my shopping list for over a year (!?!?!) I FINALLY BOUGHT SOME! Iāve essentially lived in running shoes + hiking boots for the past two years. After giving up Blundstones (which I wore for 7+ years), I had no idea what kind of ācasual shoeā I might want to wear instead. But I finally found and bought some! This was such a journey for me, as someone who doesnāt like shopping and yet often feels under-resourced with such a limited wardrobe. I might actually write more about this soon, but Iām so glad to have something new to wear on my feet. (Vicky and Rachel: I thought of you while shopping!)
I really enjoyed reading this. It was light, fun, informative and entertaining. I read lots and watch something every night. I move from one streamer to another but have found Netflix to be the steady. I'm glad I didn't nix them as their price has gone up significantly to what I pay.
I also now have shoes! Congratulations! What a journey. Welcome to the 'We Actually Have Shoes, Thank You Very Much' club. It feels good.