I realize it’s been a while since I last posted and I expect more delays in the proceeding months, which I’m sure you’ll understand as this post progresses. When I entered 2022 I felt a huge sense of positivity and happiness in a way I haven’t for quite some time. I don’t feel like that’s changed but, a lot has happened and is continuing to happen that makes it hard for me to say this is a positive year. Ya know? And the things that have occurred led me to make some big changes in the coming months. The biggest and most important is that I will be leaving Japan in August of this year. It’s not ..read more

I’m debt free. Truly, I never thought I’d get to the point where I could say, “I’m 100% debt free.” I’m sure for those of you who have achieved debt freedom it was much the same. Life after debt is confusing and stressful in its own way. I now have to re-learn how to budget and manage my money because now I’m not doing it for someone else, I’m doing it for me. After debt Though I’ve been debt free for a couple months (wow!) I still feel like I can’t spend my own money. Or I feel guilty doing so. I don’t want to feel that way about my paychecks, especially when I’ve worked hard to earn them, so ..read more

Photo by Oliver Hihn @mr_kuchen Welcome back to the QLM blog! Once upon a time, if you had asked me what my favorite season was I’d say, “summer of course.” Since coming to Japan, I’ve quickly come to the realization that my favorite season is Fall (autumn for all my non-US friends out there) not only because it has my favorite holiday—Halloween—but because the weather is much milder, there’s a sense of magic in the air, and all of my favorite activities can only be done in Fall. However, Japan doesn’t have a lot of the same traditions as the US so it makes it harder to celebrate my favorite ..read more

Photo By StellrWeb @stellrweb Welcome back for another edition of the budget report. Wow, does anyone else feel like this year is flying by? Maybe it’s just because we’re basically still stuck at home here in Japan, but it feels like I blink and the week is already over. Jury’s out as to whether it’s a good thing or not. One positive that’s come out of this year is I’ve had a lot of personal growth. I’ll talk about that a bit more later on, but let’s just say that I’m finally letting go of things I no longer need or that serve me. Since I started really being mindful about my budget I’ve foun ..read more

Photo by Christin Hume @christinhumephoto Good evening from Japan! In today’s blog post I wanted to talk about resume tips I’ve learned over the years. As a workstudy in university, I’d help students build their resumes and CV’s, hold mock interviews, and overall support them in their transition from students to full-time employees. After talking with employers, interviewing staff members for full-time positions on campus, and numerous sessions with students I’ve gained a wealth of knowledge about the common pitfalls of resume writing—and how to avoid them. 1. Update and tailor your resume of ..read more

Photo by Thought Catalog @thoughtcatalog Time for another monthly edition of the budget report! We’re going to take a look at how I spent my paycheck from March 21st to April 21st. Let’s start off with my student loan debt payments. Debt payoff January 2021 - $8,046.91 owed - Paid $716.91 February 2021 - $7,330 owed - Paid $670.00 March 2021 - $6,660 owed - Paid $600.36 April 2021 - $6,059.64 owed - Paid $674.32 + $290.32 = $964.64 (April 21st) May 2021 - $5,095 owed - Will pay on May 21st Note: These are paid around the 21st of each month. I’m sure some of you are seeing April’s budget and t ..read more

Photo by Estée Janssens @esteejanssens Welcome back to another edition of financial talk here on QLM! This week I really wanted to talk about how I prioritize my money to ultimately accomplish goals I’ve set for myself in terms of personal finances. There are so many ways to set goals, but this is what I’ve found works for me. I’d love to hear how you set financial goals of your own. Think about your long term goals. We’ll get more into the short term goals in a bit, but think about what you want your money to do for you in the future. Not just retirement, but after, too. Keep in mind things ..read more

Photo by NORTHFOLK @northfolk Welcome back to another budget report! This time we’ll be going over how I spent my money from February 21st to March 21st. Full disclosure, in my breakdown of how I used my money this month I do include things I did around the 21st of March, but I felt it better fit within this budget report rather than the next. Let’s start of with what I’m (and hopefully you) are most interested in hearing about. . . Where I’m at with my student loan debt! Debt payoff January 2021 - $8,046.91 owed - Paid $716.91 February 2021 - $7,330 owed - Paid $670.00 March 2021 - $6,660 ow ..read more

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon @sharonmccutcheon As of writing this we are four days into March, but if you’ve been following me for a while you know that I get paid once a month on the 21st of every month, which means I’m only a couple weeks into my paycheck with still another couple weeks left to go. I wanted to reflect on how I’ve spent my money thus far this year—huge shoutout to Stacey Flowers (YT/IG) for this budget report card idea, and the rest of the money saving/budgeting community online—and what my money goals are for 2021. This year I will be financially free. It feels so amazing to ..read more

Photo by Sam Dan Truong @sam_truong 2021 is the year we’re going to become one step closer to reaching our goal of being financially free. Here are a few ideas I’ve compiled that you can implement in the coming year right along with me. Budgeting. To start any financial goal off right we need a great budget, right? When first getting into the habit of making a budget it can be difficult deciding when to budget, what goes into your budget, and how to stick to it. Be sure to check out my blog post about budgeting. Now, let’s start off with the easy part. Pre-budget: You should budget before eve ..read more