FROM: STELLA

TO: LAURA

1. I am slowly sorting and organizing all my photos from our Africa trip and am obsessed with the SnapSeed photo editing app that was recommended to me by a fellow traveler. It’s super user-friendly and free to download (iPhone, Android). Luckily, my camera is wifi capable so it is super easy to transfer my photos to my phone for easy posting and editing within the app. I promise to have lot’s of Africa blog posts heading your way over the next few weeks!

   

2. Even though I am back in LA, my husband is still traveling, so I’ve got our apartment to myself this week. I’ve been doing lots of cleaning (check out our post from last week about creative uses for vinegar!) and watching all the chick flicks that he wouldn’t be interested in.
3. As you may already know from my previous finance posts, I love the Money Peach podcast. This week I listened to a great episode titled “when she makes more money than her husband” with Jennifer Barrett from Acorns. It was a fun episode and I loved hearing about trends among women in finance.
4. After listening to the episode with Jennifer, I fell down the rabbit hole of great personal finance articles on her site. A few of my favorites were: “How One 31 Year Old Went from Broke to a Millionaire in 5 Years“, “It’s Time to Ditch the Engagement Ring Tradition” and “We Saved $27,000 in 10 Months — Then Took an 11-Month European Vacation“.

FROM: LAURA

TO: STELLA

1. This week I binged the 5-episode ‘30 for 30‘ season three arc delving into Bikram Yoga, as well as the 2 behind the scenes episodes, and honestly could have listened to at least 10 more hours of the story! It was exhilarating, eye-opening storytelling and I highly recommend the listen.

   

2. My little sister is graduating from high school next year and I’m considering buying her a big stack of books, all from this list of ‘Financial Books Every Young Person Should Read.’ Top on my list? ‘The Intelligent Investor,’ ‘The Millionaire Next Door,’ and ‘Asset Allocation.’
3. I didn’t know a ton about the reasoning behind soaking beans before cooking with them. Frugal Hausfrau did a rundown on all that and more (plus tips for quicker brining on the stove or in an Instant Pot!) and I was beyond interested! She found a way for even beans to be intriguing!
4. Love this post by She Picks Up Pennies on ‘Celebrating Your Money Wins‘! It’s definitely an important part of my budgeting and spending to try to make small wins because even if it doesn’t feel consequential at the moment, everything adds up eventually.