2024 wrapped: What we bought, read & regret
In the final episode of the Finance Girlies podcast for 2024, hosts Emily and Cassidy reflect on their favorite moments of the year by answering rapid-fire questions.
They discuss their top books, best and worst purchases, goals for next year, new hobbies, and personal achievements. Emily shares her journey with doggy daycare and buying a new car, while Cassidy talks about a cozy new home and her love for crocheting.
Join them as they wrap up the year with a heartfelt look back and plans for the future.
00:00 Welcome to the Final Episode of 2024
01:16 Hot Seat Questions: Rapid Fire Round
02:20 Emily's Reflections
12:11 Cassidy's Reflections
25:39 Wrapping Up: Reflections and Farewells
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Transcript
[00:00:00]
Cassidy: Hello, hello, and welcome back to the very last episode of the finance girlies podcast for the [00:01:00] 2024 year. This episode, Emily and I thought it would be really fun to kind of do a reflection where we look back on the past year and kind of go through some of our favorite things. Some things we maybe want to do different next year, and just have it be really fun.
So Emily and I have picked five questions that we are going to rapid fire. We're calling it a hot seat. We're going to answer these very quickly. And we're going to talk about our favorite book or podcast, something we bought this year that we loved and something that we regretted something we didn't do this year that we want to prioritize next year, something we're really proud of ourselves for doing this year, a new habit or hobby that we picked up, and then just like our general word or theme for this year. Like if we could give one word to kind of sum up everything.
Emily: Some of these are financial reflections like things that we bought that we loved or things that we wish we didn't spend our money on. And I think the practice of reflecting on [00:02:00] the past year and learning from maybe some challenges and setting goals for the future is also just a super valuable strategy financially as well.
Cassidy: Yeah. Yeah. Totally. So Emily is going to kick off our hot seat, and she is just going to run through these things. So Emily, take it away whenever you're ready.
Emily: Okay. So, book or podcast? Hard to choose. So hard to choose. This is one reason why I want to have a Goodreads, I can never, I just, I just can't keep up with the Goodreads. So I was trying to think back about my favorite books and just, it was blank, even though I'm like a, a big reader. But I settled on a book that I originally read a few years ago, but read again for a book club this year called Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley. Cassidy, have you read this book?
Cassidy: I have not, but I'm adding it to my list.
Emily: Okay. [00:03:00] Highly recommend. This is from a personal finance book. I'm not sure I read any of those this year actually, which might be a first. But anyway, this book is about a young woman who just graduated high school. She's half white, half Anishinaabe and lives in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. She finds herself in the middle of this FBI investigation that, as she gets deeper into it, realizes that some of her family and friends are involved in it.
Cassidy: Mm.
Emily: And there's just like this really deep kind of exploration of her culture. And it's like a really fast paced, suspenseful mystery. It's like, everything I want in a book. It was so good. So highly recommend. Next something I bought this year that I loved. So I kind of split this into experience and thing.
Cassidy: Mm.
Emily: [00:04:00] One experience, I guess you would call this an experience. It's paying for doggy daycare for my puppy. She loves it and she gets a lot of exercise and stimulation. And it just makes working from home a lot easier for me on those days when I don't have to make sure she's getting enough walks and playtime during the workday. So it's been great for both of us. And then the thing, I think it's, I think it was my car. My old car, very old car, needed some major work this spring and it was at the point where I was kind of past putting a lot of money into it and it needed a lot of money put into it, so it was time to buy a new car. Yeah, I went back and forth on it a lot.
As you know, Cassidy, I’m a pretty discerning shopper. And, [00:05:00] yeah, I went back and forth about like, what do I really need? This is like a huge purchase, cars are so expensive right now. But ultimately decided that like security is a really big value of mine. And I was willing to spend a little more to get a slightly newer car with lower mileage and has some great safety features that, it’s like, such a night and day change from my 2003 vehicle I was driving before. And it’s been snowing like crazy here and this car does great in the snow and it’s such a relief to know I have a reliable car that is gonna last me a really long time. So, very massive, very satisfying purchase for this year.
And then my regretful purchase is, it feels kind of silly, [00:06:00] because it’s so small but honestly I had a hard time coming up with something. But the things I regret buying this year are some pieces of clothing that I bought at various thrift stores. And, this year I got more into thrifting than I had before, my husband’s really into it and it kind of rubbed off. But I found, normally when I’m shopping for clothes, I’m very picky, I only want to buy something if I really love it and know I’m going to wear it a lot. And I just, I don’t buy clothes very often. But at a thrift store, when things are like, a few dollars, I’m just so much less picky. And so I ended up getting a few great things, and I also ended up getting things that I'm like, I don't actually know if I'm ever going to wear it. And so even though it wasn't expensive, [00:07:00] it's like, it's just, it's sitting in my closet, and it's probably going to go back to the thrift store. So.
Cassidy: Totally, totally. I also have a love-hate relationship with thrift stores for that very reason, because I feel like I want to express my personality through my clothing so much, and thrift stores are just full of like the quirkiest clothing. And so I'll see something that looks really unique, and I'll be like, oh my gosh I'm gonna rock the crap out of this thing, I love it so much. And then I bring it home and wear it once or twice and I find something that I don't love about it. And I never wear it again, and then it just goes back to the thrift store and I'm like… why?
Emily: Yeah. Yeah. There are a few things that I got that I love. So it's like a maybe like 50 to 70 percent success rate.
Cassidy: That's good.
Emily: We’ll improve next year.
Cassidy: Yeah.
Emily: Yeah. Okay, something I didn’t do this year that I want to prioritize next year. I have two things that come to mind, [00:08:00] one financial, one personal. Personally, something I've been wanting to do for a long time but just have not made a priority is, like, strength exercises. Getting stronger. I know how important it is, but I just, I'm just not that interested in the activity of, I don't know, lifting weights. But I know it's like, I want to be stronger. And so, next year I'm going to make it a priority and maybe find some more fun ways to do it so it feels more motivating.
And then financially, I feel like I want to get crystal clear on some savings goals and automate them. I know this is kind of vague, but like, I feel like lately, my husband and I have, mean, we have systems, we have financial [00:09:00] systems, but I don't think we have like a lot of super concrete goals that allow us to like really systematically save for them. So like, for example, we know we want to buy a house one day, but we're not exactly sure when that is. It's harder to like save for when we're not sure when we want that to happen. Yeah, I guess that's kind of the biggest one that comes to mind, but basically just getting more clear so we can feel more confident in how we're allocating our money, if that makes sense.
Cassidy: Yeah.
And then something I'm really proud of myself for doing this year is running a half marathon, which was my first, my first one, my first race longer than like a three or four mile race. Yeah, it was really rewarding. It was really hard. Couldn't have done it without my siblings. We didn't run [00:10:00] it together, but we signed up together, and we all trained all summer, and it was really cool to do with them. And, yeah, I'm not sure I would have ever signed up if my sister hadn't pressured me into it. Yeah. And then a new habit or hobby I picked up is quilting, which has been so fun. Yeah, it's something I've, like I guess dabbled in, like as a kid, my grandma was a really talented quilter and like made a few quilts with me over the years when I was little, but this is the first time I've ever done it alone and took a few classes at the local community college and it's just been really fun. It's such a good, like winter, bad weather hobby.
Cassidy: Mm hmm.
Emily: Which I feel like any, any of those hobbies that don't involve screens are like. Great. I need more of those. [00:11:00]
Cassidy: One thousand percent.
Emily: And then, lastly, my word or theme for 2024 is “connected.” And this is something when I was planning and goal setting for the year in January was the word I wanted to focus on this year and in a few different ways. One, I wanted to put myself out there a little bit more in my community and like, find new ways to connect with people. And I feel like I did that moderately successfully. Like getting out in these quilting classes and running club and book club and things like that. And then also in my work, which this collaboration, creating this podcast has been such a fun way to connect with you and to connect with listeners and just to bring people together over such an important topic. So I definitely want to continue that into the new year, but I'm glad it was the focus of this year.
Cassidy: Yeah. Yeah. There's so much [00:12:00] evidence throughout this past year of you really making an effort to connect and bring that word into existence in your life. So.
Emily: Thank you. Okay, your turn. Let's hear it.
Cassidy: Alright, starting with my favorite book I will start out by saying that I did not read as much as I wanted to this year. I keep a list of all the books that I've read. I think I read 13 books this year, and usually it's like at least 24. So, I don't know, but two books that really stood out to me the first one is Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld.
This book is so cute. I randomly picked it up in the airport back in April and truthfully, like it is such a good book. The main character writes for a late night live sketch comedy show, kind of like Saturday Night Live. It's called something else in the book. And I think one reason why I loved it so much is because I was truthfully the kid who would, like, watch a commercial and my imagination would [00:13:00] just be picturing, like, what it took to bring that commercial to life. I was just picturing, like, people in a writer's room, the person coming up with the concept, everyone recommending other concepts and then to bring this commercial to life.
So I feel like this is kind of a behind the scenes into that world of, like, this person that works for this show, and she's a writer, and she's like pitching sketches in the writer's room, and then they have a guest come on the show who's also like the musician and the host for the week, and I don't, a lot of stuff happens between them, and it's really beautiful.
I would so recommend it. I'm actually going to like a holiday book swap event this Sunday and you bring a book and it's kind of like a white elephant situation where you wrap the book and you put like a few notes on the cover and then someone can pick it up if they resonate with the notes that you put on the front.
Emily: Is that at a bookstore?
Cassidy: It’s through, [00:14:00] like, this local silent book club meet up thing that happens in the area.
Emily: Cute. That sounds so fun.
Cassidy: Yeah, but it's gonna be the book that I bring, and I'm very excited. Yeah, and then, have you read the book, Romantic Comedy?
Emily: I have not, but I know I remember you mentioning it before.
Cassidy: It's an easy, feel good read. And then, a slightly heavier book that I really, really love, that's my honorary mention, is Demon Copperhead. By Barbara Kingsolver. It, oh my gosh, it was one of those books where I was like laughing one minute, crying the next minute, but could not put it down. It is this, beautifully heartbreaking coming of age story about this kid that lives in Appalachia, and he goes through the foster care system, and then you see him as an adult, and he, it's told from his perspective, and it is just such a beautifully written book and I, I highly, highly recommend everyone to read it, period.
Emily: Love it.
Cassidy: Yeah. Okay, so, [00:15:00] now moving on to some things that I bought this year that I loved. I honestly could think, I could think of so many things that I bought this year that I loved and very few things that I bought this year that I didn't love, which I think is a good sign. Yeah. Yeah. Cause we talk a lot about, you know, trying to make more intentional purchases and I felt like I did a good job of that this year.
One thing that I bought this year, I'm actually using it right now. It's an electric blanket to use at my desk while I'm writing this winter. I had like a space heater in my office for years. And it would just dry my nose out, and I don't know, I feel like it just created a lot of problems because I would just blast it and the air would be so dry.
But with the heated blankets, like, you know, my lap is just all cozy, so I get the warmth without the nasal issues that come with it later. But another bigger purchase that I bought this year that I loved was just moving to a new place where the rent is slightly higher, but I just love it so much more. [00:16:00]
For context, my husband and I lived in the same, like, townhouse apartment, we're, we're still renters, but we lived in the same place for, like, five and a half years and we really loved it. But it was kind of cramped, like my office was in our bedroom and it was along a really busy highway that just had a lot of street noise.
And it, it was fine. Like it worked for us. I loved living there, but this was the year where we were both like, maybe we want just a little more space in a quieter area. So we just feel like more calm and more at peace. And I can have my own office and, no regrets. It has been one of the best things this year.
But in moving to a new place, we also upgraded some of our furniture. Like, we've had the same couch for, you know, I don't know, the past eight years or so, and it was kind of tiny and not really good for lounging. So, we bought a new couch, which is a very adult, big person purchase. I know you've also been [00:17:00] teetering between like…
Emily: We did it.
Cassidy: You did it!
Emily: We pulled the trigger, got a new couch.
Cassidy: Okay, have you received it yet?
Emily: No, no, we haven't. So I'll have to report back, but it is very adult and very exciting.
Cassidy: Yeah, we've had our couch for four months now, and every single time I sit on it, I'm just like, dang, this was a good purchase. It's so nice. Yeah, yeah, but those have been some of my purchases that I've really loved.
And then I thought of two things that were honestly just like kind of cheap impulse purchases every single time I see these things laying around the house, I'm just like, why did you even buy those things? And one of them was a label maker for our house and I, I think I just, I looked on Pinterest so many times for just like interior design ideas and you see like all the little amber glass soap bottles with the labels on them that say lotion and soap and all that other stuff and I was like, [00:18:00] I'm going to do that.
Emily: Yeah.
Cassidy: So I bought a label maker and literally have not touched it once because then I started looking at how much just glass bottles cost and I'm like, I'm not going to spend 10 or 15 dollars on a glass bottle when your soap comes in a bottle with a pump. Like, I don't need to do this. So it has just sat, it's on, it's on the ledge in my office right here and I see it every single day. And I'm just like, why did you buy that label maker? You're not going to use it for anything.
And then the other thing, I, I have dry sensitive skin. I have rosacea and so I'm, you know, I feel like anytime I Google anything skincare related, then anytime I hop on Instagram, I'm just like flooded with ads, like this will fix your skin problem. This will fix your skin problem.
So I kept getting these ads for this like red light therapy wand that you just kind of like run down your face at night after your skincare. And finally, I was like, I'm just going to buy it. It's 30, 40 dollars. I'm just going to get it. I used it once and [00:19:00] have not touched it since. Now, I bought it early this year, like probably almost a year ago.
Emily: Why didn’t you use it again?
Cassidy: Um, I think I, well, first of all, I don't really know that I believe that the technology works. It's like, will running this thing along my face do anything? And then two, like I didn't really know which direction to run it and I was like I should really look up how to use this thing properly and then I was like, that's too much work. So then I just didn't do it. And it’s one of those things that maybe I'll maybe I'll give it a good faith effort at some point but for now, it's just been sitting under my sink.
Emily: Yeah. Well, I'm glad for both of us that our great purchases were the expensive things and our regretful purchases were little dinky things in comparison.
Cassidy: Yeah, totally, totally. I had this thought when you were talking about buying your car. We have had the same Toyota Prius since 2016, but the reason why we bought it is [00:20:00] because I was in a similar situation to you. Like the car I had had since I was 16, I really, really loved the car, but it was having so many issues to the point where it wasn't reliable and the repairs were costing more than the car was worth.
So I just reached this point where I was like, I value a reliable safe vehicle. So I think it's just time to get a new one. And it is a really big decision that takes a lot of time, because ideally you will have that car for at least 10 years, you know? If you're not someone who values, you know, newer vehicles, which I don't think either of us are, but.
Emily: Yeah,
Cassidy: But yeah, I'm glad you made that decision.
Emily: Me too.
Cassidy: Okay. So moving on, something that I didn't do this year that I want to prioritize next year. I kind of hinted at this already. I do want to read more because last year, I can't remember exactly how many books I read, but I think it was around 30 and it just felt really good. Like, it feels really good to kind of dive into this world and you learn new perspectives and you really can disconnect because you can't read a book and be on your phone at the same time. [00:21:00] You know, the way you can when you're watching TV or even listening to a podcast or something. So, yeah, I want to read more. I also want to go to more group events to meet people. So, I'm doing this, like, holiday book swap thing on Sunday. And this is through a group that I've followed online forever and every single time they do a silent book club meetup, which happens once a month, I'm like, I should really go to one of those. It'll be such a great way to meet people. And then the day of, I'm like, I'll, I'll do it next time.
Emily: Yep.
Cassidy: But this time I have a friend going with me to the holiday book swap to make sure that I'm held accountable and go. Yeah, because I really do feel like once I go to an event that they're hosting once, I'll feel much more comfortable to just go and it won't be as big of a deal in my mind. So that's another one of my goals. And then, similar to you, I want to find a type of exercise that I really love doing and that I can do regularly. So, I went through a phase where I was super into [00:22:00] hiking.
Emily: Mm hmm.
Cassidy: And now that I don't do that anymore, I just, I feel like I need to find something else that I can work into my routine. So, that's a goal.
Something I'm really proud of myself for doing this year is working less. This these last three things, kind of like the hobby that I picked up and my word for the year, these all three tie in together, so I'm going to kind of talk about them as one thing. But my word for this year was easy.
I really just wanted my work life to feel easier. Because the last half of 2023, I had kind of a slow first half to the year. So then when my freelance work started picking up the last half of the year, I kind of like, ran myself into the ground. I didn't say no to anything. I got to the point where I was working 40 hours during the week, Monday through Friday, but then I was also working Saturdays and Sundays.
So I like, wasn't giving myself a break and I was taking on an insane amount [00:23:00] of work for one human to do and all in the effort of like hitting this milestone, right? I'd be like you made this much money this month. Let's see if we can make even more this month. Let's see if we can make even more this next month. Let's finish out December strong. And it just became too much.
So this year my goal was to have my work feel easy and to invite kind of more joy into my life and to strike more of this balance where I had a life outside of just working. And so through that I ended up picking up a new hobby this year, which was crocheting and knitting. And you and I actually kind of set this goal together.
You were going to do quilting and I was going to do crocheting and back in January, and we have both done it. And I've had such a fun time just creating things. And so I've made sweaters and cardigans and blankets and all kinds of things. And it's been a really fun [00:24:00] hobby this year.
Emily: And they're so cute.
Cassidy: Thank you.
Emily: Yeah, it's amazing how, like, at the beginning of this year, am I correct, like, you, you had never crocheted before? At the beginning of this year?
Cassidy: Nope. Had never even seen a hook in person.
Emily: Okay, the things you have crocheted are so impressive. That's wild to think about.
Cassidy: Thank you! I know. I put on the very first sweater I knitted back in February. I put it on yesterday. And I, I don't know, I was just like, I'm so freaking proud of this thing
Emily: Aw.
Cassidy: That I made.
Emily: Yeah.
Cassidy: It's been fun.
Emily: That’s cute. So yeah, I have so far given away every quilt I've made, which I haven't made a lot. They take a long time. But yeah, it's kind of a bummer not being able to look back and be like, oh, I made this. But I made them for my nephews and so I know they're enjoying them. So it's still [00:25:00] special.
Cassidy: Yeah, yeah, that's kind of what I'm running into now, because I have some things that I've made purely because I had, like, a bunch of scrap yarn that I didn't know what to do with, and, like, one in particular is this granny square sweater, and I really had fun making it, but I really don't see myself wearing it either, it was just, I was learning how to make granny squares, and I was like, I'll just make this thing, so. I don't know. It's just sitting in the corner and I'm like…
Emily: Hmm.
Cassidy: What should I do with you? So it is good to know that you created something and it's out there in the world getting used.
Emily: I bet someone would love it. So you could always donate it or something.
Cassidy: That's true. That's true.
Emily: Well, this was super fun. It was fun to hear about your year, even though I have a bit of a front row seat, but I hope our listeners found it interesting too. And we'd love if listeners wanted to answer these questions and even send us some of your stories, recommendations, tips, goals, [00:26:00] all of the above. We'd love to hear. And also we had the idea, thinking ahead, it might be fun next year to invite some guests to join the hot seat with us. So let us know what you think about that, and Happy New Year!
Cassidy: Happy New Year!
Emily: That's a wrap on another episode of the Finance Girlies podcast. Nothing in this episode is meant to be taken as financial advice.
Cassidy: Please do your own research and talk to a professional if you need advice. As always, if you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review. Love ya, bye.
