Buah Simalakama

Bagai makan buah simalakama. Dimakan bapak mati, nggak dimakan ibu mati. Artinya serba salah. Mau ke kiri salah, ke kanan salah, maju salah, mundur salah.

Rasanya, aku sudah makan buah simalakama itu.

Aku terjebak dalam berbagai pilihan hidup yang membuat otak pusing tujuh keliling. Aku terus menerus menghadapi pilihan2 hidup yang sulit. Bukan karena aku yang mau, tapi keadaan yang membuatnya sulit.

Coba aku tanya kamu ya.

Kalo kamu disuruh pilih ibumu atau suamimu, mana yang kamu pilih? Kamu cuma bisa pilih satu. Bahkan ditambah lagi dengan pilihan ketiga, yaitu dirimu sendiri. Kalo disuruh milih siapa yang harus diselamatkan: ibumu, suamimu, atau kamu. Mana yang kamu pilih?

Nah, sekarang ibumu sudah tiada. Suamimu sudah pergi untuk selamanya. Jadi mestinya beres kan?

Lah, kenapa sekarang masih mikir2 lagi ke masa lampau?

Kalo kamu sudah menghadapi masa2 sulit itu, dan masih hidup, berarti selanjutnya hidupmu harusnya lebih gampang. Gak usah mumet2 lagi.

Sekarang kamu tinggal pilih: mau makan ayam atau sapi? Mau coklat atau stroberi? Mau ngapain ya sekarang? Mau main game atau ngeblog? Enak kan kalo cuma milih hal2 gampang kayak gini.

Mulai sekarang aku berjanji untuk nggak mikir hal2 di masa lampau lagi. Yang lalu biarlah berlalu. Mari buat masalah baru, hihihihi. :)

Tapi serius deh, aku sudah nggak bisa mikir hal2 yang sudah jadi sejarah. Aku mengakui bahwa aku tidak punya jawaban untuk "puzzle" ini. Unfinished business. Ya udah biarin aja nggak selesai. Biarin aja "to be continued". Cepat atau lambat, nanti toh lama2 masalahnya akan beres. Entah apa masalahnya yang tutup buku, atau akunya yang cabut dari dunia ini. Kalo aku ciao dari hidup ini akhirnya, ya udah beres dong, nggak ada masalah lagi.

Selama orang hidup, pasti ada naik turun. Hidup itu nggak mungkin naik terus atau turun terus. Dari zaman Adam dan Hawa, sampe zaman Tuhan Yesus, sampe zaman 2019 kayak gini, sampe zaman tujuh turunan dari sekarang, hidup PASTI akan naik turun.

Makanya mendingan pegang tangan Tuhan Yesus aza deh. Kalo pegang tangan Doi, pasti semuanya selamat. Karena dunia ini kan milikNya. Semua manusia Tuhan udah ada rencananya masing2. Udah ada nasibnya sendiri2. Semuanya sudah diselamatkan sama Tuhan Yesus, jadi sekarang kita tinggal hidup aza deh. Sampai nanti kita akhirnya dipanggil Tuhan.

Dan Lok's 7 Signs You're Going To Be Successful

1. Successful people have great habits.

• Habits determine 95% of a person's behavior.
• Future = quality of the habits that you form.
• Very best people have best habits.
• Get up in the morning, meditate, reading, exercising regularly

2. Successful people are incredibly driven.

• You pushing yourself to get results.
• It's your personal drive that keep you going when things get tough.
• Your personal drive able to get you bounce back from setback.

3. Successful people are confident in their abilities.

• Two biggest enemies of success: self doubt & fear of the unknown.
• Confidence = believing in yourself.
• Confidence comes from competence. 
• Confidence is not arrogance. No one is above you. Willing to bet on yourself?
• How often you invest in yourself?

4. Successful people communicate clearly.

• Communication skills: writing, conducting meeting, speaking one on one, speaking to large group of people.
• Learn from mentors.
• How to use words to influence somebody
• Successful people = the ability to influence, persuade, and inspire other people.

5. Successful people have a growth mindset.

• Read 1-3 hours a day.
• Constantly learning all the time, doesn't have to be about reading.
• Getting coaching from great people.
• Put up journal & taking notes.
• The more you know the more you realize you don't know.

6a. Successful people embrace failures.

• Ridiculously positive about the future.
• Positive expectations about future.
• Rejected a thousand times, over & over again.
• Most successful people = most fail than anybody else.
• Difference: lack of will.
• "Success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm." ~ Winston Churchill.
• Most successful sales people = experience rejections on day to day basis MORE than anybody else.

6b. Successful people have high EQ.

• Surround themselves with smart people.
• High degree of emotional intelligence.
• EQ eats IQ for breakfast.
• EQ can be developed, learned, and refined.
• They don't crack under pressure. Stay calm. Know how to deal with anxiety.

7. Successful people are self aware

• They know what they're good at. Know strength & weaknesses.
• Refuse to feel inadequate.

Combine all these signs and skills. Signs are just potential. How to turn your potential into profit.

Dan Lok is really my virtual shifu. Thank you, Dan!!!

Think Global, Act Local

Randy Zak from the Girl Talk novel once said,"Think Global, Act Local". That means, you want to think big, but start do from where you are. Start small. And get better and better. Bigger and bigger. But you gotta start somewhere.

Think Global Act Local also means that you want to make the world a better place to live, by start taking action in your own communities and cities. Do your part. Recycle. Throw away trash into the right bins. Save environment!

You can apply the same principle into the areas of your life. If you want to make a global impact, then start where you are right now. Do small meaningful things. Keep making progress. You spread out your influence to the people around you, and they will spread out their influence among their circle too, and so on and so on. Before you know it, you make a ripple in the pond. That's how you make the world a better place! One person at a time, one life at a time.

What can you do today to make the world a better place?
What part do you play?
What is the one good habit that you can start planting now?

Think Global, Act Local.

Accomplishing More Things

G: You gotta stop and smell the roses. Enjoy life.
Me: Ya, but smell it fast. You still have tons of things to do!
G: (Laugh out loud).
Me: Well, you get your roses right? Now get up and move!

That piece of conversation was replayed in my head this morning.

Grant and I was talking about how we can accomplish more things. I shared with him some of the points below and he agreed. Especially on point number 1.

Today it seems that there are more and more responsibilities piling on our shoulders. So the key is not to do more things first (well, eventually you will want to do more things), but first we need to do our routine faster so we can get more time. Once we master to things A in a shorter time, then we have time to do things B. And C, and so on.

So how we can accomplish more things? Here's some strategy:

1. Walk 25% faster.
Not only you burn more calories this way, but you also get to your destination faster. Life is how to get from point A to point B, right? So if you can get to point B quicker, then there you go, you'll have more time! And what to do with more time? Anything you want to do! Relax, games, family time, or do more business! Whatever you like! Walking faster could lead to living longer too. Forget gym membership.

2. Learn quick.
If you are in a situation where you need to learn, then learn quick. It will takes time, yes, it's okay, but pick up your paces. Don't linger. Study, focus, concentrate, practice, and do it. Learning by doing is the best. You'll get the point faster. And you get to live it too. Learn quick! Repeat it again and again.

3. Adjust, adapt.
The key to life survival is to adjust and adapt with your surrounding. Life somehow will always change, no matter what. So, adjust, adapt, thrive! Every day is a new day. I mean look at the date. The date is ALWAYS changing, right? Today is May 27, 2019. There will never be a date like this anymore in the future. We only get one chance to make it right on THIS date. So, adjust & adapt to the new challenges of the day.

4. Know how to read people.
Odd enough, there are some aspect in life that will never change. I know people never change. What I meant is people in general is people. People a century ago and people a century later, will still be the same. They both still breathe oxygen. They both still have emotions. So, if you can understand people, you just unlock the secret of survival for the future. Know how to read people, and you'll be fine. Use "Please and thank you". Integrity. Find the same difference between the past, the present, and you'll be okay in the future. Understand what makes the world go round. People is your ally. With the right people in your life, you get to accomplish more things. Teamwork is dream work. A championship is not won by 1 person, but by a team of united people.

5. Take what you can take.
Always take what's on the table. Always grab the silver lining. That's how you get more things. Don't disregard your "bonus". Appreciate what is given to you, whether you like or not. You never know when you're going to need it. Whether it's experiences, wisdom, or anything extra that comes toward your way, take it.

To wrap it up, to accomplish more things, you need to learn to do things faster. Effective and efficient. I guess that's why back in the day, they call me Peggy the Speedy Gonzales. Fast is my middle name! :)

How to Be Better

1. Stop the blame game.
From now on, stop the blame game. Don't blame anybody anymore. Including yourself. It doesn't matter whose fault it was. What matter more is how to be your better self. Instead of wondering things that don't matter anymore, focus on things that you can change, that you have control over. No more blaming!

2. Learn the lesson.
It's important to live in the present. It's great to moving forward. But.... if you want to improve yourself, you have to learn the lesson of the past. It was history, yes, but don't just discard everything. Learn how to do things the right way now. Or different way this time. Otherwise, history will repeat itself. If it's a good history, great! What if it's not? Do you want to repeat the same mistake again? Either way, good or bad history, learn the lesson. Learn what made you successful, learn what made you fall. You can only learn from the past (and the present). You can't learn from the future because the future is not here yet.

3. Learn from better people.
One thing that will catapult you to the next level, is when you have the ability to learn from better peer or mentor. And of other successful people. There's thousands of them! Copy what make them greater. They already made the initial mistakes. They had the failure. And they learn to be better. So why repeat the same mistake? It's easier to apply a proven success tips rather than trial & error it yourself. Listen to your mentor. And do it, not just listen. Theory without application is still just a theory.

4. Know your strength - and play with it.
You should know yourself better than anyone. That means you already know your own strength and weaknesses. You know your positive points, so play with it. Use it. Don't underestimate your power. You are better than you think you are! You possess all the natural abilities to be a better person each day, so utilize it! Use all your senses, skills, and everything that are given to you. Focus on your strength and those things that set you apart from everyone. It's unique to you and there's a reason why only you have it. Because only you can do it.

5. You can do it. Are you willing to do it?
Fish is not created to fly, so don't bother training fish to fly (lol!). But you are human though, you're not fish. So don't say I can't do this, I can't do that. You actually can, you're just not willing to do it. So one thing you can do to be better, is to be willing to do things that will push you out of your comfort zone. Try new things. Dare new adventures. Don't be afraid of failure. If you fail, just get up and try again. Easy.

6. Discipline.
A better person is the one that has the discipline to do good habits and leave bad habits behind. Habit is a repeatable process over and over again. Simple things done million times. Habit mold your character and before you it, you become. If you want to be better, have the courage to say no for things you must say no. Have the courage to say yes to progress and opportunities. And discipline yourself! Don't play games too much that you'll be tired the next day for school. Don't party up too long till late at night that you'll be sleepy at work the next morning. You  need to bring out your A game anytime, so develop healthy habits that support your school and work. And life.

And just in case you need more tips to be better, here you go. More ways to be better!

A Different Happiness

Once upon a time ago, I thought that I will be happier after I achieve either a certain status, finish a goal, or acquire something in life.

Boy, I was wrong.

I found out that happiness is not after a goal, after a finished task, after a graduation, after marriage, after Friday, after 5pm, after this, or after that.

Happiness is a CURRENT state of mind.

I found that no matter what is the situation, whether we are still in the journey on getting to our goals, finish line, or a certain accomplishment in our life, we need to continue to maintain our happiness level.

And also, I don't think it's happier now than in the past. I don't think we will be happier in the future rather than now, or vice versa. I think no matter what, past, present, future, if we are by nature a happy person, then we will be happy again.

Happy in the past.
Happy in the present.
Happy in the future.

It's a different kind of happiness.

The happy me in 2014 is different than the happy me in 2019. But it's still a happy time. The past is not all bad, there are some goodness in it too. It mold you until today. It builds your character. So don't throw away everything of the past. Just throw away the bad. Remember the good times. Cherish the happy moments.

Someone once told me, that he will be happier with another person. With another family.

So I test his theory.

I once had a family name M, L, and T.
Now I have a new family name G, J, and A.

And I am comparing between the two now. Am I happiER with my new family?

I would say, I am happy with the new one. But I was happy too with the old one. Why? Because they are different people. I had happiness with M, L, T in a special way. They touched my heart and made my life to the better. Now, my new family G, J, and A, they make me so happy too! They touched my heart in a surprising way that I never knew before! I love both families. Good and bad times.

Technically, I would love to live with everyone, live happily ever after.

But, of course it will be unrealistic of me, since the old family live in a different lifetime. Different land. That time has past. Gone. It's as if I want to live with my P again across the globe, in the previous century, but I can't, he already passed away 11 years ago.

Beside I'm focusing my life with my new loving family now. I'm enjoying this new kind of happiness! The joy, the laughter, the giggles, the concern, the chaos, the perfection, the everything in between. Enjoying small things in life and be grateful of what and who are given to you (read: to be trusted under your care).

It's a different happy. It's still happiness nonetheless.

Happy is happy. That's it. Simple.

One more thing. I think to be truly happy, you have to work for it. You have to want to be happy. You have to willing to do the work to be happy. That means, you have to try your best to get out from whatever it is that makes you unhappy. I know it's hard. If it's easy, everyone will already do it.

Happiness is a choice. Happiness is an effort. Happiness doesn't happen by accident. There is a conscious and continuous work (not physical work of course, more like a mental work). You have to make the decision to get out from the slump, and be happy again.

How to be happy?
1. Smile. Lift up the corners of your lips and smile.
2. Gratitude. This is the biggest action that will pull you towards the real happiness.
3. Be content. Don't burden yourself with irrational goals or insatiable wants. Have an "enough" mentality and accept your situation. You have everything you need. You don't have to always get all  you want. It's fine to have goals (we need too sometimes!), but don't let it make you unhappy.

Happy is a verb, right? So there you go. Easy.

BE HAPPY. Start today. Start now. :)

Time is Money. But Money is not Time.

Yes, we all know that time is money.  But does that mean that money is time?

No. Money is not the same as time.

Here's why.

Time, you have to use it. If not, then you'll loose it. Time keep ticking to the next second, no matter what. Nothing stops time.

But money, on the other hand, if you don't use it (aka save it), then it's still there. One of the way to lose money is to use it. But not really lose it, because as long as the money serve its purpose, then technically you're not losing it. The only thing of "losing" money is when you don't have a purpose for it and just splurge uncontrollably.

Many of us are using up 100% of our income. We treated money as time. It will be wiser if we don't use up all of it though. We can save it, tuck it away, set it aside, for a coming rainy day. Rainy day will come, so might as well be prepared. If you live long enough to experience the unexpected surprises life might throw at you, then you'll old enough to realize that rainy day will always come in any shape, type, and form. You'll be glad to cover your emergency when that savings is there.

Someone once asked me,"Peggy, what if you die? What's the use of the money if you die? You can't bring it anyway."

Yes, that's very true.

But what if you live? Die is easy. Die means you're done. Problems solved. That's it.

But if you live, you still have to pay bills, right? You still have to care after your family. You still have to at least feed yourself, assuming you're totally single and has nobody to look after. And in this century, unless you're a farmer, you need money to pay food to eat.

What if you still live a half century later? What if you no longer able to work? What if the environment totally change and your old ways of investing no longer applicable anymore to that time frame?

Well.. I don't want to add more worries to your list. You have enough stress as it is. But if I can take away one thing to reduce stress and worry, is at least a friendly reminder for you to have the wisdom to manage your time and your money efficiently.

Use your time wisely. If you want to save time, then plan ahead.

Use and save your money wisely. Your future self will thank you.

Losing is A Part of Winning

There is a benefit of losing everything.

You already lost.

You have no other way than up now. No other move other than go forward.

So let's analyze this. If you already lost everything you have, literally everything : like your family, your property, your belongings, your past existence, and the only thing you have right now is just yourself. Then what's the problem? Now you can focus ahead, right? You can build your life again. Start fresh. Clean slate.

Ok, and let's say you gain some things again. And now you fear that you're going to lose the small gains you have. But think about it. This should be easy now. You already lose bigger things before. So, learning from your experience, this shouldn't be a new thing anymore. You already had the practice. The next losing things should be easier. Because now you know what to do.

Here's what you're going to do.

You're going to learn the lesson (learn quick, don't linger too long, life is too short! There's still bills to pay). And then you move on. Pack everything and go. Explore the world out there. New adventures waiting. New doors are there to be ventured.

So in the end of the day, everything is going to be easier. If you already lose before, you can certainly lose again. That's life. But the good news is, the sooner you master the skill of "losing", the easier it will be to handle the next loss.

There's another hidden benefit of you losing everything. And by the way if you still alive after that, then you just gain a very invaluable skill. Those "losing" times will make you way STRONGER. These "defeated" times are going to teach you how to do things in a better way next time. Or if anything, it'll make you tougher. Yes you might cry, but in the same time you also train yourself to pick up yourself and move forward in life.

Losing is a part of winning. Ask every successful people out there. Did they never fail? Did they never fall? Do they always win all the time, never once single time experience losing? No way. As a matter of fact, the reason why now they're winning, is because they learn when they lose. They learn when life gives them a setback. They learn how to do things better next time. And that's how they can try again and this time they win.

Remember what Thomas Alfa Edison said when he lost his whole life time work in a factory fire, back in December 1914, a century ago? "Thank God we can start a new." 3 weeks later, he invented the phonograph. There. Proof that losing is a part of winning.

Wise People

Why wise people don't talk a lot?

Because:

1. They belong to different and deeper wavelength of thinking.
2. Wise people choose their audience.  Chose their subject & time to speak
3. They do not like idle talking - weather, politics, sports = are often the endless, directionless topics. They want to converse on their chosen topics with whom they can sure of engaging in higher planes of discussion
4. Wise people often seen to be slow to action. They take time to react but definitely NOT passive but very active people.
5. Wise people does discuss but often in discussions giving suggestions or advice.
6. Wise people are in the category of people who are 25 steps ahead of general people in that mental spectrum.
7. It is not that wise people do not talk much. I have met many who do. However, what I have noticed is that - they choose to remain silent as they allow others to talk - especially when they are in public. Or in front of others - as they prefer listening to others and giving others a chance to speak or express themselves.
   They are very careful and particular whom they hang around with. So given that they only surround themselves with whom they feel close to - the fact that they love and care about them - they allow them to speak and express themselves - while they stay silent.
   However, when its time to talk - they do. Only when required.
8. They follow the theory of observing well and understanding what's going around them. If they find the people around them are naturally dumb then they don't waste their time and knowledge with them and tend to be silent and observant.
   Its very important to learn which arguments are worth fighting. They speak only when they have to.
9. Wise people appreciate to listen to what others around them have to say and they make conclusions from what they have heard. 
   

2 Things To Say to My Older Self

So many articles these days are written to "the younger self". What would I say to the younger version of myself. I myself guilty of this. I did wrote a blogpost to my "21 year old".

That's foolish.

Why would I write an article to  my younger self? My younger self is no longer there. Is gone. I'm no longer 21 year old. I'm 40, geez louise.

If I want to write anything, why don't I address it to the older version of myself? To my 50 year old, 60 year old, and beyond! I don't know if I happen to live to be that old (let's say 70). And who cares? If I die, I die. Great! No more problems anymore then! But what if I still live?

So.... there's only 2 things that I would like to say to my "tomorrow" self.  And by the way, this is the second blogpost of me writing to my older version. Another "friendly" reminder.

1. Stop it.
Stop carrying the guilt of the past. It's in the past. You can't change it anymore. It happens. You did the best you could with the situation you had. You didn't choose the outcome. You wanted a different result. A happier happy ending. But it did not happen. So just stop thinking about it, stop feeling about it, stop analyzing it, just STOP!!! How many more man hours, days, weeks, months, and years of you continue to linger in the situation of the past that is no longer your reality today?

2. Don't futuring too much.
Seriously. It's fun to plan ahead. Absolutely. Fail to plan is plan to fail right? But, if you bring this to the extreme, you're going to rob yourself from the joy of the present. At this point of your life you don't have enough time, energy, and mental capacity to handle 3 things at once : the guilt of the past, the crisis of the present, and the worry of the future. Stop playing chess, Peggy. Stop planning your moves 5 steps ahead. Stop having a back up plan. Stop strategizing : if scenario A happen I will do this, if scenario B happen I will do that. Back to point number 1 above, STOP!!! No more futuring! Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 6:34? Each day has enough trouble of its own. Kesusahan untuk sehari cukuplah untuk sehari. And remember what Opa said? Tiba waktunya baru dipikirkan. When the time comes, then think about it. So no need to put yourself to death thinking and feeling about things of the future that may never ever come.

Lastly, to my dear older self. It's ok. You did the best you could, with what you had, with what given to you, with the best ability and knowledge and resources that were available to you. So it is totally fine. Whatever life that you'll live later, Peggy, it's fine. It will be alright. Just have faith that God will always protect, whether here in this life, and in after life.

In the end, we all going to heaven anyway. This life is just temporary. So just chill. Relax. :)

Lessons From The Past

1. Get to the point.
I've heard people these days don't have time anymore. They want instant everything. They don't have time for stories and long boring explanations. They just want to get to the point. Oh wait, I've been hearing this since 1994. So.... nothing really change since 25 years ago. People still don't have time and want to get to the point as quick as possible.

The solution? Easy. Get to the point. No need to explain. Your enemies won't believe you and your friends don't need it.

2. Effective and efficient.
Our communications should always be effective and efficient. Effective means it should create results and made an impact we desire. Efficient means to achieve maximum productivity with a minimum effort.

3. Keep it simple.
The longer your words, the more you confuse people. The longer your words, the more you lose their interest. Keep it short. Keep it simple. Avoid complex explanations. Unless you're writing a novel or delivering a speech, you always should keep your words short, simple, and ... once again, to the point.

4. Silence is golden.
Today everyone talks. Everyone has opinion. So what's rare? People who don't talk incessantly. People who control their words. People who only speak when necessary. And usually other people will listen to these person because when he/she speaks, it carries weight and quality. No more idle talk. Silence is not always a bad thing. Silence is also a form of communications. What you don't say with your words, you convey it with your body language. And people who can read body language are more skillful because they don't need words to interpret the meaning.

5. Less is more.
Simple is better than complexity. Just have the basic is enough. Have less things as possible free up space and give more peace.

6. Time is money.
This one is a really old phrase. I've heard it at least 50,000 times in my lifetime. Time is valuable resource because once it's gone, it's gone. Will never come back. There will be a new time of course, but it won't be the same as the other time that has been used up. We won't stay at this age forever, we will continue to grow older and possibly don't get a chance to do things we want to do when we were younger.  According to Benjamin Franklin, time is money means : in order to earn money, one must act and use one's time.

7. Just do it.
This one is one of my favorite phrase! Just do it. Don't think about it. Don't feel about it. Don't take too long to weight the pros and cons. Action speaks louder than words. Don't just talk about it, but actually do it! Get it done.

8. Don't complain.
The easiest way to live is to stop complaining and start living. Start being happy again. Start focusing on the next task. If you need to vent, ok, fine, vent. But don't make it a habit. I know we human need a release to let go some angers, but please, don't always complain, complain, complain and not do something about it. Problem solver focus on the solution. Complainer focus on nothing, that's why nothing get done.

9. Be grateful.
Always have a daily gratitude. Always be thankful. There's a lot of other people who would want to trade place with you to have what you have, to know what you know, to experience what you experience. So focus on the positive. Don't focus on what you don't have. But count your blessings. Gratitude is an important key to happiness.

The Silent Enemy

As time goes by, I finally figure out who is my silent enemy. Actually it's not a who. It's a what. This silent enemy is one of the biggest predator out there that threaten our future dream.

This silent enemy has a name. Its name is ... inflation.

Inflation is a general increase in price over time. Inflation reduce the purchasing value of money. That means your $100 now (2019) is not the same value of $100 anymore next year (2020).  It will be less next year.

5 years ago, $5 can get you a filet-o-fish, fries, and soda in McD.

Today, it cost you $5.08 to just get a filet-o-fish. No fries, no soda in sight. If you want the fries and the soda, you need to pay $2-$3 more.

I've heard this inflation theory since I was in elementary. Just the same like everyone on the planet. Who have never heard the concept inflation? But I started realizing the effect of inflation when I start living independently (no longer supported by parents). As the years goes by, I kept being surprised with how expensive things are every time I go to the grocery store. Or restaurants. Or paying bills in general.

Over the years, I watched the cost of living increase slowly but sure. Prices creep one by one. And I begin to get creative. Switching to generic brand instead of holding on to the usual brand that I picked. Adjusting my lifestyle too. Ditching cables and switch to Netflix (well for now. Until the next new cheaper thing arrive for entertainment, lol). Letting go landlines and just stick to cellphone.  I just chose the most basic vanilla plan the company can offer so I can minimize my expenses.

I want to stretch my dollar as far as I can. Because I know I still have to live tomorrow, and that means these little dollars I have gotta make it till tomorrow.

The more I think the more I realize that there's another easy way to tackle this inflation thing. How about this. Why don't we just don't buy that filet-o-fish anymore? Just buy a fish from the store, which is not processed anyway (aka healthier), cook it ourselves, which I bet a lot more economical! Few years ago, when I started to cook at home vs going out to eat/bring home food from restaurant every day, I started to see the impact it hit on my budget.  Suddenly I have money again.

When things get more and more expensive, I just simply let those things go. Easier that way. Sometimes letting go your favorite brand name means you get to live another day.