My Top 5 Most-Read Stories!

High-profile corporate slave by day. Nap-taking, beer-drinking dog mom by night. I’m the laziest overachiever you’ll ever meet. — Hello there! My name’s Tabitha. Welcome :) I’ve never considered writing before, but recently, I joined Medium to see what it’s all about. Trust me, I can already tell it’s way more fun than what I do during the day. A Little About Me? On the surface, I’m your typical overachieving 20-something with a…

Or is it too late? — Do you worry about your privacy on the internet? I do, to a degree… When I signed up for Medium on a whim, I had no clue if I’d even stick with it long-term, let alone if I’d ever gain a following worth mentioning. For those reasons, I signed up…

Just when you least expect it, something great can happen. — A few months ago, I received a 6% pay raise as part of my annual performance review. I was pleased with it overall and felt optimistic about my salary trajectory. In spite of current inflationary pressures, I still felt like 6% was pretty fair for a raise, considering that I’m…

…To be fair, he knew I was crazy when he married me. — I wish I could accurately convey the dichotomy that is my husband’s personality. It is pretty funny, to be honest. He has two considerably distinct “sides” to him that I’ve gotten to know over the last 9 years, so I guess I’m used to it — although I think most…

My honest review of traveling to Oahu, Hawaii — I’ve just returned home from the most expensive vacation I’ve ever taken in my life — a week in Oahu, Hawaii with my husband. The reason for the trip was twofold: to celebrate our 1 year wedding anniversary, and celebrate my graduation from business school (meet Tabitha Diaz, MBA!). Conveniently…

It’s as simple as it sounds. — “Wow, looks like you need to get a new car.” That is the first thing my (very blunt) mother said to me when I picked her up from the airport last year. An ironic statement, to say the least… Little did she know, in preparation for her visit, my husband…

“Lifestyle creep” hit me harder than I’d realized… — Widely-used financial tools, such as the monthly budget, certainly aren’t the end-all, be-all of achieving financial goals. Over the years, I’ve had quite the evolution regarding my relationship with the coveted “monthly budget.” As my income, life circumstances, and attitude towards money management have all continued to evolve, monthly budgeting…

Reflecting on if I made the right choice. — In March of 2021, we closed on our first house for a purchase price of $370,000. After a lifetime of being renters, it felt freakin’ awesome. Aside from the lifestyle benefits of having a house —financially, I tend to think it makes sense in our case. The $370,000 price was…

Help me decide: am I making a terrible mistake? — When my husband and I first moved across the country to our current town, we rented out an apartment for a 1-year lease. We’d always planned to eventually buy a house here, but we wanted to familiarize ourselves with the area before settling on a place to buy. We moved…