Dear Diary

March 2021

This month i cuddled little lambs, sown vegetables, baked bread and got a new window!

Books

I have read and listened to a number of books.

I spent all month on Kate Adkinson’s Life After Life book. What if it had turned out differently? What if you make a decision differently? This book took me with Ursula, a girl who was born in 1910. Every time she died, she took another life. Every time it turned out differently, until she changed the world. The book took me through the history of the second world war from both an English and a German perspective. Including the pleasant read, I also got a history lesson. I thought it was a nice book to read. A bit long-winded here and there, but the interesting philosophy made up for it.

I listened to “Animals can get the plague, and then?” By Esther Ouwehand. Clear explanation of why we have to drastically reduce the livestock population in the Netherlands. The next pandemic could just come from the Netherlands. Just like the Q fever and the bird flu, which also come from the Netherlands.

I also listened to the audiobook “Rich dad, poor dad” by Robert Kiyosaki. It’s about a boy with a father who has many degrees and diplomas but does not seem to make any financial progress. His best friend’s father has no degrees nor diplomas, starts his own business and becomes very rich. What can we learn from it? If you play not to lose, you will not win. If you play to win you will occasionally lose but the chances of winning are higher.

Learn and become financially intelligent. Make sure you put your money into things that will increase in value. If you start to earn more, don’t spend more but put the surplus aside in investments. Once you have more money, it is easier to make more of it quickly. More and more often you have the chance to double it if you have a starting amount. Work to learn and not work to earn. Make sure you learn as much as possible on the job. Take every opportunity to learn. Have you finished learning? Go to the next profession. Preferably something financial or as a salesman. In these types of jobs you learn to communicate, sell products and deal with setbacks / rejections.

Use 5% of your income every month to invest to increase your financial intelligence. For example buying (and reading) books, attending seminars or courses for example. He suggests to just keep working, but to ‘mind your own business’. Meaning to create your own side hustle and passive income. Get started today.

I listened to “Never too busy again, a clear mind in an overcrowded world” Tony Crabbe. This book provides tools to create more peace.

The audiobook “A new earth” by Eckhart Tholle impressed me. I really have to read this to get the full essence of it. The writer shows that much of what we do and the dissatisfaction in ourselves comes from our ego. When you are in the moment and let go of your ego, that creates “being.” Inner peace. Interesting but a bit woolly for my taste.

Expenses

This month I had a small single-glazed attic window replaced by a much larger one with double glass. I am going to finish the walls around it (one day), but the window will bring much better insulation and much more light to the attic. Beautiful!

I also made some expenses at the hardware store (paint, brushes, rollers, etc.) and I bought more clothes than I need. All clothing is second-hand. If that makes it less bad 😉

Garden

In March, the garden starts to come back to life. I spotted the first insects and the first green buds appear on the bushes and trees.

I have sown tomato, cauliflower, broccoli, basil and wild strawberry on the windowsill and outside the first plants of snow peas, winter peas and sugar snap are already standing proudly. The onions are already getting green and the potato is in the ground. The arugula and radish are already on the rise. Everything is still very early and the warm and cold days follow each other, as is only possible in March.