ICYMI: I’m in the midst of a 14-day required self-isolation, after my hasty return to Australia. I’m currently bunkered down at my parents’ home, after my 2020 work, travel and housesitting fell apart courtesy of Covid-19. I’m fortunate that my pursuit of financial independence means I have solid emergency funds for now, with creativity and resilience to adjust future plans – after some rest and ‘Room Service By Mum’ amongst this uncertainty.
Missed one? Read my other posts on this theme:
- How Covid-19 Thwarted My Plans For 2020
- Diary of a SelFIsolator: Day 1-3
- Diary of a SelFIsolator: Day 7-9
- Diary of a SelFIsolator: Day 10-12
- Diary of a SelFIsolator: Day 13-14 & After
Day 4 – Wednesday 25 March
- I’m pleased that a little jet-lag from New Zealand is helping this night owl keep to reasonably early mornings.
- Finally went outside today and sat in the autumn sun for a dose of vitamin D. I was less amused by my parents’ insistence on disinfecting the outdoor chair I sat in afterwards, but 10/10 for conscientiousness. This is a household of survivors.
- I was starting to get into more of a daily routine, working my job in the morning and then chilling out and a little exercise in the afternoon. I admit I did nap the last 3 of 4 days, which was partly excusable after working 12 hour days the last few weeks – but I wake up more tired. Banned from naps here on.
Daily questions
- What did I create or learn today? – Compiled a list of Australian FI bloggers to the site. (Anyone else need to be added? Let me know.)
- What was I grateful for today? – My sister bringing home gnocchi takeaway, so double-whammy of tasty food and supporting a local restaurant.
- What fun or beauty did I enjoy today? – Enjoying calling a friend who is also stuck in self-isolation in a city hotel; drinks in hand.
- How did I move my body today? – More squats and planking via some free 30-day tracking apps. Increasing a little each day in the comfort of my bedroom.
Content I enjoyed
Saving Up! The next time the s*** hits the fan, have money in the bank – Vicki Robin
“I think FIers train themselves to be clever in meeting needs. We trade many luxuries and comforts to shorten the distance to our retirement date. Once you’ve shared a house and lived on ramen, you are not afraid of lifestyle contraction. For me, this cleverness is really helpful now, both for myself and in helping others whose minds are clenched in fear.”
Meme of the day
Day 5 – Thursday 26 March
- With all this delicious food coming from ‘Room Service By Mum’, I realised I need to put some damage control measures in place. I’ve gotten back into intermittent fasting, tracked using the free Zero app. I’m doing the 16:8 time restricted eating mode, which for me has involved skipping breakfast and eating between 12 midday and 8pm. The timer helps keep me accountable, plus I can see there were 600,000 other suckers also fasting at the same time.
- After my 16hrs intermittent fasting ended, I enjoyed leftover gnocchi with veggies and then lasagne for dinner. Carb-tastic, but at least it’s only two meals rather than three. Mum delivers on a tray to my bedroom door, which I retrieve after she is well-clear.
- Following my remote workday, I started on my list of boring-but-necessary tasks I have ample time for (if not enthusiasm). I’m working on my US tax return for 2019’s temp jobs there, plus chasing refunds on upcoming travel bookings and requesting an extension to my Canadian working holiday visa for post-virus times. Lucky that my high tolerance for form-filling and tedious admin is one of my superpowers.
Daily questions
- What did I create or learn today? – Published my Day 1-3 self-isolation post, plus learned more of The 5 Day VA mini-course. I liked this post with 100+ services that virtual assistants can offer; definitely expanding my ideas for upcoming remote work.
- What was I grateful for today? – Being able to take things slowly right now. (See That Discomfort You’re Feeling Is Grief).
- What fun or beauty did I enjoy today? – Working my way through all the comfy tshirts in my wardrobe and rediscovering this one below.
- How did I move my body today? – More squats and planking, plus checked out a Sh’Bam pre-recorded class (like Zumba) on the currently free Les Mills on Demand site.
Content I enjoyed
How to Cope (and Hopefully Even Thrive) in Times of Disaster – The Fioneers
I enjoyed a live webinar last weekend with Jessica of The Fioneers, talking through surviving and thriving in this current climate. This post is an in-depth, highly practical summary of those strategies, such as mindfulness, reducing emotional vulnerability and prepping with ‘proactive coping’ plans. (I’m a big fan of The Fioneers blog, especially having had my first interview featured in their Slow FI series.)
Meme of the day
Day 6 – Friday 27 March
- Today I did a “money hunt”, inspired by The Thrifty Issue’s post How I Found $1,062.89 in 1 day with a Money Hunt. I “found” and consolidated funds from apps and old accounts into my main bank account, so they are readily usable. Total: AUD$479.46 (~US$310).
- UK bank account: $224 (was £122) – I had an old bank account from my time on a working holiday visa in UK 2008-09. I’ve held onto it with a small balance “just in case” for years. Now with flexible services such as Transferwise allow quick setup UK and other international account numbers as required, there was no need to keep it. I used Transferwise to do a cheap money transfer into AUD$ and closed it.
- Cashrewards: $21.49 – I use Cashrewards extension on my browser, alerting me to cashback offers when making online purchases, accommodation or travel bookings on Australian sites. I had some cashback sitting there from using sites like eBay, Booking.com and Groupon. Transferred to my bank account, to arrive in 5-7 days. PS. Get $5 to start when you sign up via my link.
- Spaceship Voyager app: $55.89 – I signed up to trial this investment app a year ago, though I hadn’t used it much. Most of my micro-investing is with Raiz, whose round-up facility automatically invests the difference to the nearest dollar on my everyday transactions. After a quick customer support chat, my account was closed and the money was on its way to me.
- Paypal: $178.08 – I had some funds sitting there, including from an Airbnb referral. Better to earn interest in my bank account, so I transferred it over.
- Today’s Room Service By Mum featured a salad wrap with homemade pesto for lunch, after I recorded my 17hr fast on the Zero app. It was Dad’s turn to cook in the evening… A more humble affair with frozen fish and chips, but redeemed by Mum’s late addition of apple crumble dessert.
Daily questions
- What did I create or learn today? – Learned how to use Instagram better, including stories. See new-and-improved self-quarantine silliness on my account there.
- What was I grateful for today? – Having a friend call with her two toddlers causing chaos in the background. She’s a little jealous of my self-isolation!
- What fun or beauty did I enjoy today? – Enjoyed a dose of nostalgia listening to an Animorphs young adult fiction audiobook, free via Libby app by Overdrive with my library membership. (Don’t have a card? Lots of libraries are doing digital memberships right now. Search online for your local.)
- How did I move my body today? – After following this Twitter thread from Becky at TwentyFree.co, I sweated with some silly dancing to Lizzo and Britney Spears via Fitness Marshall‘s workout clips on Youtube. Hilarious.
Content I enjoyed
Recession, Coronavirus and the Future of FIRE – Our Next Life
“If you’re panicked, it means you’re not really financially independent yet, because you haven’t yet secured your peace of mind. Financial independence is not just a number, because numbers are always in flux. It’s a state of mind you can’t achieve by cutting corners.”
Meme of the day
Stay tuned for more nonsense or follow me on Instagram or Twitter for live updates. What’ll Mum serve up next?
This was Day 4-6. Read other posts in the series below:
- How Covid-19 Thwarted My Plans For 2020
- Diary of a SelFIsolator: Day 1-3
- Diary of a SelFIsolator: Day 7-9
- Diary of a SelFIsolator: Day 10-12
- Diary of a SelFIsolator: Day 13-14 & After
2 comments
Enjoyed this a lot! Always love peeking behind the curtains with these kind of posts – it’s like watching reality TV! Also, enjoyed the food pics haha… but what is that on Friday! Frozen fish and chips! Reminds me of good ol’ uni days hahaha.
Ha, thank you! Yes, getting personal here. It was a strange time, so I want to find the gratitude in each day, as well as remember how it all felt when it is (hopefully) a distant memory later this year. Hope you’re going well in social distancing measures too.