3101: 19 Ways to Be Better Today Than Yesterday by J. Money of Budgets Are Sexy on Self-Improvement

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[00:00:58] That's wonderfulpistachios.com. This is Optimal Living Daily Episode 3101, 19 Ways to Be Better Today Than Yesterday by J Money of budgetsrsexy.com and I'm your narrator Justin Mollick. I read to you every single day of the year from the best articles and blogs I can

[00:01:19] to help both you and me have a bit more inspiration, motivation, and happiness in our day. And this is all with permission of course. So with that let's get right to it as we optimize

[00:01:30] your life. 19 Ways to Be Better Today Than Yesterday by J Money of budgetsrsexy.com. Okay so today was supposed to be a post about hustling and earning more money. And then it changed when I offered up my seats to an older couple 15 minutes ago at Starbucks.

[00:01:55] And they started reading an email they got out loud which said in a nutshell, someone very close to them just passed away suddenly. Now it's time to start planning their funeral. And then came the uncontrollable crying and coming to terms with stuff and then back to

[00:02:13] the crying again and repeat on rotation. So horrible. I don't even know these people and I'm feeling their pain. They just left which is why I'm now writing all this to you and the saddest

[00:02:25] part was hearing them whisper back thank you to me as they left as if they knew I was fully aware of their situation. Which of course I was even though I tried to pretend I wasn't there.

[00:02:37] And now of course there's no way I can go back to writing about money which would just sound so callous and wrong. Who cares about that stuff when people are dying around you right? Isn't

[00:02:48] that the point of it all to live a better life anyways? Without that it's gone. Okay well not really I know it's still important and we need to manage it for our families and blah blah blah.

[00:03:01] But allow me to be dramatic for a bit and I promise it'll get more lighthearted as we go. As I was left to my table to contemplate it all, I was immediately reminded of one of my

[00:03:12] favorite quotes by one Sidney Poitier. I always wanted to be someone better the next day than I was the day before end quote. My friend Anthony used to have this at the bottom of his emails

[00:03:25] and every time I saw it I was left inspired to push myself harder that day. It's a heck of a thing to strive for but one we often forget and it can be taken in many different directions too.

[00:03:38] To be a better person in general like help your neighbors. To be a better person to yourself, you count as a neighbor. To be your best at your profession and to those you serve like your clients. To be better to the environment and your local community.

[00:03:55] And of course because many things do relate to money, to be a better steward of your finances. So let's try doing at least one of these things to better help us become better today

[00:04:08] than we were yesterday. And if you already do one of these on the daily then double up and do two so you outperform your already angelic self. Here's a list of 19 ideas. Number one,

[00:04:22] offer up your seat to a stranger today. You never know what they're dealing with. Number two, ask a colleague at work if there's anything you can do to help out. We rarely do this because

[00:04:34] we're all so busy but imagine how thankful they'd be for such a nice gesture. Number three, start a budget. Number four, get rid of one toxic relationship. Number five, pay for the coffee or lunch of the

[00:04:51] person behind you. Random acts of kindness are the best. Number six, write a real life letter to someone using cursive and all. Don't you dare say you don't know what cursive is you millennials.

[00:05:04] Number seven, call your mom and tell her you love her. Number eight, clear the leaves or snow off your neighbor's yard. Where are my northerners at? Number nine, fold the laundry or do the dishes

[00:05:18] or cook dinner or do whatever else your significant other does but before they get to it. When they look shocked just press your fingers to their lips and say shh dumb and dumber style.

[00:05:30] Number 10, pay someone a compliment. The bolder the better like your eyes are so pretty, wow you have a great heart or you totally made my day better. Can I have your number? Oops wrong mission.

[00:05:44] Number 11, spend an extra 15 minutes with a client or friend. Number 12, pay off $20 of debt. Number 13, make a promise to finally work on ending a bad habit. Number 14, say sorry for something even though it wasn't your fault. Number 15, let people cut in front of you without

[00:06:08] muttering curse words or branding a certain phalange. Number 16, teach someone about money or life or a skill you have like how to get out of debt faster or how to set smart goals or how

[00:06:23] to properly make a bed. Number 17, eat one less donut chocolate cake or beer this weekend. Number 18, pick up a few pieces of trash in your neighborhood. And number 19, give someone $5

[00:06:39] that needs it more than you. We can't be perfect every day but we can surely try a little harder if we're fortunate enough to even have the opportunity, meaning we're still alive. I have

[00:06:51] no idea how my new friends are coping right now or when they'll get back to normal again but I like to think they'd at least enjoy knowing their loved one has sparked some good action to be made. It's

[00:07:04] heck of a reminder of what's truly important in this world that's for sure and that reminder is simple, each other. You just listened to the post titled 19 ways to be better today than yesterday by J Money of budgetsaresexy.com and I'll be right back with my commentary.

[00:07:27] Thank you to J Money, he's regularly featured over on our finance show Optimal Finance Daily. So if you like his style or just want more articles being read to you but covering topics like saving, investing, budgeting, pretty much anything money, you can check out that show. Again

[00:07:45] that's Optimal Finance Daily. Now I usually don't read articles with long lists like these because I figure we'll forget them all but since these ideas were so quick I thought it was a nice one to share.

[00:07:58] Maybe just one of these ideas stood out to you and you can do just that one thing today. That's a step forward or as J was saying just a little better today than yesterday. Plus there's a decent

[00:08:10] chance some of these didn't apply to you anyway so in that case it's nice to have a longer list so it's easier to find one that works. Or with all these ideas maybe it sparked something in you to

[00:08:21] come up with your own, even better. If we all did just one little thing today it'd really make the world a better place. So thank you to J for this one, thank you for being here, have a great rest

[00:08:33] of your day and I'll see you tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.