I discovered something in the past few days that made me wonder if I am actually timing things right or if my social media algorithm is reading my mind. At this point, I think it’s 50/50.
Due to being stuck inside for the past few days because Pittsburgh has been among the many locations inundated with Canadian forest fire smoke, I watched television and doomscrolled more than usual. My eyes are paying the price but that’s a story for another day. For now, ibuprofin is my friend. As for the television part, if you’re not watching Silo on Apple, you are missing out! I’m not typically a sci-fi fan but this show is fantastic! Multi-dimensional characters, unexpected plot twists, betrayals – this show has it all. I was trying to binge watch shows so I could cancel Apple but I fear my plan has backfired.
Social media was filled with Mens World Cup, politics, Jimothy, AI, and other random bits and pieces. HOWEVER, I saw two things being discussed at length that took me by surprise: the resurgence of blogging and the trend of making social media interaction based micropayments towards debt. Obviously, I resurrected this blog a few weeks ago and I was surprised to hear that others are getting back into it, too! The general consensus seemed to be that people are tired of putting their work on social media sites that could choose to cancel your account at any moment (TT, IG, and Substack seem to be the most discussed). The other reason makes this GenX, retired English teacher’s heart sing – a return to written content as opposed to video. Love this!! I believe I stumbled into this topic: I don’t think it was algorithm-driven.
I do think the debt micropayments topic was due to an IG rabbit hole I happily hopped down. I have long been hooked on the concepts of minimalism, frugality, and using money wisely. There is one huge caveat to that: I have two homes. I live frugally in my daily life so that I can afford to own my house in NY (8 more years on the mortgage) and rent my apartment in Pittsburgh (11 years and counting). It’s not a standard way of life but I love it. 35 years ago, I was a single mom on welfare so suffice it to say, I’ve come a long way! More on that in the future…
The elimination of debt by making micropayments suits my short attention span and my desire to be free of anything holding me down. A micropayment is a daily or weekly payment towards a mortgage, car loan, credit card debt, and/or college debt. Many of the people online right now are using their social media engagement to determine how much money they pay daily towards debt. For example, they’ll calculate 1/4 of a penny for every like/comment/follow/save of the previous day’s post. They also sometimes add donations (they must have their Venmo in their bio, I haven’t looked). I have made a point of having very little social media footprint and have no desire to build a large platform. I wrote something during 2020 that went somewhat viral and I have no desire to repeat that experience. I cannot imagine what life is like for the people who have huge followings and millions of views and comments. Once was enough for me.
I do however like a challenge and a goal. Here are the rules I’ve made for my own micropayment adventure:
- Round up every purchase to the nearest dollar. That amount goes towards debt.
- Every time someone gives me a book, $1 goes towards debt.
- Every time I have an alcoholic drink, $2 goes towards debt.
- For every spam call I receive, 50 cents goes towards debt.
- Every time I complete a full no-spend week, $25 goes towards debt.
- Every time I get free food or drink, $1 per item goes towards debt.
Add to that any profits from my Etsy, Teachers Pay Teachers, and Poshmark shops, any collection of loose change, and an anticipated retroactive check in the next few months will all go towards debt as well. Could I just go ahead and make a small payment every day or every week without the above list? Of course but what I like and appreciate about the way I’m doing it is that this forces me to keep it top of mind. I need that or else I’ll be attracted by the next shiny idea and forget all about it. I am also making the regular monthly payment, higher than the minimum.
So that’s where I stand these days. Those are among the things taking up brain space. Watching baseball and Silo. Creating items for my shops. Doing all of that while outside enjoying the summer (except when there’s horrible air quality.) I don’t anticipate anyone will see this but I love to write so I’ll keep going. If someone does happen to find me, are there any ways you would gamify your own savings journey? Let me know!