Cozy Places & Where To Find Them
Updated: Jul 28
Sometimes, it's just time to relax...
In blog 1 (Intros & Catchups) I brought up how I've recently taken it upon myself to make sure I'm doing things that make me happy. We sometimes forget to do the simple things, like making sure we are happy, while we have so much life nonsense going on. So today, I want to discuss this a little bit.
We all have our different triggers for happiness.
It actually fascinates me to learn about new things, or even things I've already known about, that just really make all the difference for someone. And normally whatever that thing is, that person is usually REALLY knowledgeable in that subject.
For example, I just got back from driving to Portland for a retro video game convention. At the convention there was SO MUCH retro game stuff, as you can imagine. But realistically, I'm sure the average person recognizes this as probably arcade machines, pinball, and classic game consoles... and that's not incorrect! But the amount of extremely rare machines & consoles I saw and the amount of drooling over the impressiveness of their condition was a sight to see. But who's to say that's a bad thing? If a person loves that hobby, then clearly it's their cozy place!
So Big, your cozy place has to be video games, right?
I mean yeah, but it gets a little more specific for me. Sometimes gamers are a little easy to please by just giving them a shooter or a puzzle game and their set every time they need to play some games.
But for me it goes another step beyond that. For me, I get captivated by a games story regardless of the genre. As most know my favorite game series is Halo, not because it is a shooter but because of the extremely in-depth story that was written for people to fall in love with.
In the earlier console days, it used to be that almost every game had some level of story to it, but nowadays you get quite the mix of storytelling and games that are strictly focused on gameplay. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, but it's just not what defines a cozy space for me.
But I've found some other cozy places over the last few years...
I've never been a person who likes to "go out" or sit at a bar. It's always just seemed like a way to spend more money in a loud uncomfortable place when I could sit at home and have a beer or a drink.
HOWEVER, the discovery of local breweries up here in the Seattle area has been quite the pleasure. Not all of them are that great, and too many of them are the same thing repeated over and over, but there are some that are absolutely phenomenal! Cozy seating outside, super tasty and unique flavors, and pricing that will either be comparable or better than your average bar.
Along with local breweries, I've made sure I connected back with my love for art. I've done this a few different ways! I've recently taken a glassblowing class where I was able to have a hand-on experience doing most of the glassblowing process. I've taken a couple of blacksmithing classes, where I turned horseshoes into knives. I've attended some markets & festivals lately where I was able to get some amazing food and unique art pieces / useful things around the house. And lastly, I've been attending some metal & punk concerts over the last year which is probably what makes me happiest the most. There's just something special about seeing some of your favorite bands perform right there in front of you.
At some point, it's just all too expensive!
True! And depending on where you're at in life, it can be even worse! Immediately after buying my house, I felt it was completely irresponsible to spend any money doing anything for myself. Knowing there were so many immediate bills I needed to pay and debts I owed, it felt wrong to spend any money on fun. And although my logical brain still tells me that's the right answer, the reality is that spending time being happy is more important than anything really. It really does become a matter of balancing out how much money you can afford to spend on things that make you happy before you start becoming a little irresponsible with your money.
Many of you know that I am extremely conscious of money spending and that I actually very much enjoy money management and financial planning. For whatever reason, I enjoy knowing that in due time I'll have plenty of money to do the thing I want to go do, or looking at the cost of something and saying "well, if I take it light next week/month I am good to go on making this purchase." But I also know that the majority of people do not find the same pleasure that I do in money management, so it really does come down to knowing yourself and being smart about how much money you are spending on wants rather than needs.
That's not to say don't have fun!
In fact, I encourage you to make sure you do! If you're reading this and you're recognizing that you haven't had a night out or that you haven't done a weekend away in quite a while... go do it! Take a look and see what local festivals / street fairs are happening, half the time those are free to attend! Book a cheap hotel or an airbnb a little out of town and just relax doing absolutely nothing! Check your local venues and see if there are any good bands coming through! Book a cheap flight somewhere and stay with a friend for a couple of days! You never know when life isn't going to be fun, so make sure you are having fun now!
Alright, I'm done lecturing! Tell me...
Let's pretend you've got an extra $500 visa gift card that you won in a random giveaway because you put your business card in a little bucket somewhere. Hell yeah! Well, it's a visa gift card so you aren't spending it on bills. And me, you're new financial advisor, says "take it and have some fun!" What are you doing with it? Give me a little more detail in the comments below!
Where Is Your Cozy Place?
Concerts / Performances
Fancy / Specialty Food
Weekend Away
Video Games
Thanks for reading!
See you in the next post,
- Big
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