Tag: Work

Stealing a Precious Moment in Time

April 13, 2021 / Jacob Brown

My wife and I wanted to capture more of our lives which resulted in purchasing a camera just before last Christmas. I made a post a while back on what we were going to purchase, but I haven’t taken the time to put together a summary of how we are enjoying ourselves. We have been able to secure taking photos of my friends and family which has offered good practice. It has taken some time to get good practice, but we are getting closer to feeling comfortable taking photos for others. Taking photos for others is one of my goals in this venture, but there is a lot of practice required before feeling comfortable. I don’t want to take photos of someone just to have all of the photos be bad or have some sort of flaw. This is probably one of my greatest fears in photography!

My Brief Analysis

I’m not going to write a review of the camera that we purchased because there are plenty on the internet. I have not experienced the camera long enough to write a strong detailed review, but maybe someday. We made the decision to purchase a Sony Mirrorless camera. Now, you may be wondering why we didn’t purchase the tried and true DSLR. The reason we did not purchase a DSLR is… there really isn’t a reason against the DSLR. We purchased a mirrorless camera in part because it is newer technology but I also thought that it would be fun to try. I know people with DSLR cameras and I thought it would be fun to try something different. The biggest difference that I have seen between it and a DSLR, is having a screen inside the viewfinder. This has been very nice and seems to have made taking photos easier than with a DSLR. The quality that we have gotten from the camera is very high. I think that a lot of the photos we’ve taken are professional quality. I have found that if I want to take easy photos, I can set it up to be just as easy as a smartphone.

Having the ability to manual focus has been new as well. I have not had the option and it is not a standard feature on smartphones. I have enjoyed getting to pick our point of focus and created more depth in our photos. My wife enjoys taking photos in this fashion that have a lot of bokeh (focusing on an object with lots of blur in the surround objects). I like taking control of the camera and making all of the setting myself even though the camera is pretty smart.

I would say that overall my experience with the Sony Mirrorless camera has been very good. It has only been about 5 months, but it seems that its only getting better.

My Photography Goals

One of my main goals while taking up photography is to capture more of our lives. It can be difficult to take things or materialistic items with us due to being in medical school, but we can take thousands and thousands of photos without much trouble. We are hoping to detail our lives for our own sake so that we can someday share our memories with our families. I have found that most people lost the art of the scrap book, but we want to keep files of our photos in a similar fashion.

After getting good at taking photos I would like to venture out to help others experience the joy of seeing a moment from their lives. It’s not an easy task (capturing a moment from someone’s life in a photo) but it is something that I would like to strive to achieve. My wife is in medical school which makes her pretty busy. I am reaching out to find new hobbies and challenges to fill my time that can also carry over to when my wife becomes a practicing doctor. I am hoping that photography will become a lifelong hobby that we can enjoy together.

Striving For the Job YOU Want

April 1, 2021 / Jacob Brown

Depending on your work situation, it can be hard to stay motivated. There are times where the amount of stress outweighs the apparent reward for all the effort. This is not an uncommon situation for people to fall into, especially when there is a lot of monotony in their work. To further explain this idea, I am going to give a situation that I have seen common to a lot of people that is a good example of this situation.

A Common Situation

Having the feeling of being trapped or in a stagnant state is not uncommon for those in the workforce. I have talked to quite a few people that have had this experience.

To better explain in a realistic scenario, let’s create a character named Hank. Hank works at his job as an accountant crunching numbers day-in and day-out for his boss. He works hard every day, but lately has felt that his work isn’t going as far as it was when he started. He feels like if he puts in 100% effort, he will receive the same amount of recognition as giving less effort. If he only pushes for 80% effort, he still gets all of his work done and does not make any mistakes. After working for his employer for 1 year, putting out all of his effort, he has felt less motivated to push for 100%, and settles for 80% effort. Hank was hoping for a raise by now but has not received what he was hoping to receive from this job. After reaching the 1 year mark, Hank falls into the habit of only giving 80% effort for his work.

As Hank approaches his second year of working for his employer, he is still upset that he has not received as much money as he thinks he deserves for his work. Hank decides to meet with his manager to discuss his current work situation. Hank explains to his manager that he is not getting paid enough at his job and would like more money in order to give more effort. He explains to his manager that he is in a rut and does not feel that his work is very appreciated though he does everything correctly.

Some Analysis

In order to arrive at some possible resolutions, I find it useful to look at possible causes for Hank landing in this situation. Let’s gather some of the facts.

Hank…

gave 100% effort for 1 year at his job.
was hoping for a raise after working for his employer for 1 year.
decided to give 80% effort because he did not feel that his work what worth his effort.
decided to meet with his manager to voice his opinion on not getting a raise.

I think that the first point #1 Hank is doing exactly what he should be doing. That being said, when Hank made the decision to set a price on his effort and reduce his effort the real trouble began. Incidentally, when people take themselves out of the 100% effort output and decide that the reward is not great enough for the input, they dig themselves a hole. When Hank decided to stop putting out all of his effort, he made his chances of a raise nearly 0%. Employers want to see that he is working hard and lately has not. When he approaches his manager and demands more money for his effort, it is a hard sell. Why would an employer pay more money when someone will not give all of their effort? This exact situation is why I like to use the method of “work for the job you want, not what you have.”

It’s not easy, that’s for sure. If we end up in a situation like Hank, putting out all of our effort without an apparent reward, we can feel unmotivated. If we work our hardest and do not receive a raise or reward for our work, it is ok to talk to our employer. The one main point that I would like to make about this is making sure that we are at the highest point we can work toward. If we slack off our work or decide to stop working as hard, how can an employer expect us to work harder if they pay more? It is safer for them to invest into their employees if they are showing that they are willing to go the extra mile. There is another side of this scenario where the employees will never receive a raise or bonus, but it is not as common as you may think.

The Resolution

There may be more resolutions, but following are some that I have recommended to people or have thought are good solutions. Following are some different options that I can see in this situation, but the main thing for me is work hard. Work hard and strive for something greater than what we are being paid to do. That doesn’t mean that we impede on our coworkers and try to take their work in order to make ourselves look good.

Hank should:

continue to work at 100% effort before talking to his manager. Work for the job that he wants, not what he has. His chances of getting what he wants or needs from his employer would have been much easier if he spoke with his manager when the motivational issues began.
talk to his employer if there is anything that he needs to do in order to achieve his own goals.
find a new job if there is no resolution to his situation.

Making a HUGE life decision!

March 10, 2021 / Jacob Brown

There comes a time in nearly everyone’s life where they have to make the decision on what they are going to pursue doing for a living. For most this occurs at the completion of high school, undergrad or graduate school. Not everyone makes a long term choice on the first attempt either, sometimes it’s not than easy to find what we want to do the rest of our lives.

For those pursuing an M.D. degree like my wife, a big decision has to be made around the completion of the third year of medical school. This time of their educational career pushes them to pick what specialty they will pursue. There are many specialties within the medical field and one must be chosen for residency. My wife was torn for a long time on what she would pursue.

After looking at many different specialties and experiencing these doctors’ daily operation, my wife has chosen OB/GYN. It appears to be the best mix of surgery and patient contact. My wife enjoys getting to talk with patients building a relationship with them. A lot of the dedicated surgery specialties have little time talking with patients and this is important to her. Family medicine has a lot of contact with patients getting to know them, but my wife would prefer to have a surgery aspect to her career.

So, how did she make the decision? What were some things that she considered when making this decision?

The (almost) Doctor’s Thoughts

Hi! So, when I first started medical school I thought I wanted to go into general surgery. I loved the idea of operating and being able to use my hands to fix a problem. I loved anatomy and wanted to spend every day getting to use that knowledge. I didn’t think I wanted long term patient continuity and I wasn’t sure about long clinic days.

The summer between M1 and M2 year, I did an anatomy elective that allowed me to focus on the female reproductive system. I was able to do my own dissection and learn about some common procedures. I fell in love with the pelvic anatomy. From there I started doing some more research. A not so secret secret: OB/GYNs are amazing surgeons! M2 year brought lectures and book work on the reproductive system and I came out of that class with a pretty good idea that this was the right field. But first, I needed to experience it in real life.

Some of my thoughts changed when I got into third year. I wanted to find a specialty where I could use my full potential. I wanted it to fit my personality. I wanted it to fit with my goals outside of medicine. Jacob and I started talking more about the life we wanted to have outside of medical school and residency. What were the goals we wanted for our life? For our family? That’s when I knew I needed to find a specialty that would also be supportive of my life outside of medicine.

As I went through each rotation I talked with the physicians about their lives, why they chose that field, and the highs and lows of that specialty. I crossed off some specialties right away. I didn’t want a lot of down time. I get bored a little too easily. I didn’t want super sick patients. Intensive care is a little too sad and frustrating. I liked kids, but I didn’t want to only take care of kids. By Christmas, I knew that I was between General Surgery and OB/GYN. I decided OB/GYN was the best option after my clerkship in January. The residents and attendings love their work and are happy even during the long hours. On service, I saw women in all stages of life supporting each other as they learn to become the best physicians they can be. The combination of surgery and clinic keeps the days interesting. I love that I will be able to care for women throughout their lives and be with them for some very important occasions. This specialty will allow Jacob and I to move back to a more rural community and fits well with our vision of the future.

Final Thoughts

Making big life decisions is hard. It causes a lot of stress and worry which makes the process difficult. I have found through our processes that considering the following can guide us on our path.

What is the most valuable thing in my life?
Is this decision the biggest thing in my life?
If I were not to proceed with this decision, would I still feel satisfied in life?
What steps can I take to eliminate other options?
When it comes to careers, if I were to lose this opportunity, what else do I still have?
How can this career help me achieve my life goals?
Will my life goals be blocked by choosing this career?
Will my job choice influence my family life positively?
How can I have a career and a family?
Does one choice offer better benefits?
Do I feel that one will be a career and one a job?

Retiring at 32 Years Old

November 11, 2020 / Jacob Brown

People tend to assume (jokingly) that I have married for the money. That isn’t totally true, since I have less money now than ever. I tend to tell them that I married for the “future” money, and just haven’t gotten my return yet on my investment. This is a joke, of course, but for whatever reason this is the first thing that comes to the minds of people I meet when I tell them that my wife is in medical school. Something that I have been wondering about lately is why? Why is this the first thing that comes to their mind? There are a lot of other ideas that come to mind why I married my wife, and none of them are for the money.

It can be difficult to tell whether or not we are doing well as a spouse in our relationships. We can only try our best, and try to play our cards in the best way possible. There are typical roles for brides and grooms in a married relationship, and I am going to describe why an atypical role (like mine) as a husband is exactly what husbands should be doing in the way of finances. This is assuming that my wife will be making more money than me after she completes medical school.

The Typical Circumstance

For the longest time, husbands have been the breadwinner of the household. Husbands have a natural drive to compete with others and provide for their families in the best way they see fit. This tends to drive men to earn money in order to provide everything from shelter to food. Without the dedication of the other half of the relationship it would be very difficult to have a car, house, or food in today’s society. Due to being gone all day, or night, the wife tends to cover most of the other tasks. I am in a similar situation in my life. My wife is in school and is not working, so I am the only one with time to work. I tend to pitch in to do chores around the home as well.

We are currently in a phase of life where I am the breadwinner, but that may not always be the case. When my wife finishes residency and begins practicing medicine she will be paid quite a bit. Will it be more than I am making? More than likely. Does the fact that my wife will make more than me upset me? No. I think that our society is on a path for more women to be out-earning men, and I will not be the only one gifted with this situation.

Why would I be upset about my wife working hard and striving to be the best wife and doctor she can be in this life? In my opinion, having the view that the man HAS to make more than the wife is a little selfish. Money is not the only contribution that a spouse can make into their relationship, but it is one of them. In this situation, where my wife makes more money than me, what can I do to continue to contribute to our relationship and our lives?

Future Finances

As with most relationships, the husband can continue to work after his wife becomes a doctor. Just because one person has a high income does not mean that the spouse has to just sit at home. I believe that as husbands we are called to provide for our families. If the thing that we see our family needs is more money, then we need to go work to provide. This is not a time to be complacent or push the responsibility of providing solely onto our wives. She has other skills that men do not possess, and we need to work together. I plan on continuing to work in some capacity. This may involve a job change or other circumstances depending on some other life events. If we have kids at the time this could mean that I provide for my family by taking care of them. If we want to have them in child care, this could mean that I would work a normal engineering job and earn additional income. I like to joke with people that I will just retire when she becomes a doctor, but I think there are too many things on my list of to-dos. Retiring at 32 seems like it would be a dream, but I would continue to work and provide what my family needs at that time.

Something that I can see doing to assist my wife in the way of finances is help her balance our budget, or do the leg work with accountants so that we can get where we want to be financially. Money is money, and doesn’t run our lives. My wife wants to be a doctor, typically a high paying job, to help people in need and make money along the way.

Early Retirement

Like I said before, as men and husbands we are called to take care of our wives and families. This isn’t always financially, but can be. I regret to inform you that I will not be retiring at 32. It does seem like it would be an interesting ride, but I don’t believe that we are made to mooch off our wives and be lazy. We are made for so much more than just being complacent with our finances. Here are some things that are important for a husband to strive to achieve in my situation.

We are called to protect our wives, families, neighbors, and those around us. I don’t think that I can fully engage myself in this while being retired. I have to do some sort of work in order to make sure that those around me are safe. I’m not a huge fan of paying people to come do work for me, and this will not change after my wife lands her first job.

We are called to provide for those around us. This may be taking my kids to school and making sure that they have good food for lunch. I can take care of my parents and in-laws to make sure that their needs are met. I can volunteer or work at church, school, or develop projects on the side to provide. Supporting your wife to help her live out her dreams is important and can come down to minor details like washing dishes. As an example, by washing dishes while she is at work, I may be able to lessen her stress and provide a calming environment for her when she comes home.

As men we are called to work. Sitting around watching TV is not what we are made to do. Manual labor ability is something that we have been gifted. We are made to work, and I believe that even when men retire at 65, they can’t help themselves but work. They may not be working for money, but they are making improvements in their lives.

Main Takeaway

Love your wife and support her in the ways that you can. Becoming a doctor is not an easy path. As men and husbands we need to work to provide in the best ways that we see fit. It doesn’t always boil down to financial support, but it does sometimes. There are so many other things in our lives that we can do if we are not going to support our families financially, you just have to look for them and push yourself.

Early Mornings

July 8, 2020 / Jacob Brown

My wife just started her third year of medical school. For those that don’t know, third year requires students to partake in activities alongside interns and attendings. The learning takes place in their (the doctors’) work environment on their schedule. This period of the students’ learning allows them to see how hospitals and clinics operate. They get to learn different procedures and techniques related to the many sectors of the medical field. It is the time when the traditional classroom learning environment diminishes and they begin transitioning into “hands on” training.

Our basic schedule is outlined below. It’s nothing exciting, but it is good insight in what is to come for those going into third year. My wife does a lot of different things at the hospital. Some of the things she does include rounding, scrubbing in on surgery, performing procedures, and others. I will definitely be writing another post that goes more depth on what she is doing, and how to best be prepared.

Starting the day.

My wife is currently working in surgery. Due to surgeries being scheduled nearly all day in hospitals, she is working longer hours than I am. My day typically involves me getting up at 5:15 am, but her day requires 4:30 am. Due to the fact that she begins earlier than I do, I get up with her to keep her company and help her get ready. She has to leave by 5:10 am to head to the hospital to avoid being late. She doesn’t have to be ready until about 6:00 am, but it takes a while to get ready with all of the time spent parking and prepping for the day. While she gets ready in the morning I take the initiative to make her lunch. I usually pack some items for making sandwiches, salads, or other items that we have made recently.

Lately I’ve been including salad with mozzarella, tomato, dressing, and chicken breast. Other items included are croutons, apple slices, and a bottle of water.

Lunch time.

My wife does not have a regular lunch schedule. Most of the time she has lunch randomly or not at all. The time allotted is typically when it is convenient in her schedule. I pack snacks bars for her for in case she has time to eat them. It is a lot easier to grab a snack bar in a quick break than to sit down and eat a full meal.

With the amount of unknowns such as lunch, she has experienced some new stresses. She has to go long periods of time on occasion without getting to eat. This could be one of the main contributors to her feeling more tired in the afternoon, but it could also be that by noon she has been up for over 7 hours by noon.

Departure from work.

My wife tends to leave around 6 pm, but there have been a few times where she has left between 12-2 pm. The scheduling right now is sporadic with COVID-19, and incoming patients. I leave work in time to get home and start dinner before she arrives. She is always very tired when she gets home, and I find having dinner ready helps when she needs to study before heading to bed.

I use the time when I am home and she is gone to exercise, work on projects, or make dinner. This is the time where I can catch up on things that I am behind on before she gets home. Usually I am behind on dishes and keeping our kitchen clean. I like to cook and am terrible at keeping everything tidy.

Tips for the reader.

Make it a team effort. Medical school is already hard enough. I find that taking the time to help with the little things make a big difference. Making lunch, dinner, or cleaning up the house goes a long way in reducing stress.

Follow their schedule if possible. I wouldn’t be able to follow my wife’s schedule if she were on third shift, or me, but I can right now. I think that it works well having us get up together and go to bed together. We have opportunities to create more unity and help each other.

Make Time Together

June 24, 2020 / Jacob Brown

Now that my wife is in medical school we have really grown to appreciate the time that we have together. With free time being limited, we have to make choices on what we want to do together in advance. Now, not everything that we decide to do together is super extravagant, or extremely time consuming, but it doesn’t need to be. We have found that it is fun to do bigger things together, but we get more quality time together when we are laid back.

There are a lot of reasons that we don’t get to spend as much time with each other as we would like. We have found that most of the reasons we do not get to spend time together are good reasons. We have things going on in our lives and can’t always put them on hold. I have put together a list of some reasons, and whether or not I think they are legitimate reasons for not making time together. Some of them are more serious than others, but all of them eat up time.

We don’t get to spend as much time together because I have to:

Work at my job. This is a good thing. It is good to have time away from each other because it helps us find ourselves. I work from 6:30-5pm on weekdays so that we have income, which is kind of important.

Mow the lawn. When living in a house with a yard this is inevitable. At some point the grass will have to be cut, the question is by who. I could pay someone to come to my house and mow my yard (which takes about 15-20 minutes) or I can just do it myself.

Work on house projects. I do a fairly significant amount of work on our house to maintain it and increase the functionality and appearance. Some of the work is a requirement, but some of it is additional tasks that I have chosen to do. Lately, I have been remodeling our basement to bring it a little bit more up to date. This is not a requirement. There was nothing in the basement of our house that was damaging or going to cause major problems.

Watch tv and play on my phone. This is something that I think is the least beneficial to our relationship. That being said, watching tv and playing on my phone has a time and place. There are times where my wife is busy with school, and I have completed everything else on my to-do list.

We don’t get to spend as much time together because my wife has to:

Study for class. This is a legitimate reason not to spend time together. This is the reason we moved and are doing what we do. She needs time to study without me needing to bother her.

Attending class or other learning centers. This is another big reason we don’t get to spend time together. I am not upset about either of these reasons because this is why we are here. I want her to excel as much as she can, and that can only be done by attending school and doing her best.

There are some different chores or tasks that we try to work on together that gives us more time. Some of them are washing dishes, doing laundry, or cleaning the house. Not only do we get to spend time doing these, they go faster. When we help each other it opens up both of ours time so that we can do more together.

Biggest tip for the reader.

If your spouse is busy, be busy too. If your spouse is working and has a time that they will be done. Try to get your work done at the same time. Don’t push off working on projects, chores, or work. If you can get everything done while they are working, you will have a nice window to spend time together. It’s not super fun to have one person done with what they are working on while the other person still have an hour of work to complete because they were watching tv. I have experienced this (and still do).

Third Year Start

June 10, 2020 / Jacob Brown

My wife it at the cusp of beginning her third year of medical school. She has kind of started already, but she is just doing an online class due to COVID-19 keeping most medical students out of hospitals. Soon she will be shadowing doctors in their workplace, experiencing more of what is like to be a doctor and less of a classroom setting. From my experience a classroom setting is good for building some background information, but it can’t totally educate a person on a task that will be performed. As an example, in the United States we typically don’t have children read a book on how to swim, then push them into a pool on their own expecting them to swim perfectly. It takes time and practice within the workforce to gain important skills that can’t be obtained within a classroom.

My wife signed up for a year long layout of clerkships. She will be watching (and hopefully assisting) doctors in field that in orthopedics, surgery, OB/GYN, family practitioners, and many more. This year looks like it will allow her to try a lot of different specialties, which should in turn help her pick what she would like to go into as her career.

A new experience. A lot of medical students have job shadowed before, but not on the level that they will embark during their third year of school during clerkships. Most of schooling that they have experienced has been classroom work, which makes this changeover a totally new experience. I view it as one of the most important steps in becoming a doctor. The students have the background information, now it is time to apply it and tie all of the information together.

Change in learning style. I have found that there are people that excel in classroom learning, and there are people who excel in hands-on learning. My wife happens to be someone who is very good at both. I know that she is better at classroom learning than me, and she loves hands-on learning. Being able to apply what we know is crucial as it is the way that we make it all useful.

Schedule changes. Now that she will be shadowing doctors in clerkships, she won’t be in a classroom daily. She will have to travel to the doctors work, a hospital or clinic, for learning. Not only will she have to drive to their location, she will be on their schedule. This can be a little bit sporadic, but the schedule should be fairly consistent. The schedule is dependent on what specialty she will be shadowing at the time.

My wife has done a lot of research to figure out exactly what she needs in order to be successful in the clerkships. She has done shopping for shoes and other clothes. A big portion of what she has been looking at lately is office supplies. Make sure that you never run out of pens or are unprepared to take notes. Another thing that she has been interested in is what to keep in your white coat on a daily basis. This includes everything from office supplies to snacks. There are times that she won’t be able to take a normal lunch or break, and it’s good to be prepared for those times.

Third year looks like it will be a good change from the first two years. It will allow the medical students to grow more and increase their abilities to have relation with patients. They also get to step into the life of practicing doctors, and learn from them directly.

Tips for the reader.

Research online. Looking at forums or other blog posts can help you find what you may need. Being prepared will make you more comfortable and confident.

Ask past third year students. Past students are a simple source to find out what you may need. They have been through it, and they can help you decipher between what you need, and what you don’t.

Do what makes you comfortable. Within reason, and any guidelines set forward by the program, do what makes you comfortable. If you are uncomfortable all the time, it will make it much harder to focus and do your best. This applies to everything from shoes to your hair style.

Learn Basic Car Maintenance

April 26, 2020 / Jacob Brown

I enjoy finding ways to save money and learn new skills. Having enough money to pay for certain things while a spouse is in medical school can be difficult. After all, the easiest way to have more money, is not to spend it. I will outline some things that make a positive impact for me in our budget.

Do basic auto maintenance yourself or find a friend that can. I perform nearly all of my own maintenance on my cars, and for any of my medical school friends. From my experience, a normal shop fee is anywhere from $85-$125 per hour. At this rate, most simple tasks are worth the small amount of time learning how to do them. The tool investment is also small, and pays for itself quickly due to the cost of a professional shop. Some simple tasks are changing your battery, changing oil, checking all of your fluids, replacing brakes, and replacing spark plugs. Oil changes usually include an oil check, coolant, power steering, and washer fluid. Having brakes replaced, spark plugs, or any work not included in an oil change will be put on an hourly rate. Instead of paying a shop to replace your battery, take it upon yourself to go to a store that sells auto parts and make the battery purchase yourself. The shop will be buying a similar (or the same) battery and marking it up. In addition to that, most of the large chain stores will replace your battery for you at no charge. This is dependent on your make and model, but most vehicles are simple to replace.

How I justify doing the work myself. If you’ve ever taken a car to a shop you will know that it is extremely expensive. The billing is based on the “book” time for completion of the task. So if the job will take 2 hrs of shop time, the bill could be anywhere from $170-$250 for the work (excluding parts). I look at this number and see that if this is work I can manage, I could save this money. Not only could I save money, but with the approximate cost between $170-$250, I could purchase the tools for the job. This sets me up for future work or if I know somebody that needs help with similar maintenance. As an example, most vehicles with gasoline engines have spark plugs that are relatively easy to replace. A shop will charge about 1 hr for most vehicles, resulting in a cost of $85-$125 without parts. So, a car owner could spend $85-$125 on the tools (and their time) to complete the job themselves and it would cost the same.

Why I use full synthetic engine oil. Saving money on small maintenance tasks adds up. I drive about 22,000 miles/year. I use full synthetic oil and run it for about 12,000 miles between oil changes. Running full synthetic costs about 25% of conventional oil, and I have had a lot of success with it. An oil change usually costs me about $36 for 12,000 miles, while conventional would cost me about $32 for 3,000 miles. From information, I show that for 12,000 miles of conventional, it would cost about $128. This is almost 4 times the cost of full synthetic oil for the same distance. I understand that full synthetic engine oil is not the beat choice for every vehicle (especially brand new vehicles) but it works well for me. Having a shop change your oil for you can still save a lot of money. If you’re car is not made to handle full synthetic oil, don’t use it. Look in the manual or contact the manufacturer to find out if it’s okay to use.

My recent work. I was getting some odd feelings in the steering when driving and when I checked out my car I had quite a few components that needed to be replaced. I prices out parts from some aftermarket vendors and ordered them to my house. I had to replace a lot of the steering, bearings, and suspension components, which cost me about $500 in parts. The approximate labor cost for a shop to replace these parts would have been about $750-$1,250. So, looking at that kind of price, I chose to purchase a few tools for myself and completed the work at my house. This kind of work is not within everyone’s abilities, but it is within mine.

“Renting” Tools. If you don’t want to purchase any tools, there are auto parts stores that sell parts, and rent tools. One of the greatest things about their tool rental is that it is “free.” When renting tools the store will charge you the cost of the tool, which means that you have purchased it. After you are done with the work, they allow you to return the tool in good working condition and refund you all of the money. As long as you don’t want to keep the tools for yourself, just return them for a full refund.

Tips for the reader.

Do what you feel comfortable doing. If you don’t feel comfortable doing work on your car, don’t. It’s better to have someone help you, or pay someone if you feel uncomfortable. I do not condone performing work outside your abilities or comfort zone, it can be dangerous.

Learn how to tell when you have a problem. If you don’t want to do your own work, try to get good at finding upcoming problems before they become big problems.

Learn online. I find it best to look up how other people are doing the work. This can make it a lot easier and get an idea on how long it will take and how much it will cost.

Purchase parts for the shop. If you are not going to do the work yourself, buy the parts and take them to the shop. This makes it so that you get the parts you want, and there are less overhead costs. The shop will still charge the same on an hourly basis, and you will have more money in your pocket. Make sure to do research on exactly which parts you need and they will fit before ordering.

Eat Steak, Not Fast Food

April 26, 2020 / Jacob Brown

Would you think I’m crazy if I told you that you could eat steak 2 times per day, and it would be cheaper than fast food? Well I guess I am a little crazy, but it’s true. When compared to a meal from fast food chains, you CAN eat cheaper and better at your own home. It just takes a little time and planning.

Fast Food. I know for me when I stop in at a fast food chain I prefer to order a meal and not off the dollar menu. The quality of the food is much better, but the meals end up costing upwards of $8. I would say that $10 is a good estimate on how much a meal would cost for myself. Now, let’s compare that to cooking at home.

If we estimate that an average person eating out everyday for 3 meals would spend between $10 per meal, that’s about $10,950 per year ($210.50/week)! A huge chunk of change.

Now, if that same person were to go out for 2 meals per day (instead of 3) and cooked their 3rd meal at home every day for $5, they would spend about $9,125 per year ($175.50/week).

If a person were to eat breakfast at home, go out for lunch, and eat dinner at home every day ($5/meal), they would spend about $7,300/year ($140.50/week). Still an astonishing amount of money.

If the same person were to make all of their meals at home ($5/meal) and go out 1 time per week, they would spend about $5,735/year ($110.50/week).

Something interesting is my wife and I BOTH eat for under $110 per week with going out together 1 time.

Eating at home. Another way to look at this is if a person were to spend an average of $10 per meal eating at home, they could be eating shrimp and steak at nearly every meal. Shrimp usually runs between $5-$10/lb, and a steak like NY Strip is around $8/lb. Even a high quality fillet minion is around $20/lb and can be divided into four 4oz steaks, making each steak about $5 before cooking. The experience is dependent on learning how to cook properly, but most of the basics of cooking are not hard. It just takes practice.

Now, I understand that a person may not have very much time for making meals everyday, so I suggest making meals for the next day or two. If a person has time at lunch on a Monday, make food for Tuesday and Wednesday. Depending on what food item is being made, it will still be good on Tuesday or Wednesday. There are some other meals that can be prepared in a slow cooker, but I enjoy the freshness of food being baked or cooked off the stove. Proper warming of food that has been cooked earlier in the week is also crucial for the experience. If I am warming something like steak, or another food that wouldn’t fair well in a microwave, I will warm it in the oven. The oven doesn’t boil the fat and water out of food cooking it more, and it’s easier to control when it’s warm enough.

I get that eating steak only would probably not be the healthiest for your body. It might be a little bit rough on your digestive tract as well if there is nothing but fat and protein. What I am trying to show is that we can buy ingredients and spend a little bit of time cooking, and save quite a bit of money. My wife and I try to buy items like vegetables, fruit, cereal, and dairy products on our weekly budget in addition to different meats. Keeping our budget fairly low it’s down on the purchase of nonessential items, and makes it possible for us to be spontaneous at times. We have room in our budget to go out with friends if we want without going over budget. We can buy new clothes, tools, or swing through somewhere for dessert without having to worry about our budget.

Tips for the reader.

Set up a budget. Figure out how much you would like to be able to spend on nonessential items and savings, and work your food budget around it.

Practice patience. With how American culture is based on “GO, GO, GO“ it can be difficult to take the time to cook your own meals. Be patient and make time to cook. This is also great time to spend with your spouse.

Keep it as cheap as possible. We like to travel and as you may know, it’s expensive. If you can keep your variable costs down, you will have more room in your budget for traveling and fun activities.

Do what you can afford. You may be able to eat out at every meal (I don’t know your budget), but I find it best to keep it reasonable and make sure that I can meet my other life goals.

Buy in bulk. Bulk pricing will get you a better deal most of the time. Purchase in larger quantities and store (freeze what can be) and use it later.

Finding a Job

March 4, 2020 / Jacob Brown

It’s been almost two years now that my wife and I transitioned from undergrad to medical school. For us, this meant a new city and new opportunities. Moving to Ohio distanced us from our family, and we had not really lived apart from them until now. Moving away was not easy, but it had to be done for this next adventure in our lives.

I began looking for a job in February of 2018 during college. I started applying for jobs solely in my major. Without any offers, I began to widen my search. From my perspective, the biggest challenge was making myself more appealing than the other engineers in this city. This city is home to a large Engineering University, which creates a lot of engineers and not a lot of open jobs. This also means that the businesses in the area are more familiar with their engineering program than mine. The main goal of my search was to accept any job that would give me an offer. After all, the only necessity at the time was cash flow. I applied for jobs at stores, engineering firms, manufacturing plants and more. We realized that if I didn’t get a job soon, we would be forced to take loans for cost of living (this isn’t the end of the world, but it could significantly add to school debt). This would have been a very costly financial decision, seeing as we would have to pay it back as such a high interest rate.

In the end of July of 2018 I started my first job. This is where having connections came in handy. I interned with this company between my first two years of undergrad, and they were excited to have me back in the company. They were expanding their reach and developing a new facility 23 miles from my house, and I would be able to work there until I found another job. The job entailed documenting construction progress and troubleshooting machinery installation. Not really an engineering based job, but I would gain a lot of experience working on such a large project.

I was able to make an agreement with my employer that I would work for them, while continuing my job search. There were a couple times I left work early or came in late because I was at a job interview. Without this kind of arrangement, I would not have been permitted to miss as much work as I did. I wasn’t as stressed about finding another job because we had income. I could look as long as I wanted for a job in the engineering field, and we would be financially stable.

We accepted my first job for many reasons, but one had a higher priority. We could become Ohio residents. By becoming residents, we were able to knock the tuition cost nearly in half for my wife’s first year of medical school. This was a great financial decision (who wouldn’t want to save $30,000), and if anyone else is in this situation, I recommend taking this approach.

I left my first job in the end of September in 2019 after I accepted a position as a Supply Chain Engineer for a fabrication company. Leaving was hard, but I think that it was the right decision. I now work in a better field and am learning more information that will benefit me in any future job. Over the course of 18 months I applied for nearly 175 jobs at about 150 different companies.

Final thoughts from my application process.

If you need money, don’t be picky. If you can get a job that pays your bills, you will make it. Land a paying job, then worry about finding one you enjoy.

Keep applying. Applying in numbers is one of the biggest contributors to success. Apply for more than you think is necessary and for jobs that you are not 100% qualified for (not the VP of a company, but something just outside your reach that you know you can do). Employers list their wants and needs, and don’t always stick to the requirements listed in the ad.

Be confident in yourself. When you get an interview, do your best. Don’t let the pressure of needing a job distract you.