Regarding the Q&A on charitable giving, a couple of thoughts:

(1) You might find it easier to give regularly if you set up a separate account for your charitable donations. We have a separate checking account that has received 10% – 12% of every paycheck and bonus since 2007. That money is for giving only; no judgment calls to be made. Makes it so easy!

(2) Think about how far your money will go. We give mostly to organizations that do third-world aid because $1000 can stretch much farther in Haiti than in, day, Topeka. I’m also more interested in helping save lives than in supporting local arts. Both are valuable, sure, but they’re not comparable in my book.

(3) Having some “mad money” for bigger or unexpected donations is fun. About 80% of our regular charity account is devoted to regular monthly donations, but that means a sizable amount of extra builds up. Every few months we sent a nice big chunk to some group that doesn’t receive a regular monthly donation from us. It’s just plain fun!

Good luck finding what works for you! Giving is fun and habit-forming … one of those happy habits that make you feel great!

I find that surprising, I find that I am much more productive in my office environment and I can use my commute time productively. I listen to podcasts on the way to work and usually run home. During quarantine, I have found myself getting annoyed by all the tasks I could do around the house instead of work. Plus, my work is the kind that really does have an in-person component where being able to meet face-to-face with people is important.

@Jenny – not the only one, but in the minority 🙂 Gallup poll of people working from home found 59% wanted to keep doing so, 41% go back to the office.

But I really think this is a false choice. I think a lot of jobs are best done half remote/half in person. So what about doing the subway dress up thing 3 days a week and working remotely for two? You could get the best of both worlds that way.

I am in a job that CAN be done remotely, but is much better when I can see people, talk to them, brainstorm, collaborate and chat. I find the lack of immediate feedback and ability spontaneously have a conversation very difficult. Please tell me I’m not the only one who is looking forward to going back to the office?

I do not miss commuting and getting dressed up/wearing make up. But I do really really really miss working in the office. I had 2 huge monitors there – now I am working on a dinky laptop (will be getting a better work station set up soon with a large monitor). I really like the people I work with so going into the office is pretty enjoyable. But I don’t see us going back to the office in 2020 honestly… My company is being very careful/diligent. Another upside of not commuting/not sending our son to daycare is that he is sleeping later. Usually past 7 which was unheard of before. So that’s another bright spot!