Fragile

As if this year hadn’t thrown us enough curveballs already, my community was informed last week that we are under an indefinite boil order. Thanks, 2020.

If you’re unfamiliar with what a boil order is, it’s basically a fancy way for the local government to let you know that your tap water is unfit for consumption. Any water intended for humans to eat or drink must be boiled for at least a minute to ensure that it won’t make you very sick. Thus the name “boil order.”

It might seem inconsequential given everything else that’s happening in the world right now, but for my friends and neighbors, a development like this is very disruptive. Several local restaurants had to immediately shut down, putting their employees out of work with no guaranteed return date. There were concerns that students wouldn’t be able to attend schools without something to drink, though administrators were able to quickly put together a plan. Grocery stores are forced to ration out bottled water to ensure everyone has a chance to get some.

It’s all anyone can talk about. There are signs everywhere. People are constantly asking, “Is the boil order still in place? How much longer?”

People’s lives are being greatly affected. And it’s all because someone didn’t use enough disinfectant at the water treatment plant.

I don’t say all of this to complain. Katherine and I are getting by just fine; for us, it’s just an inconvenience. But I do worry about all of the other people in my small town who are struggling with lack of work or access to clean water right now. Their suffering is real. And even though it seems like a minor problem compared to what we’ve all faced this year, it isn’t for them. For them, it’s just another in a series of undeserved blows that have come this year to threaten them and their loved ones.

The life of my community has been significantly disrupted by dirty water. Something we took for granted just a few days ago has become the thing we yearn for the most. It’s like living in a bizarre alternate version of reality, and it’s quite unsettling.

That last sentence probably describes how most of us have felt throughout this strange and difficult year. It really does seem like we woke up one morning in a world that looks like ours but feels completely different. None of the threats we’re facing were expected, and the things we most desire now we didn’t give a second thought to this time last year.

Visiting friends and family. Going to a restaurant. Taking a trip to somewhere new. Seeing a movie in a theater. These activities were considered so commonplace before, and now, we talk about them like they’re either rare delights or lost practices from a bygone era.

Going to work. Paying rent. Sending kids to school. All of these were taken for granted before now. We don’t have that luxury anymore.

Whether it’s a virus bringing our entire world to a screeching hault or contaminated water interfering with the businesses and everyday lives of the people in my community, the events of this year have made one thing abundantly clear to me:

The things we hold dear are so very fragile. Our lives can change drastically at a moment’s notice. The smallest causes can have enormous effects and take away things we thought would always be there.

Life is precious. Love just as much so. And they’re fragile. So let’s cherish them for all they’re worth and make sure we don’t take a single thing for granted.

We don’t know what’s going to happen next. We don’t know what life will look like tomorrow or how things will change. All we can do is love those around us, appreciate the good things in life we do have, and hope for an even better tomorrow.

I’m sorry you had to read through a whole story about small town water issues, just to get to that, but I hope it’s helpful. I certainly needed the reminder this week. Maybe you did, too.

Thanks for reading, friends. I’ll talk to you again soon.

 One

Last week at their special event dedicated to new watches and iPads, Apple took a few minutes to introduce something completely different: a new services bundled called Apple One, coming this fall.

Of course, I’m going to get excited about something like this. I’m a super-nerd, and I’ve been patiently waiting for Apple to offer a bundle for a very long time. Tons of Apple fans who know the company’s services and love them have been clamoring for just this sort of offering.

But most people aren’t super-nerds. You might be reading this and wondering what a services bundle is and why you should know about it. You may not even know that Apple offers so many different services to their customers. You may be reading this and thinking, “Who cares?”

Well, I care. So here I am, fueled partially by my overflowing excitement about Apple One and partially by my self-imposed duty to keep others in the loop about cool tech stuff, to tell you all about this exciting new thing Apple is doing.

Apple’s Services

When most people think about Apple products, they think of devices: iPhones, iPads, Macs, Apple Watches, and the like. Before the iPhone, Apple was famous for creating the iPod. Remember those?

But while Apple has traditionally made most of their money by selling hardware, they’ve always had a knack for building great software, too. Think about iOS, the operating system that runs the iPhone. Or the Notes app that you use all the time on your tablet or computer. These programs are written by Apple and included with the devices.

Beyond hardware and software, though, Apple is also in the business of creating services. Really, they’ve been doing it for years. The iTunes Store was a service that launched the iPod into stardom back in the day. The App Store is part of what makes iPhones and iPads so special, and it’s a service as well.

Over the past few years, Apple has started putting more and more attention on their services business, especially what’s called direct-to-consumer services. The company is trying to offer people high-quality content and experiences that they’ll want to subscribe to month after month.

What are these services exactly? Let’s break them down.

iCloud

Built in to every one of Apple’s operating systems, iCloud is the company’s cloud storage service. It uploads your photos, files, contacts, notes, calendars, and most everything else on your device to the company’s secure servers and syncs that information to your other Apple products. That way, you can have all of your data on your phone, tablet, and computer, all up-to-date and in perfect sync. And if one of them ends up getting broken or lost, everything is still intact in the cloud.

iCloud is an incredible service. I use it to automatically back up my phone and iPad every night so that I never lose any information. When I had to replace my phone last week due to my own clumsiness, all I had to do was sign in to iCloud on the new phone, and all of my data, apps, and settings were downloaded from the cloud to the device. It was just like having my old phone back, and it was so easy!

Apple gives every user a set amount of free iCloud data, but it often isn’t enough. If you’re an iPhone owner and take a lot of photos, it’s very likely that you’ve at some point received the dreaded “iCloud storage full” notification. Not only is this annoying; it also means your photos aren’t being backed up!

The solution is to purchase additional iCloud storage from Apple. For a monthly fee (anywhere from $1 to $10 depending on how much you need), you can buy enough space in the cloud to back up all of your precious data with room to spare. I’ve got my entire digital life saved in iCloud, from family photos to my old school files to the projects I’m doing for work right now. Thanks to my subscription, I can rest easy knowing that everything is backed up and available on all of my devices.

That’s only possible thanks to iCloud.

Music

The days of buying MP3s and ripping CDs are pretty much over now. Rather than purchasing individual songs or albums to download and then keeping them forever, music fans now pay a monthly fee to gain access to any song or album they want without having to pay for individual songs. This new model for music consumption is called streaming.

Apple Music is the company’s music streaming service. If you’ve heard of apps like Spotify and Pandora, it’s a lot like those, but it’s created by Apple instead of a third party.

I was hesitant to jump on the streaming music train before Apple Music came along. My iTunes music library was something I had invested in heavily over many years, and I wasn’t ready to give it up to switch over to the new streaming model. Fortunately, Apple Music offers the best of both worlds because it integrates with music purchases you’ve already made.

So whether you’re streaming a new album that just came out or replaying your favorite song you bought a decade ago, it’s all available in the Music app on any Apple device, or on the web. If you come across a CD or MP3 you want to include in your library, you can upload it, and it’ll be right there with all of your other music. I really appreciate this hybrid approach, and it’s what got me into streaming music in the first place.

You don’t have to start with a library, though. Apple Music includes suggestion for songs and albums it thinks you’ll like based on what you listen to, so there’s always something new to try if you’re in the mood for it. For $10/month, you get unlimited access to all the music in the world. Or for $15/month your whole family can enjoy.

(Side note: Music is the only service from Apple that charges extra for a family subscription. That’s because the company doesn’t own the music and has to license it from the labels. All other Apple services include the ability to share your subscription with up to five other family members using a handy feature called Family Sharing.)

Unlimited music for a fixed monthly subscription is great for those of who enjoy keeping up with what’s new and keeping their old rotation around. Apple Music offers just that.

TV+

Apple is also getting into the TV business with their own streaming service. You may have noticed a lot of these popping up lately. Once everyone saw how well it worked out for Netflix, they all wanted a piece of the streaming pie.

But don’t be fooled: TV+ isn’t some half-hearted moneygrab. The company isn’t just jumping onto a trend here. They’re really invested in creating and curating the highest quality offering of any streaming service out there, and it shows.

TV+ doesn’t have a giant library yet. Unlike other services that offer a back catalogue of purchased content from other creators, Apple is going all-in on original programming. That means there isn’t a seemingly unlimited amount of content to choose from. But it also means that you can trust any show on the service to be worth your time.

I’ve watched most of the shows that have come out on TV+. The service has a little bit of everything, from sci-fi to drama to travel to comedy to documentary and everything in-between. Some series have big stars in them, while others feature more newcomers and unknowns. A few of my favorite shows on the service so far have been For All Mankind, Ted Lasso, Little America, and Central Park.

TV+ is $5/month for the whole family, but you can get a year-long free trial with the purchase of any Apple product. You might even qualify fo the free year already without even knowing it. Either way, I’ve found the quality of the shows to be well worth the price, and I will definitely be paying once my free year ends.

Arcade

Mobile games are a ton of fun, but not when they’re overrun with ads or require in-app purchase to keep playing. That’s why Apple Arcade offers a collection of fun, high-quality games with no ads or in-app purchases for just $5/month.

There are over 100 games on Arcade, and they range in genre from puzzle to racing to action/adventure and beyond. Every game can be played on your phone, tablet, computer, and even the Apple TV if you have one in your living room. They’re compatible with controllers if you like to play that way, and many of the games are multiplayer, so you can play with others, too.

I didn’t think Arcade would be for me when I first heard about it. I don’t play many games on my phone, or really many video games period. But a couple of the launch titles piqued my interest, so I gave it a try, and I’ve been hooked ever since.

Some of the games on Arcade I just couldn’t live without, like Crossy Castle and Butter Royale. There are so many others that I’ve enjoyed, too, but I keep coming back to those two over and over again. I can’t get enough.

Having every game available on every device is just great. I love that I can play on the big screen in the living room when I have time or on-the-go with my phone if I have just a few minutes to spare.

I’m not the kind of person who spends a lot of money on video games, so convincing me to subscribe to a gaming service was a bit of a stretch. But Arcade is just that good. It’s an ever-growing collection of quality, family-friendly, ad-free games that anyone can enjoy.

News+

I have to be honest: This is the section I had to do the most research on. As much as I enjoy Apple’s services, I’ve actually never tried News+. I don’t read a lot of newspapers or magazines, so this particular service just hasn’t pulled me in yet. But that might change with Apple One, as you’ll read later on.

News+ is a subscription service housed in the News app on Apple devices. Maybe you’ve opened up News to read some of the free content before and wondered what all that News+ stuff was about. If so, today’s your lucky day, because you’re about to learn.

The service is an easy way to subscribe to a boatload of newspapers and magazines for people who enjoy keeping up with everything happening in the world. A subscription gets you access to The Wall Street Journal, TIME Magazine, Business Insider, Vogue, and so many other publications for $10/month.

If you’re the type of person who subscribes to magazines or newspapers, News+ is a great way to get all the news you want without getting overrun with subscriptions. There’s enough reading content in there to keep you occupied all month long. And there’s always more coming, so you’ll always have something to read.

A new feature recently added to News+ is audio stories. Each week, Apple selects a handful of long-form stories that people are interested in and hires a professional to record an audio version of the story. This way, you can listen to the story while you’re commuting or working around the house. This is a cool innovation in the news space, and as someone who listens to a lot of podcasts, I can definitely appreciate the value of high-quality audio content.

The more I look into it, the more I wonder why I’ve never given News+ a go. It’s sort of a bundle in and of itself, and it seems like a great value. Maybe I’ll have to set aside some more reading time soon and see what this service is all about for myself.

Fitness+

The newest service from Apple, Fitness+ is coming later this year and will offer classes for Apple Watch owners who want to take better care of their health. Classes will be available for all sorts of different workout types from trainers who are seasoned professionals in their fields.

What’s going to set Fitness+ apart from similar services is the way it ties Apple’s products and services together. The Watch will be your fitness tracker, but you’ll actually be watching the workout on your phone, tablet, or TV. The videos will feature live stats from your Watch to let you know how you’re doing, and the interface will adapt to show what’s most important at any given time, such as your heart rate during a burst or a little celebration if you reach one of your daily goals during a class.

The service will also integrate with Apple Music to provide custom workout mixes from different genres chosen by the trainers. And if you like the music your trainer chooses, you can always save the playlist for later.

Fitness+ looks like a great gym replacement for Apple Watch owners who have to work out at home now, and it will only cost $10/month for the whole family to access. It seems like an effective way to get more fit and focus on your health, which makes the cost well worth it. I personally can’t wait to give Fitness+ a try as soon as it launches.

The Bundle

So Apple offers a bunch of services that people can subscribe to for reasonable monthly prices. This works out great for both the company and consumers. Apple gets a recurring source of revenue, and customers gain access to some really useful and enjoyable experiences.

The problem with these services, though, is that they start to build up over time and can become tricky to keep up with. If you’ve ever had to maintain your household’s budget, you know how much work it is to remember which bill is due on which day and how much it costs. It can get unwieldy pretty quickly.

On top of housing bills, utilities, food, internet, cell service, transportation, and other necessities like Netflix, consumers don’t want to have to keep up with five or six different subscriptions from Apple, even if they enjoy using the services they subscribe to.

That’s where the bundle comes in: You get all of the company’s services you want, and you only pay once a month. On top of making your budget simpler, you also get a discount compared to subscribing to each service individually. Isn’t bundling fun?

Ironically, Apple One comes in three different tiers: Individual, Family, and Premier.

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Individual

The base Apple One tier is the Individual plan. It includes Music, TV+, Arcade, and 50 GB of iCloud storage for $15/month. That’s a savings of $6/month over buying each service individually. (Even though this is technically the plan geared for individuals, TV+ and Arcade can still be shared with family members because Family Sharing comes standard with both services.)

Family

Because Apple doesn’t own the songs in Music the way they control the content in the rest of their services, they have to charge a little extra to add Family Sharing to it. That’s why the Family plan is $20/month. It includes Music, TV+, and Arcade for the whole family, as well as 200 GB of iCloud storage that can be shared by all. Your family will save $8/month on the family plan.

Premier

While the Individual and Family plans focus mostly on entertainment, the Premier plan includes everything Apple has to offer. On top of everything in the Family plan, Premier includes News+ and Fitness+ for everyone in the family, plus a whopping 2 TB of iCloud storage. (If you don’t already know what a terabyte is, it’s more storage than you’ll ever need.) This plan is $30/month, which results in a savings of $25 over subscribing to each service individually.

It might sound funny to have three different tiers of a service called Apple One, but it actually makes sense. There’s the basic tier for individuals who just want Apple’s entertainment offerings. Then there’s a plan for families that want the same. And finally the top-of-line plan for those who just want it all. Each plan includes amazing services at a great value for those who want to access them.

Is It Worth It?

The thing about Apple One, as with any bundle, is that it’s a great deal—assuming the person paying for it actually uses everything included. And that’s where the question of whether or not it’s worth subscribing to gets personal.

For me, it’s definitely worth it. I already pay for a family Music subscription ($15/month), Arcade ($5/month), and 200 GB of iCloud storage ($3/month). Once my TV+ free trial runs out in November, I’ll be paying $5/month for that because I can’t miss season two of my new favorite shows. For me, the Apple One Family plan is a no-brainer because I can get everything I’m paying for now and save $8/month.

But the beauty of Apple One is that I can do more than just save money on the services I already have. For just a couple of dollars a month, I can upgrade to the Premier plan and get access to every service the company offers. And since I really want to give the new Fitness+ service a try when it comes out, I’ll definitely be subscribing to Premier. At that point, I’m saving money again and getting News+ and way more iCloud storage thrown in as well. What an amazing deal!

Granted, it’s only an amazing deal if I actually utilize those services, which I will. I use Apple products and services for everything I do, so it only makes sense that I’d go all-in on the bundle. But I use those products and services because I believe they’re the best available, and they offer me some pretty incredible experiences I can’t get anywhere else.

If you’re not an Apple customer, or if you have an iPhone but don’t really want to stream music or store all of your data in iCloud, then the Apple One bundle probably isn’t for you.

But if you do already use one or two of Apple’s services, or if you’re interested in seeing what you can get out of them, then Apple One is certainly worth a look. It’s going to unlock a whole world of new things you can do on your Apple devices, and it won’t break your bank in the process.

Is the bundle worth it? I’d say so. It would be hard to get more value out of $15 than unlimited music streaming, prestige TV shows and movies, a bunch of fun and high-quality games, and automatic cloud syncing and backup of your photos and files. For just $5 more, you can extend that entertainment and storage to five other family members. Or for $30, you can get all of that plus fitness classes, digital newspapers and magazines, and even more cloud storage so that you never have to worry about running out.

No matter which tier you’re considering, if you think you’ll use any of the services included in Apple One, it’s definitely worth trying. And who knows? You might fall in love with some of the other included services as well. That’s the beauty of the bundle.

What’s Missing?

For the most part, Apple fans are pretty happy with Apple One’s offerings. I don’t think anyone could have predicted how generous the company would be with the discounts, especially on the Premier plan. The option to get all of Apple’s services in one discounted subscription is just a dream come true for a lot of us, not to mention a no-brainer.

The main criticism I’ve seen of the bundle is that it doesn’t include what most people still consider to be Apple’s most appealing product: the iPhone. And while I totally agree that a services + hardware bundle would be really cool, I’m not sure that it would work for most people.

If you have an iPhone, it’s most likely financed through your mobile carrier. That way, you pay part of the phone’s value each month in exchange for the ability to use it, and you can upgrade after a certain number of months. It works out well for everyone.

For Apple to include the iPhone in their bundle, they’d have to require all of their customers to break their agreements with their mobile carriers, which would be inconvenient and costly. Apple’s still making money off of those carrier-financed phones, so I don’t see any reason they need to break that up.

For those who really want to go all-in, Apple does offer the iPhone Upgrade Program, which is similar to the carriers’ financing programs. With it, you pay a little bit each month for the phone and can upgrade every year. The program also includes AppleCare+, a protection plan that ensures you can get your phone fixed or replaced in case something happens to it.

The iPhone Upgrade Program is a great way to buy an iPhone. In fact, I’m planning to switch to it this year when the iPhone 12 comes out. And you can technically turn any Apple device into a subscription with financing on Apple’s credit card. I’m just not sure that combining device financing with Apple One would be the best thing for the company to do. Better to give people the option to get their devices any way they want and then purchase the services bundle separately.

I’ve been saying for a while that subscriptions are the future, but I don’t think that’s true anymore. Subscriptions are just the way the world works now, and they’re a great way to get access to a lot of amazing things at a reasonable price.

Apple’s services offerings are incredible and wide-ranging, which makes me really excited for the upcoming Apple One bundle. I will definitely be signing up day one, and I can’t wait to take advantage of all it has to offer.

Whether you came in a die-hard Apple fan already planning on getting the bundle, just vaguely interested in what was going on, or downright confused, I hope this explainer has made things crystal clear for you. And if I’ve convinced you to give the bundle a try, then all the better!

Thanks for reading my deep dive on Apple One. I’d love to hear your thoughts on Apple’s new bundle and whether or not you’ll be subscribing, so let me know what you think! Talk to you again soon.

Capacity Exceeded

Things have been quieter than usual here lately, and I’d like to apologize for that. It’s not that I haven’t wanted to write to you or anything. I’ve just found it to be a lot harder as of late, and I’d like to explain why.

We’re living in some strange times, and they’re affecting everyone differently. I don’t want to pretend that my pandemic experience has been particularly more difficult than others’. My loved ones are safe; we’re getting by. In that sense, all is well.

But I have experienced a sharp decrease in my available mental bandwidth over these past six months. As we’ve talked about before, bandwidth is a technology term that refers to the amount of information a data channel can carry at any given time. Metaphorically, we can apply it to our own minds to mean the capacity we have to handle things like information, tasks, stress, and communication.

One’s mental bandwidth varies from day to day and can be affected by any number of factors. If you’re feeling really stressed at work, you might have little bandwidth for much else, including taking care of yourself and spending social time with friends. On the other hand, if your mind is clear and worry-free, then you’ll find yourself with plenty of extra bandwidth for creativity, expression, and other things.

Our minds were only made to handle so much at once. When we hit that limit, there just isn’t room for anything else. We either have to remove something that’s taking up bandwidth or stop taking on new things. And that’s where I’ve found myself lately.

A combination of factors has forced me to reallocate my mental energy in the months since the pandemic began. Those factors include

• managing a heavier workload with added responsibilities,

• learning new tools and skills to keep the church connected digitally,

• trying to maintain relationships with my loved ones when I can’t visit them,

• and navigating the ever-changing landscape of our society during COVID.

I won’t lie: Some days, managing all of this has been hard. The work stuff has actually been fun, and I’m really proud of the way it’s all turned out. But not seeing people and trying to make the right decisions for my safety and the safety of my loved ones has really weighed on me. And it’s taken up a lot of my mental capacity.

Hopefully it’s understandable why my writing might slip down the priority list in light of all of this. It’s not that I don’t care about it or want to do it. I even still have time set aside for it every week. I just haven’t had the bandwidth to generate ideas, process them, write them out, and edit them like I usually do.

Don’t worry, though. I’m taking care of myself. When you don’t see a blog post here on any given Tuesday, it’s safe to assume that I used my writing time for a mental health break, maybe even a good nap or some time outside with Winter.

I’m managing my bandwidth to the best of my ability, and that might mean I have to skip something I love every once in a while. It’s a process, and I’ve got every intention of reallocating that bandwidth back to my writing as soon as it’s available. It just so happened that I had some available this week, which is why you’re reading this.

We’re all learning to adapt to this new normal. There’s no way of telling when the pandemic will die down or what the world’s going to look like once it does. All we can do is our best to take care of ourselves and those we love. So I guess what I’m trying to say is that if you don’t hear from me on here as much as you expect, it’s because I’m doing just that: my best. My bandwidth might be maxed out, but I’m still here.

If you’ve been feeling your mental bandwidth tapped out a little more lately, you’re not alone. It’s perfectly okay to make the changes necessary to keep yourself healthy. Don’t be afraid to take a step back, give yourself a break, and conserve your energy for the things that are absolutely vital. You’ve got this.

And if you’re one of those people who copes with stress by creating wonderful things, two things:

1. I’m jealous of you.

2. I’m happy for you! I’d love to see what you’ve been up to.

The only way through this is by seeing each other through this. So let’s support one another in taking care of ourselves, whether that means taking a step back or going all-in. Thank you so much for all of your support, both now and the many times before. I appreciate you taking the time to read this, and I’ll talk to you again as soon as possible.

Until then!

Grateful

Gratitude has been on my mind quite a bit lately. Last week, I preached a sermon on the subject at my church, so I’ve been thinking a lot about how important it is to remain thankful even during these difficult times.

I think that we each struggle with gratitude in one of two ways. Some of us aren’t good at practicing thanks when things are going well. We get caught up in the excitement, we get swept up by the praise, and we want to give ourselves all the credit. That can be a major hindrance to gratitude.

That’s never really been my problem, though. I suffer from the opposite, as I’m sure some of you do. When things are difficult or not going my way, that’s when my struggle with gratitude starts. I can become so focused on the things that worry or bother me that I don’t take time to recognize all the good things going on in my life.

Spending some time studying gratitude was a good reminder for me. It made me aware of how important it is to be thankful for the life I have, whether it’s easy at any given moment or not.

So for this week’s blog post, I thought I’d share a few things that I’m thankful for and encourage you to do the same. Gratitude is something we shouldn’t be afraid to share. It’s not bragging about what we have; it’s celebrating what we’ve been blessed with and inviting others to share in that joy and express their own.

Here are a few things I’m thankful for right now:

• My family will always be at the top this list. I’m so thankful for the life that Katherine and I share, and the fact that we get to share it with our beloved dog Winter and all of our extended family. I’m glad we live near them all and get to see them often. I have a lot of love in my life, and that’s the best thing I could ever ask for.

• Of course, I’m very grateful for my job at the church and the ability to work to provide for myself and my family. I’m blessed to be in ministry doing what I feel called to do. Serving God through technology is my favorite thing to do, and I’m grateful that it’s also my career.

• Especially in times like these, I’m thankful that my family and I have enough to get by. We don’t live lavishly by any means. But the fact that we can be comfortable without having to worry about how we’re going to cover our bills is a huge blessing that I never want to take for granted.

• My friends are an endless source of joy in my life and give me so much to be thankful for. Whether they’re people I grew up, met while I was in school, go to church with, or only know from our online conversations, I’m so thankful for each and every one of them.

• A lot of people have invested their time and wisdom in me over the years. For all of my mentors, I am forever grateful.

• I’m thankful for technology and all of the opportunities its given me to learn, express myself, and help others. The 21st century and I were made for each other, and I’m glad I get to enjoy all of our modern marvels.

Of course, I could go on and on. It wouldn’t make for the best blog post, but it is good for me. When I start to make a list like this, I quickly realize that I have so many things in my life to be grateful for. So many beautiful things.

Does that make difficult times easier? I’d like to think so, at least a little bit. Nothing can protect us from the harshness of life, but a grateful heart can keep us grounded and hopeful. I believe we need that.

The truth is that gratitude isn’t even really an optimistic practice. It’s the most realistic worldview there is. It gives the bad days context and keeps us from getting swallowed up by them. Because no matter how dark life might seem, there’s always more light than darkness if we simply look hard enough. It’s up to us to choose if we want to seek it out or not.

One last thing I’m thankful for before I go: you. Thank you for reading this blog and making it what it is. I know I haven’t posted as much as usual; there are a lot of different reasons for that. But writing these articles for you is a true joy, and I’m so glad that I’m able to do it. Thank you again.

Now that you’ve heard from me, I’d like to know what you’re grateful for. Expressing gratitude is good for us, so let’s do it together. Let me know in the comments or on social media what you’re thankful for today. I can’t wait to hear from you.

I’ll talk to you again soon. Stay safe out there, friends.

Coins and Cards

A lot of weird things have come out of this pandemic, but I never would have predicted that a coin shortage would be one of them. And yet, here we are.

Circulation of change has slowed to a trickle with so many people staying home to keep themselves safe. Banks, stores, restaurants, and the like are unable to keep as many coins on hand as before. And so everywhere you go, you see signs that say, “Please use exact change,” or promotions that offer freebies to customers who cash in the change they’ve been collecting at home.

As with everything these days, this problem comes with its fair share of conspiracy theories. And while I can assure you the government is not stockpiling quarters so that they can track your spending, I can understand why these times might cause you concern.

Scott Galloway, NYU professor of marketing and one of my favorite podcasters, claims that the pandemic is taking trends that were already on their way and accelerating them significantly. Movie premieres are increasingly happening at home rather than in theaters. Online shopping is overtaking in-person shopping more quickly than ever. More and more students are opting for virtual learning over in-person schooling, and that’s happening at all ages.

Perhaps one of those accelerated trends will be the move from physical, cash payments to electronic payments through debit cards, credit cards, and mobile payment systems. I’m just speculating; I don’t have any numbers to back this up. But this time is forcing people to be more considerate about how they pay for the things they buy. Just maybe, this could be the push the public needs to finally embrace the digital age of spending.

Personally, I never use cash. My wallet only has space to hold a couple of bills at once, and I can’t stand even that. Anytime I touch change, I think about how many different people have handled it over time, and I immediately feel the need to shower. Yuck.

Physical money has never worked for me.

I started making money just as going cashless became a viable option for people. Most places accept cards now—even vending machines! Direct deposit allows employers to bypass paper and put paychecks right into employees’ bank accounts. And if I need to give a friend money for dinner or gas, there are a dozen different apps that allow me to do so free of charge.

Nearly every aspect of my financial life—budgeting, getting paid, buying groceries, paying bills, sending money to friends and family, and more—is digital. I do it all without swapping paper or coins with anybody.

That has some real benefits in times like these, when every physical interaction with another person puts you at serious risk. But I think it’s also just the best way of handling money in the 21st century.

With everyone reconsidering their financial approach in light of our new circumstances, I thought that now might be a good time to share my financial approach and why it works so well for me. Whether you’re a diehard cash user or more digitally-inclined like I am, I hope you find this little overview helpful—or at the very least, interesting.

My Approach

My financial life is centered around my online banking solution: Simple. The bank doesn’t have any branches or physical locations, just an app that you download and use to manage everything. It’s elegant, it’s easy to use, and it saves the company a ton of money in overhead, which they pass on to customers by eliminating all fees.

I use the Simple app to take care of all my banking needs. I can see a list of my transactions going back years, deposit a check with my phone’s camera, look up account details, transfer money in and out of my account, freeze my card and order a new one if it’s been lost, and even contact a bank employee for help if something’s gone wrong. The app essentially is my bank, and it’s a great one.

Simple was the first online-only bank in the United States. (In Europe, financial innovation has been much quicker and more widespread.) But even small, traditional banks are starting to get onboard with a lot of these online features. They save the company (and thus the customers) money, and they make life so much easier for everyone involved. Online banking really is the best, and I imagine whatever bank you use is offering a lot of these features already. If not, you should definitely request them.

My favorite thing about Simple, though, is that it isn’t just a banking app. It’s also a powerful and innovative budgeting tool. Instead of keeping track of your banking in one place and your budgeting in another, the app includes both, which makes things really easy. Everything about the way Simple works is meant to help me manage my money well.

We’ll start from a bird’s-eye view. Katherine and I have a joint account setup with Simple, which is actually made up of four different bank accounts: 

1. our shared checking account,

2. a personal checking account for me,

3. a personal checking account for her, and

4. a shared savings account.

Expenses are like envelopes.

With this setup, budgeting is a breeze. In our shared checking account, we have a list of expenses. These include our bills and the money we want to put away for savings each paycheck. Each expense has an amount, a due date, and a funding schedule (indicating whether the expense comes out of my monthly paycheck or Katherine’s, which is weekly). Whenever one of us gets paid, the app automatically moves the right amount of into these expenses so that the funds are ready on each expense’s due date. Then, when a bill comes due, the money’s already set aside for it. Booya!

We mostly use my paycheck for regular monthly expense like the mortgage, car payment, retirement, and savings. Katherine’s paycheck is used for expenses that are more frequent and variable, like gas, groceries, and spending. Whenever we sit down to eat, I tell her, “Thanks for buying dinner.”

Expenses are handy for budgeting everything from monthly bills like Netflix and electricity to annual costs like property taxes and domain names. They’re flexible and easy to set up to fit any payment schedule you might have. This system of expenses is our way of making sure we’re putting aside the money we’ll need down the line so we don’t get blindsided later on.

Expenses are actually a lot like the concept of envelopes in traditional budgeting strategies. Instead of taking cash and physically putting it away for a specified bill, we digitally “separate” money from the rest of our account so that it’s there when we need it. But with expenses, you can make as many as you like and keep them filled automatically, like magic!

Goals are like miniature savings accounts.

Aside from expenses, we also have goals. Goals are like mini-savings accounts within our shared checking account that we use to set aside funds for house projects, travel, unexpected health expenses, and other future things. They aren’t long-term savings funds; those go into the savings account or our retirement fund, which is through Social Finance. Goals are a good place, though, to store money that you don’t need on a certain date but you do plan on spending eventually.

Any money that isn’t designated to an expense or a goal goes into what Simple calls Safe to Spend. If expenses are like envelops and goals are like small, short-term savings accounts, Safe to Spend is like a traditional checking account. This is the money we can actually spend. As long as we keep it at or above zero, we aren’t at risk of messing up our budget.

Believe it or not, we don’t keep a lot of money in Safe to Spend. None of my paycheck goes there; I don’t even see it in the account before it gets dispersed to our various expenses. We leave a portion of Katherine’s paycheck in Safe to Spend each week so we have some money for food and fun, but the majority of what comes in never touches Safe to Spend. When we wake up on payday, the money has already been direct deposited and budgeted without us doing a thing. It’s amazing!

This setup is very freeing. We never have to wonder if we’re sticking to our budget because the bank account keeps us on budget automatically. We always know exactly how much we have to spend because there’s literally a number in our banking app called Safe to Spend. Everything else is taken care of because we set it up beforehand.

That’s all in the shared checking account, which is the one we use for almost everything. We also each have our own personal checking account. Every week, we budget a little bit from Katherine’s paycheck to transfer into each account so that we have money for things like hobbies, clothes, and gifts for each other. (I use mine to protect my wife from my ongoing Dunkin’ addiction.) Inside our personal accounts, we can each set up our own expenses and goals if we like.

And then there’s the savings account, which Simple calls a Protected Goal. We can transfer money in and out of it from our checking account, but there’s no way to actually spend money from it. Even if our checking account were to ever overdraft, our savings would be secure. This is where we keep our emergency fund, which we put in place before we got married and have fortunately not had to use yet.

That’s our basic banking setup. I carry two Simple cards: a blue one for our shared account and a white for my personal account. Katherine does the same, except her white card goes to her personal account. For 99% of purchases, we swipe our blue cards or use contactless payment on our phones. Because Simple supports Apple Pay, we’re able to store both cards in our digital wallets.

We do have two credit cards (an Apple Card and a student Discover card I got years ago) that we use to pay some recurring bills, but we pay them off constantly. Every transaction gets paid independently so that it can be pulled from the proper expense, and we never carry a balance for more than a couple of days. The credit cards are really just there to build our credit histories and earn rewards on bigger purchases. They also add a layer of security when we travel so that we don’t have to worry about potentially compromising our actual bank account if someone were to steal our card information.

And there you have it: That’s how my wife and I mange our finances digitally. We don’t use cash, we don’t keep receipts or a ledger book, and we rarely write or deposit a paper check. And it works for us incredibly well.

Why I Love It

In case you can’t tell from the way I gushed above, I’m in love with this setup. I’ve been building and tweaking it for years, and I’m so happy with the way it’s turned out to work for us. I believe this is the best solution out there, and I’m confident that it’s robust and flexible enough to adapt with us as our family changes over time.

The main thing I love about it is how automatic everything is. Budgeting is something I take very seriously, and I used to spend hours every month keeping things straight. Now, I don’t have to think about it most of the time, and if I do have to make a change, it only takes a few taps.

You can’t get that kind of automation with cash. Really, my solution is just applying the traditional envelope-style approach to a digital system, but making it digital changes everything. Budgeting is so much more powerful and easy when you can set it and forget it. It’s not a struggle anymore.

I also love the simplicity of it all. Simple is literally the name of the app, and they deliver on their promise. Everything comes in and out from one main place. I never have to worry about carrying the right card or going by the ATM or making sure I have my checkbook. As long as I have my phone, I’m good most places. And if I absolutely have to, I can use my blue Simple card.

Do I need to keep a ledger book to ensure I don’t overdraft? Nope. My transaction list and Safe to Spend instantly update. Receipts? Forget about ‘em. I can even get a notification on my watch every time my card is swiped, so if something funny is going on, I’ll know it immediately. It’s just so easy.

Most of all, I love the peace of mind this approach gives me. I’ve always been very money-conscious, and before Katherine and I got married, I worried a lot about providing for my family and making sure we got by. Once we sat down together, worked out a budget, and started automatically setting money aside, I knew I didn’t have to worry anymore. It was all taken care of.

The part of my brain that used to be preoccupied with worrying about budgets and bills is now free. I have peace because I know it’s all taken care of. And that kind of calm is worth more than any amount of cash.

Tradeoffs

That’s not to say this approach is absolutely, objectively perfect. The truth is that any financial system is going to come with drawbacks. You just have to find the one with the tradeoffs you can stand. None of these are dealbreakers for me, but it’s good to be aware of them.

First of all, Simple and cash do not work well together. If someone gives me cash or I need to give someone else cash, I’m in for some pain. Because there aren’t any branches where I can make deposits, the only way I’ve found to get cash into my account is to buy a money order and deposit it like a check I’ve written to myself. The fee to buy a money order is less than a dollar, but going to Moneygram gets old after a while.

When someone gives me cash, I usually do something a little more creative: I buy a Walmart gas card with it. Then I go into my Simple app and transfer that amount of money from my Gas goal to wherever I wanted that cash to go. That way, I don’t have to deal with cash, I can use the gas card the next time I fill up, and all of my money is where I want it to be. It’s a little roundabout, but it works.

As far as giving cash to others, I try to avoid it at all costs. Most people have the Cash app, Venmo, or Apple Pay at this point. But on those rare occasions I do need to give money to someone who only deals in cash, I have to go to an ATM. Simple has a network of ATMs around the country, and several of them are close to where I live and work. But going out of my way to get cash just isn’t something I like to do.

Using checks can be similarly frustrating. For a long time, Simple didn’t offer checkbooks to customers. Instead, you had to use the app to ask the bank to mail a check to someone on your behalf, and they’d do it within a week or so. Now, I can order a checkbook for either my shared or personal checking account for a small fee.

I don’t carry a checkbook, but I do keep checks around for the rare occasion when I do need one. It usually happens when I hire someone to do work on my house. I want to pay in something more official than cash, but they don’t accept cards, so I have to write a check. It’s not my favorite thing to do, but it works.

I hope that over time, cash and checks will go away. As more people move to handling their money digitally, they’ll be more willing to accept forms of payment like Apple Pay and Venmo. And more businesses are setting up debit card readers like Square every day. I’ll be able to avoid cash and checks completely someday, but until then, my setup isn’t optimized to deal with them.

As with any technology platform, Simple isn’t without its bugs. One of my favorite things about the app that I haven’t mentioned yet is that you can rename all of your purchases in the transactions list. The app still keeps the official, ugly transaction name that appears on your statement in the background, but you can clean up the transaction list to make it more readable for you. You can even assign a spending category for different stores and set them up to automatically pull funds from certain expenses and goals. This is great.

What’s not great is when this renaming and categorizing feature goes berserk. It works great most of the time for most things, but I’ve run into a couple of persistent issues that drive me up the wall. For example, I once renamed a credit card payment “AT&T” since it was going towards my phone bill, and now, every credit card payment shows up as “AT&T.” I’ve tried changing it to “Apple Card” and checking the box to apply that name to future transactions, but it doesn’t work.

So every time I make a credit card payment, I have to change it from “AT&T” to something else. It’s not a huge deal because I rename every credit card payment to be more precise anyway, but it’s still annoying.

What’s worse is when categorization goes wrong. I somehow by mistake once categorized a Hobby Lobby purchase as a water expense, so the next time we went in to buy something, the app tried to pull the funds from my water bill budget. It was a bit of a mess that I had to clean up, but it was just one of those weird issues that can crop up in apps from time to time. These things happen very rarely, and I’ve learned to fix them when they do, but it’s something I have to be prepared for.

Finally, there is the issue of security. While Simple is a great bank with the highest safety standards possible, there’s always the possibility someone can somehow skim your debit card information and fraudulently spend your money. Thankfully, the bank’s support team is quick and helpful, and the one time we had a question about a charge that showed up on Katherine’s account, they were able to get it resolved almost immediately.

Anytime money is involved, some people are going to try to find ways to take advantage. I’d much rather have my debit card information stolen than a wallet full of cash. At least I can dispute the charges on my debit card and get my money back in a timely manner. Yes, digital payments have their own vulnerabilities, but so does every money system. I still think the digital approach is the most secure of all the options available.

Closing Remarks

That’s my digital-first system for handling finances in all its glory. I hope you enjoyed reading all of the details, as well as the advantages and drawbacks I see in my approach. Clearly, I believe this is the best setup available. I know it works remarkably well for me.

Of course, I also recognize that a setup like this does not and cannot work for everyone. A good number of people in my country are still unbanked for a number of reasons, and they have to rely on cash to survive. While digital solutions for these folks are starting to emerge, I understand that my more mainstream take just isn’t an option for some.

And even for those of us who do have bank accounts, all the budgeting advice in the world can’t fix unfair wages and unmanageable living costs. When someone is struggling just to get by, the accompanying stress is more than enough to handle. People who don’t make enough to live don’t need a 3,500-word manifesto from me on the benefits of digital banking. They need to be paid a fair wage.

I hope I haven’t given you the impression throughout this article that I’m some ignorant, privileged fintech bro. I am completely aware of the privilege I have to even be able to discuss these matters in public. I’m extremely blessed that I don’t have to worry about where my next meal is coming from or whether or not I’ll be able to pay my bills next month, and I do not take that lightly. I understand that money is a sensitive subject, especially right now, and I would never want to offend or put off anyone through my discussion of it.

So if you’ve read through this article and think I’m a jerk for talking openly about finances and budgets during such a difficult period for many people, I apologize. I completely understand that this is not a good time for everyone to be focusing on their financial practices.

But for those who are thinking these things through right now and looking for the best solution, I hope that what I’ve shared has been helpful. Maybe the system you end up with doesn’t look exactly like mine, and that’s okay. Everyone’s circumstances are different and require different solutions.

But I believe that many of the principles remain the same. Staying proactive about our finances, planning ahead, and automating as much as possible are practices that I think can benefit us all when thinking through our financial approaches. And I believe these practices are only being enhanced by the digital tools that are available to us today.

Call me a nerd if you like, but I’m optimistic about the future of finance and the digital solutions that will make it possible. Every advancement makes handling our money more convenient than ever. I’m always on the lookout for ways to make my setup even more efficient, and I can’t wait to see what comes next.

But for now, I’m extremely pleased with the system I have in place, and I’m happy I got to share it with you today. Thanks for reading, friends! Hope you have a great week.