u/Gullible-Main-1010

Many of us get FOMO when something is on sale and we buy it because we want the deal.

One of the ways I brainwash myself for the better is to constantly remind myself that things are cheaper when I wait to buy them.

The reason is that you spend less overall when you wait. So even if you spend more on that specific item later...if you spend within your monthly budget, you save far more money over the course of one year than if you bought all the good deals.

Whenever I see a good deal on something I want but I've already hit my shopping budget limit, I just remind myself of this fact, and it really does help.

It forces me to step back and look at the bigger picture of my spending rather than hyperfocus on one sale.

As a cool-toned fair girlie, I've recently come to the realization that popular, viral, and high-end products are rarely my favorites or the ones I reach for the most.

Instead, it's all about tone. And honestly, colourpop and other drug store brands have been doing cool tones really well lately.

I'm really trying to focus on what I have that works so I don't keep buying more.

My makeup looks best to me when I stay looking like an elegant ice princess and don't try to warm up my face too much.

I think it's helpful to have a really clear sense of when you like your makeup the best, and just stick to that and don't feel FOMO to try new things.

I'd had 10 years of extreme GERD, which followed my first pregnancy because my baby rode so high in my body my ribs even hurt for years. Then it progressed to LPR (coughing after eating) for a few years. It got so bad I was coughing after eating alkaline baby food. In total, it was around 13 years of not eating heavy foods or even what other people considered normal foods.

The LPR was physically and mentally draining. I was starving while going insane.

3 weeks ago, I underwent a toupe fundoplication and a small hernia repair.

Since then, I've had a large milkshake, peanut butter in smoothies and oatmeal, blended sizzling rice chicken soup, hot chocolate, and full fat ice cream.

Those sorts of flavors seriously blow your mind after eating canned tuna and baby food for 6 months!

No heartburn, and best of all no coughing.

My youngest kid cried when I started having treat foods. She was so happy to know her momma was gonna be okay.

I'm so grateful it worked and I'm beyond ecstatic I gave the surgery a try. After I woke up, I remember feeling proud of myself. I didn't yet know if it would work for me, but I was happy I gave it a chance.

The recovery wasn't pleasant but not too bad. Having LPR is far worse than the post-op experience, and the pain meds worked well.

I'm now past the blended foods time period, and I'm supposed to start chewing things. I can't wait to go to my favorite bakery this weekend!

For me, the surgery truly did address the root cause, which happened from pregnancy 13 years ago.

My surgeon was Colin Dunn and I had the surgery done in San Jose, so I got all the best tech to make sure the opening was the perfect size.

Now it's time to start gaining back some of the weight I lost 😄

I got rid of LPR with diet 3 times. The 4th time, I couldn't. I was eating alkaline baby food and still coughing. Every time I got LPR, it happened easier (smaller trigger event) and was harder to get rid of. My LPR nightmare was all in all around 2.5 years.

Before that, I'd already had 10 years of extreme GERD, which followed my first pregnancy. So in total around 13 years of not eating heavy foods or even what other people considered normal foods.

The LPR was physically and mentally draining. I was starving while going insane.

3 weeks ago, I underwent a toupe fundoplication and a small hernia repair.

Since then, I've had a large milkshake, peanut butter in both smoothies and oatmeal, blended sizzling rice chicken soup, hot chocolate, and full fat ice cream.

No heartburn, and best of all no coughing.

My youngest kid cried when I started having treat foods. She was so happy to know her momma was gonna be okay.

I'm so grateful it worked and I'm beyond ecstatic I gave the surgery a try. After I woke up, I remember feeling proud of myself. I didn't yet know if it would work for me, but I was happy I gave it a chance.

The recovery wasn't pleasant but not too bad. Having LPR is far worse than the post-op experience, and the pain meds worked well.

I'm now past the blended foods time period, and I'm supposed to start chewing things. I can't wait to go to my favorite bakery this weekend!

People say that you're more likely to succeed with surgery if you have both LPR and GERD, which I did. However, I would still recommend exploring things with a surgeon as you never know and you might be having silent GERD without realizing it. They do 3 tests before to see if you qualify (manometry, ph bravo test, endoscopy)

My surgeon was Colin Dunn and I had the surgery done in San Jose, so I got all the best tech to make sure the opening was the perfect size.

Now it's time to start gaining back some of the weight I lost 😄

I was about to buy it and got this weird jittery feeling and then literally stopped and said in my head to myself:

• You have other things you could wear that would be just as cute.
• You have a navy sweater in your closet you haven't worn out yet.
• You will actually look so much prettier if you are financially secure, not if you have all the best stuff. A girl could have the cutest clothes but if she's stressed over her finances, it's gonna show somehow. (I was thinking of an old friend who I'm realizing is a narcissit and manipulates her parents to fix her money problems but always has cute outfits.)

And it worked!

I was like yeah no, I want to be 7-figures-in-the-retirement-account hot, not lots-of-clothes-in-my-closet hot.