THE UNSTOPPABLE RISE OF THE BULLET JOURNAL
The New Journaling System That’s Taken Social Media by Storm n the modern age, where the internet is constantly flooded with productivity apps and trends promising to fix our schedules, examine last month’s list, eliminating completed or now-irrelevant tasks and migrating long-term or continuing tasks to the current month.
I
designs. As the bullet journal’s creator, Ryder Carroll, told New Republic writer Josephine Wolff, “The most valuable part of the bullet journal [is] the inventiveness of its community.” But don’t be daunted by users who seem to spend hours on every page of their journals. Really, it’s a simple system that only takes a few minutes to learn. Check out bulletjournal.com to learn how to start your own modular notebook. But be warned: You may get obsessed.
unlock our potential, and improve our lives, it’s difficult not to wish for something simpler. We want an object we can hold in our hands that doesn’t come with a bunch of unwanted features.
Bullet journals may seem simple, and they are, but they’ve acquired an explosive following on social media. At the time of this writing, there are over 791,000 posts on Instagram tagged with the #bulletjournal hashtag; there are posts upon posts of users’ beautiful layouts, bearing intricate calligraphy and embellished with incredible
Enter the bullet journal: the humble, easy-to-use notebook system that’s taken the world by storm.
Instead of maintaining a separate to-do list, calendar, and diary, the bullet journaling system rolls everything into a single economical notebook. Partitioned into minimalistic “modules” — the Index, the Future Log, the Monthly Log, and the Daily Log — bullet journals encourage you to write down everything on your to-do list, single- line tidbits recounting important daily events, and little notes you take throughout the day. Everything is marked by a particular bullet: dots for tasks, circles for events, and dashes for notes. At the beginning of each month, bullet journalers
GREAT CAUSES, WORTHWHILE CONTRIBUTIONS Charitable Giving as Part of Your Financial Plan
As you accumulate assets and wealth, it’s natural that you want to give something back to the community. A U.S. Trust survey found that affluent individuals rank philanthropy as one of the most important uses of their wealth, behind only financial security for their family and financial independence. Donating to charity isn’t a simple process, and a financial advisor can help you figure out how to make your gifts as effective as possible. The starting point for deciding how to structure your charitable efforts is identifying the causes that matter to you. While every little bit helps when it comes to nonprofit organizations, larger donations to a few charities tend to be more effective than spreading your philanthropy to a wide variety of causes. Ask yourself what matters to you and your family, whether that be education, disease prevention, or another worthy endeavor.
nonprofits are created equal, and you should be diligent in selecting organizations if you want your contribution to have the largest possible impact. Ask friends with experience which charities they support and discuss any donations with your financial planner beforehand. Once you’ve settled on where to give, you need to consider when to do so. Philanthropic efforts, like every aspect of financial planning, are not a one-and-done exercise. If you’re interested in charitable giving, you should make that discussion part of your annual review with your financial planner. Most people think cash is the only way to donate to charity. It may be the easiest method, but there are other options, some with even greater tax benefits for the donor. Another factor is how the gift will me made. Methods include direct gifts, bequests, charitable trusts, and more.
Serious philanthropy isn’t as simple as calling your local NPR station and making a pledge. Do your homework, and you’ll make more of a difference, which is the goal of charity in the first place.
From there, you should research charities that benefit your desired causes. Not all
2 | 949-623-1764
Made with FlippingBook Annual report