I did not like vegetables when I was a youngster.  I saw vegetables as a sign of maturity and adulthood.  I thought that if I liked vegetables it meant I was a grown-up.  Even when I got to college I resisted eating vegetables.  On Facebook, I made it clear body clear in my about me section that my diet was meat, grains, fat, and cheese.  However, if the vegetables were hidden in my food, like in pasta sauce, I would endure eating them.
 
As I started to actually behave more like an adult by started cooking for myself, I continued tricking myself into eating vegetables.  Whether I made spaghetti, enchilada hot dish or pizza, I found a way to shadow sneak them into the dish.  Yes, I knew they were in there and that I was going to eat them, but playing along with the facade helped me not feel like a grown-up.  Tricking myself into eating vegetables helped me eat vegetables at a time when I found it hard.  Today, I understand that I am a grown-up and I eat salads for lunch almost every workday.  I enjoy vegetables as a regular part of my diet.
 
My personal finances are similar.  My financial pokémon team tricks me into doing the things I know I should do but can’t quite do on my own.  Its tricks make sure I pay my credit card minimum payments, splits up my money, hides money in secret bases, absorbs extra interest, and steals money for saving.

Stress and anxiety are a natural part of being a human.  Although what causes our stress varies from person to person, money is one cause that I hear about a lot.
 
I am a natural worrier and money creates a lot of stress for many different reasons.  The way my debt uses growth to rapidly increase has been something I have battled with for years.  When I don’t work enough hours in a work week to meet my budgeted goal, I worry about paying all of my bills.  Waiting to see my new income-based student loan payment or rent increase gives me insomnia.  My stress peaks when I feel like my life is paralyzed simply because I do not have enough money right now.
 
The two main strategies I use for managing my money induced stress are distraction and reflection.  I use a variety of methods of each strategy when I start feeling the stress building.  These methods help me knock out the stress so I can recover and get back into the battle.

​Over the years I have defeated almost every region’s Elite Four with my starter pokémon as team captain*.  We ended each game together, just as we started it, until the more recent games.  In Omega Ruby, I deposited my swampert into the pc early during the game.  In Sun, a traded incineroar has become my team captain*.  What changed?

Well, recently I noticed a phenomenon I refer to as starter pokémon syndrome.  It’s when I blindly make my starter pokémon team captain without researching other possible options.  I would make the decision based only on loyalty to my starter pokémon, and not use other research to validate my decision was best for my team.

Starter pokémon syndrome also happens in real life too.  Take my starter bank, for example.  Over 16 years I blindly opened two checking accounts, two savings accounts, and a credit card.  Once I realized what was happening, I was able to research a better option to make my financial pokémon team stronger.

Welcome to September!  The first week in September means that it’s time for August’s Review and Net Worth Update.
 
For those who are new to The Grown-Up Pkmn Trainer, each month I write a financial review to xatu my net worth by writing down my thoughts on the previous and following months.  I share these summaries so everyone can gain insight into my personal finances and my thoughts behind them.
 
I started tracking my net worth to measure my progress, inspired by Budgets Are Sexy, which has helped me pay closer attention to my personal finances.  I have been tracking my net worth since January 2015 and writing monthly financial reviews for myself since 2016.  I recommend tracking net worth because it has been such a helpful tool to see my personal finances stat changes all in one place.