Hello! 👋

This is the first issue of the lunchbag newsletter (or the 3rd issue if you were subscribed to my original lunchblog mailing list!). If you're reading this, that means you're among the first subscribers and I am truly grateful for your support.

I also apologize for the ultra-late issue. If you've forgotten who I am, I'm Jen (aka lunchbag), the one-woman show running Lunch Money who lives abroad part-time to escape Canadian winters. 

Latest blog posts

• My journey so far
• How my start-up saves $100+ a month with home-grown solutions

On life

Justin and I are heading out to Taipei on January 4th and will be there for approximately 5 months. It'll be interesting re-adjusting to life back in Asia and I'm excited for the change in environment and how that will affect my routine and lifestyle. I think the biggest difference is that I will not be cooking nearly as much which frees up an extra 1 to 2 hours daily (quite significant!). I'm also looking forward to blogging more!

This time, we're planning on bringing more in a larger check-in suitcase in addition to the relatively minimal 2 pieces of carry-on luggage that we brought to Japan. While going against our preference for minimalism, this aligns with our value of frugality. The idea is if we bring with us the comforts of home, our temporary apartment will feel more cozy and we won't have to go out and buy things that we'll just end up tossing/selling/donating a few months later. We just bought vacuum-sealed bags hoping we can bring with us our memory foam pillows (how far can we take this? 🤔)!

On Lunch Money

Lunch Money has been my primary priority these last few months. I recently took a few days off from working to enjoy the holiday with friends and family, and I gotta say, I've never revelled in time off as much as I have this past Christmas. Now, I'm feeling refreshed and ready for the next phase.

Upcoming:
- My next big technical challenge is architecting a public API. 
- My next big non-technical challenge is improving our SEO– first step is re-designing the landing site.

On recent discoveries

Last month, I learned a new board game and I'm already declaring it one of my favorites of the year. It's called Doppelt So Clever (Twice as Clever!) and it's basically Yahtzee on steroids. Develop your strategy and let the randomness of the dice roll force you to course correct constantly during each 15-minute game. A provided ranking based on your score lets you know how far you are from mastery.

Eco-friendly pro-tip: laminate the score sheets and buy dry erase markers! And it's travel-friendly!

How can I help you?

If I can be of any assistance to you on your own endeavours in life or business, please let me know! We're all in this together 🕺🏻💃

Thanks for reading! And happy new year!

Cheers,
Jen Header image credit: photo by Scott Webb on Unsplash