Go check out Dave Ramsey online or at the library . Get rid of Spotify . Whittle down your phone bill or go to a prepaid plan . We pay less than 120 mo for 3 family lines . Stop eating out . Peanut butter , bread , potatoes , cereal . Good luck ! I admire that you want to learn to budget . I wish it were taught in schools . <| sep |> I seem to be the only person in my friend group that doesn ' t go completely crazy when crossfaded . I get the chill of weed and the sociability of alcohol but none of the bad . I feel like a unicorn or something . <| sep |> I ' d like to know what about the present is ignorance . I ' d argue that living in the present is actually the best method for finding joy about your situation you are in as its a moment that will never come again unless we manage to find a way to time travel and make the most out of it because you are in control of your decisions so you can choose to acquire knowledge and be prepared for the future , thus making you smarter and wiser . Also an idea I liked about stoicism is the thought that even pain and suffering can be enjoyable . They are unique experiences that can be used to learn so that we can avoid or endure it in the future . Planning is good and I think for us INTJs even something very enjoyable but we mustn ' t let planning get in the way of doing or achieving . Can sorta relate with that you mean because I ' m a perfectionist so I can ' t stand doing something unless I ' m sure there ' s a 100 % chance rather 90 % of success but I ' m fighting with that impulse to get more out of life and take more risks . Have you tried meditation and self awareness ? They are useful techniques to quell the desire of the mind to worry . Also I wanna know , what ' s the book you ' re reading ? I think I want it on my To Read list .