The Pebbles in my Shoes

“It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out, it’s the pebble in your shoe.”

I know what you’re thinking…another cliched quote.

But hear me out.

This is a quote that we focus on a lot in MyWallSt. Essentially, our goal is to remove pebbles from the shoes of investors–things like how to get started, or which of the 7,000 stocks or so on the U.S. market are good investment opportunities.

Pebbles are small by definition, but there’s no doubt that a portion of you will think that the problems or pebbles in my shoe are so menial they don’t even warrant attention.

As that quote suggests, however, it’s the small things that can wear you out. So here are a few pebbles I’ve managed to kick-out of my shoes:

My Shampoo Pebble

I’m actually not just referring to shampoo here, this applies to other necessities such as deodorant or toothpaste too. Essentially, anything that you need to buy on a somewhat regular basis.

I go to the gym about 3 to 4 times a week (yeah, I work out!). Naturally I shower after each of my workouts, not to mention other ad-hoc showers I have. The issue here isn’t my uneconomical use of toiletries, it’s the fact that I need to buy them on a regular basis. They’re one of the things I usually forget when I go shopping.

The solution? Amazon’s subscribe and save service. Simply select the product you want, in this case shampoo or deodorant, and how often you want it delivered. Shipping is always free.

Disclaimer: I don’t work for Amazon, I just think this is a really useful service.

Bonus: The quality of shampoo’s available on Amazon are much better than my local shop too, and did I mention that the shipping is free? No more returning from the shops to realise that I forgot them yet again.

I got 99 problems, but buying shampoo ain’t one.

My Internet Comments Pebble

As you journey your way through the internet, from Facebook to your daily news update and then on to some funnies on YouTube, you’ll more than likely happen upon the dreaded comments section.

YouTube is a spot to avoid in particular because it’s the place where the comments are notorious for relentless cyberbullying, endless debates on 9/11, and just overall nastiness. Pay too much attention to the them and you’ll have little hope for the future of humanity.

So why not just avoid the comment section? Have I no self control!? That’s what I should do, but I need a little help okay!?

The solution? Introducing one of my favourite Chrome extensions called ‘Hide YouTube Comments‘ by Michal Stankoviansky. Thanks Michal.

It does exactly what it says on the tin–automatically hides the comments under YouTube videos. Faith in humanity restored… or ignored, at least.

I got 99 problems, but YouTube comments ain’t one.

My Getting Up in the Morning Pebble

Unless you’re one of the very few ‘morning people’ in the world, you probably struggle to get up for work.

This is a daily pebble in the ass… I mean, pain!

The solution? Move your alarm device to the other side of the room. This means that when it does go off, you have to get up.

I know, it’s much easier said than done, but you’ll wake up faster, be more alert, and sacrificing the series of snoozes will be good for you.

Trust me!

I got 99 problems, but getting up in the morning ain’t one..

The Wallet Pebble

For years, I had a problem with my wallet that I never thought about solving. Nowadays, I tend to carry more cards than cash or coins and I think the traditional wallet doesn’t work anymore.

With the addition of all the loyalty cards and credit cards, my wallet eventually gave up and started to fall apart. I remember seeing one of my colleagues with a much sleeker wallet, which was essentially a card holder with a few extra pockets to cater for a small amount of cash and coins.

Bonus: It has really cool lever at the bottom that pushes your cards out at different lengths so you can grab the necessary one.

I got 99 problems, but my wallet ain’t one.

It’s part of my daily job to relieve the pebbles in investor’s shoes, but don’t forget to focus on the pebbles in your life too!