2024 Wrapped
As you can tell, I’m a bit of a spreadsheet nerd. I build annual budgets, objectives, and a plan. It started with finances, but spread to many more facets of my life beyond that. I monitor my progress (near) daily, and try to see how I do. I don’t mind failing, but I try to fail upwards and improve. Here, I will post a ridiculous amount of personal information about myself. I often based the targets on the 13 month International Fixed Calendar. Goals are often set at 6, 13, 26, 52, and 104. Let’s see how I did.
Entertainment
Music (Spotify)
It makes sense to start off here, since I’ve co-opted their name for this post, but overall, I was disappointed in their Wrapped metrics, there wasn’t very fun. Two years ago, they created a personality type, last year they gave you a city (Bozeman, MT), but this year there wasn’t really a fun claim. Taylor Swift makes it on the top 5 list for 5 years running and is first for the first time. Probably because we went to the Eras Tour. Sons of the East makes it on for 3 years running and their song California tops the song chart for the second year in a row. I guess it’s my favorite song! Minutes are down 9% from the previous year.
Film
I’ll go into this category more in the film and tv section of the website. I was trying to watch fewer than 104, and ended with 89. Trying to watch better movies, not more (in 2023 it was 145…). This also only counts new films, not anything I’ve seen before. Read about the Top 10 here.
Television
I’ll go into this category more in the film and tv section of the website. I was trying to watch fewer than 52, and ended with 41. This also only counts new television shows, not any rewatches. Read about the Top 5 here.
Sporting Events
I surpassed the goal of 13, going to 20 games (counting double headers as only one). The majority were avoiding the big 5 men’s sports / leagues. Lots of NCAA Basketball (6), US Open Cup Soccer (4), and Women’s Sports (4). That saved me a lot of money, I only spent $1,802 on tickets ($1,108 of that came from two events USA v. Panama in the Gold Cup and Netherlands v. England in the Euros). 4 games, I went to as a neutral fan, and of the remaining 16, the team I was supporting lost 12 times. Not a great record. The most enjoyable games I went to were:
The T20 Cricket World Cup Group Stage match between Netherlands and South Africa at Eisenhower Park, Long Island, just a new experience that was enjoyable and interesting.
The Euro 2024 Semi Finals match between Netherlands and England at Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund, Germany, experienced the Orange Walk, English chants, and a close game.
Game 2 of the WNBA Playoff Semi Finals between the New York Liberty and Las Vegas Aces at Barclays Center, Brooklyn, packed stadium, tight game, great atmosphere.
NBA Regular Season game between the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers at Madison Square Garden, New York, Knicks down 15 points came back in the 4th Quarter to win it.
Shows
I hit the goal of 13, going to 14. I spent $727 on theater tickets and $1,051 on concert tickets. While I did make it to the Eras Tour, Cabaret with Eddie Redmayne was my favorite.
Separately, I went to the movie theater (AMC Loyalist) 16 times! 9 of them were sequels / from franchises. 12 were on discount Tuesdays. 3 were with my nieces and nephews who can’t go to the movies on Tuesday and 1 was the Interstellar 70mm IMAX re-release and I only could get tickets for it on a Monday.
Here’s a little AMC Rewards insight: (with the exception of Interstellar) I purchased all of the AMC tickets. So that’s 15 movies or 67 tickets, spending $724.69 (I had 7 tickets refunded, AMC actually has a great refund policy). Now I’ve saved my friends and I $146.73 in Convenience Fees that are waived when I’m ordering in a group or as a Premiere member (an $18 value that I received for free last year through a promotion). I earned an estimated $63 in rewards for my efforts. So… by this math. I should actually renew the free promotional membership, as I am net positive. Saving money consistently for friends and making rewards. But I refuse to fall for it. I’m going to hold out for a year, and reconsider in 2026.
Reading
I only read 4 books, my goal was only 6. Gotta get bookclub going again, start audiobooks, and do better next year!
Video Games
This year I played Rocket League, Into the Breach, Slay the Spire, Overcooked, Carcassonne, Rummikub, FIFA, and Colonist.io (Catan). My goal was to stay under 182 hours, and I’ve ended at 140 hours. However, I only track time on consoles / computer, not mobile. And as mentioned, many of the above games are mobile games, so this is an unfair category. I certainly need to play fewer mobile games.
Board Games
I fell short of my goal of 26 games, ending with only 16. Finished our My City campaign, tried Carcassonne for the first time. And even went to PAX Unplugged in Philadelphia!
Educational / Cultural Events / Museums
I only went to 3, my target was 13… I only count local ones too. Unfair when it’s on vacation. So not great. I need to work on this…
Health
Exercise
I fell short of my goal of 364, with only 220. This is a vague catchall bucket of just do some form of exercise. So a particular day may be very light to another. I did play soccer 67 times in 2024. That deserves some new cleats!
Miles
I ran an estimated 96 miles. This is probably grossly underrepresentative as I only count 1 mile per soccer game I play, but alas, I don’t wear any trackable technology when I exercise, and I’d like to keep it that way.
Sleeping
Trying to get more sleep, I wanted to get above 7, and I averaged 7.1. I’ll take it as a win.
Alcohol
There is no goal for this one, just a counter. 1,059 alcoholic beverages. Down 3% from the prior year. I was okay with this until I was reading some new studies about consumption and links to cancer. So 2025’s goal will be to get below 2 drinks a day (still above the current recommendation of 1 drink a day) or 730 drinks. I need to be strong about the rule of no drinking unless socializing with others. And I’d like to reduce drinking out at bars / restaurants, it’s just so absurdly expensive. I’m curious with the shift of demand away from alcoholic beverages will it actually reduce the price.
Sugary Drinks
I’m convinced sugary drinks are worse for you than alcohol. My goal was to only have 39 this year, but I had 46. Need to tighten this up, and only drink them for road trip caffeine boosts.
Fasting
This was a new goal to try intermittent fasting for 2024. 8 hours of eating + 16 hours of not eating. This was a cheap and easy-ish attempt at improving my weight. I averaged 15.4 hours of daily fasting. Probably a little worse, I’m sure I cheated here and there. I haven’t gotten to a scale, but I don’t feel it made any difference. I think the only portion of this that I’ll retain for 2025 is trying to eat dinner earlier and not to snack.
Vegetarian
My goal was to eat a third of meals vegetarian. I failed miserably, only hitting ~13% of that 33% goal. I may cut this one in 2025. I’m just not a vegetarian. I’ve tried it for a few years, and it’s steadily declined in efficacy (218, 177, to 101, that’s an annual decline of ~31%. I like meat way too much, even if the climate impact is higher. I just need meat and fish in my diet to be happy.
Relationships
Family
Saw them 74 times, more than the goal of 52.
Jamming
Only 5 times, I wanted to get closer to 13, but that’s probably very optimistic, I’ll adjust this for next year to 6.
Hosting
We only hosted 2 parties, our goal was 6. But it was a busy and crazy year. I’ll hold 6 again for next year. Definitely hoping to finally do our trivia celebration party, a housewarming, gumbo, amongst others.
Consulting
4 engagements, with a goal of 6. I don’t really promote this, so I’ll take it.
Networking
Networked 9 times, with a goal of 13. But let’s be honest, I don’t really like doing this, and I don’t get much from it currently. I need to be better at connecting with people.
Miscellaneous
Writing (Kwan’s Qualms)
I wanted to write 13 articles this year, and I got to 25! Writing much more than I thought I would, which is great. I need to be more efficient about it. But it’s good regardless. I spent $215 on the website, through SquareSpace, Common Ninja, and translation services.
Year in Pixels (Mood Chart)
It’s hard to summarize your mood in a single color for the day, but I’ve been doing this since 2018, so I figure I’ll keep it rolling.
Year in Pixels (Simplified Chart)
I started this version at the same time. It also helped to get a pretty clean score, by giving 1 point for a good day, 0 points for a neutral day, and a negative 1 point for a bad day. 2024 scored 77.47 (about the same I scored in 2023). March and June were my happiest months. Saturdays, followed by Thursday, Friday, and Sunday are my favorite days. I hate Tuesdays apparently.
Social Activity Chart
I took these mood charts a step further and just categorized my socializing into types, to see, not only how busy I am, but which people / groups / types of social interactions I prioritize. 74 or 20% of my days I spent alone (or these days, with my partner). I was least busy on Mondays (52%) and most busy on Saturdays (96%)
Gratitude Journal
Every day I write down five things I’m grateful for. Thankful for. Appreciative of. Here’s the Word Cloud. (this is lightly edited for personal reasons) I’ll elaborate on Privilege is something I often write, that really is a catchall term for how lucky I am to be born into my situation. There are so many factors that I had no control over and that I benefit from still today.
Qualms
Reverse of gratitude, things that annoy, irk, frustrate, or bother me. I only write 3 down a day. Focus on positivity! Here’s the Word Cloud. (this is lightly edited for personal reasons) You’ll notice Mattos is on this list too… look it happens. But she’s a definite positive!I There’s little surprise that there’s a classic feeling of not having enough money and spending too much. I’ve always had a difficulty managing my cravings and portion control, and I really hate being injured or ill.
Restaurants
I went to 43 new restaurants this year, against my goal of 52. My favorite new (doesn’t mean it’s actually a new restaurant, nor does this mean these are my favorite of all time) restaurants in New York that I tried in 2024 are:
Dame, Greenwich Village - Snagged a reservation literally minutes before as we were on the subway nearby. Sat at the bar, and had a great time and were really impressed with the food. $102 for 2 with drinks and tip. (pictured)
Daori BBQ, Flushing - This place was authentic Korean BBQ, a pretty far walk from the subway, but the staff were wonderful and we ate a ton of great food. $205 for 4 with drinks and tip.
Legend Chicken, Flushing - This place is truly so legendary, we’ve gone multiple times this year, and have been craving it. It’s basically a food stand, there’s not much seating, nor is it comfortable, but the chicken is fresh, hot, spicy, and makes you drool for it again. Get the Garlic String Beans too. $34 for 2. (pictured)
Omakaseed, Times Square - I tried this to accommodate my vegan friends, and I liked it so much I went again with my family. The first time we took half of the seating (6) and the second time we took the whole room (12). The food is incredible, but there’s something really great with having the whole room to yourself and you can be as raucous as you want. Both times I really enjoyed the food. $98 for 1 with drinks. (pictured)
Bad Roman, Columbus Circle - It’s a little loud and packed, but the food is spectacular. I did not pay.
L’Industrie Pizza, Williamsburg - Went a bit early and there was no line, staff was really cool, we chatted, I got great pizza and a beer. Ate it on a ledge outside. New York perfection. $18.
Minetta Tavern, Greenwich Village - There’s a reason people go there for a burger, it’s a darn good burger. I did not pay.
Next year, we’re going to narrow this to restaurants in Astoria / Queens more. I’d like to focus on spending my money and going out there.
Now I don’t have a list or data on this, but looking through my pictures, there was only two other places I took photos of my food at. And they were both fantastic.
Bistro de la Mer, Amsterdam, Netherlands - We got the foursome L section of the bar by the window. Every dish was seafood as the name indicates. Each one was unique and impressive. This is second on our list upon returning to the Netherlands. The first obviously being getting a stroopfwafel from Hans Egstorf (I don’t care if it’s touristy… it was darn good). $296.98 for 4 with a bottle of wine. (pictured)
Chateau Neercanne, Maastricht, Netherlands - We did the 4 course lunch menu. Everything was well crafted and delicate. The service was impeccable, made only better by the weather, view, and atmosphere. $233.95 lunch for two plus a round of drinks. (pictured)
Trips
Went on 11-12 trips (one was an extension from last year through New Years), with a goal of 13, so pretty close. I like this one a month goal of trips. It’s a solid cadence. Spent $24,000 on trips with about $3,000 of that coming through points and miles. Remember if you’re not getting at least 2 cents back in some way per dollar spent you should get a better card / scheme.
Finances
Performance
I missed my target financial plan by 14%. The main drivers:
Tickets. Nearly doubled my budget. Unsurprising given how much they’ve been going up. But also I was a bit reckless or perhaps more positively, generous. Gave away tickets for much less than face value for the Avett Brothers and Liverpool v. Arsenal (preseason), taking a loss of almost $250. There were also some big events in there like the Euro Semi Final and Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. Also, paying for a partner adds up ($1,300 additional). Just the truth of it (gender pay gap?!).
Metro North. Similar to the above, not only did I go to Connecticut more often to visit the family, but covering a partner as well, just makes an off peak round trip cost $42.
Gifts. Just a bad plan I think. I’m not sure if I correctly accounted for the weddings and baby showers. Regardless, I need to boost this budget line, I’m being too conservative.
Household Improvements. With Mattos moving in this year, I assumed we would spend some money on some new furniture, and I simply didn’t anticipate how much that would all cost. And we’re not even done. We have a bunch more things on our list of upgrades that we want. We saved on thrifting and reusing some items. But still, little things add up. New rugs, mats, towels, filters, paint, spackle, stain, frames, storage… We even saved by going to Ikea for our new (King Size in NYC!) bed and mattress (for $726). Side note, I do love building Ikea furniture. It’s adult Legos, and it’s so fun. Wallpaper was pricy too, even though it wasn’t a lot of space, and I was very exact without how much to order. It still cost a pretty penny, but I really really like it. And it was fun to put up. Definitely have a long list of things we still need to get… it is really neverending! In a great way.
Trips. I mean it happens, you’re in vacation mentality and you splurge a bit on a fancy meal… and that happens to be most nights hahah. Happens. The most expensive thing I purchased last year were direct round trip flights via United Airlines to Malaga, Spain. It was for a lovely wedding, and I don’t regret it one bit. It was a short trip, and given our previous experiences with layovers in Spain, we thought it would be worth it to fly direct.
Random Facts
Here’s some more random facts:
I bought 15 jerseys for myself and 8 jerseys as gifts.
I spent more money in the Netherlands than I did in either Connecticut or Brooklyn.
I spent the most money in Queens, which makes sense (does not include rent / housing).
I bought food from Poke Burrito in Astoria 26 times. My most frequented restaurant. However, this dropped since the promo code I was using for them no longer works. So I expect this to change next year. Classic business decision, was it worth fixing the 10% discount loophole I was using for me to no longer go as often?
We went to New York Trivia League at Sunswick 26 times. Essentially every other week! We had 23 different teammates! A fantastic way to hang out with people. We won 14 times, got 2nd 8 times, and 3rd thrice. So only once did we place outside the top 3… Our earnings are at $875. Yes, it’s dumb to have that much in gift cards to a bar, but I promise that party is coming soon.
52% of my purchases were done on the Bilt credit card. My clear favorite. Cash was only done 10 times (excluding laundry). Venmo transacted a whopping 79 purchases.
Spending by Category
Here is my spending, broken out by category, again Squarespace really limits what you can do visually with charts, so the best I could do labeling wise was to just do them in order of spend. Food on top.