happy holidays

decidedly not a gift guide!

hi all,

another quick one coming your way… three advice questions and a little diddy about the holiday season! please ignore any typos etc., wanted to get it out before Thanksgiving.

if you’d like to support my writing because this newsletter means something to you or because you understand it takes a lot of time and effort to put it together — or because you want to keep my feet to the fire re: a regular publishing schedule (still working on this one…) — you can do that below. it means more to me than you know.

relatedly, all posts are paywalled a few weeks after publishing, so I strongly recommend subscribing to make sure they’re in your inbox and you don’t miss them when they’re free/public!

love,

your friend Mindy 

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I’ve had approximately 8 million gift guides come through my inbox over the last few weeks. I’m a known curmudgeon and so my first instinct is to feel annoyed: stop trying to sell me stuff! and stop trying to make money from selling me stuff! when I’m more generous towards these “content creators” I think: well, I do subscribe to this person’s newsletter; this is how they make money, after all. (don’t get me started on how badly we need a real jobs program… maybe you should be planting a tree instead of getting paid by the richest and most evil man in the world to shill some clothes made of plastic!!!!) anyway… you will never catch me selling you stuff here, that’s the Mindy Isser™ guarantee.

but of course I am not above buying things, not during the holiday season or otherwise. everything I want always feels like the One Weird Trick that will finally fix my life — maybe if I buy these jeans, my “personal style” will reveal itself. maybe if I buy this mop, my house will feel clean enough. maybe if I buy this vitamin C serum, my face skin will stop looking so dull. it goes on and on and I am truly not immune to the cult of purchasing, so I hope this newsletter doesn’t sound preachy. I love getting that little thrill when I press the checkout button or hand over my credit card at the store or get a package in the mail. and I have made some good purchases during my life — clothes that I was on the fence about that I wear all the time, my refurbished Dyson vacuum that’s now on its last legs (NOT SPONSORED!!!!!) — but like everyone, I’ve also bought a lot of dumb junk that I clicked on from some stupid reel, that I’ve never used or worn, that I’ve regretted, that was a complete waste of money. it’s very difficult to shut out the noise of the Next Big Thing That Will Change Your Life, especially if you use social media and/or just read newsletters on Substack.