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Hippy Month – September’s 30 Day Project

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My 30 Day Project for August was…forgotten.  I didn’t notice August roll in, and when that fact finally registered, I had already blown the project.  With that, and our planned vacation, I decided to take the month off.  Yes, I am a slacker.

So, now that it is September, I’m getting back on track.  This month, we are going used.  For the next 30 days, we are buying nothing new.

The Ground Rules

1.  We aren’t buying anything new.  No retail purchases.    If we need to buy something, it will be used.

2.  Food is an exception.  Used bananas are gross in too many ways.

3.  Consumable hygiene products are an exception.  We are not recycling shampoo or deodorant.  We are also not willing to spend the month smelling like hippies.

4.  My wife is not a loophole.  Her shopping counts as my shopping, so this is something we have to do together.

4b. Neither is her mother’s credit card.  We are doing this for real.

There is a group called The Compact that started this movement.  They went for an entire year.  They are hippies.  Ick.

I am not a hippy!

My main goal for Hippy Month is to break our consumer addiction.  We need to get used to “making do” or doing without.  We also need to make a habit out of looking for used and cheaper options, first.

Our secondary goals are to save money and stop accumulation so much danged stuff.

It won’t be easy.  Goodwill is far less convenient than Target.   It’s so simple to run into a store to replace something that’s broken instead of fixing it or finding a used alternative.

These projects wouldn’t be fun if they were easy.

Anyone care to join me?

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September 1st, 2010 | Tags: , , | Category: Finance, Life | 5 comments | Subscribe | Print This Post Print This Post | Email This Post Email This Post

5 Reasons to Quit Saving and Start Living

paycheck
Image by owaief89 via Flickr

Live is all about trade-offs.  You trade your time for a paycheck.  Your trade your paycheck for food, rent, and security.  Don’t get so obsessed with saving and security that you forget to live your life.   There are many good reasons to put your savings on hold in order to really live.  Here are five of them:

1.  You have an adequate emergency fund. You will never hear me advise against an emergency fund.  If you don’t have one, stop reading this and get one.  Go.   Without an emergency fund, your budget is a financial crisis waiting to happen.  With an emergency fund, you can weather life’s speed-bumps without watching them become total train-wrecks.

2.  Your retirement is on autopilot. You are not allowed to stop saving and investing for retirement.  Ever.  Assuming you have a traditionally scheduled career that involves you working until you hit 65 and deferring a huge chunk of living until then, your income will cease when you retire.  Do you know how long you will live?  Do you want to spend your retirement broke and bored?  Are you relying on the responsible financial management of the federal government to make sure you will still get your Social Security?  Invest in your retirement and get this investment on autopilot so you can stop worrying about it.

3.  Your income is set. I don’t believe in the fairy-tail of a company being loyal to its employees.  The aren’t.  However, if you have a stable-ish job, an in-demand career, and some side-income coming from alternate sources, your emergency fund can be enough to carry you through the low times.  That’s what it’s there for.

4.  You have dreams. If you’ve always wanted to travel the world, follow a band on your, volunteer extensively, or anything else, it’s time to do it.  Don’t postpone your passion.

5.   Deathbed regrets suck. Very few people lie on their deathbed lamenting the things they did.  Regrets tend to be focused on opportunities missed, skipped, or indefinitely postponed.  Do the things that are important to you before it’s too late to do them.  Don’t abandon your future in favor of current pleasures, but don’t forget to live, now.

Do you have any other reasons to stop saving?

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August 30th, 2010 | Tags: , , , | Category: Finance, Life | Leave a comment | Subscribe | Print This Post Print This Post | Email This Post Email This Post

Saturday Roundup

First, the shameless self-promotion:

If you want to see the glorious wisdom that is my Twitter feed, follow me on Twitter. I’m @LiveRealNow.

Please take a moment to subscribe to Live Real, Now by email. You get a choice between having all of the posts delivered to your inbox, or just occasional updates and deals. Both options get my Budget Lessons, free of charge, including exclusive access to articles that are not published anywhere else. Woo!

If you prefer to get all of you information and interaction on Facebook, become a fan!

And of course, there is always the wonderful RSS subscription.

The Best Posts of the Week:

Give the gift of kidneys so that Larry Correia can murder you for charity.  Larry is the author of Monster Hunter International and Monster Hunter: Vendetta.   Both books are excellent mind-candy, if you like explosions and monsters that, well, explode.  Save a life and get murdered at the same time.  Who could ask for more?

A V-8 only insinuates virility; multiple child seats prove it. With a title like this, and multiple car seats in my car, I have to include the post.

And finally, here are some tips to save time with email: Email Sucks.

Finally, a list of the carnivals and blogs I’ve participated in:

Dustin at Engaged Marriage was kind enough to run my guest post: Arguing Fairly with your Spouse.

I was included in the Carnival of Personal Finance with Check Your Bills.

Repair Plans, Appliances, and Rancid Meat…Oh, My! was included in the Carnival of Money Stories.

Selling Your Home: The Real Estate Agent was included in the Festival of Frugality.

If I missed a carnival, please let me know.  Thanks to those who have included me!

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August 28th, 2010 | Tags: , , | Category: Finance, Life, Misc | Leave a comment | Subscribe | Print This Post Print This Post | Email This Post Email This Post

Do you have what it takes to be wealthy?

I saw this quiz and thought it would be fun to liveblog taking it.   Yes, I’m lame.   I’m going to take the quiz here.   I’m copying the questions over before reading the answers and answering each question before reading the next.

1.  How optimistic are you?

I have to go with A, the glass is half full, but I like to think I’m more of a “That’s half of a glass of water” kind of guy.

2.  When you grew up, your parents were:

A & C.  We owned a home, but money was always tight.   I’m picking C.   We always had everything we needed, so we certainly weren’t poor, but I also didn’t have every video game system in existence.

3.  How healthy are you?

A.  I can’t complain.  I’m borderline on a few issues, but overall, I’m pretty healthy.

4.  How smart are you?

I’d bet very few people consider themselves stupid, regardless of evidence to the contrary.  I’ll take B, smarter than most, and hope it doesn’t sound arrogant.

5.  What level of education did you complete?

B.  College.   I went to a tech school and took a diploma program.  That’s working out well for me, so far.

6.  Physically, you are:

A, B, & C.  I’m tall, heavy, and pretty darn sexy!

7.  What’s your sibling situation?

I have two and I’m the middle child.

8.  Are you married?

A.  Yes, to spouse #1.

9.  Do you have kids?

3 of the little monsters.  They are a money-drain, but worth every penny.  Most days.

10.  Do you exercise?

D.  I neither smoke nor exercise.   There’s no middle-of-the-road answer to this one.  You either hit the gym regularly, or you are a lump on the couch.

11.  People describe you as:

B.  Persistent.  I think the actual word used is “obsessive”.

12.  Do you believe a woman’s place is in the home.

A.  I may joke about it, but that’s not a choice for me to make.

13.  When it comes to work:

A, B & C.   I have a day job, but I’m also regularly pursuing side-hustles, including one that is 4 years old and relatively profitable.  Since I can only choose one, it’s A, because that’s my primary income.

14.  How would you like to jump out of a plane?

A.  I want to, but promised my wife I’d wait until the kids were out of the house.

15.  Who would you rather emulate?

B.  I’m not into an entourage, and have no urge to surround myself with 500 of my closest leeches.   Good times with good friends is enough for me.

I scored 39 out of 72, which puts me in “You’ve got a shot at real money!”   My financial outlook puts me at comfortable, but not care-free, which is an okay place to be.

What’s your score?

August 27th, 2010 | Tags: , | Category: Finance, Life | One comment | Subscribe | Print This Post Print This Post | Email This Post Email This Post
 
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