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The no-pants guide to spending, saving, and thriving in the real world.

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Saturday Roundup

Finance, Misc

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I’ve got a birthday party today and a class to teach tomorrow.   Sometimes I think I take on too much, but it’s hard to roll that back when the side-hustles are all making a bit of money.   What I need to do is make the side-hustles profitable enough that my straight job is optional.

In other news, I’m 10 days away from my first blogging anniversary(here).  I’ll have to come up with a way to celebrate that.

Favorite posts this week:

GOOG-411 is shutting down, but there are alternatives.  My favorites are Google SMS and Bing-411.

I’m a Zimbabwean quadrillionaire due to their version of “quantitative easing”.   If you’re not pushing an agenda, QE is also known as devaluing the dollar.

I’m happy to be living in the future.  When I told my wife this story, she was ready to cry at the beginning, but had to see the pictures by the end.  Yay, technology!

And finally, thanks to Chris, here’s a primer on the absurdities of the security theater known as TSA:

Carnivals I’ve rocked:

Experiences v Stuff was included in the Carnival of Debt Reduction.

Thank you!

If I’ve missed anyone, please let me know.

Future Dreams

Relationships

While jogging with my wife a few days ago, we had a conversation that we haven’t had in years. We discussed our dreams.

It’s an important conversation for couples to have. What are your hopes? What are your dreams? Where do you want to be in 10 years? In 20? In 50? Planning for the future gives you a map for the present.

My wife and I hadn’t had this conversation in years. A few days ago, we did. Our life-goals are simple and achievable.

I want to leave the corporate world and support my family with writing and the training classes I do. I want a chunk of land outside of any major metropolitan area, but close enough for the entertainment and shopping. I want enough land to expand my classes on my own property, relying on no one.

My wife wants enough land to have some horses. It was unspoken, but I think she wants my goals to take off so they can support her goals, too.

We want a comfortable retirement and we want to help the kids with college.

We’re a bit behind the game for college funding. That’s ok, though. There is nothing wrong with a kid working his way through college and learning those life lessons.

We are also behind on the retirement. But, if I can support us doing the things I love, I don’t need $X million. Retirement isn’t a cessation of activity, it is taking the time to do the things you love on your own schedule. If writing a book while sitting on my private range is enough to fund our life, that’s the perfect retirement.

Be Happy With What You Have…

Life

…or you will never be happy.

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An emoticon with a smile.

A newer car, a bigger TV, a nicer house, a fancier phone, better tickets, more friends, more gadgets, more toys…more, bigger, better…whatever.

It’s all a disappointment.

Nothing on that list will provide happiness.  If that is your goal, you will spend your life miserable.  It’s not possible to buy happiness, either directly or indirectly through the accumulation of “stuff”.  A purchase may fuel your ego or trigger endorphins, but it is all temporary.  There’s no sustainable happiness in the “high” of the latest purchase.

The search for stuff pales in comparison to the search for meaning.  Find your passion and follow that. Chase that to the ends of the earth, and come back feeling fulfilled.  Feel something that will last longer than the drive home or the next product release.

Find contentment.  At some point there is a satisfying level of “enough”.   More than that, you feel empty.  Less, envious.   Find enough and stop there.   Find the level that allows you to do the things you need to do and some of what you want to do.  Find your balance point and be happy with it.

Living life constantly disappointed that you don’t have more is a sure way to live life disappointed. How do you find your balance point?

Also, have you started the Happiness Challenge?

Birthdays on the Cheap

Finance, Parenting

Birthdays are expensive. Shoot, I’ve said that before. It’s usually true, but it doesn’t have to be. Here are five ways to cut birthday party costs.   Note:  If you’re trying to cut costs on an adult party, just replace the word “kid” with “guest of honor”.

1. Location, location, location. The amusement park/pizza place is nice if you like bad pizza, but it’s certainly not cheap. The inflatable playground may be the talk of the school for a day or two, but it’ll flex your debit card in ways it’s just not used to. Why? Kids, being kids, are capable of entertaining themselves. They’ve got imaginations that should make most adults weep with envy. If that fails, make them play a board game or in the worst case, some video games. Lock the wild young’ns in the basement and let ’em go nuts for a couple of hours. It’ll be a blast, I promise.

2. Why invite the world? How many friends does your kid actually have? I’m not talking about all of the kids in school he’s not fighting with or every kid on the block that hasn’t TP’d your house. I mean actual friendship. If they don’t play together regularly, nobody will be offended about missing an invitation. Invite the entire class? That’s just nuts. Thirty ankle-biters smearing cupcakes on the wall? No thank you. You kid will have more fun with 2-3 close friends than 20-30 acquaintances.

3. Toy flood. What was the last toy your kid played with? The last 10? How many toys have been completely neglected for months or years? How many stuffed animals are buried so deep in the pile in the corner that they are wishing for a fluffy Grim Reaper to come put them out of their misery? Don’t buy your kid clutter. It’s a hassle to clean up–and you will–and it trains them into bad habits for a lifetime. One or two things that they will treasure(or, better yet, wear!) will work our much better for everyone than a dozen things to forget in a toy box. Too many toys guarantees that the kid won’t get attached to any of them.  Down with kid-clutter!

4. Designer Cake. Who needs a fancy cake? Correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t you going to start a fire on the thing, then cut it up and give it to a dozen little runts to rub in their hair? If you can’t bake it yourself, a quarter sheet is cheap at the big box grocery stores and will guarantee leftovers. Nothing starts the week better than chocolate marble cake for breakfast on Monday.

5. Food. Don’t. That was easy. Scheduling is an important way to keep costs down. Don’t have the party at lunch time. For small children, 1:30 PM is about perfect. The parents won’t stick around once the kids are ready for a nap. For older kids, 4PM means they will need to be home for dinner. That cuts the menu down to kool-aid, light snack food, and cake. It also ensures that the party won’t drag on forever.

It’s possible to have a budget birthday party without being totally lame.  Give it a shot.  Your kids won’t mind.

This post is a blast from the past.