Live Real, Now

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.

An emoticon with a smile. For more emoticons i...
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?

5 Ways to Make Shopping Quickly a Breeze

Finance

Shopping is a major time sink. Between the travel, the traffic, and the checkout lines, the actual shopping almost seems

English: An Entennmann's cake donut, bought fr...
English: An Entennmann’s cake donut, bought from a grocery store four-variety pack. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

pleasant. Almost. Here’s my super-secret ninja plan to reduce the unpleasant time wasted while giving away my money in exchange for the privilege of not scooping manure straight from the source onto my crops to get both my burgers and my salads.

First, The List. I’m not going to tell you to use a list. You know that already. My secret? Organize your list by department. Divide the list into sections.  Make sure it has a produce section, a meat section, a baking section, and any other section you will be visiting. Don’t leave the department until that section of the list is complete. That will eliminate chasing back and forth for things you forgot, which is a huge timesaver.

Shop where you know. When you are in a hurry or stressed by crabby kids, don’t go check out a new store. You won’t enjoy it with the kids in tow, AND you’ll be tempted to buy more, since you will encounter more as you explore the store trying to find what you need.  Go somewhere you know.  That will eliminate any hunter/gatherer-style shopping.  If you know where you need to go, you’ll get through the shopping trip much faster.

Skip the bad aisles.  I resist temptation best by avoiding it. In the store, I avoid it by skipping entire aisles of stuff. If there’s nothing I need in an aisle, don’t go there. Why tempt myself with that many more choices? I’m sure I can find something I’d like to bring home in almost any section of almost any store.  So I avoid the unnecessary sections.

Shop at the right time.  Don’t go on Saturday afternoon when every other 9-to-5er is free to run errands.  If you absolutely must shop on the weekend, either go late–I prefer 3am–or go right at lunchtime when everyone  is stopping to feed the hungry children. Me? I’ll either feed them first or fill them up on samples at the grocery store.

Use less, eat less.  You’ll need to buy less that way. If you eat smaller portions, or learn how to cook with a versatile mix of staples, you’ll need to buy less, either through lower consumption or lower variety. I’m not saying eat boring, just get creative with the basics.  I know a couple of different ways to cooks rice and beans, without getting bored.  When you add the perfect-food-makers, like bacon, it’s easy to keep meals interesting.

How do you reduce wasted time shopping?