Winter is upon us. It’s cold, maybe you even got a little snow by now…okay, maybe a lot. Either way, all you can think about is getting where you have to go and coming home to a hot cup of tea, a warm bowl of soup or a hot coffee. Okay, but remember how at the end of last year, you made a new life resolution to get back into shape, to live a healthier lifestyle? Uh huh. But then, you know, it got real cold and stuff. Dammit! Just when you were all motivated too. Face it, winter’s probably kicking your ass right now and you don’t even know how to get back in the ring. Well, it doesn’t have to be that way. You can reclaim your winter workout and show winter who’s boss by doing these three simple things.
Current Student Loan Debt – $43,193.09
It’s been a couple of weeks since my last Debt Beatdown update, so it’s time I let you in on what’s new. I can sum it up in three words: Abundance, Baseline and Risk.
Abundance
The biggest decision I’ve made in the past two weeks is to shift gears as far as how I think about handling debt. This is something that’s been quietly brewing since launching DB, but last week I finally found words for what I’d been feeling.
The words came from Ramit Sethi’s blog, “I Will Teach You to Be Rich.” I’ve never read Ramit’s blog before last week, but this paragraph expressed exactly what I’d been intuitively feeling:
It’s not just about money — it’s about living a Rich life where you can control your income, not be subject to the whims of a corporate HR department or boss. Use the extra money to tackle your goals. Use the extra income to pay off debt, save more, or spend on the things you love (e.g., trips to Vegas).
Exactly.
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Less Distraction
In Part 1, I shared some tips for letting go of unnecessary “stuff” in your life. In this second part of “Less, Less, More,” it’s all about something else that you could use less of: distractions. In this post, I’ll share some ideas for eliminating and managing electronic and human distractions. Let’s start with technology.
Minimizing Electronic Distractions
Everyday you are bombarded with information. Email, text messages, Facebook, voicemail, apps, notifications, Twitter, phone calls–the list goes on. How do you manage to get anything done with the constant demand for your attention? When it comes to technology, I like to use the three D’s to help: disappear, detach, or disconnect.
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I remember exactly where I was last January. I was working a twofer and hating every minute of it. What’s a twofer you ask? Well in my case, it’s when you work for one company and get contracted out to work at another: two companies, two managers, two sets of “rules”…you get the idea. Why am I telling you this? Because January 2011 was also when I decided to break free and re-commit to simple living.
You see, three months prior I’d realized that I had allowed my life to become complicated. I was unhappy and this time it wasn’t because my finances were in shambles. No, it was because I had committed to a job I knew was wrong for me and, in turn, sacrificed what I knew was right. My days were spent juggling. I had three computers on my desk: one for each company and my personal laptop. You can imagine how cluttered my calendar and desk must have been! Worst of all, my lifestyle encouraged schizophrenic consumption. For example, I lived a car-less lifestyle on the weekends, but during the week I rented one to go into the office. It was a complete waste of money. I needed relief. I craved simplicity.
Does any of this sound like your life? If so, I bet you’re aching to make some changes. You want to live a simpler life, but have you thought about what that means, exactly? Obviously, simple living means different things to different people, but there is a central theme that attracts many: less is more. But to have less, you have to let go–you have to break free.
But, how exactly do you break the mental and emotional chains of consumption and live simple? In this three-part series, I’ll break down three areas of simple living: Less Stuff, Less Distraction and More Meaning. I’ll share what I think are crucial points for each area (and hopefully you’ll share your thoughts too!) and provide some tips for success. Let’s start with getting rid of the stuff you don’t need.
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