Maximum Gratitude, Minimal Stuff

If you listen to wealth managers, you'll think that growing your net worth is exciting.  I don't think money is exciting.  But saving money can be comforting, satisfying, and freeing. There are several unsexy ways to save money.  They won't rev your heart rate, but they can make life simpler and more secure.  Let's learn how they work. 9 savings strategies 1.  Eat the same meals every week. This habit makes your grocery shopping faster and easier, makes the cost more predictable, and it simplifies your kitchen chores!  Simply choose a couple of breakfasts, two or three lunches, and a half-dozen dinner options that you can rotate.  You'll never wonder what to fix, you'll save a ton of money over eating out or ordering in, and you'll waste less food.  (Wasted food is wasted money!)  Plus, if you're trying to follow any kind of special diet, keeping track of your carbs, calories, fat, or whatever becomes much simpler. Before you knock it, try it...

I have a friend who swears the idea of a budget just doesn't work for her.  "There's always some need I don't account for, or I forget to keep track of spending and overspend in some area." It is hard to keep track of every penny.  And sometimes prices go up more than you expect, and then your budget has to be redone.  Just because I've been using a budget for years doesn't mean I never have to make adjustments or that the concept works perfectly for everyone.  So I asked my friend to describe what she does do, since she doesn't seem to have problems with overdrawing her checking account or being late with bill payments.  Whatever she's doing is working well for her, so maybe it's a solution for many people who have had trouble with, or just don't like, traditional budgeting. The 2 step non-budget plan My friend's idea is straightforward and certainly worth trying to see if it works for you. 1.  Pay now. Whenever you get a paycheck, i...

Maybe you've tried to build savings in the past and a surprise bill messed you up.  Today, with prices continuing to climb at the grocery store and everywhere else, you might have given up. I've been there too.  For years, my husband and I would save a little only to draw the account down a few months later.  Inflation or life events would derail our plans. When costs are unpredictable, saving can start to feel impossible.  But building savings doesn't have to rely on willpower, perfect timing, or a lucky lottery win.  Instead, you can focus on small, repeatable systems that work with real life, no matter what happens.  These are systems that keep moving forward even when prices climb or plans change. Steps to make saving a reality 1.  Start small with a "savings drip."  Psychologically, tiny deposits keep momentum going in the right direction without triggering scarcity, especially when the cost of groceries, utilities, and insurance premiums may...

We tend to think of anxiety as a bad thing, and do a lot to avoid it or numb ourselves to it.  But anxiety isn't always an enemy.  It's an alarm system.  It's our bodies' and brains' way of getting our attention and letting us know that something is wrong.  Just like a smoke alarm lets us know there's a fire, anxiety is a signal that alerts us to danger. Constant, low-level anxiety has several negative results for our mental and physical health, so it's important to figure out the cause and take what steps we can to relieve it.  Of course, we can't insure ourselves against every bad thing, but often there are steps we can take to gain more control and make our situation better. In other words, don't ignore the smoke alarm, or let it continue to sound off.  Put out the fire! The sources of financial anxiety When it comes to personal finances, many of us are playing with a dangerous, raging fire.  Just consider some of this data from the United States,...

Imagine waking up every morning with feelings of peace and contentment, knowing that you have everything you need, and more.  Sounds like a dream, doesn't it? We live in a culture where success is measured by the size of our homes, the brand of our cars, and the labels on our clothing.  But what if true satisfaction is found somewhere else?  What if we're missing what matters when we give in to FOMO and try to keep up with the Joneses? Think for a moment about your favorite memories – the moments that have enriched you the most.  I'm willing to bet they've included the people, places, and pursuits you care about.  Laughing with friends, spending time in nature, or even enjoying a good book can add more to life than a big bank account. In fact, living with more than you need can be a major source of stress.  That includes clutter in your home, of course, but it can also mean worries about money, debt, and investments.  It can come from ever-growing wish...

We're often told that the secret to financial ease and peace is living below our means.  Simply put, this means spending less than you earn.  It sounds straightforward, but it can be hard to do. In large part, that's because our culture pushes us to spend everything we have and then some.  Carrying debt is considered normal – in fact, it's a requirement if you ever want to qualify for a home loan.  (Yes, you have to have debt so you can prove that you're good at making payments.) Additionally, most of us increase our expenditures when our income goes up.  It's called " lifestyle inflation ," and it too is normal in our society.  What used to be an occasional treat grows into a daily necessity, and it becomes impossible to imagine a return to a simpler lifestyle.  That seems too much like "failure." And so we get caught in the trap of always wanting more. Let's avoid the trap, and try one or more of these practical tips to spend less, feel in ...

One of the best ways I've found to save money and live within a budget is to learn to enjoy staying home.   I know that not all of us live in the dream home we imagined when we were young, or the ones we collect images of on Pinterest.  I live in a small apartment, not the cozy cottage in the forest I might wish for.  But making the most of home and the time we spend there can make a huge difference to our spending and saving patterns.  Becoming a frugal homebody might be the best way to live within our means and stay out of debt. Why stay home? Obviously, staying home saves on gas, but it also rescues us from a multitude of temptations.  The minute we leave home, most of us are hit with marketing.  I only need to walk a couple of blocks west to arrive at a small shopping area with a convenience store, a Mexican restaurant, and a consignment shop.  If I drive about a half-mile further, I reach Highway 99, and turning north I see billboards and sho...

Back in 1906, an Italian economist named Vilfredo Pareto noticed that just 20% of the population of Italy owned 80% of the land. That makes sense.  Few people are rich, and they're the ones who own most of the stuff.  So, Romanian-American management consultant Joseph Juran developed the concept further, by observing that 80% of results come from 20% of causes .  For example: In 1988, the New York Times reported that about 80% of video rental revenues came from just 20% of the stock. Microsoft has noted that 80% of crashes can be prevented by fixing 20% of the most-reported errors. 20% of the best professional baseball players account for 80% of total wins. Studies show that approximately 80% of healthcare expenses accrue to 20% of patients. The frequency of words used in most languages, the size of cities, the magnitude of earthquakes, and even the intensity of solar flares all follow similar distributions. If the Pareto Principle, or the 80/20 rule, shows up in so many...

Consider this:  More than three-quarters of the people in the wealthiest country on earth say they worry about money .  What's more, 87% of millionaires don't feel rich . You read that right.  For those who are wealthy, what they have is never enough.  John D. Rockefeller, once the richest man in the world, when asked how much money is enough replied, "Just a little bit more."  That's apparently a sentiment shared by today's richest man in the world and the vast majority of his cohorts. Author and minimalist expert Joshua Becker calls this the Prosperity Paradox.  It's sad, really – the more money we have, the more money we believe we need. If our goal of achieving financial freedom is simply to accumulate more and more money, we'll never arrive.  The finish line keeps moving, and we can never reach it.  If we think that financial freedom means we can buy whatever we want whenever we want it, we're always going to feel we're lacking. What is fi...