- Introduction: A Letter From The Founder
- New Resources: Highlights Of The Latest Additions To Our Resource Directory
- How To Survive A Layoff: From My Job Sucks & I Can't Take It Anymore! Help!
- The Rich Life: A Report From Taiwan
- The Importance Of Biodiversity In Agriculture: Livestock
- Cheap Greens For Cheap Greens: The Center For A New American Dream
- Two American Dreams: The GreenMoney Journal
- Hugh Chou's Free Financial Calculators: Math Help From A Self-Described "Geek"
- Money/Life Balance In The New Millennium: Where Is It All Going?
- Take Back Your Time Launches Campaign For Vacation Law: Press Release
Dear Friends,
I don't know about you, but I love Spring. For me, it's the most wonderful time of the year. It is a time of renewal. It is a time to embrace the wonder and joy of life and living.
Here in the little mountain community of Trout Lake, the snow is finally gone, the sun is out, flowers are in bloom, and life is fresh, new and full of outdoor activities… garden and greenhouse projects, mushroom hunting in the forest, helping a good friend build a chicken coop, evening campfires, biking, and the like. Ah, life is good!
The funny thing is, especially when I occasionally choose to watch television or pick up a newspaper, I must be careful to maintain the "life is good" frame of mind. It is so darn easy to get hung-up in the troubles of the world: war, global warming, poverty, dwindling oil resources, corporate corruption and politics, etc. Even though it may sometimes seem like we as individuals can't do anything about these problems, the reality is that we are indeed finding solutions through our choices to live simple lives.
That is not to say we're fixing every problem in the world, or that simple living is the only answer. However, doing more with less by making conscious decisions about what to consume certainly doesn't hurt. Folks like you and me are kindred spirits who choose to live lives of consciousness, integrity and dignity. We are learning and actively choosing to use less stuff, reduce our energy consumption, and conserve natural resources. Along the way, we find ourselves with time to spend with friends and loved ones, less stress, and space in our lives for public discussion of the future we create as a society. We are helping to make the world a better place.
Spring is the natural time of year for us to expand in new directions in our lives. It's a time to try things out. It's a time to do things we've never done before. It's the season to start a garden. It's the season to join the local softball league. It's the season to take another shot at improving our financial lives. It's time to try fixing that broken appliance we were thinking of replacing. It's time to become politically active in our communities. And it's time to go for a hike! Regardless of our own individual directions, Spring is the natural time to do the "Spring cleaning" in our lives, getting rid of the mental clutter and making room for the positive future we've always wanted to create.
It is in that spirit that The Simple Living Network offers this, the 58th edition of our free, on-line Newsletter. From ballroom dancing in Taiwan, to livestock biodiversity, to financial integrity, this issue is loaded with stories of inspiration and good advice that we can all use to simplify and create lives of consciousness and enjoyment.
We at The Simple Living Network hope this Spring issue finds you well and happy. And, as always, thank you to all of our generous CyberAngels — those of you who have pitched in to help us move toward our 2007 goal of $14,000 to cover the costs of user supported Community Services — this Newsletter, the Discussion Forums, SimpleRadio and the rest. Keep up the good work!
Dave Wampler
Founder
The Simple Living Network
Copyright © The Simple Living Network. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright © 2007
Note: The following article is an excerpt from the new book by John White, My Job Sucks & I Can't Take It Anymore! HELP! — The Real-Life Job Survival Guide
If you spend any time at all in a large company or corporation, chances are you will eventually be exposed to the gut-wrenching experience of a layoff. Normally, you'll only be an observer, an uneasy witness to the grim spectacle of a group of your fellow employees getting "terminated." However, at some point, you could wind up being part of that unfortunate group.
Here are some of the euphemisms companies use to describe this brutal and potentially life-changing event:
Reduction In Force (Or the more commonly used acronym RIF). As in, "Oh, you didn't hear the news? He got RIF'd."
Workforce Reduction
Involuntary Separation
FMP (Forced Management Program)
Job Elimination
Skills Rebalancing (my personal favorite)
No matter what they call it, it all adds up to the same thing. Somebody just lost their regular paycheck. They no longer have a way to put food on the table and pay the bills.
If you ever happen to be on the receiving end of a layoff, there are a few things you can do to help deal with what is potentially a very painful event.
First of all, on the actual day you get laid off, try to stay as cool as you can. Don't be afraid to ask for more severance pay, full payment of all sick time, etc. I know that with large corporations those issues are usually set in stone, but it doesn't hurt to ask. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
If you are immediately taken back to your desk to clean it out, then escorted out of the building, keep your head held high. Try to keep it all together until you get home, then you can fall apart. While we are on the subject of "the day you get laid off," let me give you some advice that was once given to me, but I didn't act on it. Later on, I wished I had.
On any job you have, try to limit the amount of personal possessions you keep at work to a minimum. Before you think I've gone nuts and have totally blown off the subject at hand, consider that each personal item you have to gather up from your office is additional time you will have to spend with your supervisor or the security guard while you load all that stuff into a box. These aren't just idle words on my part either; I know because I was laid off about seven years ago.
On the day I got laid off, I was immediately taken back to my office by my supervisor so I could gather up all my junk, then he escorted me out of the building. I had too much stuff to load up, it took way too long to get out of the building, and I should have known better.
I used to work with an old-timer who only kept one item in his cubicle: a dictionary, that was it. There were no pictures, no personal effects, nothing else. One day my curiosity got the best of me and I asked him about it. He said, "I've seen too many people get laid off, then they have to come back to their cube, fumble around gathering up all their stuff, some of them in tears while they do it. It's way too painful to watch. If I ever get whacked, all I have to do is pick up my dictionary and I'm out the door."
I should have listened to him.
Once you get past the initial shock of it all, (and it is pretty shocking — no matter how much you think you might be prepared, it still feels like someone knocked the wind out of you), understand that anyone can get laid off. Good employees, fair employees, and lousy employees, it doesn't matter, in today's workforce no one is immune. I mention this because when you get laid off, some very difficult feelings can come to the surface. Probably the most pernicious emotion you can have is a feeling that somehow you did something to deserve it. Even though you may logically realize you did nothing wrong, some strange emotion may bubble up that causes you to feel like you failed in some way.
Where does this feeling come from? It's hard to say, but it may be a vestige of the old Protestant work ethic that still resides in a lot of us. Another factor may be that deep down inside, we still feel that if we work hard and do a good job, nothing bad will happen to us in the workplace. Unfortunately, that is no longer true. You can do an excellent job, be the most dedicated employee in the world, and you can still get laid off.
I had to wrestle with those feelings after I got whacked. Even though logically, I knew I had done a good job and had been a good employee, some of those emotions still floated up to the surface. I knew I had done nothing wrong and there was no blame I should accept for what had happened. However, emotionally, it was a different story.
Another unsettling emotion that might rear its head is panic. Panic as in:
"Oh my god, I just lost my job, how will I support my family? How will I pay my bills? What if it takes a long time to find another job? What if my skills aren't marketable any more?"
Another unfortunate side effect of getting laid off is that your self-confidence can take a hit. This can really set in if it takes a long time to find another position. Try to remember that you're still the same person with all the skills you had before. You held a job for years and were considered a valuable employee; nothing has changed that. You're still as smart and competent as you ever were. You're just a victim of circumstance, plain and simple.
It also helps to stay busy during the period when you're looking for a new position. Approach your job search like it was a regular job. Put a plan together and decide how much time each day you will devote to your search, then do that on a regular basis. It's helpful to have a sense of purpose and to maintain a schedule of some sort.
When I was laid off, I began my new job search the next day. In my case, I was fortunate to be laid off during the early part of 2000, while the tech market was still booming. If you get laid off today, expect that your job search could potentially take a very long time. I've had friends who were out of work a year or more before finding a new job.
Contact your friends and previous office mates. Put the word out that you're looking. It's usually your best bet to find a new job.
If you already exercise on a regular basis, continue to keep your normal routine and maybe even step it up if you can. If you hadn't found time to exercise before because of work requirements, it's an excellent time to begin an exercise routine. Not only will it be good for your physical health, it will also help with your stress level and overall emotional well-being.
Stay busy.
Try to remember that this too, shall pass. People get laid off every day and they survive. You will too. Have some faith that you will get through it and may even wind up being better off than you were before.
About The Author
John L. White is an author and founder of Everlove and Bohannon Publishing. He also works full-time as an IT professional for a large international company. He can be reached at EverloveBohannon@aol.com.
Resources By This Author
- My Job Sucks & I Can't Take It Anymore! HELP!
- I'm In Debt, Over 40, With No Retirement Savings, HELP!
Other Related Resources
Copyright © 2007
While photographing an early morning tai chi group in an empty parking lot near my home here in Taiwan, I noticed a man and a woman dancing their hearts out in the adjoining parking lot, also empty. Ballroom dance music issued from a portable player sitting on the pavement. I snapped this photo and then walked on down through a series of parks taking pictures of a succession of tai chi groups. When the camera was full and wouldn't take any more pictures, I headed back home. As I passed by it again, I saw that the parking lot with the early morning tai chi group was now empty but the adjoining one with the dancers was filled with couples spinning gracefully around, arm in arm, as if they were at a grand ball.
If I could distill the essence of Taiwanese culture, at least as I see it — that is to say, what makes it so special for me — it's this quality it has, that nothing is wasted. Often I've wondered why Taiwanese eat so many different kinds of things — even rattlesnakes, sea cucumbers, and tiny pointy ocean snails are relished here. In time, I came to understand that a people like these, who have lived through adversity, would over time have learned how to utilize every little thing. Nothing is wasted here.
The week before I left New York City to move to Taiwan, the recycling program was suspended in Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island. The reason the city gave: the program was too costly to operate. That would never happen in Taiwan. The Taiwanese make big money from recycling and are committed to it. They even recycle waste food, not just from restaurants, but from ordinary homes. Some of it is made into fertilizer, some of it is used as feed for pigs. So with the Taiwanese, it's quite natural that even an empty parking lot, early in the morning when it's not being used, finds a function and becomes a valuable commodity.
This ballroom dancing group can be free because it doesn't have to rent a hall. The parking lot is empty early every morning. No expensive air conditioning system is needed. Outdoors early in the morning the air is fresh and sweet. Ordinary people can perfect their dance steps, get exercise, polish their social skills, and enjoy the company of friends and neighbors. Down a ways in one direction is a different parking lot where another group plays badminton. Over the opposite way is one where still another group goes through an aerobic exercise routine to the accompaniment of disco music. The streets and parks of Taiwan are alive early every morning with all kinds of life. It is a wonderful thing to see these enterprising people snatching a few moments from their busy schedules and coming out onto the streets to do what they love and to share that love with others, without any money exchanging hands.
What impresses me most about Taiwan is the way the simpler people here have of making so much out of so little. Every time I see it, I am inspired to do the same. For instance, I have started saving the coffee grounds and using them to fertilize the ferns. Now I'm growing the biggest ferns I've ever seen. And for the moment or two it takes for the coffee to brew, instead of standing around waiting, I have gotten into the habit of doing a simple stretching exercise. After only a few months of this I find that for the first time in my life I have become limber enough to touch my toes at will. These small victories make me know how rich I am. It's not about owning things or having money, but the joy of discovering how much profit there is in more fully using what I already have.
About The Author
Dr. William R. Stimson left academia and opted for a life of radical simplicity centering on meditation, martial arts, yoga, dream analysis and writing. He is a founder and former editor of the Dream Network Journal and led dream groups in Manhattan. For years he conducted the free all-day meditation group every Saturday at the Ch'an Meditation Center in Elmhurst, Queens. He now lives in Taiwan where he writes and leads free dream groups at traditional Chinese tea houses in Taichung and Taipei. His published writings are posted at www.billstimson.com.
Copyright © 2007
In agriculture today, in every sector, a few breeds dominate. For example, over 90% of the North American dairy herd is made up of Holsteins. Similarly, in the beef, sheep, pork and chicken industries, you have a vast majority of the total populations made up of only a few specialized breeds.
So what?
If a given variety works, why should we care?
One answer is that we lose biodiversity. This is a complex word, literally meaning "organisms unlike in nature or qualities" (paraphrased from the Oxford dictionary definitions of "bio" and "diverse", as mine did not have an entry for biodiversity). There are a few very important ways that this impacts us.
For one, different breeds of animals often have valuable characteristics which may or may not translate into dollars in our industrial wholesale system. It is all well and good to use the most efficient or most accepted breeds (in our particular system), but for instance, what happens if there is a problem? What if there is a major outbreak of some new disease to which the commercial breed is particularly susceptible? We could have a catastrophe on our hands and no recourse.
Hybrids are animals that are derived from two or more root species, which exhibit particular desirable characteristics. Often hybrids become commercial animals (or their own breeds over time) due to the particular characteristics for which they are bred. Still, if the root stock from which they were originally derived is lost, how can we hope to rebuild or change a population of commercial animal?
(These are some of the author's Jacob sheep. Jacobs are an endangered species worldwide. They are hardy animals, disease resistant, easy lambers and strong foragers, who produce naturally coloured wool prized for its softness and also high quality lamb. They are probably the oldest breed of domestic sheep on earth, being quite literally descended from the biblical sheep of Jacob in the bible (Genesis 30). They are not a common commercial breed as they lamb annually rather than on an 8 month cycle which is desirable in our year round grocery store system. The author finds them profitable, however, as they do not require buildings, forage in rough areas and have a very strong mothering instinct. In Canada, there are only 30-100 registrations of female stock per year (this defines endangered). The loss of one or two genetic lines could be catastrophic to a population this small).
This is a serious issue. It's serious enough that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (the arm of the Canadian government concerned with our food supply) defines "sustaining the plant and animal base" as #3 on its priority list from its most recent business plan. The problem is that no one knows what species are (or will be) best suited to our changing environment. We cannot understand the interaction of climate, viruses, prions, bacteria, food varieties, predators, human health and the myriad of other factors that influence animal food production. However, every time we lose a variety of animal which we might draw on, we lose some of the adaptive advantages from the genetic pool on which we can draw.
Varieties of animals in various Categories, Canadian Statistics (Canadian Rare Breeds Association, 2007)
| Canadian Livestock | Cattle | Sheep | Swine | Goats | Chickens |
| Critical | 3 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 7 |
| Endangered | 4 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Vulnerable | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| At Risk | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
Varieties of animals in various categories, American Statistics (American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, 2007)
| American Livestock | Cattle | Sheep | Swine | Goats | Chickens |
| Critical | 8 | 4 | 6 | 1 | |
| Threatened | 1 | 6 | 1 | 2 | |
| Watch | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | |
| Recovering | 4 | 8 | 0 | 2 |
Although the parameters differ from country to country, in all nations who track livestock diversity, those which are critical, endangered or threatened are in dire need of protection.
Endangered breeds need our protection, if only for our own advantage. We never know which characteristics can be found in any particular breed or when as farmers we will need those characteristics.
The other major area in which it is worth preserving biodiversity is flavour. Every breed of livestock has its own flavour, be it in terms of their eggs, milk, meat, and all their derivatives (cheese, sausage, pate, and so on). In a world of increasingly homogeneous mass-produced products, these different flavours are in danger of being lost. For example, it is my opinion that the lamb from Jacob sheep tastes better than any other. It is mild, has no wooly flavour and is incredibly tender. Other people prefer other breeds, but regardless of a person's personal preference, if any breed is lost, we lose that special taste and the opportunity to decide what we like best. This is clearly detrimental to us all.
The point is that you don't know which flavours are in the world until you start to eat different products which by necessity have different origins. Do we want to give that up?
Having said all of this, these are not zoo animals. It is best if the breeds in question, rare or not, offer an economic benefit to the producer. In industrial wholesale settings, this can be complex. Many breeds are well adapted to these situations, but can have great difficulty if there are variations from the ideal.
In our case, we have made these animals profitable by making use of their natural advantages. Galloways and Jacobs are hardy, can forage for their own food in tough situations and do not require housing. On our farm, we allow them to do their own thing. They are fed no grain, and only get water and a salt lick as supplements. Because there is minimal cost to their food and we cultivate a private sale, quality based market, these animals yield a decent profit per head. Put them on a feed lot or intensive system, and they simply cannot keep up with the more commonly utilized industrial breeds who have higher and faster finishing weights, more lambs or whatever advantage it is that makes them best for their particular situation.
(These are some of the author's belted Galloway cattle, also an endangered species. Brought by the Vikings to Scotland in approximately 900 A.D., these cattle have thrived in the harshest conditions possible. They produce lean flavourful meat, and can be milked as well. Rather than getting fat in the cold, they develop thick fur to insulate them, so they require less feed than conventional breeds. They forage very well and can thrive on rough grass and hay, which most breeds cannot utilize).
In every sector of livestock agriculture as it is currently set up, beef, milk, eggs, chicken, turkey, lamb, pork or what have you, certain breeds excel. Holsteins produce more milk, Suffolks produce heavier lambs, Charolais produce larger steers, etc. As superior as these animals may be in their particular areas, it is not a good idea to grow them exclusively. "Never put all your eggs in one basket" is an old cliché, but very accurate nonetheless.
The point of all of this is that sometimes when we step back from the system, other opportunities present themselves. The resources necessary to take advantage of these opportunities are sometimes unusual breeds, many of which are close to extinction.
This is not intended as an indictment of commercial agriculture. In our current system, we would probably starve were it not for large scale producers. Every breed has its place. What concerns me and I would argue should concern us all, is that many breeds, and hence many special characteristics and flavours, are in danger of being lost. We need to maintain that diversity.
About The Author
Andrew Nielsen is a farmer and landscaper in North Lancaster, Ontario. He lives with his wife, Denise, and three children, Erik, Anna and Grace. The farm is dedicated to the promotion and propagation of two endangered species, Belted Galloway cattle and Jacob Sheep. They also keep Llamas as sheep guardians. Andrew can be reached at daenielsen@glen-net.ca.
Reprinted With Permission From The Center For A New American Dream
Copyright © 2006
In the first column I wrote back in November, I introduced some of my cheapskate philosophies by discussing, among other things, the virtues of store-bought versus home-grown potatoes. While some money-saving strategies are very easy to implement, the cheapest, greenest way to put potatoes on your plate is to grow them yourself. This also takes knowledge, time, and patience, and isn't something I've ever had the inclination to do. Instead I choose to consciously pay extra for organic potatoes when I can afford them. Affording them is usually no problem because I put other money-saving strategies to use that give me greater savings or more enjoyment for the time I spend doing them.
Now that spring has finally arrived and I find myself in a new home with a modest yard, I want to clarify that gardening isn't always so labor-intensive that it should be considered prohibitive. I am not all that experienced at growing my own food, but I've had great luck with a variety of vegetables and herbs that have required minimal effort and have saved me plenty of money. The gardening I've done has also provided delicious additions to meals with value beyond just the savings off of store-bought produce. Even if you don't consider your thumb very green, I want to pass along encouragement to other wanna-be gardeners (while welcoming hints from others, too!). Here are a few suggestions:
1. Start small. Every year around this time I daydream about hand-picked salads and baskets overflowing with produce. I look at displays in garden stores and the urge overcomes me to get as much in the ground as I can all at once. This inevitably leads to vegetable neglect when the weeds and beetles set in and I can't keep up with my April ambitions. Self-sufficiency is a terrific goal, but I don't recommend trying to "live off the land" or grow too many varieties at once if you haven't first tended a small plot and gotten an idea of what works well in your soil, what kinds of yields you can expect, what predators you need to be concerned about, and above all, what you really have time to weed, water, feed, harvest, and prepare. Everything else is waste.
2. Don't underestimate your ability, either. For years I thought I wouldn't have what it takes to garden because I consistently killed all of my houseplants. Really, I just needed to learn to be more conscientious about watering and feeding my plants and recognizing when they were droopy or ill. Starting a small herb garden was one of the first steps that taught me to be more attentive. Once I could have a few pots of parsley and basil on the windowsill without killing them, I was eager to try my hand at other things.
3. Before you plant anything, feed your soil. I've had plenty of plants go scraggly on me, not germinate, or produce poorly, most likely because I have overlooked the importance of giving them proper nutrition. The cheapest way to do this is by adding compost to your soil that you make yourself from yard and kitchen scraps; however, I've just started my compost pile (a subject for another day) and I don't have any of my own yet. I was able to find a 10-pound bag of organic fertilizer for about eight dollars at my local nursery that will provide plenty of nutrients to get my plants going and maintain them into the summer — an expense I expect will pay itself back in a matter of weeks, when I pick those first couple of salads. Another option is to barter with other gardeners for compost, since many people have more than they can use. There may be someone you know who is only too happy to give up a few pounds in exchange for a nice lunch, a promise of future veggies, or a dose of kindness. (Just avoid chemical fertilizers, which are ultimately bad for your local waterways and wildlife.) To enrich your soil, just get a shovel, turn over the dirt in the area you plan to use, and mix the fertilizer or compost right in.
4. The cheapest way to grow vegetables is from seeds. This takes a little more time and can be more difficult than buying established small plants from a nursery, but if you choose crops that are easy to grow, you can get dozens of plants for the price of one seedling. In general, I've found that greens, herbs, and certain root vegetables are easy to start and require less maintenance than crops like tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers, beans, or anything else that needs to be staked, pollinated, or fertilized frequently (which doesn't mean you shouldn't try those kinds of plants, but if you are looking for the best return on the least amount of work possible, I recommend sticking with greens and herbs). For one to two dollars a packet, I bought spinach, radish, oak leaf lettuce, arugula, cilantro, beet, and turnip seeds a couple of weeks ago, all of which are germinating like crazy in my front yard. Kale and chard are also good bets if you enjoy them (but they are so productive, I usually get tired of eating them before the plants get tired of growing). If something doesn't germinate, seedlings are still a good bargain, but it's hard to beat a whole summer's worth of cilantro for 99 cents, so it's worth a try!
5. If you don't have a yard, try planting a few herbs in containers on a patio or in sunny windowsills. Many herbs like basil, parsley, oregano, tarragon, chives, and rosemary work well in pots. Some vegetables like tomatoes and peppers are also specifically labeled as well-suited for containers. Unfortunately, I have had bad luck growing greens like spinach and lettuce in pots because they need a fair amount of room to grow — but if you want fresh salads from your windowsill you can try thinning the young seedlings down to just a few strong plants in large containers to make sure they are not overcrowded (it can definitely be done). Many towns and cities also have community gardens that residents can use, and some neighbors and landlords are willing to share space in their yards, so be sure to look into these options, too.
6. Plant a few flowers. This is optional depending on your time commitment, but it's a good idea. Flowers bring in bees and other insects, which are good for your other plants — especially if you choose to try crops like tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, cucumbers, beans, or zucchini, which require pollination for productivity. Sunflowers are extremely easy to grow (and generally produce edible seeds, of course), so I love to have a few of them popping up in the yard. I'm also trying out some purple coneflowers and black-eyed susans around the edges of the garden, which are perennials and therefore won't need planting every year.
7. Make friends with other gardeners. Real-time advice on what plants work well in your area or what predators to look out for in the neighborhood can be priceless. Since each gardener will try different crops and have success with different plants, sharing is always an excellent tightwad strategy.
I know I've only touched the surface of gardening possibilities, but it's such a rewarding activity that folks who are inclined to try it should take advantage of the chance to bring their grocery bills down and get their hands a little dirty. Just read the seed packets, stick with it, and good luck!
About The Author
Jennifer Errick designs, edits, and writes content for The Center For A New American Dream's print publications and outreach materials, including the quarterly newsletter In Balance. As the resident cheapskate, Jenn also writes a periodic online column on Living Green Below Your Means, fueled by her fervent belief that environmental decisions need not be expensive or exclusive. Jenn can be reached at: jenn@newdream.org.
Related Gardening Resources
Below we have listed some of our favorite resources:
- Square Foot Gardening: A New Way To Garden In Less Space With Less Work
- The Vegetable Gardener's Bible
- The Gardener's A-Z Guide To Growing Organic Food
- Lasgna Gardening: A New Layering System For Bountiful Gardens
- How To Grow More Vegetables Than You Ever Though Possible...
- Worms Eat My Garbage: How To Set Up & Maintain A Worm Composting System
- The Encyclopedia Of Country Living: An Old Fashioned Recipe Book
- Storey's Basic Country Skills: A Practical Guide To Self-Reliance
- Building Your Own Greenhouse
Reprinted With Permission From The GreenMoney Journal
Copyright © 2007
Let's take a look at two typical Americans, Barry and Mary, from the same society but living in two completely different worlds. Stick with us; we promise the artistic license will be worth it.
Barry is heavily invested in the American Dream... physically, emotionally, financially and spiritually, Barry is bought in. For years he has worked arduously to climb his way up to material nirvana. Yet his ascent is slowed by mountainous credit card debt, first and second mortgages, impulse buys of things unneeded, irrational spending on status items, and bills, bills, bills.
Barry feels trapped by the possessions he now has to work so hard to pay for and has so little time to enjoy. Despite a decent salary, money is a constant concern. He sometimes wakes up sweating in the middle of the night, his heart pounding, as he wonders if he remembered to pay a particular credit card on time. Enticed and seduced by offers of 0% interest, Barry gambled on the balance transfer game. He was two days late on a payment once and his rate skyrocketed to 30.99% for the life of the balance. To compound difficulties, he recently saw his minimum payment due doubled thanks to the infamous 2005 Bankruptcy Act. Barry feels betrayed.
Yes, he made the bad decisions that got him into this mess. Yes, he believes in fulfilling his obligations. After he was drilled with late charges and a staggering interest rate, Barry went back and read the fine print on his contract. And what fine print it is: legalese in 3-point type, so complex Alan Greenspan would scratch his noggin in bafflement. Barry now realizes the deck was stacked against him. He's been had by the moneymen.
Remarkably, even though Barry is over his head in debt and racked with anxiety, he continues to live beyond his means. He continues to work the credit card offers. He and his family are in denial, preferring not to face their precarious financial circumstances. On those nights when Barry wakes up anxious, he usually pops an Ambien and drifts back to sleep. Problem solved.
During the day when he is not under the influence of mood-improving drugs, Barry frets over layoffs, budget cuts, and reduced benefits at work. His health care plan gets more expensive each year, irrespective of reductions in coverage and increases in deductibles and out of pocket expenses.
Barry sees his life spinning into chaos. But he dare not voice his anxiety. He is experiencing a quadruple whammy: increased health care costs, higher energy prices, out of control finance charges, and higher local taxes that far exceed his meager federal tax cut. Surprisingly, Barry cannot seem to stop himself from spending. Like an emotionally distressed person who overeats for comfort, Barry finds temporary pleasure in deluding himself that he is a man of means. He spends, his wife spends. They indulge their daughter's material desires. The more he has the more he wants — and the more he needs to distract himself from the truth. At his core, however, Barry feels empty and he knows that his false "damn the torpedoes" bravado is fast accelerating his day of financial reckoning.
All That Glitters Is Not Gold
On the flip side, let's take a look at Mary. Mary's identity comes from her soul. It is her spirit that guides her as she navigates back and forth between the Right Side Up and upside — down worlds. While she likes and appreciates nice things, Mary finds joy in simple gifts-time spent with loved ones, handwritten note cards, homemade cookies given out of love. Yes, she occasionally splurges on things she likes, but only after careful consideration of her finances. She is not cheap or miserly, rather she simply has never bought into the concept that happiness comes from possessions.
When Mary thinks of her most treasured things, those items she values most, those things dearest to her, they are usually not expensive items. She does love her bicycle, which gives her both utility and pleasure. She loves her computer, which allows her to stay in touch with the world. And she loves the appliances and utensils in her kitchen, which allow her to make wholesome meals for herself and guests. But there is no flat screen TV in the living room, and no luxury car in the garage.
Mary enjoys earning money, but harbors no illusion of being a millionaire. What for? She has all that she wants in the here and now. Her gold standard is her relationships, and the moments shared. No amount of money will make those experiences any richer or any more meaningful.
For Mary, shopping is an exercise in social awareness. She loves sexy clothes and beautiful home furnishings and believes she has a right to enjoy these things. She shops mindfully, aware that each dollar she spends is a vote in the marketplace. Whenever possible she buys organic products. While not fanatical about it, Mary does make conscious choices to support companies that share her values.
Mary invests in a socially responsible mutual fund that only buys stock in companies with strong corporate stewardship and a stated purpose of economic sustainability. No oil companies, no defense manufacturers, no tobacco or alcohol, no sweatshop labor. Her friends think it's impossible to be that responsible, but Mary knows there are several dozen socially responsible investment (SRI) funds that fit the bill. It isn't hard at all to be a good citizen of the world. Mary is thrilled to align her actions with the wellbeing of the planet. It gives her a warm sense of belonging, of oneness.
She also deposits money in a savings account and donates to causes that she deems important. She pays her taxes on time and doesn't attempt to finagle the numbers to cheat the IRS. While not rich, she is comfortable — and happy. She measures her wealth primarily by her inner peace.
While Barry's world appears centered on abundance it is actually based on scarcity — he can never have enough — therefore he is always emotionally poor. Mary on the other hand, seems to have less than Barry yet her life is full and she is abundantly content in her Right Side Up world.
A Fortuitous Flip Of Fortune
The flip from scarcity to abundance is happening all around you. The great news is that all it takes to participate is desire and discipline. Consumers in the Right Side Up world have an amazing array of choices. They've made the flip and are participating in a growing sector of the economy currently estimated at $226 billion annually. Those in the Right Side Up world buy natural and organic products at their local health food store or in the natural products section of their supermarket. They eat organic dairy and produce whenever possible. If they eat meat, they prefer naturally raised beef and free range poultry. In the flipped world people have insulated their homes and conserve energy and water resources as much as possible. They drive hybrid vehicles or cars with high MPG ratings and use mass transit where available. They read books and magazines and visit web sites that feed their soul and honor their spirit. They are selective about the media that feeds their head, mindful that they needn't overstimulate their brains with detrimental, chaotic information.
Yes, in the Right Side Up world, every dollar spent matters. Flipsters know that corporations consider every dollar spent as either approval or ignorance of their business practices. They have a practical understanding of the intimate connection between cause and effect. Flipsters know that investing in right living today keeps them from being buried by overwhelming problems tomorrow. And they do it quietly, without judgment of others. They live their lives, love their loves, enjoy their pleasure and have their health.
Try This At Home
There are amazing flips taking place in all aspects of money. From how we understand and use money, to the connection our purchases have in validating or repudiating business practices, to the rapidly changing role we all play in charting our own financial destinies, it all comes back to our own self worth. And how much we value, or devalue, our fellow human beings.
Changing your view of money is one of the most important things you can do to dramatically improve the quality of your life. Most of us know someone of meager means who enjoys their days with seemingly not a care in the world. Conversely, we also know someone affluent who is mean-spirited and miserable. Money and possessions only have the power we give them; scarcity exists in the mind.
Breaking our addiction to material worth is not all that challenging. All it requires is desire and discipline. You don't have to become a dour penny-pincher dining on cat food and soda crackers. You can enjoy a lifestyle that is more enriching, rewarding and empowering than your current one simply by honoring that which is dearest to you. Being honest about your habits and traits is an important first step. You must learn to be authentic. Begin avoiding anything that smacks of superficiality. Don't buy into the marketing hype. To borrow a trite phrase from the Reagan years, "just say no" to excess.
A great exercise is to look around your house — at your clothes, your gadgets, your knick-knacks, the stuff you "had to have" that you never use-and take a mental inventory. Most of us have thousands of dollars worth of "stuff" that we wasted our money on. See the pattern of your behavior and keep it in mind during future shopping excursions.
Could someone else use what you cannot? Certainly. Donate your excess to a charity like Goodwill, the Salvation Army or the Disabled American Vets. Not in the mindset to donate? Hold a yard sale. The point is to immediately unburden yourself from possessions you don't need. Seek simplicity. Reduce your economic footprint.
Another great idea is to divest of all but one credit card. You heard us. Don't pretend you didn't. Reduce the temptation to spend money you don't have by eliminating the source of the seduction: those alluring pieces of plastic in your wallet or purse.
The move toward the flip can be rapidly attained if we stop distorting each individual's Hierarchy of Needs as defined by Maslow. If instead we honored and cultivated these needs during childhood development and on through the education process we would build a more enlightened society that fully acknowledges the value of each and every human being. Here are some universal ideas to instill in the hearts and minds of everyone:
- Teach awareness of one's inner self
- Teach people to transcend cultural conditioning and be true citizens of the world
- Learn to accept yourself and others as they are
- Ensure the basic needs of all individuals are met
- Learn to make good choices by teaching critical thinking
- Rise above life's little problems and focus on fixing the source of the major ones like injustice, violence, suffering, greed, low self-esteem
If we learn to value ourselves and others, if we can accept people for who they are, if we summon the love and courage necessary to fully respect the needs of our fellow human beings, we will indeed all soon be living in a Right Side Up world where money is not the primary motivator and corruptor of human behavior, but a vehicle to higher human potential and genuine happiness.
About The Authors
Jared Rosen and David Rippe are coauthors of The Flip: Turn Your World Around, (Hampton Roads Publishing Company). They can be reached at www.theflip.net or (513) 253-4854.
The GreenMoney Journal encourages and promotes the awareness of socially & environmentally responsible business, investing and consumer resources in publications & online. The GreenMoney Journal can be found online at www.greenmoneyjournal.com/.
Related Resources
Copyright © 2007
Every day, readers ask questions in the Discussion Forums about numbers and money. "Can we really afford this mortgage?" "What does not buying that morning coffee add up to in the long run?" "Should I use my bonus to pay off the car loan or fund my IRA?" Hugh Chou has a website at www.hughchou.org that can help figure out the answers.
Hugh's Mortgage and Financial Calculators offer calculators in several different areas — loans, retirement, saving/investing, taxes, and various wealth, inflation, and home value topics. All you have to do is plug in a few key numbers — how much that morning coffee costs, or the amount you're contributing to your retirement plan — and the calculator does the rest, computing how much your coffee money will add up to including interest, or how many years remain until your retirement fund hits the magic number that lets you retire with confidence.
We wanted to let readers know about this resource, so I spoke with Hugh recently about the site. He told me the calculators actually started as a way to learn certain computer programming tools he was going to use for his job. He and his wife were buying a house at the time, so he used the tools to create mortgage calculators. He put the first calculators up on the department website. Colleagues started asking for other estimations, which Chou added to the site. Eventually the calculators were so popular Chou pulled them from the department website to his personal website in order to reduce web traffic to the department. The website gets about 10,000 hits each day, the majority of which are hits to his calculators.
There are a plethora of calculators out there — these ones are a little different in that they're based on Chou's views on personal finance, which he posts on the website along with a list of recommended reading. These views should sound familiar to anyone interested in voluntary simplicity — "Borrowing for something that loses value is bad" and "Save, save, save.. tax deferred if possible" are two examples. Many calculators must use assumptions in their calculations. It's nice to have a set that match the thinking of voluntary simplicity. As the website says, "Here in the United States the bottom line is usually 'the more, the better.' Buy as much as you can for yourself; you deserve it. But in many cases you may really want to buy less, or at least not push your finances so much that you really have to strain to afford that house some web-based calculator says you can afford." That's a reference to the fact that most online bank calculators will assume you can put 28 to 36% of your income to loan payments. This dangerous generalization may not apply to someone supporting both parents and children, or someone who'd like to pay off their mortgage in less than thirty years.
Another way these calculators differ from most calculators readily available on the internet is that these ones aren't trying to sell you anything. In fact, the only way that Chou will try to part you from your money is for a donation to keep the website running and free of advertisements, or a donation to charity in exchange for his source code. Charity gives more meaning to his life, explains Chou. "What's $200 to you compared to someone who can't pay their rent, eat, or have heat?"
Chou says he's always been frugal. He says he's "definitely a cheapskate according to his kids." He has made money mistakes though. During the dot-com boom of the late 90's he paid someone to try to make more money from his money — and ended up losing money in the process. He's learned his lesson: "People are always out to beat the market.... Everyone wants to earn thirty or forty percent, and you might be able to but odds are you won't."
The site has brought him attention from all sorts of people. He once helped a woman trying to plan her retirement use the calculators, and to thank him she sent a Bundt cake through the mail. It arrived just in time to share with dinner guests. Others have emailed asking him to create calculators to help them "break the lottery." Some people write to disagree with his views — and sometimes they have a financial interest in doing so.
As for the future, Chou says he updates the website occasionally if someone requests a new calculator or finds an error in a calculation. He says folks have told him he should go into financial planning, and he's considered it, but he's happy in his current job. While he encourages saving for retirement, he doesn't see early retirement as the final goal: "The idea isn't to retire early; it's to do what you want to do. Early retirement might be a panacea, but then again it might not be." If you do want to retire though, he'll help you figure out when you can do it.
You can find Hugh Chou's calculators online at www.hughchou.org/calc/.
About The Author
Ann Haebig is a part-time geek, part-time bicycle advocate, and dedicated follower and promoter of the Your Money or Your Life program. She lives in the San Francisco Bay area with her partner, cat and recently adopted banjo. Ann can be reached at ahaebig@pobox.com.
Copyright © 2007
This is the third article in a series discussing Your Money Or Your Life from a modern, personal perspective. The most recent article in the March-April edition of this Newsletter reviewed Step 2: Money Ain't What It Used To Be — And Never Was. In that article, I tried to pull out a few salient points, the most important of which is this: Money is something we choose to trade our life energy for. After all, isn't that why we're paying any attention to this at all? This life isn't a dress rehearsal — it's the real thing! We want to spend it in the most enjoyable, fulfilling way possible. For some, that means spending a lot of time with family and friends. For others, political activism may be their thing. Others may want to build their own home and grow a vegetable garden. Others want to see the world. For me, I'm figuring it out as I go along. Right now I'm into outdoor activities, from trail running to sailing to extended backpacking journeys. Everybody's got something they've always wanted to do. Let's make it real!
In Step 2, we calculated our Real Hourly Wage and began keeping track of every cent that comes into or goes out of our lives. After collecting this information about our daily activities for a little while, it's time to total it up and see what we've been doing. That's Step 3.
Let's Not Go On A Diet
The authors of Your Money Or Your Life repeatedly draw an analogy between budgeting and dieting. As they point out, neither budgets nor diets work. Both only make us feel guilty about our behavior until we give up the budget or diet. This analogy hits pretty close to home for me. For most of my life from childhood until well into adulthood, I was overweight. I tried diets many times without success. I would lose 5-10 pounds, and then give up in frustration, returning to my usual 270 pounds. But then later on, I found myself living in downtown San Francisco. There was no parking nearby, and the bus service was pretty slow. I began walking to the office, about 20 minutes each way. I discovered that my weight was slowly dropping, naturally. When I put some effort into exercising more, I lost all that weight quickly and easily. I lost 100 pounds in about a year, and have kept it off for over five years now! The key wasn't a diet. The key was a lifestyle change.
Likewise in our financial lives, the key is to change how we live. Self-deprivation won't work! None of us want to spend our lives scrimping every penny to follow a strict budget. What a lousy way to live. That would be like counting calories and only allowing ourselves to eat a certain amount from each category. I think we can all agree that we like eating cookies and ice cream sometimes. We just want to eat enough to enjoy, but not more than we will enjoy.
Creating The Monthly Tabulation
In Step 2, we began tracking every cent that passed through our lives. After a little while, that ends up being a lot of information. Now we want to tally it all up, to see how much we spent in each category. But wait a minute — what are the categories?
I've heard the same questions over and over again: "Which category should I use for this particular expense? How should I set up my categories for this particular area of spending? Food, for example. Should that be one category? Or should groceries for home be separate from meals out, which would be separate from the snacks at the vending machine at work, which would be separate from the work cafeteria, which would be separate from the morning coffee from Starbucks?" I don't think the problem here is the categorization. The problem is the question itself.
This program is self-directed. Each person's categories will be his or her own. It's a matter of what is important to us as individuals. Nobody can tell us what our categories should be, just as nobody can tell us how to spend our money. Pick some set of categories to start with. Keep it simple and easy. It's no big deal to change them later and begin using a new set of categories. The important thing is to just choose some categories and create a monthly tabulation. Don't get too fancy! Nobody else ever needs to see any of this. The whole shebang is just for you! It doesn't need to be perfect; it only needs to exist.
Totaling It Up
Our whole world is computerized now. That doesn't mean this should be. Personally, I have a graduate degree in Computer Science and I was a software engineer in my professional career, yet I have never used a computer for anything in the Your Money Or Your Life program. I find a pen and paper to be far more flexible and much simpler. I can scribble down whatever I want, however I want. It usually ends up looking rather ugly. Who cares? This is only for me; nobody else will see it.
Lots of people really dig using their computer to put together gorgeous spreadsheets of their monthly cash flow, importing the daily tracking data from their personal finance software and online banking websites. That's excellent. If you're into that, be sure to take a look at The Simple Living Network's Discussion Forums. Various enthusiasts there are quick to share their spreadsheet templates and ideas for moving data around between formats.
Regardless, it doesn't matter how it's done, whether it's a spreadsheet, pen and paper, or hieroglyphics on a cave wall. The only important thing is to make a monthly tabulation. It doesn't take long, and the results are enlightening!
I Spent Forty Hours Of My Life On My Car?!
The last piece of Step 3 is to convert the total number of dollars spent in each category into hours of life spent working for pay. We do this by using our Real Hourly Wage we computed in Step 2. This way we're keeping in mind that our jobs really consume more of our lives than we're paid for (including commuting, preparation, decompression, etc.), and that they really pay less than the advertised wage (after taxes, commute expenses, work clothing, etc.).
The result is that we'll find out how many hours of our lives were spent at our jobs to pay for whatever we bought in each category. For example, if my Real Hourly Wage is $10/hour, and my car payments are $200/month, plus $100 gas, plus $50 repairs, plus $50 insurance, I would discover that I spend 40 hours of my life on my car each month.
This is the point at which we should repeat our mantra: No Shame, No Blame. This isn't a budget. We're not doing this to make ourselves feel guilty. We're not going on a diet. We're only figuring out what our current behavior is. That's all. And again, nobody else will ever see this. This is just for our own personal knowledge.
Okay, let's stop here. We're now collecting information about ourselves. We're not doing anything about it (yet); we're only seeing what we're doing. That's the first major chunk of the Your Money Or Your Life program in action! Congratulations!
Coming Soon
In the next article, we'll get into Step 4. In my opinion, Step 4 is the center of the whole program. Step 4 is the reason I'm so into Your Money Or Your Life. We'll get into discussion of personal values and fulfillment. You didn't actually think this program is about cutting expenses and living frugally, did you? No, this program is about living consciously, in alignment with our own personal values. That's why Step 4 is where it really gets fun! Hang in there, collect some information, and tally it up. It's worth the effort!
About The Author
Fred Ecks is the volunteer Newsletter Editor for The Simple Living Network. He's a dedicated follower of the 9-step program detailed in Your Money Or Your Life. He uses the time freed up in his life for writing, volunteering, sailing, and trail running. He maintains a Web Log at fredx.livejournal.com.
Related Resources
- Your Money Or Your Life
- Transforming Your Relationship With Money — Audio CD/Workbook Course
- On-Line Study Groups For Your Money Or Your Life
Registration In Progress.
What Is An On-Line Study Group?
OnLine Study Groups were created by The Simple Living Network (SLN) in cooperation with The New Road Map Foundation (NRM). Our purpose is to provide hosted, interactive, on-line classes for those following the nine-step program in the best selling book Your Money Or Your Life by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin.
Your Money Or Your Life presents a simple, nine-step plan that will transform the way you think about, earn and spend money. This plan, a whole systems approach based on simple record-keeping and your own unique life situation, works for anyone who earns or spends money. Singles and couples (with and without children), retirees and students, big earners and those below the poverty line have all been successful in doing the program.
We have created this OnLine Study Group venue because we recognize that group study is very helpful for those following the nine-steps. However, we also recognize that there are many folks out there who...
- do not have access to a local Study Group,
- find it difficult to attend face-to-face meetings on a regular basis, or
- wish to maintain the anonymity provided by the internet.
Curious? Click Here To Take A Tour
Seattle, Washington, May 1, 2007:
The Take Back Your Time campaign called today for members of Congress to enact national legislation guaranteeing at least three weeks of paid vacation for all American workers. They pointed to statistics showing that vacation time is of proven benefit to employers and employees, but is being reduced or eliminated by many American companies. The United States is the only industrial nation that fails to legally protect its citizens' vacations.
American workers receive the least vacation time among wealthy industrial nations. Take Back Your Time (www.timeday.org), a national organization with about 10,000 members that also supports paid childbirth and sick leave legislation, has decided to make the campaign for a national vacation law its top priority for 2007-2008.
"What we're asking for is quite modest when you consider that residents of most industrial countries get five or six weeks off and that the absolute minimum in Europe is twenty days of paid vacation after the first year on the job," said Take Back Your Time's Executive Director Lisa Stuebing."
"Take Back Your Time calls on every member of Congress to stand up for Americans' health, family life and happiness, by making sure that all Americans are given the benefits of paid time off from work," declared Take Back Your Time's national coordinator, John de Graaf.
"Together, we can put together a movement that makes this issue part of the discussion in the 2008 presidential campaigns," added Jerome Segal of the University of Maryland. "I think any presidential candidate who gets out front on this will find a huge reservoir of public support."
AMERICA NEEDS A BREAK
"America needs a break," said Joe Robinson, author of Work to Live and founder of the Work to Live Vacation Campaign, "Job stress and burnout are epidemic. People are caught in this vise grip of spiraling workweeks and shrinking vacations. The average vacation in the U.S. is now only a long weekend. President Bush knows the value of vacation time. He enjoys his trips to his ranch. He ought to be the first to step up and say, 'Send me this bill and I'll sign it.'"
Robinson pointed out that vacations in the U.S. are vanishing. Last year, 25 percent of American workers got no paid vacation at all, while 43% didn't even take a solid week off. "Many employees in a climate of job insecurity are afraid to take their vacations for fear they'll be seen as slackers, something the lack of statutory validation for vacations fosters" adds Robinson. "Because there's no legal validation or protection for vacations, vacations are seen as not legitimate, somehow illicit."
Back in 2002, Robinson brought 50,000 signatures from Americans supporting a paid vacation bill to Congress. "This is not about slacking, not about being lazy," Robinson added. "Vacations are as important to your health as checking your cholesterol or getting exercise. They're the antidote to runaway stress. Research shows that an annual vacation can cut the risk of death from heart disease in women by 50% and in men by 32%. Vacations can also cure burnout, the last stage of chronic stress — but it takes two weeks for the process of re-gathering crashed emotional resources to occur."
BUSINESS WILL BENEFIT FROM A VACATION LAW
Business also gets a big dividend from vacations. "Three week vacations have proven to be a boost to productivity and profits at enlightened American firms with that policy. Performance goes up when people come back from a vacation," said Robinson. "In the knowledge economy, the source of true productivity is a refreshed and energized mind."
Companies that have implemented three-week vacation policies have found it a win-win for employees and sales. At the H Group, a financial services firm in Salem, Oregon, profits have doubled since it adopted a three-week policy. At Jancoa, a cleaning services company in Cincinnati, sales increased 15 percent, a staff turnover problem was eliminated, and performance improved so much that the company was able to get rid of overtime.
"Unfortunately, most employers have been reducing time off in the interest of short-run profits," Robinson says. "That's why we need a law, like the 127 other countries in the world that have one."
LOSING VACATION TIME
Compared to 1970, a third fewer American families take vacations together. Professor William Doherty, a family studies expert at the University of Minnesota, says many adults remember childhood family vacations as the happiest times in their lives, a time when their families really bonded together. "But the family vacation, a couple of leisurely weeks spent camping, for example, is really disappearing," Doherty said, "and our families are suffering from the loss."
Two other organizations, Work to Live and the Adventure Travel Trade Association have joined the campaign. "We're a dedicated group, but we're small," added Cecile Andrews, the author of Slow is Beautiful. "We can't do this on our own, so we're looking for partners on this campaign, groups like the AMA, the Sierra Club, travel companies, health providers, labor unions, enlightened businesses — there's really something in this for everyone."
"We really need this" argued Shauna South, who has signed on as Take Back Your Time's vacation campaign volunteer coordinator in Utah. "There's so much stress out there."
"We need to ask a simple question: What's the Economy for, anyway?" said John de Graaf. "Is it just about the Gross Domestic Product or is it to help us lead happy, healthy and sustainable lives? If it's the latter, then vacations are essential. There's no present like the time."
TO SPEAK WITH ANY OF THE PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS PRESS RELEASE, PLEASE CONTACT LISA STUEBING AT: 206-524-6788 (Seattle) / lisa@timeday.org
Related Resources
