Thursday July 17th 2008, 10:07 am
Filed under: Goals, Groups, frugal living, lifestyle
With all the emphasis in the press these days about tightening the belt I thought it would be nice to think about life with less money. Does it always mean sacrifice?
Self-employed writer Rita Farin had these points to say. I’ve added my own comments, too. Thanks for the thoughtful writing, Rita!
* Life requires living, whether you have the money or not. It also requires a plan. If you have a plan for your new life, then you can start really living by doing what you love.
One way to start planning is to write it out. The list doesn’t have to be in any particular order. The important things is to get it all out. Some items you’ll commit to doing and others you’ll think, “that’s a cool idea but I’m not ready to commit to that, yet!”.
Even though we’re talking life goals the same could be said for your financial life. Your list could include goals like “Save 10% of my income”, “Give 10% to charity” or “Start a secondary savings fund for Goal X”. In the end you may decide that you can only commit to one of these immediately.
As they say, you must start with the end in mind.
* You have more money than you think you have. Even with a budget in place, it’s hard to know how much money you actually have until you have to spend it without bringing in any income. I had no idea until I started a business a couple of years ago and lived off of my savings. That savings lasted a lot longer than I ever thought it would. And I found pockets of money that I had forgotten about, lasting me nearly two years.
I totally agree here. I literally saved my “lunch money” for 9 months and then lived off of it for nearly the same amount. How did I do this? With a budget. Get yours here at Geezeo.
* You can easily learn to live on less. Having less money taught me how to do more for myself and become more resourceful. I used to shop retail. Now I don’t.
This is great advice because it works. There are multiple groups here at Geezeo with a living-below-my-means emphasis. Find one or more that you’d like to do (or currently do!) here.
* Not having money helps you overcome your fear of not having money. Ask yourself, what’s the worst that can happen? For me, the worst that can happen is going back to a career that I once loved and still enjoy.
This is a common fear among freelancers or the self-employed. Pursuing your life dreams shouldn’t be dictated by money. But the reality is money plays a role in that it can make it easier or harder. To gain control you have to control your money. While no one should “plan to fail”, there are always ways to get back on your feet.
* There are resources for living with no money. As long as you have good credit, you can take out loans or lines of credit. You can also research grants and other available money.
Rita makes a good point here. But I’ll add the caveat: be careful not to lean into these resources too heavily and find yourself with debt you cannot manage. Be sensible in your approach.
* Having no money is a choice and is temporary. It’s a time of investing in your future to rebuild. Transitioning to a life you love at every level brings abundance. Whenever I’ve needed money, it’s come—through opportunities that land on my doorstep.
It’s said that “broke” is a mindset. Don’t let it be yours.
* You always have something to fall back on. We have so many skills. If you’re transitioning out of a career, you can always go back if really necessary. Or you can turn that knitting hobby into a money-making endeavor.
Be flexible with what you can do and you’ll be able to do more.
* Listen to yourself and commit to your passion. Friends, family and strangers may tell you you’re crazy when you decide to make a change. “You can’t make any money doing that,” they may say. Just remember that they’re expressing their own fears, and you can in fact make money from anything you love and commit to do.
We’ve all experienced naysayers. That’s part of the reason money — and by extension, dreams — are so infrequently discussed. Rather than keep your dreams to yourself, find people who will support you and guide you. If these people aren’t in your life, look for them in any of the groups here.
Think big, take action, and believe. Money itself won’t make a life worth living. Yet, managing what you have will make your life easier and increase the chance you’ll reach whatever goals you pursue.
Good luck!
