Taking Simplifying to the Next Level

Posted by On Filed under Money, Voluntary Simplicity / Minimalism
Taking Simplifying to the Next Level

Some minimalism bloggers go beyond the superficial, and I so appreciate their writing. Some published authors really satisfy, such as Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez (Your Money or Your Life) and Duane Elgin (Voluntary Simplicity: Toward a Way of Life That Is Outwardly Simple, Inwardly Rich). I’ve also found myself looking to religious texts for another level of simplifying.

But I’ve been simplifying, really, for most of my adult life. Now I’m wondering, what’s next? How do I level-up, go beyond “things” and dive deeper?

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Debt milestone: less than $10,000 left

Posted by On Filed under Money 7 Comments
Debt milestone: less than $10,000 left

I hit another milestone today: my total debt is under $10,000! I’m heading toward a seven-year low mark and I’m just doing full-on battle with the beast.

Since studying abroad in college, I’ve carried credit card debt. It ballooned when my income increased, a typical example of lifestyle inflation. Two years after graduating from college, I bought a brand new car and my student loans came due, all within the same summer.

See that big spike in the chart below?  Yeah, I’ve been recovering from that since 2005.

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New Year’s Reflections

Posted by On Filed under Pause for Reflection
New Year’s Reflections

I don’t like New Year’s resolutions, but I do like reflecting at the end of the year. And while I’ve tried some of the standard reflection questions (what worked well? what didn’t work so well?), I get pretty bored with them. So this year I came up with my own list.  It’s a bit quirky, but it works for me.

New Year’s Reflection Questions:

  • When did I last laugh so hard that I cried, (almost) peed my pants or hurt the muscles in my stomach?  What were the circumstances and can I replicate them at least twice as often in the new year?

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