Letter Never Sent

Lately I’ve gotten the itch to go wandering and live a more simple life, free from the usual restraints. I’m not looking for any big epiphany, I just want to do more living outside the lines. I want to head out and prospect, turn stones over and see what’s underneath. As a result of this mood and from moving regularly (5-6 times in that past few years), I’ve started to pare things down to the essentials. I’ve come up with a few simple rules for how to create the structure I’ll need to do this thing, to live well. It’s easy to simplify:

Get rid of things you don’t need or really care about. Be ruthless.

1. Go through your closet and get rid of anything you haven’t worn in a year. You will never wear it. Donate your cast offs and get a receipt for your taxes.
2. Go through your bookshelf. If you’ve read it and won’t read it again, get rid of it. If it’s actually hard to find and important, keep it. If it’s not hard to find, you can always borrow or buy it again later. Even if a book changed your life, why does that make you want to keep it? Lend it to someone else and spread the joy. I try to keep no more than one box of books. Sell everything else and you won’t feel bad about buying more books later. To enjoy something it doesn’t mean you have to own it forever.
3. Go through your papers and toss anything not important. If it’s important, file it for a few years or store it.
4. For everything else, if you haven’t used it in a year, you probably won’t. Get rid of it.

Cutting future clutter and creating a permanent address.

1. If you plan on moving frequently or traveling, get a post office box. No need to worry about not checking your mail regularly, meth addicts stealing your mail, or leaving a forwarding address. I think mine costs $40 a year. I use it as my mailing address and my business address and check it once or twice a week.
2. For your bank statements and other records, cut off the paper bills and statements. Most providers will now send statements and bills via email.
3. Set up automatic payments for your bills. Many bills are the same amount each time. Set any of these up for automatic payment if you can. This will save you time and money.

Get your finances tuned for maximum freedom and simplicity.

1. Set up a high-yield savings account with a recurring transfer from your checking account every week. Many online banks like ING offer savings accounts that pay out almost 5% interest. Set up a recurring transfer of a few dollars (whatever you might spend on a new outfit) every week and put it into your bank account. Over time, you will build a cushion of savings that is earning interest for you. (Email me (csivori (at) gmail.com) if you want a referral to ING. For a $250 deposit, you’d get $25 dollars and I’d get $10.)
2. Set up a financial dashboard where you can glance at a quick overview of your financial situation. I used to use Microsoft Money to keep track of my finances, but since I started using Fidelity I’ve added my accounts to their “Fullview” portal. Basically, you input your various accounts and logins at the Fidelity website and they fetch your account information from any other banks, credit cards, investment accounts, etc. that you might use and display all your balances and transactions on one page. It will also track spending and calculate your total net worth.
3. Pay down debt. Debt is one of the biggest obstacles to doing what you want. As long as you owe someone money, they have a certain power over you. The biggest way to overcome this to eliminate debt and build savings to prevent future debt.
4. Start a side business. Create some way to make money outside your normal employment. Chances are you can offer the same services you do at work. If you’re an engineer, start an engineering consulting company. If you’re a mechanic, tell friends and neighbors that you’ll do extra work on the side. Most jobs can operate on a freelance basis and many times you can start doing this a few hours a week when you’re not working. This will show you that money can be made outside of the context of having a job. It will also teach you a lot more about business so that you’ll be more valuable as an employee. There are plenty of ways to make money. You just have to create value in a way that is sufficiently profitable for yourself. Use your expertise and help people out. They will pay you for it.
5. Get a rewards credit card (I use one for hotel and airline miles) and never carry a balance. Deposit your paychecks into a high-yield checking account and charge your expenses to the card. You’ll earn airline miles on your living expenses and interest on your wages until you pay off the card balance. Remember NEVER carry a balance as the interest rates on rewards credit cards are higher than normal. If you don’t have the discipline to pay off the balance each month do not do this.

Other ways to simplify.

1. Do things in chunks and batches. When you sit down to do something, it’s better to do one thing at a time until it’s done. Check your email and read the news in chunks. Make all your phone calls at once during the day and let everything else go to voicemail. I use Simulscribe to transcribe my voicemail, so I rarely even answer my phone right away and I never listen to voicemail unless I can’t make out the transcription. When you’re buying birthday cards or other types of cards for special occasions, look forward a year and buy one for any upcoming event. Fill them out ahead of time and just mail them when the date approaches. That way you will never forget and you get it done all at once. Think in terms of chunks and batches.
2. Let someone else do your chores. How much is your time and energy worth? I’m a big believer in wash and fold services and dry cleaning. I used to hate doing laundry and ironing. It would stack up until I ran out of things to wear. Now I drop off my work clothes and nice things at the dry cleaners each week and I take everything else down the street to the laundromat for wash and fold service. Wash and fold costs $1 a pound, so I usually end up spending about $20 a week. They do a better job than I do and it’s a lot easier. No soaps, no machines, no time, no crazy water or gas bill. Just drop it off dirty and pick it up clean and folded. Nothing to think about. Similarly, I’ve also graduated from washing my own car to paying someone else to do it. The cost difference is about $10, but the result is quicker and better. Many car washes will also guarantee your wash for a couple days in case it rains.

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 20th, 2007 at 10:54 am and is filed under General. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.