It is amazing to me when I look back at where I was on my life journey when I first became a parent. I was convinced that I had to be a working mom with a fulfilling career. I was convinced that giving my kids a good life meant my husband and I working long hours to acquire wealth so we could provide them with opportunities so grand it would surely make up for the fact that we wouldn’t be around to be their primary caregivers. We fell for the standard American dream shoved on us by corporate America… we owned the minivan.
But, if you asked me back then what my favorite possessions were… well, even back then I would have been at a loss to tell you because I never valued possessions. I always thought people who had treasured knick knacks were kinda weird. It just seemed strange to emotionally invest in something insignificant. It wasn’t until I experienced loss/death for the first time at age 27 that I finally started to get sentimental about material things. I’m still not terribly sentimental… or even romantic as my husband will testify, but that isn’t a bad thing in my book. I guess the first part of this life journey I have been on was to teach me that I was already ahead of the game… I valued events, experiences, and people… not “things” and money isn’t as big of a deal when you realize this.
Now of course a certain amount of things makes it easier and more comfortable for us to enjoy those events, experiences, and people and that is why I am a big believer in frugal luxuries and simplicity… living large on less.
So I enjoyed greatly a book I picked up a couple months ago… 10,001 and Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget. It is a collection of tips compiled by Wise Bread, a top personal finance blog. It is just full of small ways to live a good and fulfilling life without spending much money or feeling like you are sacrificing much. I found that much of the advice was about analyzing our choices and asking us to examine why we do things a certain way when we could make one small change and get the same result without the extra expense. A “why do this when you can do this instead” collection of tips. They had a tip about wearing casual shoes during commutes to work and putting on your dress shoes just as you get to the office so that you aren’t putting another 1-2 hours of wear on your nice shoes each day for no good reason. It was a “duh” moment for me… I never thought of it and this book is full of those kind of tips. I thought those people in suits who wear sneakers on the subway, were just seeking comfort… but perhaps they are also seeking to avoid buying new shoes before they have to. I kept asking why I hadn’t ever thought of this or that? Some would have been useful back in the day, since I haven’t even owned any dress shoes or heels in years, but others were practical to my life situation now.
It is a great book for reading in small spurts because you can dive in at any point and not get lost. I highly recommend it. Enjoy!
This book sounds right up my alley! I went down to part-time after baby #2 was born a few months ago. We make decent money but are still haven’t a hard time adjusting to our lower income. We’ve stripped down bills, started couponing, etc. but I know I can squeeze out a little more. I may have to see if the library has this!
My library had it available – awesome! I live very simply in comparison to most, I think. I have got our finances down to the basics but we don’t have much left to have fun with so, maybe this will give us some tips on how to squeeze out a bit more. Thanks!