Simplifying Your Financial Life

Many of us, do not have enough savings, and sometimes, we have too many accounts, banks, credit cards, it gets overwhelming and confusing, not to mention hard to keep track of it. How to get a sanity? We can start by starting a process of simplifying financial life.

You can not focus on other aspects of your life, if your financial life is not in balance. Many of us are living, doing okay surviving, paying bills, adjusting here and there however, if we lost one or both jobs, most of us are just month away from losing it all. Americans are worst in terms of saving rate compare to any other nation.

Money is not more important than health or family in our life, but we let it get out of control, it can cause a problems in other aspects of our lives, such as health, family, social and worse our self worth. Here are a few ways to get handle on it.

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Quotes: Being happy

Image Source: bodymindspiritintegration.com

Here are a few of many wonderful quotes on being happy by some wise and famous people. Enjoy and be happy today! All of us want to be happy and live happy life. We like to make our close friends and family happy as we give gifts to them, cook for them, spend time with them, and listen to them. Somehow, happiness eludes some of us, of life gives lemons sometimes no matter how hard we work. Sometimes, all we need is little encouragement, little inspiration and motivation to nudge us going bit forward and we all deserve it, don’t we? I sure think so.

Motivational quotes are one of the best way I inspire myself to be happy, try bit harder and smile and it usually works! Sometimes all we need to do is read some happy Books and inspirational quotes or moral stories to bring back happiness!

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Even if happiness forgets you a little bit, never completely forget about it.  ~Jacques Prévert

If you want to be happy, be.  ~Leo Tolstoy

Happiness is never stopping to think if you are.  ~Palmer Sondreal

The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.  ~Mark Twain

If only we’d stop trying to be happy we could have a pretty good time.  ~Edith Wharton

Nobody really cares if you’re miserable, so you might as well be happy.  ~Cynthia Nelms

Those who can laugh without cause have either found the true meaning of happiness or have gone stark raving mad.  ~Norm Papernick

Man is fond of counting his troubles, but he does not count his joys.  If he counted them up as he ought to, he would see that every lot has enough happiness provided for it.  ~Fyodor Dostoevsky

What a wonderful life I’ve had!  I only wish I’d realized it sooner.  ~Colette

The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; the wise grows it under his feet.  ~James Openheim

Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn’t know you left open.  ~John Barrymore

It’s pretty hard to tell what does bring happiness.  Poverty and wealth have both failed.  ~Frank McKinney “Kin” Hubbard

Often people attempt to live their lives backwards; they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want, so they will be happier.  The way it actually works is the reverse.  You must first be who you really are, then do what you need to do, in order to have what you want.  ~Margaret Young

Can anything be so elegant as to have few wants, and to serve them one’s self?  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

We are seldom happy with what we now have, but would go to pieces if we lost any part of it.  ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic’s Notebook, 1960

The happy have whole days,
and those they choose.
The unhappy have but hours,
and those they lose.
~Colley Cibber

You cannot always have happiness, but you can always give happiness.  ~Author Unknown

What makes you happy? Sometimes simplest things in life makes me happiest.

1. When little P and R are not sick, I find peace within me.
2. When clothes are folded and sink is empty of dirty dishes.
3. Hot chai-tea made by Zenguy
4. Seeing smiles on my kids face makes me happy.
5. Watching My favorite movie or reading a book (yet again)

Inspirational Happiness Reading:

Being Happy!: A Handbook to Greater Confidence and Security by Andrew Matthews:

It is a book about…

  • understanding yourself
  • being able to laugh at yourself
  • becoming more prosperous
  • being able to forgive yourself
Being Happy: You Don’t Have to Be Perfect to Lead a Richer, Happier Life:

By using the science of positive psychology along with acceptance, Ben-Shahar shows you how to escape the rat race and begin living a life of serenity, happiness, and fulfillment.

Be Happy: Release the Power of Happiness in YOU by Robert Holden

Step-by-step he introduces you to a set of proven techniques, principles, meditations, and insights that will help you be happy now! Key lessons include:Follow Your Joy — stop chasing happiness and start enjoying your life as it happens.

Celebrating Meaningful Birthdays

I am into simple and minimalist living, but it sure is a bit more complicated when you have small kids and are surrounded by many consumerist minded family and friends.  Zenguy and I have stopped making a big deal out of our birthdays since kids came along, we still celebrate our birthdays, doing things that each of us really want that, we can not simply go and buy.  For example, I like some alone time, meaning I should be able to take shower without kids knocking on door, writing, reading a book, blog or magazine while sipping hot tea, things that matter most to me. For Zenguy, his passion is nature, music and food. On his special days, either, I cook his favorite food, or sometimes we go out to eat his favorite restaurant and go to easy outdoor hiking or listen to classical music at home.

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11 Reasons We Hoard On Things

Why it is hard to let go of stuff and why it is easier to hoard things in our life. To simplify our life and be more free, we need to keep only items we need, and use often.

When we start decluttering, it is overwhelming to go through it all. There are many reasons we hold on to stuff such as;

1. It holds past, precious memory of your childhood, your first time living alone, or first love, first trip, or all firsts you did in your life. It is hard to let go of those memories.

2. We have spend too much money on it.

3. We may need it someday syndrome keeps us getting rid of stuff.

4. If we have kids, it is little hard to simplify. (Not impossible, just hard)

5. We do not know where to begin.

6. We think our current system works, why fix it? It is part of your comfort zone.

7. It takes too much effort and time to clean it all.

8. It will be clutter again, why bother?

9. It might be valuable in 10 years, we can sell it then at better price. We are not hoarder, we are collector.

10. We’ll just move in to a bigger place, or buy more storage system to place it all.

11. We as a species always hoarded things to survive since early days , so what we are doing is natural process. Blame early ancestor (early human) for our hoarding habits.

My biggest problem is kids ever changing stuff and “I may need it someday” syndrome and I have to work hard to overcome it. What are your reasons for holding on to your stuff? How do you overcome those reasons?

Zengirl

10 Ways To Declutter Your House

Not too long ago, I wrote about 7 ways your clutter costing you , check it out, if you have not read it yet. In this post, we will take a look at a few ways to start decluttering, as it is often overwhelming to start, at least for me.

1. Start small, such as one drawer of dresser, or one small area near entrance or corner. Set a timer for ten minutes and clean as much as you can in those 10 minutes. (I can not remember where I have heard this 10 minutes tidy concept, if someone knows, let me know so I can give proper credit where it is due)

2. Involve your family: spouse, kids etc in it. Make it exciting as a game.

3. I usually get 5 large boxes/trash bags and label them, Keep box, Donate/sell Box, Throw away box, recycle box, and I keep one “maybe” box as well. I put that “maybe” box in one area for 2 weeks and If I do not miss it, out it goes in donate pile.

4. Start in one area/room and finish that area before moving on to other things. Sometimes, looking at old books/letters/photos can be distracting as I usually go back in time looking at old memories, keep those in “to-look-at later” box, when you finish with your 10 minutes tidy time.

5. Room will look messier and worse before it will start to look better, so do not worry. It will all come together at the end. Once you finish 10 minutes tidy time, and you think you want to continue, do so until you are ready to take a break.

6. If you have not used an item for 2 years, it should go in donate/sell pile. If you have an emotional attachment to it, see if it possible for you to keep a picture of it, or small piece of it, instead of whole thing. When in doubt, do not get rid of it, put in “may-be” box for awhile. It works for me usually.

7. Once you sort out items in area, find an appropriate storage place for all “keep box” items. Create appropriate storage area for incoming mail, outgoing mail, postage stamps, envelopes, etc in office space. Trash expired medicines, vitamins and makeup items. Also, throw away non repairable toys and electronic items.

8. Always recycle and reuse items first if you can. While you are purging your house, do not buy new gadgets or items for house, it will just defeat the cleaning process.

9. If it gets overwhelming, stop or work while you listen to upbeat music. Once you start to see small progress, it will encourage most of us to finish it all the way.

10. Show and teach spouse, kids and other family members where item should go, they will do it themselves next time. Maintaining is much easier once the process is in place.

Start it slow, everyday little time devoted to decluttering will make whole process easier. Once you have a cleaner house with less stuff or just enough stuff, everyone will be happier and finding things right away. Happy cleaning.

What are your decluttering methods? What works for your house?

Zengirl

10 Simple Ways To Simplify Your Health

Prevention is always better than cure. There are a few steps we can take to simplifying our health.

1. Drink 8-10 glasses of water every day.

2. Eat rainbow colors fruits and vegetables and whole grains to get vitamins and nutrients.

3. Get 20 minutes of sunshine everyday to get your vitamin D.

4, Limit processed food, fried food, sugary food, soda, alcohol drinks.

5. Always eat breakfast. Eat 5-6 short meals through out the day.

6. Eat before you are famished and stop before you are full. It takes 20 minutes for brain to register you are full.

7. Cook and make simple salad and other meals from scratch, you will save money as well your health.

8. Walk, bike, dance, climb, Jump, have fun exercising. For a good exercise you do not need quality gym equipment or sport outfit.

9.Get 8 hours of sleep. Nap in afternoon for 15 minutes, if you can, short rest does wonder to your body and mind.

10. Take deep breath, slow down and enjoy the roses, garden, children, people around you.

How do you stay healthy? What works for you?

Zengirl