Thriving on Less ebook

[Pages:27]Thriving on Less

Simplifying in a Tough Economy

A Companion Ebook to The Power of Less

Copyright ? 2008 - Leo Babauta The Power of Less is available at

Book design :

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Table of Contents

Introduction. ...........................................................................................................................4 Chapter 1 - A Simple Lifestyle. ............................................................................................. 5 Chapter 2 - Focus on the Essentials. .................................................................................. 7 Chapter 3 - Thriving on Less, Not Struggling. .................................................................... 8 Chapter 4 - Focusing on Enough, Not More. .................................................................... 10 Chapter 5 - Make Small Financial Changes First. ............................................................ 13 Chapter 6 - Look at Large Expenses for the Long Term. .................................................15 Chapter 7 - Changing Your Spending Habits. ...................................................................17 Chapter 8 - A Guide to Getting Out of Debt. ..................................................................... 19 "Debt is the worst poverty." - Thomas Fuller. ...................................................................19 Chapter 9 - Tools for a Frugal Life. .................................................................................... 22 Chapter 10 - Resources. ..................................................................................................... 27

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Introduction

"In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." - Albert Einstein

The recent economic recession has a lot of people worried, about their jobs, their businesses, their homes and their bills. When your income is dropping or in jeopardy and you still have a mountain of bills to pay, things can get pretty scary.

However, tough economic times do not have to be a time of struggles! If you look for the opportunity in the middle of difficulty, as Mr. Einstein suggested, then tough economic times become an opportunity to transform your life.

The problems of our economy stem from unchecked consumerism ? people buying houses too expensive for their incomes, getting into too much debt by spending too much, living a lifestyle of more and more with the idea that things will only continue to get better. Unfortunately, this kind of consumerism is unsustainable, both at a global and a personal level. Eventually, the bills have to be paid and things will be corrected to a more sustainable level.

What does this mean for you, personally? It means that in order to survive in a tough economy, you must adjust your lifestyle to a more sustainable level. But to thrive in a tough economy, you can go even further: simplify your life to make room for the truly important. Clear away the clutter and the excess spending to make room for the essential: the people and things you love the most, that you're most passionate about.

Such a simplified lifestyle can be truly wonderful ? you'll finally have time for the things you really love, for relaxation, for outdoor activities, for exercise, for reading or finding peace and quiet, for the loved ones in your life, for the things you're most passionate about. This is what it means to thrive ? to live a life full of the things you want in them, and not more. To live a better quality of life without having to spend and buy and consume.

In this ebook I'll show you how to start on the road to that simple lifestyle. Even better, I'll show you how you can thrive on less, change your habits to create a more sustainable lifestyle, get out of debt, and be in a great position to live well in any economic times.

A quick note: this ebook is a companion to my print book, The Power of Less, which goes into much more detail on these and other topics. While this ebook is free, I highly suggest you buy the actual book ? see my website, , for more info, or look for it in a fine book retailer near you.

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Chapter 1 - A Simple Lifestyle

"Reduce the complexity of life by eliminating the needless wants of life, and the labors of life reduce themselves." - Edwin Way Teale

Not too many years ago, my life was full of clutter. There was the clutter of too many possessions, piled up in every corner of my home and office, bought one at a time on impulsive decisions and stacked up until I realized that I had way too much and that it was way too stressful to have so much clutter. And there was no room to ... live.

There was the clutter of too many commitments, filling up my schedule until I had no room for the things I really wanted to do, no room to accomplish my goals, no room for my family. These commitments piled up one at a time until again, I realized I had way too much and that I was way too stressed out. There was no room for the life I wanted.

There was the clutter of too much to do, too many tasks on my to-do list, too many emails to process each day, too much paperwork piling up in stacks on my desk, too many calls to take and make, too many meetings. It all piles up and you wonder how you'll ever get it all done and how you ever got so much to do.

Then I decided that too much was too much, and that I wanted to simplify. It was a long process (one that continues to this day, to a lesser extent), but over the course of weeks and months, I reduced the amount of clutter, the number of commitments, the amount of things I had to do each day. I simplified my life, and it was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

Today, things are much simpler: my desk and my home are uncluttered and serene, my life is less hectic with room for the things I love, and I am living the life I've always wanted.

It's not an incredible secret, or anything that's terribly difficult to do. Sure, it means making some tough decisions to cut things out in favor of the truly important, but if you don't cut those things out, you're still making those decisions by not taking action ? you're deciding to let the unimportant fill your life so you don't have room for what you love and value. Instead, you need to take a close look at your life and make those tough decisions. You'll be happy you did.

And here's something really great about a simple lifestyle: it doesn't cost a lot of money!

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If you reduce the clutter in your home, you can actually make a little money if you sell some of the stuff (donate the rest to charity). And learn not to fill your home up with clutter, and you'll be spending less on buying possessions as well.

If you simplify your schedule to make room for the things you love, you'll be running around less, you'll be less stressed, and you'll have less need for the "de-stressing" activities that many of us undertake after a long day or week of work: shopping, drinking, partying, going out to expensive entertainment, and so on. You can relax and have fun in other ways that don't cost a lot of money.

After simplifying your life, you will realize that a life full of the things you love and value does not cost a lot of money at all. Sure, you'll still have to spend on the essentials, but beyond that you'll save tons of money.

Imagine that: a truly great life that costs almost nothing. Let's find out how to get there.

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Chapter 2 - Focus on the Essentials

"The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak." - Hans Hofmann

The first step in simplifying, and living with less, is to identify the essential ? that which you want to keep in your life. Then eliminate as much of the nonessential as possible.

I go into much more detail on this process in The Power of Less (please buy it to read more on all these topics ? see ), but basically you want to create a Short List of 4-5 things in your life that you value most ? people you love or things you're passionate about, things you want in your life. These are your essentials.

To give you an idea of what I mean, here's my Short List: spending time with my family, writing, reading and running. Those are the things I want to make room for in my life.

Action Step: Make your Short List of 4-5 essential things now. It only takes a few minutes!

Once you've identified the essential, it's time to start making room for these things, by slowly eliminating as much of the non-essential as possible. This should be a gradual process, as you can't change your life all at once. You didn't fill it up overnight, and you can't empty it out overnight either.

Start by taking a look at your schedule, your commitments, your to-do and project lists, and how you're currently spending your time. What things are not in line with the 4-5 things on your Short List? Can they be eliminated or limited? This might mean disappointing people who want you to keep commitments, but remember that it's your life, not theirs.

Once you've eliminated a good number of non-essential commitments, tasks, projects and so forth, it's important that you use this extra space in your life to focus on the essentials on your Short List. If you empty out your life only to fill it up with other unimportant things (such as watching more TV or more shopping), you've wasted your time.

Create a life that focuses on the essentials ? what you value and love the most, what you're most passionate about. Start today!

For more on choosing the essentials, eliminating the non-essentials, and reducing the clutter in your life, check out my book, The Power of Less (see for more details).

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Chapter 3 - Thriving on Less, Not Struggling

"Who is rich? He who rejoices in his portion." - The Talmud

Scaling back your life and living more frugally can be seen in two ways:

1. It can be a struggle, as you are sacrificing many things and living less comfortably.

2. Or ... it can be incredible, as you are sacrificing consumerism for a life filled with the things you love, a life you've always wanted.

And it all depends on your mindset. Do you want to focus on what you are giving up, or on what you really love? I've found it to be really useful to focus on the positive, and to learn to thrive within a simple, frugal lifestyle by filling my life with things that give me joy and satisfaction.

You can live life now and enjoy it to the fullest -- without destroying your future. The key to doing that? Find ways to enjoy life completely, utterly, maximally ... that don't cost your future very much.

Here are some tips for actually living that philosophy:

* Find free or cheap pleasures. Frugality does not have to be boring or restrictive ... if you use your imagination. Be creative and find ways to have fun -- loads of it -- without spending much money. Have a picnic at the park, go to the beach, do crafts, board games, fly a kite, make art, bake cookies ... I could list a hundred things, and you could come up with a few hundred more. Make a list of simple pleasures, and enjoy them to the maximum. This is the key to the whole idea of enjoying life now without spending tomorrow's dollar.

* Make simplifying fun. I'm a big fan of simplifying my life, and to me, it's great fun. I get rid of stuff (and possibly make money selling it) and have a blast doing it. That's good math.

* Make people a priority. If you give "stuff" a priority -- things like gadgets, nice furnishings, nice clothes, shoes, jewelry, etc. -- then you will spend a lot of money. But if you make people a priority -- the people you love most, you close friends and family -- you don't need to spend a dime to enjoy life. Make some time to visit with friends, or your parents ... and have a conversation with them that doesn't involve eating out or going to the movies. Just sit, have some iced tea or hot cocoa (depending on the weather), and talk. Tell jokes and laugh your heads off. Talk about books

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