Posted: July 14th, 2010 | 14 Comments »
“It’s only $10/month!” A common refrain heard on TV, radio, and printed in magazines – “Satellite radio is $9.99/month! Netflix is only $8!” Have you ever stopped to add up all those little inexpensive monthly bills? I bet they can add up to a pretty penny if you aren’t careful. It is incredibly easy to fall for the “only” when it comes to signing up for new services in our lives, but each and every monthly bill you sign up for takes away from your free time and bottom line… meaning you have to work that much more, save that much less, and deal with yet more paperwork & bills. Because I was giving this some thought the other day, I sat down and wrote out all my monthly responsibilities to see just what I was paying for (and in turn, working for):
Cable TV/Internet/Home Phone Service for $139/month – As soon as this promotional deal ends from Comcast, I am definitely ditching the home phone and might also be ditching the cable TV as well. I have a few more months to decide.
iPhone Service With AT&T for $98/month – This bill isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, as I use my iPhone for phone calls, emails, and running my businesses. Thankfully, this is the cheapest plan (including taxes and some texting) you can get on AT&T with an iPhone, and it works for me.
Netflix for $8.99/month – I am on the one at a time but unlimited monthly plan. I watch about 3 movies (and much more through their streaming service) so it’s worth the $9 a month, which is much cheaper than renting or buying movies through iTunes
Web Hosting for $149/month – This is how I make a living, so I can’t really cheap out on web hosting. It’s a little more than I could be paying somewhere else, but I have 24/7 live support with my account, so it’s still cheaper than hiring my own IT team.
That’s about it, really, other than for heat/AC/gas/water service, which adds up to around $40/month or less. I have considerably cut down on monthly reoccurring expenses compared to how many I used to have, and it has definitely simplified things around here – financially and mentally.
How many monthly bills are you committed to? Are there any that are truly bringing equal value to your everyday life in exchange for how much you are paying?
Posted: June 8th, 2010 | 9 Comments »
One of the biggest advantages of my job is that I can do it from anywhere on earth. Give me a ride to the moon and an internet connection, and I could make my living up there for eternity. I never set out to make it happen for myself, as every job I have had since college (until 4 years ago) was a 9-5, Monday-Friday job, but somehow it worked out that I can now make a living on my own time and from anywhere I want. Some months bring in great money while other months are painfully slow, but somehow it all evens out in the end. I would not be averse to working a part time job somewhere just to get out of the house sometimes, but I am not really keen on giving up self-employment in order to put my entire fate in the hands of someone else. I enjoy being my own boss and making my own money. Besides, it lets me do things like I am about to do, without any worries…
I am going on a month-long road trip.
With a suitcase and my laptop computer, I am going to hit the road and visit friends, family, and attend my brother’s wedding. I will be crisscrossing the states from west to east and north to south, while continuing to do my work, get paid, and pay my bills. A key to more simple living, at least for me, is to set everything up so that I no longer have to worry about it. Less worry = less stress = a simpler life. All my income, from all sources, is automatically deposited in either my checking account or my Paypal account, depending on who it is from. All my bills are automatically charged to my Amtrak miles credit card, which is automatically paid off with a sizeable chunk sent to the credit card company every Monday. Whether at home or somewhere in Iowa, my life operates the same way, which makes being a self-employed online nomad pretty damn cool. I could never have taken an entire month off from a “real” job to travel around the country, but I can now – and it would take an awful lot of something to make me give that up.
This is my Simple. Organized. Life. – making money on my own terms, traveling when I want (and for how long), and forgoing some of the extras in life in order to be able to afford self-employment during the “bad” months throughout the year. Want a simpler life with less worry and more freedom? Figure out what you love to do and make a living at it. You may never get rich, and sure, it could take a few years to get there, but being self-employed is one of the biggest gifts you can give yourself. I know it has been for me.
Well, maybe other than a chocolate donut…
Posted: May 24th, 2010 | 14 Comments »
I mean, physically ill? It definitely makes me ill if I watch it too much, so I decided to do something about it – I stopped watching all American news. The minute you turn on any American news, even stalwarts like CNN or MSNBC, it’s nothing but scare tactics or fluff stories – there really isn’t any actual news on these stations anymore. Being bombarded with stories like this day in and day out take a toll on one’s body and mind, leaving us stressed out, panicky, worried sick or disgusted with the state of the world. The local news is useless, filled with overarching stories that are irrelevant to you, and the national news is just hype over which Republican or Democrat had the latest affair. This is not news – it’s entertainment. Being in constant state of paralysis created by the “news” can make you sick, so I suggest you stop watching it. For good.
There are plenty of avenues for you to still know what’s really going on in the world without resorting to the standard American diet of “news”. If I am watching TV and want to know about the news, I turn on BBC News. Important stories about riots in Jamaica and Thailand, economy issues in Spain, and children being jailed in Turkey have all been on BBC News today – but not on any US news. Instead we get stories about American Idol, an actresses husband found dead, and Sarah Palin telling some random group that Obama is on heroin. This is NOT news, it is NOISE. And it is time to free yourself from it. Check out the BBC on TV or online. Check out Al Jazeera news. Check out independent media not dependent on the ratings that come from covering scandals and hoopla. Hey, watch Comedy Central at night and at least be told up front that the news is entertainment! If you are going to ingest news, which most of us do, at least make it actual news and not scary stories that serve no purpose in your life.
The most important thing? Get your news and move on with your day.
I know people who have their TV’s on all day, so they hear the same b.s. stories morning, noon, and night…and then those same stories become their reality. Kid gets abducted 3,000 miles away? Your kid is next, so you better not let him go outside. A single person has some weird disease that has symptoms that match yours exactly? You are going to die!
You have to realize that the news, at least Americanized news, has become entertainment – and that’s about it. It’s all about ratings, money, and who can scoop the most useless story first. And it’s making us sick in the meantime because it becomes real to us. We have to stop letting it.
Stop watching it. Get what you need from actual news sources and be done for the day. I used to get pissed off and upset when watching the local news until I realized it wasn’t news at all. I still get plenty of information off the internet or the radio, but I have learned to tune out most of the irrelevant stuff. If you are feeling overwhelmed, I suggest you try it as well – it helped me immensely.
