How to Live a Recession-Free Lifestyle

You do not have to go far to hear about the economy. In fact I am currently doing a complete media fast via Four Hour Work Week and I still hear about the economy constantly. It it easy to blame everything and everybody else for the economic woes but that will not help you put food on the table will it, so here are some ways to make cuts, change habits, and just overall live better on less.

1- Money comes and Money goes. Start by making a quick list of bills and income. This does not have to be an extensive list of equations, accountants, and enough calculator tape to re-carpet the house. Just make a quick and dirty list of bills with a monthly number next to it- round the number up to the nearest dollar. Now get out the scissors and start slashing it like crazy. Make it a game, how low can you go?

2- Slash your wants from your needs. Do you want to never worry about money again? I can tell you the secret. Never buy anything you do not need. Take a hard look at that list. Do you really need two car payments, cable TV in every room, $100 worth of latte's a month, or all those magazine subscriptions that never get read? Think about how each item on that list brings value into your life. In addition think about how many hours you have to work to buy those items. Are they still worth the trouble? (Example- I had two car payments that were costing me $1000 in car payments alone. I sold both cars, paid off the loans and bought two beater cars. Now I am saving over $1,200 a month (car payments, increased car insurance, gas on SUV's)- For that kind of money I could buy a car a month and still be making out).

3- Learn to be Frugal. There are lots of little ways to save money on the things you always enjoyed, you just need to think about things more. Plan in advance what you need and then find ways to save money on those needs. For starters never go to the store without a list, and never buy anything that is not on that list. If you looked at your past store purchases, and compared them to the old list, I bet you spent hundreds of dollars over the last year on those "Impulse Items"- you know those things you did not realize you needed before you got to the store. I am not saying cut coupons or anything, but stop assuming the grocery store you have been going to for 10 years is your best bet. It is time to change it up a little.

4- Go Generic. I realize generic might not look as fancy and we all tend to become brand loyal, even though we may not be aware of it, but generic is the wave of the economic future. If you look at the generic brand of everything you buy, the ingredients are exactly the same. In most cases the stuff comes out of the same manufacturing plant- it is just simply sold to stores like Target, Wal-Mart, or your grocery store for a cheaper price because there is no brand attachment. It seems kind of silly to buy a product simply because it has a pretty picture on it-pretty pictures do not make my headache go away any faster!

5- Do not count on your job. This may seem like a bleak comment but I do not mean it to be negative. People are starting to realize that job security is an illusion. No one has job security, never had, never will. This is OK though because it makes us get out of our comfort zone a little and have a plan B. You want to set up your income in a way that if you lost your job, it would be annoying, but not life threatening. You do this by setting up streams of income. There are many different ways to make a little extra money. I would suggest starting with a hobby. Get Rich Slowly has a nice article on how to do that. If you love to do it, you will not mind doing it after work and weekends. You never know, this side project could replace your day job someday!

6- Stop trying to impress others. The excess lifestyle is coming to an end. People need to realize that there will always be someone who has a better phone, car, house etc, and you know what that means? Nothing!! Who cares. Bob from next door got a new BMW, that is wonderful- is he happy? Does he do a darn thing to help society? Does he have a good marriage? I tell you what, my 15 year old dodge gets me to work and back in the same manner as the $600 a month beemer. It is all about show, and we have advertising to thank and closed minds to blame for listening to those advertising. One of my favorite lines from a movie is from Fight Club "Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate to buy shit we do not need". Open your mind, realize you do not need half the crap you thought you did.

7- Sell the crap you just realized you do not need. You are the enlightened one, but there are plenty of people who have not read this post yet who do not realize that their lives are not about acquiring things, or money, or power; it is about being the best you can be in life and love! Go on EBay, craigslist, or have a garage sale and get rid of that PlayStation, extra TV (or all of them), and that $500 cell phone that does everything but give you decent phone service.

8- Eat less.What is this a diet post now. Hear me out, I have a point. We eat fast, very fast. We all know the rule of thumb, it takes the stomach 20 minutes or so to tell the brain, "Hey tell that guy/gal to put the sandwich down". We know this, but do we ever do anything about it? I promise that in most cases, if you eat slow, put the sandwich or fork down after every bite, and chew your food, you will not eat more than half the food on your plate. I will cover this in another post more in depth this week but here is a quick antidote from a friend of mine.

I went to Austria one summer as an intern and one day we were all hungry and I noticed there was a TGIF's nearby. Needing some real American food I convinced my friends to stop in for a bite. I opened the menu and on the bottom of the menu was a huge warning, all decked out in yellows and reds like a crime scene. This certainly got my attention, maybe there is a serious health risk or something I thought, well in fact there was, I just did not realize it at the time. The label said "Warning, the meals are all American Size".

We eat way more food than our bodies need to function at it's peak performance, never mind at a sit all day at a desk job and get no exercise performance. Try eating half of your meals slowly for a week. You can always eat more if you need to, but try only half. Now you can eat the other half for lunch the next day instead of spending more money, or your grocery bill could be half as much. Money and health- working together to solve crime.

There are so many more to cover but it might need more than one post but I will offer up some other websites under resources to further your reading in this topic. The biggest point I want to make here is we need much less than we have, and we want more than we will ever attain. The want more lifestyle needs to die and be replaced with the "I have all I need, thanks" lifestyle if we as a society are ever going to obtain the happiness we all crave. Until next time, good luck, stay strong, and cut those ties with your material possessions- they own you and you know it. What will you let go from your life this week to live better?