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Some of the Best Investments I’ve Ever Made

November 3rd, 2011 . Posted in Alternative Forms of Wealth | 3 Comments »
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David and Me on our Wedding Day in Studio City, CA

A while back I was interested in the stock market and various other investment opportunities. Then one day it occurred to me that I had better things to do with my time. Bottom line, investing money bores me. I don’t have the patience for it which I know is probably too bad given we live in such a money oriented society.

My brother used to work in finance and he balanced all my retirement accounts. He was damned good at it too and I rode through some fairly rough times without losing  much money. Then he got sick of the whole industry and quit. He now works on an organic farm.

The other day I got a 401K statement from a previous job and it had lost $3,000 in the last quarter. To be honest, I can’t bother with worrying too much about it. Yes, I should probably move some things around but would it really matter? There’s so much in these retirement accounts that are not transparent and I don’t really trust the system. Read the rest of this entry »

Water is Rising

October 25th, 2011 . Posted in Commentary | 2 Comments »
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Beach in Costa Rica

“What’s the use of a fine house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on?”
- Henry David Thoreau

The last couple of weeks have been super busy for me. Stray Cat Alliance, the cat advocacy organization I work for, had its annual Stray Cat Club fundraiser this past Saturday night. I and many others put in countless hours and worked our butts off but our labor paid off. The event was a huge success and I’m so happy for the cats!

Needless to say I have not had much free time to do anything that has not been “cat” related in the last month. I did however manage to fit in a night with my husband and another couple we are friends with when we attended the world premier of Water is Rising at UCLA Royce Hall. Although very moving the content of this beautiful song and dance production did more than just entertain. It put a human face on the damage the more developed countries of the world are doing to our more vulnerable brothers and sisters. And it’s not pretty.

Water is Rising is performed by 36 artists from the tiny Pacific islands of Kiribati, Tokelau and Tuvalu. These islands are located where the equator meets the date line and they are remote, isolated and vulnerable to changes in the environment. Read the rest of this entry »

Breaking all the Rules

October 9th, 2011 . Posted in Commentary | No Comments »
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Another Beautiful Day in Marina del Rey, CA

I decided not to blog last week. My thoughts were all over the place and I didn’t want to bore anyone with an incoherent rambling session. So instead I took a break.

Breaking rules has been on my mind lately. You know, breaking all the rules held sacred by conventional wisdom that we rarely question. Taking a break from blogging was actually very apropos for me last week. When I started blogging I was given advice by several other bloggers and various other so-called experts who suggested blogging at least once a week or better yet several times a week in order to be taken seriously and create a following. I was going to post something just for the hell of it but I asked myself why? Because there’s some rule out there that some people say I must follow? Read the rest of this entry »

Things I Can Do Without

September 27th, 2011 . Posted in Simple Living | 4 Comments »
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Three little beings I definitely can't live without!

 

A friend of mine recently forwarded a blog post to me from a site called Inside Higher Ed. It’s a great post called  5 Things I No Longer Wish to Own. I love it that simplifying and paring down is a topic that seems to be on more and more peoples’ radars these days.

Blogger Joshua Kim says, Is this desire to shed ownership of things a life cycle story, a digital story, or something else? Do you share my desire for life as a service? Has owning stuff also lost its appeal to you? The five things he no longer wishes to own are: software, hardware, books, a car, and a house.

What about you? Has owning stuff lost its appeal to you? I know it has for me. What are some things you could live without? Read the rest of this entry »

Saving vs. Hoarding vs. Spending

September 19th, 2011 . Posted in Saving money | 6 Comments »
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Japanese Garden in California

I’m a big believer in saving money. Amy Dacyczyn’sThe Complete Tightwad Gazette is one of my all time favorite books because she made me look at saving money as an art form and a game and not a deprivation practice.  Ever since I read her book I often find myself asking “What would Amy do?” Would Amy go out to dinner or would she whip up a scrumptious feast from the leftovers in her fridge? Would Amy buy the knit black top on sale for $20 at Ann Taylor or would she scout the thrift stores for one that cost a dollar?

If you spoke to my husband he would probably say I’m a bit too cautious when it comes to spending money so he loves it when I do because he thinks I should treat myself from time to time. I always joke with him that he hit the jackpot in finding a life partner because I have cost him very little money. He recently wanted to buy me something as a treat and all I could think of (other than a trip to a foreign country) was a pedicure. I do a lot of yoga and I stare at my feet quite a bit. I like having a fun color painted on my toenails but I usually do it myself which is a real pain in the ass. What a treat to have a professional paint my tired little toes and massage my feet. It was worth every bit of the $28 he spent which included the tip.

Having been in major debt when I was younger, I have no desire to sing that sad song again so yes I have a tendency to live in the fear mode sometimes and to not want to spend money on anything but the bare necessities. Read the rest of this entry »

Reflections on Downsizing

September 12th, 2011 . Posted in Simple Living | 6 Comments »
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Pippy: the little lady of leisure!

I have been downsizing for many years now. A great lavish lifestyle where all of the sudden I sold the Mcmansion and started taking the bus to work is not my story. I’ve been living somewhat simply since the late 90s when I began the process of getting rid of things that I no longer needed and searching for ways to make everything in my life from managing my work and social schedule to doing the grocery shopping as simple as possible. Below I list and reflect on some of those changes that have made the most difference and others that I aspire to in the future.

Our One Car Household: It’s been well over six years now that my husband I have gotten by with one car. We live in Los Angeles and cars are a big deal in this town. I’ve never been much of a car person nor been very impressed by anything that anyone drives. As a matter of fact, I react oppositely to how many people react when they see an expensive car. Instead of automatically thinking that person is loaded and successful, I immediately wonder whether or not they are in a lot of debt or if they got a really bad deal on a lease.

Being a one car household has saved us more money that I could ever have imagined. Another plus is not having a car payment and of course I feel like we are doing our part to help the environment in our own small way. I can’t say how long we will continue to be a one car household. We tell ourselves we will do it until it doesn’t make sense for us anymore. So far it’s made sense. There’s a certain amount of finagling of schedules and compromise but the benefits have definitely paid off.

My aspiration is to one day be completely car free but until Los Angeles gets its act together in the public transportation dept, I don’t know if being a no car household would work for us. Read the rest of this entry »

In Praise of Housework

September 5th, 2011 . Posted in Commentary | No Comments »
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My parents' balcony in Birmingham Al. Finally some rain this Labor Day Weekend!

 

As we celebrate Labor Day in the United States this week, the concept of work is on my mind. Not the work we do at our paying jobs but the day to day work we do to keep our households running smoothly. You know all those tasks that take up precious time that we would rather be using for leisure activities or work we found more interesting.

I’ll be honest. I would love to have a cleaning person come to our home once or better yet twice a week. Hiring someone to wash the car, do the marketing, and wash and fold the laundry are also on my wish list.  The bottom line is I can’t justify spending the money. Plus, neither my husband nor I are willing to do what it would take to outsource these tasks.

Our current jobs provide enough for us to pay our bills and do some traveling here and there but not much more for extras like housekeepers and personal shoppers.  My husband is focused on creating a side business that will eventually allow him to quit his job. Read the rest of this entry »

Ivonne’s Story

August 29th, 2011 . Posted in Alternative Forms of Wealth | 2 Comments »
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Waterfall in Los Angeles

 

My job working for an animal welfare organization takes me to South Los Angeles (South LA) quite a bit. For those unfamiliar with the makeup of the Los Angeles area, South LA is the area formerly known as South Central. The socioeconomic status ranges from impoverished to middle-class with a disproportionate number of people living in poverty. Many are unemployed or are losing their homes because they can’t pay the rent. Too often my job puts me in contact with those who in addition to trying to take care of themselves are also struggling to feed and care for their pets.

A girlfriend of mine recently turned up her nose when she found out how much time I spent in South LA. She made one of the “ugh” sounds and I could immediately tell this was not the topic of conversation she had in mind for us that day. She immediately changed the subject to where she was going to vacation next. I don’t think my friend is uncaring but she simply doesn’t want to think about people who are in financial dire straits. Maybe it hits too close to home for some people and by ignoring other’s suffering they don’t have to venture out of their comfort zone.

It’s easy to live in a bubble and forget that so many people in our own cities are struggling to afford the bare bone basics. While the more affluent sit around and whine about their real estate or 401Ks going down in value, there are people who don’t even have a place to live. Read the rest of this entry »

Creating Social Change through Living Simply

August 22nd, 2011 . Posted in Commentary | 2 Comments »
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Beautifiul Flowers at the Getty Museum

 The power to change the status quo is in our hands.-Nathan Winograd

I recently heard an inspiring presentation by Nathan Winograd, founder of the No Kill Nation. This group advocates for taking the killing of shelter animals in America completely off the table. Making the United States a no kill nation is a tall order but when ordinary individuals step up to the plate extraordinary things can happen.

Nathan said that when you are working to create social change to never go looking for a savior or say “someone has to do something” because that person is you. He then told us what led four ordinary people to step up to the plate and advocate change for their respective social causes. I will share these people with you in just a bit but first I want to point out that all movements are up against the status quo and the Simple Living Movement is no exception.

Living simply and minimally requires a bit of an activist streak. Although I live simply for personal reasons I admit that I do have a social agenda as I’m sure do others who follow this path. The simple living movement has its roots in frugality, environmentalism, social justice, and spirituality. All of these things resonate deeply with me and I believe the world would be a better place if we cared more about the environment, consumed less, and had policies that did not exploit those in vulnerable positions. Read the rest of this entry »

Flying Light and Free

August 15th, 2011 . Posted in Simple Living | 1 Comment »
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Plane waiting to leave from a hassle-free Costa Rica Airport

 

Airline travel is anything but simple these days. Between having to arrive at the airport hours ahead of time and waiting in line to be photographed nude by the TSA, flying is enough to make one yearn for the days of the horse and buggy. Disclaimer: I’m not against taking precautions to make air travel safe, but intrusive X- ray machines and TSA agents patting down three year olds and little old ladies in wheelchairs personally does not make me feel any safer. But that’s a different rant so I’ll spare you my politics on the subject.

While making an airline reservation this past week I realized I was about to embark on Flight Number 4 for the year with another three more trips on the horizon before 2012. Although I don’t consider myself a frequent traveler I do travel on average 5-6 times a year. Always on the quest to make my journeys as simple as possible, I get better at it the more I do it.

A few weeks ago my boss and I traveled to Washington D. C. for a conference. We set out to travel as simply as possible and I’m happy to report that our mission was accomplished. Our experience was hassle free as we floated through the airport smoothly and comfortably. Read the rest of this entry »

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