Get Ready to Super Charge Your Personal Development

As I was thinking of the celebration of Independence Day in the U.S. tomorrow…I thought are we really financially independent ??? Am I ??? Well, here are some things we can do to make that happen !
1. SET A GOAL TO CUT YOUR EXPENSES by some
concrete number - 10%, 20%, 30%, even 50%, and
set up a plan to do it. Reducing costs is the
fastest way to increase your income–faster than making more money..

2. LOOK AT CASH YOU ARE WASTING without enjoying
its benefits, such as lights that get left on,
computers that stay on day and night, “phantom
loads,” like microwave clocks that use more
energy than the microwave itself. If you get to
know your electrical meter, and record the
setting before and after you shut off those
phantom loads, you’ll have concrete proof that you are saving money.

3. Set up a THREE TIER SYSTEM for purchases: a)
necessities; b) conveniences; and c) other. Put
everything you buy in one of these categories for
a week, and examine the list. For example, if you
buy clothing, you might have bought socks and new
fancy shoes. While most people would put the
socks under “a” or “b,” most of us would consider
the fancy shoes “other” unless they are a
necessity for work. The Great Spending
Contraction has begun. Get far enough ahead of
it, that you aren’t bit in the behind.

4. Consider BUYING FOOD IN ITS MOST BASIC FORM,
and in bulk. For example, instead of buying
Pancake mix, buy the flour, shortening, and
leavening. This, alone, will not only improve
your diet, but cost you a fraction of what the
prepared mix would cost. Anything that the
“Generals” prepare, (General Foods, General
Mills, etc) they CHARGE YOU for the privilege.

5. SIMPLIFY. Examine each purchase, and ask
yourself whether some other item would do the job
equally well. Consumerism produces specialized
products that increase demand. The more
specialized, the easier it is to charge consumers
a premium price for it. Shaving cream, instead of
a good lathering soap. Window cleaner instead of
vinegar. Do a bit of research and find out how
your ancestors lived without most of the products
under your sink or among your toiletries. Then,
pare it down, and buy it in bulk.

6. SEEK OUT QUALITY. Seek out highly durable,
long-lasting products that may cost more, but are
well made and will last a long time. You may find
out that the cheaper versions can’t be replaced
easily, when they wear out. Buy now for the long
term, and not on price alone. I’m finding better
quality items being replaced by cheaply made
products at the same price. Buy the quality stuff
while you can still find it, and make sure it fits Tier A. (See #3)

7. Switch over to a CASH ECONOMY. Just do it.
Start out deciding how much money you usually
spend using credit cards and checks, and take out
that amount in cash for a week, two weeks, a
month. If you and your family members spend
through it before that period is over, stay home
and stop spending, until the next period starts.
Consumer research has shown that moving to a cash
economy, consumers spend on average 20-25% less
than if they used a credit card. Use that
research to benefit YOU. Get into the habit of using currency, not plastic.

8. GET THE ENTIRE FAMILY INVOLVED in cutting back
Tier “B” and “C” spending. If you’ve set a goal
of reducing expenses by 20%, make that across the
board, and involve the kids. If this means
cutting back on extra lessons, dances, mall
trips, etc, give your children a say in which
things are cut out or reduced. If you are sincere
about your own cutbacks, your children will
respect and adjust their expectations as well. If
you say you are cutting back, but then buy
something in the “C” category, you’ve lost your
credibility and you’ll have a family mutiny on
your hands. Discuss, as a family, all of your
expenses based on these categories, and try to
reach agreement, so there are no surprises.

9. Chart out your life travels in terms of MILES,
instead of minutes, and then figure out how you
can travel those miles in ways other than those
using fossil fuel. When someone says “That’s 30
minutes away…” get used to asking “Is that
walking, biking,, or traveling by car?” It is a
psychological shift that we all need to make.

10. Learn how to STAY HOME. It sounds funny to
some, but for many people, “home” has become a
“pit stop” to refuel (eat, sleep) before we head
out again. Learning how to stay home might mean
resolving the conflicts you have with your
significant other. It might mean having higher
expectations for better behavior from your children.

11. SLOW DOWN, relax more, and look for ways of
improving your home surroundings. I don’t mean a
new sofa. I’m talking about cleaning up that
harrowing trip from one room to another because
you keep tripping over the rug that sticks up, or
putting up heavier curtains in the winter so the
room stays warmer, or creating a better area to
read, or listen to music, free of distractions.
It might mean moving your most used kitchen
utensils in a convenient place, so it’s easier to
cook. Tell yourself “Home is where I’m going to
be spending most of my time,” and check out your
emotional reaction. If it’s panic or dread, try
to figure out why, and do something about it.

12. “GET REAL” with the people you live with or
love. Unfinished business, unspoken animosity,
curt and angry exchanges not only make it
unpleasant to be at home, it actually impacts
your health. Bad marriages wreck good health.
Come clean and own up to your own unhappiness,
and try to own up to your contribution to the
situation. The average troubled couple waits
seven years before they seek out help, and often
the problems by that point are well-entrenched.
Try to fix it yourself, but if it doesn’t work, seek out a trained listener.

13. PUT YOUR KIDS TO WORK. Too many children have
very little real “purpose” in family life, and
this is a bizarre turn of events in the history
of human-kind. If your kids seem focused on their
own self-interests, ask yourself to what extent
you’ve expected them to take in interest in
things greater than their own amusements. If you
can’t really say “Boy, I’m really glad I have my
son/daughter to take care of X, so I don’t have
to do it…” you’ve forgotten how to teach them
skills like taking responsibility, being
reliable, and the “quid pro quo” of living with
people. Your future son- or daughter- in-law will curse you.

14. SHUT OFF THE CHATTER from the computer/
internet/television /cable/ telephone/cell
phone/pager/ Blackberry/ fax machine for some
period each day and make a space for you to be
with those you love, uninterrupted. Make it a
revered time when the most important people in
the world are sitting with you, paying attention
to each other, talking sincerely, relaxing
together. Expect severe resistance and
techno-withdrawal. Make this revered time long
enough to allow for the “hyperactive” withdrawal
to subside, and a sense of quietude to permeate
the house. Keep it going (as an “experiment” if
you must) for at least a month, and open up
discussion about what kinds of things you could
do, as a family or as individuals, that would be
satisfying or fun without using electricity.

15. SERIOUSLY WEIGH WORKING OVERTIME against
using this time to create a more sustainable
lifestyle. We are used to thinking about making
money as the number one priority, but maybe its
time to seriously question this assumption. If
some crisis should happen tomorrow, just how
prepared are you? Have you put up food? Created a
garden of some type? Gotten to know your
neighbors well enough to ask for (or offer)
favors? Connected with religious or civic
organizations offering you a wider circle of
support? Resolved your marital troubles? Learned
to really enjoy your kids? No doubt, cash is
important, but time is our most precious
commodity. Consider its use very carefully.

16. Imagine a VISION for a future you’d be
willing to live in. You know that line about how
humans can’t live without hope? (I know, some of
you don’t believe in that word, so let’s use the
word “vision.”) The happiest families have a
vision of what they are living and working for.
This vision sustains them in times of trouble. Go
ahead. Imagine the worst. Then, visualize how you
can live a satisfying life through the worst of
it, and what will make it worthwhile. (Hint: if
you don’t imagine good friends and family, live
music, simple foods etc, it probably looks overly
dreary…) Write about it in a story, with you as
the hero, draw it in a picture, sing it in a song. Make it real.

17. MAKE LISTS and MARK ACHIEVEMENTS. Most of us
are overly optimistic about what can be
accomplished in a year, but underestimate what
can be accomplished in ten years. See the broader
plan, and pick several projects to start on
(that’s right, several…). Do something on each
one every day, or make it okay to focus on one
for a while, until you tire of it, and then shift to another one.

18. Keep the LONGER VISION in mind, and
understand how the interim is likely to play out,
based on that vision. Give yourself the space to
make decisions now that you know will not
ultimately be your future course of action. To
make sure you are heading in the right direction,
ask yourself: “Is this moving me toward greater
self-sufficiency? ” “If I am using fossil fuel to
accomplish this goal now, is this in service of
my learning some greater skill, that I can later
apply, to accomplished the goal without those
inputs?” For example, if you know nothing about
carpentry, power tools can make learning about
wood a great deal easier. Once you are
comfortable with putting things together, you can
later apply those skills when using hand tools. A
recumbent bike with a “power assist” can get you
out there and riding that bike, so you get into
better shape to later ride it without the assistance.

19. Understand how the “herd mentality” is likely
to impact you, and try to GET OUT AHEAD OF THE
CROWD, instead of being trampled underneath it.

20. PROTECT YOUR MENTAL HEALTH as closely as you
do your physical health. Depression, paranoia,
drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence,
abandonment, verbal abuse, compulsive behaviors
like overeating, gambling, cyber-sex, anonymous
sex etc. are all common reactions to stressful
times. Keep a tight grip on the loose reins of
that mind of yours, and listen to other people
who tell you they are worried about you and the
way you are behaving. Find people, ideally true
friends and family, to talk to about the
pressures and ruminations you have­your deepest
fears. If you need help, get it now, and make
sure that help includes tangible ways for you to
handle that stress better in the future. Talk
about your mother only if it helps you understand
how to live a more productive life TODAY and gets
you moving in the direction you claim to want to
go in. Make it okay to schedule “mental health”
days..you know, those days when you are just
taking time off from work to smell the roses,
sleep late, schedule a “melt down,” or otherwise live life.

21. Learn the difference between “HEALTHY
PLEASURES” and ones that will burn out your
neurochemistry and destroy your health. Most of
us exaggerate our habitual way of being when
under pressure, based on our personalities. For
some of us, we’ll withdraw from other people and
become isolated. For others, we throw ourselves
into projects that make other people the focus,
and ignore our own well-being. Some of us become
instantly “action oriented” to manage our
anxiety, without stopping to consider the purpose
or goal of our actions. Others become
immobilized, unable to make the simplest
decisions, lest they turn out to be the wrong
ones. Some become more self-centered, while
others stop considering their own needs at all.
Still others become dominated by destructive
emotions and stop thinking clearly. Too much
intellectualizing is the direction others take,
and this allows very little room for emotional
expression or sympathetic connection with
ourselves or others. This is what makes giving
“general advice” like “express your emotions” or
“focus inward” so risky. Know in which direction
to tend to err, and interrupt the pattern before
it goes to extreme. Include people in your life
that “balance out” those tendencies. If you are a
“worry wart,” connect with someone who’s more
carefree. If you tend to intellectualize, find an
improvisational theater group. If you dramatize
everything, befriend someone closer to a “brain”
who “thinks” as a first response. And be prepared
to be possibly annoyed by the personality difference.

22. Care for something NON-HUMAN. Eighty-five
percent of us already do, whether its wild birds,
squirrels, gold fish, a dog, cat or livestock.
Scientifically, we’ve found out that caring for
someone (or something) else is good for our
mental and physical health. We’re likely to live
longer through a life-threatening disease if we
do. Spend time watching or interacting with this
non-human, and access another part of your
consciousness­ perhaps and older, deeper part, and
try to relax while you’re doing it.

23. LIMIT THE “BAD NEWS.” If you find yourself
checking the news more than once a day, give it a
break, for your own sake. Take a “news holiday”
once in a while. Go be around something beautiful, like art or nature.

24. Make a list of the ˜TWENTY THINGS YOU LOVE TO
DO”, and post it where you’ll see it every day.
Write down, next to the item, when is the last
time you did it, and whether you want to do it
more (M) or less (L) often. Write down if it was
something either parent did (P), and whether
you’ll still be able to do it at 85 (85). If it
costs money to do it, put a dollar sign ($) next
to it. If you need to do it with a friend (F) or
special friend (SP) note that. Now, rank-order them, just for fun. EXAMPLE:

25. DON’T TRY TO CHANGE THE WORLD. Try just
impacting your tiny corner of it. Make your
street a nicer place. Plant a few fruit or nut
trees. Join a neighborhood group. Expand your
community food pantry. Get a regular “rent party”
together and pass the hat for those who have lost
their job or have unpaid medical bills. Next
week, that person might be you. Pick up the
garbage you come across, even if it isn’t yours.
Remember that the world is bigger than you are,
and that you don’t own the Earth or the things in
it, you are a part of the Earth, and are owned by it.

26. THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX. Just because people
usually list 25 things, be different. List 26.
Don’t follow the crowd, walk ahead of it. If they
start following you, you’re a leader. If they
don’t, you are ahead of your time or you are
going in the wrong direction. In either case,
enjoy the walk, and break your own rules once in a while.