Three Tips for Simplifying Your Life and Being Freer

Living free is something each person has to define for his or her individual life and circumstances. We live in complicated times and for the mainstream more traditional lifestyle in most developed countries it is only going to get more complex in the future. One major step towards living freer and happier is to simplify your life as much as you can, allowing for your specific circumstances. So, here are three tips to help you live a simpler life.

#1. Simplify your Financial Life. There are numerous ways virtually everyone can do this. First, eliminate as much paper from your life as possible. This is good for ecology as well since it saves trees and all the energy to make paper and transport it in numerous ways. It also saves space and time since you don't have to handle, file and store the paper You can do this by receiving all your bills (or at least all that are available) electronically. Then pay them electronically.

Second, you can also simplify your life by eliminating extra bank accounts. You can use one or two accounts and simply maintain several ledgers for different purposes on each account, again, electronically. There are several very inexpensive, simple and efficient home bookkeeping software programs available. Some of these programs will even schedule and pay your bills.

Third, use debit cards in place of paper checks whenever possible. But, here's an important hint. Make sure your debit card is issued through Visa or Mastercard. Many banks are now charging a service fee whenever you use your debit card and enter your pin code. However, if you simply choose to use the same debit card, with the Visa or Mastercard logo on it, as a credit card (even though the funds will still be debited directly from your checking account) you will not be charged a fee by your bank.

Finally, eliminate extra credit cards and close accounts that you are not using like old department store accounts (Sears, JC Penny's, Target and so on). Select one or two, credit cards with low APR's, especially if you must carry a balance. However, I highly recommend you pay off each card every month and don't carry any balances. Keep your credit limits reasonable. The higher your limits the more tempted you'll be to buy stuff you don't really need. You may also want to consider keeping one high credit limit card, with the lowest possible APR, for emergencies. You might want to just keep it in a safe deposit box or a small home safe. Only use it for real emergencies like paying a hospital deductible, should the need arise. One other note, be careful when you close credit accounts. Make sure the issuing agency notes that closing the account was at the customer's request. Also, don't close them all at one time. All of these account closings will be reflected on your credit report (which you can and should check regularly on line) and it could be detrimental to your credit if not handled properly.

#2 Simplify your Wardrobe. Whether you care to believe it or not, you, like most other people (except those who have already simplified their wardrobe) only wear about 20% or your clothes. Like so many aspects of life, Pareto's Principle or the 80/20 Rule applies to your closet. Check it yourself. First of all, I recommend that you stop being a slave to fashion. I know! I know! We all want to look cool and chic. I've been there and done that. I had the bell-bottom slacks, the leisure suit, and the Nehru shirt with the big medallion. I fell right in lock step with the rest of the fashion lemmings.

Here's the thing. A good, simple, basic wardrobe never goes out of style, saves a fortune, always looks good and appropriate and makes your life so much simpler in choosing what to wear each day. Now, I know that women are really drawn into this fashionista stuff. And even worse, women's clothes typically cost so much more than men's clothes. However, I know many women who have just a couple pairs of neutral slacks, a couple easy to care for skirts, a few tops that go with the slacks and skirts, a few different belts and scarves and other accessories and, viola, they can mix and match those few items to create all kinds of combinations. They always look great. The same goes with sports wear like shorts and tees or tank tops. 

Men can apply the same ideas. Depending on your situation men can usually get away with two or three pairs of comfortable, quality shoes. Women should be able to do the same, again, depending on your specific situation. Keep underwear simple, practical, comfortable and easy to maintain. Ladies, I know you like to wear all kinds of sexy, frilly lingerie. So, have one or two sets for "special occasions," but remember I'm trying to simplify your life to make you freer and happier. Always think . . . comfort, ease of care, economy and least amount of space. 

Think of it this way. You are going on a trip. You can carry one bag with you and it's a backpack. You have to haul that backpack everywhere you go. How light can you make that backpack with enough clothes to get you through one to two weeks without having to wash anything? Now, let's make it a bit simpler. How much do you need to go for four or five days? This applies to both men and women.

At another time we'll talk about make-up, jewelry and other "stuff" that is nice, but expensive, can be distracting and is very often unnecessary.

#3. Simplify your Menu. Even those of us who think we have a very economical and simple diet are probably spending way more than has to be expended and the meal process is likely much more complicated than you realize. Interestingly, there is an opposite supposition. Eating out all the time, consuming fast food because it's fast and efficient and relatively inexpensive and eating all kinds of things that are bad for us.

Now, believe me, I love food as much as anyone. I am not a gourmet. I'm not impressed or usually satisfied with the food at a four or five star, very expensive restaurant. I'm not saying that it's not good or worth the price (mostly paying for the ambiance). I'm simply saying that I am very happy with good, properly prepared, simple foods. I honestly believe that most people are like me in that manner, however, because of peer pressure with co-workers, friends, family and so on, we end up eating food that is more expensive than it has to be, takes way more time to prepare it and is probably not the best for a long-term, life sustaining diet.

Here's what I do and suggest. Figure out what you like to eat. I don't mean McDonald's Big Macs, Arby's roast beef and the Colonels best greasy chicken with its secret herbs and spices. Break them down into meal categories i.e. breakfast, lunch and dinner. By the way, there is nothing wrong with eating breakfast food for dinner and lunch food for breakfast and so on. Variety is still the spice of life.

Select good, health-sustaining foods. Make sure you include lots of fruits and veggies. Watch out for too many grains and pastas. I love a good slab of cow (beef) from time to time, but decent cuts of beef can be pricey and we don't need all that much (if you're a vegetarian or a vegan you don't have to worry about this - but you are missing out on something good - oops, I'm editorializing, sorry). We need some protein in our diets and there are lots of ways to get it including eggs, chicken, fish (lots of fish is good) and other protein-laden foods.

My professional speaker friend in Dallas, Texas, Ed Foreman, always expounds on the concept that we should eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper. Many nutritionists promote this idea, as well.

Again, the idea is to simplify our lives to make us freer and happier. So, do I want to deprive myself of some of the nice pleasures that food can provide? Absolutely not! But, what I do want to do is have a simple, easy to prepare, nutritious, life-sustaining and economical diet that I really enjoy and can then enhance by the occasional excursion to a new (to me) or unique restaurant (not the chain places) or even just a favorite fast food place. I like Subway sandwiches; 6" is plenty, saving the other half for another meal. I load the sandwiches with all the spinach, tomatoes and other veggies they can cram on it. I usually only have them apply vinegar for a dressing because it flavors the "salad (with my meat and cheese of choice) on bread" without adding any calories. Oh yeah, and I like the taste that way.

For those of us who travel either in motor homes, vans, trailers or even backpacking, there is a limited amount of space available for food stocking. So, I've created a list of the basic foods I can mix and match and eat day in and day out. The list is pretty simple, yet, allows for lots of diverse flavors while being nutritious. And it's all designed to require simple preparation, thus saving me time, money and energy (since energy is a big consideration when living off the grid for periods of time).

So, there are three tips everyone can put to work to simplify one's life. None of them are hard to implement, however, the results will be to realize less stress and more freedom and that makes one's life happier and more harmonious.

I'll expound on these three ideas more in the future and I'll add more simplification tips as I go along.