Issue 12: Discuss!Issue #12 - August 10, 2010 But first, an update: Financial Freedom Guide is on Facebook!thanks to all my friends who "Like"d my Facebook Page for Financial Freedom Guide, I have a short and sweet URL: http://www.facebook.com/FinancialFreedomGuide. I am planning to use Facebook to expand my business - including applications such as their Discussion Forums and Polls. Speaking of which, I'd like you visit the Discussion Forum and let me know what you think of the topic of discussion in this issue. And now back to scheduled programming... Cutting the Costs of LivingLiving costs comprise mortgage payments, rent, home insurance, property tax, utilities, condo association dues and the like. For most people, housing costs are the simgle biggest expense in the budget. Take our household as an example. Our total monthly household expenses are of the order $6000. A whopping 50% of that - $3000 - goes towards housing expenses (mortgage payment, condo association dues, insurance, utilities)! Naturally this category provides the biggest leverage for reducing total expenses. And reducing your total living expenses is a necessary step towards financial freedom.Let Me Count the WaysHere are the five radical ways of reducing living expenses:
What Will be Your Pleasure?I posed this question to Manisha. Her answer was interesting. She said if she had to choose today, she would choose #2 (Multi-family Magic). The main reason is our kids. They are still young and they need the stability.It's an entirely different proposition once the kids are economically self-reliant (more-or-less!). We both agree that we would choose full-timing in an RV, say eight to ten years from now. There are a couple of reasons behind that: First of all, we are not particularly attached to our belongings. In fact we feel that our "stuff" weighs us down! We would sooner have minimal belongings and maximum freedom. We were taking stock of how much of our living space we actually use and the answer surprised us. Besides one bedroom, one bathroom and the kitchen, we really don't need much more living space (This is only for us two, not including our kids of course). As an aside, did you know that Amazon sold more books for the Kindle Wireless Reading Device Between reducing our clutter and moving our lives (photos, financial documents etc.) online, we have been steadily moving in the direction of freedom. Once we have the Kindle and laptops and full wireless broadband coverage, we will be truly free from physical constraints and ready to roll. The Call of the RoadThe open road beckons! We want to see so much of the US & Canada. And we don't just want to visit them as a tourist. We would like to take our time experiencing them. The Grand Canyon? Santa Fe, NM? Yosemite? Glacier National Park? Alaska?! These places have to be experienced over long periods of time. You can't do them justice in a few days' visit.We are actually looking to buy a used - I mean "pre-owned" - popup camper. We plan to use it to go to the Air Show at Oshkosh, WI next year. That will be the first of our tests to see how the fantasy meets up with the reality! Discuss among Yourselves!Please head on over to the Discussion Forum at Facebook and tell me what you think. Any of these ideas resonate with you? Your favorite fantasies? We are all ears.Update on My ProgressAnd here is my latest personal financial update:
Jars UpdateThe Jars System is billed as the world's simplest, easiest and most effective money management method. My wife and I started following it recently, and I plan to publish them here every month. Here are our numbers for the this calendar year-to-date (compared to the percentages recommended as targets):
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this year than it did physical books? I knew it was coming, but I did not expect it to happen so fast.
