Category Archives: Debt-Free

Embarrassed by Downsizing?

By Claire Posted in Debt-Free, Simpler Living, Small-House Living Tagged , , ,

We recently saw some distant relatives at a family gathering, people we hadn’t seen for years. One asked my husband why we had moved from our big house in the suburbs to a small house in a small town.

One of the things I love about my husband is that he’s honest and direct. He simply replied, “After my industry moved overseas and I had to close my business, we couldn’t afford to live in our area any more.”

Simple enough, right? But it’s very hard to admit that despite your best efforts, things aren’t going well financially. The responsible way to handle things is to be proactive and downsize willingly, before you’re forced to sell everything just to keep the electricity on. But there’s a huge temptation to pretend like nothing has changed.

It’s dangerous to live in denial. Many people face financial difficulties in these hard times, and some actually make things worse by using credit to continue a lifestyle that they can no longer afford. Even when they reach the end of their rope, and are finally forced to downsize to a smaller house and/or a less desirable area, they may try to keep the façade going by putting a little spin on the situation (“We sold our house because we’re going to travel a while before moving to the Hamptons.”)

Being honest about your situation means you don’t have to wear yourself out pretending that nothing has changed. You also free others who are having financial challenges to be open and admit that the smart thing for them to do right now is to downsize. Your example can show them that there’s nothing to be embarrassed about and that life goes on…..a happy life, too.

Years ago, I would occasionally see bumper stickers on cars that said “Don’t laugh. It’s paid for.” I’ve thought about putting a little sign with that slogan in my yard (don’t worry, my husband would never go for it!) But we love our little house, and we’re happy with it. No, we don’t live in the McMansion anymore, and we don’t live in the suburbs, either. But I’m being completely honest when I say we’re fine with that. Downsizing our life has actually made us quite comfortable. And we don’t care who knows it.

Why My Twitter Profile Picture Looks Like Carlotta Vance

By Claire Posted in Debt-Free, Personal, Simpler Living, Small-House Living Tagged , , , , , , ,

I chose Marie Dressler for my Twitter profile photo in homage to her character, Carlotta Vance, from the classic 1933 film, “Dinner at Eight.”

Carlotta is a woman who once had fame and fortune, who knew what it was like to live in luxury. But in the movie, she is no longer young and beautiful, no longer pursued by men who want to woo her with furs and diamonds. In fact, as her career wanes, she finally reaches the point where, as she tells her dear friend Oliver Jordan, “I haven’t got a sou!” Yet she faces life with courage, concern for others, and as you see in the clip above, a sense of humor.

The character of Carlotta is a role model for me. Over the last decade or so, the lousy economy has dealt my family some hard blows. We lost a business and had to sell our family home. Our income is nowhere near what it once was.

It’s often tempting to feel sorry for myself, and sometimes I do. But most of the time, I want to be like Carlotta. I want to face the future with a sense of hope and charity.

In that spirit, I wrote Downsizing Your Life for Freedom, Flexibility & Financial Peace. It’s had a good response, and I’m grateful. Now I’m writing another book related to it that I hope will also help and encourage others.

Times are challenging for many people these days. I want to help others by sharing what my family has learned, and by telling everyone that being proactive about change, especially change you didn’t ask for, is the best way to get through hard times and keep enjoying your life.

How to Live Economically in Retirement

By Claire Posted in Debt-Free, Good News, Simpler Living, Small-House Living Tagged , , , , ,

How encouraging this video is to those of us who won’t be retiring on a huge pension. Note how relaxed this man is and how he ended up doing this: sounds like it was for the joy of it, not because he’s financially limited. I love how he emphasizes the convenience of living like this. After all, a lack of housework, fewer things to repair and lower costs are all benefits of this way of living. What a great video!

 

 

What We Can Do About Our Beastly Government

By Claire Posted in Debt-Free, Starving the Beasts Tagged , , , , , ,

Some big news this week is that we pay more for taxes than for food and clothing. This is not surprising, and has been going on for quite a while. The fact is that most people are so busy trying to make ends meet that they don’t have time to stop and think why life is so hard, or what is to blame.

It’s interesting that this article, based on information from the BLS, doesn’t mention health insurance. People are literally paying thousands a year for health insurance, even if they’re fortunate enough not to have to use it. Since we’re being forced to do it, I wonder if it’s included in the totals for tax? I recently read a comment someone made to the effect that their health insurance payment is higher than their mortgage payment. I believe that, but how sad is it when a country forces its people to buy something they may not need, and at a higher monthly charge than what they pay for their housing?

Something has to change. Aside from revolution, which is being talked about in various corners of the Internet, is there a peaceful way to solve this problem? We try voting in new people who want to effect change, but something happens to them once they’re in power and they become even bigger spenders than those they replaced.

What else can be done? I think we have to stop financially supporting the government. No, I don’t mean tax evasion.  I mean tax avoidance. Make less money so you pay less in taxes.

Many people think this can’t be done. They have no concept of how they would live without making a certain level of income. But you can live on far less than you think you can, with a little ingenuity and forethought. In fact, there are people who live in this country who pay very little taxes…and they’re not on government assistance, either.

Some people call this starving the beast. I think there are all kinds of beasts that need to be starved (government is at the top of the list). When you stop giving money to groups who are hurting you or making it harder for you to exist, you feel better and life starts becoming easier again.

It feels like we have so little power to change things in this world; truly, we can only change our own behavior. But when we do only that, it’s amazing what can happen.