Home
>
Success
>
10 Tips for Sensible Living

10 Tips for Sensible Living

Here are a few suggestions that I try to put into practice in my own life...

1) Live within your means - Sooner or later, nearly everybody has to learn to be content with what they've got. President Bush just signed a tough new set of laws which will restrict who can file for bankruptcy. You don't want to fall into that category. This means not only making more money than you spend, but also putting some of that hard-earned green away for emergencies. I suggest having enough liquid assets at your disposal to live for six months without any income. Start at the top...Do you have a $30,000/year job, and own a $300,000 house? Sell it and buy a smaller one. How about that car? Over $15,000? New flat screen plasma TV? Fishing Boat? Give yourself a break and ease your financial stress by cutting out anything that wrecks the budget. Do it now.

2) Establish priorities - Make yourself a list of things that are important. For each item you list as a priority, identify how it ranks in terms of reward, enjoyment, sacrifice, and difficulty. This will help you see what things in your life can be cut out, and where you need to spend more time, money, and energy. Set a goal for each item listed. It's tough to get to where you want to be if you don't know how to get there.

3) Don't overcommit - One of the toughest things for many of us is to learn how to say "no". We care too much about what other people think, and so we try to do everything. It's a terrible trap, and most of us fall into it at some time, and then have to pull ourselves out after some kind of meltdown. If I didn't say "no" several times a week, I would be much more tired, cranky and unfocused than I already am. Keep the things that are high-priority...cut the rest. Use your priority list (above) to help determine what's gotta go.

4) Pay your bills early - Don't just pay them on time. You want to give yourself a little fudge room in case you're on vacation when that cable bill shows up or the phone bill is lost in the mail. Pay the bills right when they come in and your credit score will thank you.

5) Organize - Take some time to clean out those drawers in the office. File, shred and throw away. Chances are, by looking through all the paperwork from the last six months, you'll remember, "Hey, I forgot to call my insurance agent" or some such thing. Note: you have to have time to do this, so see #3 above.

6) Work close to home - How many hours do many of us spend in our car, when we would rather be at home, with friends, or at the movies? If you are commuting an hour to work and back, that's too much! Either find a job that pays a little less and cut your commute, or relocate closer to work. Time is not money, but at the end of our lives, most people wish they had spent more time doing what was important (not driving)...

7) Buy a house - I can think of very few reasons not to own your own home right now. The current tax laws say that you can deduct up to $250,000 of gain on the sale of a home if it is your primary residence. It is hard to find a better investment anywhere.

8) Be patient when purchasing - Whether it's a house, car, TV or computer...don't buy the first one you see. Chances are, you'll regret the decision years later. Instead, do your own research to compare prices and quality of whatever it is you're buying. I looked for two years before I bought my first house.

9) Find a job with good benefits - Anyone who is in business for themselves will tell you that insurance is expensive. Try to find a job that not only pays your health and dental insurance, but also provides disability and life insurance, covers family members, provides profit-sharing and matching 401k plans. Making $50,000 at a job with no benefits isn't any better than making $35,000 with all the perks. Plus, the person at the lower wage has "more room to grow" (a favorite phrase of bosses everywhere).

10) Invest for the future - Pay your debt off first, then build yourself a little nest egg for emergencies. Once you've done that, start putting away for your retirement. The earlier you start, the more aggressive you can afford to be. Stay active in managing your retirement plan. Don't just shove $50/month into some fund you know nothing about. Diversify your retirement plan so you can't be stung if the Stock Market goes belly up.

About me: I am in my mid-thirties and have a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting, with a minor in Decision Science. I entered the accounting field ten years ago, when I started working for a software company, where I stayed seven years. I am now the Inventory Control Manager for a large winery. My experience in the financial markets includes both personal and business endeavors. I publish and maintain stockmarketplus.com - a Financial Weblog.

express cleaning service Arlington Heights ..

In The News:

Researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University designed a 21-foot dome that combines aquaculture and hydroponics to create a self-sustaining urban food system.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

ChatGPT data breach exposes personal info of users through partner Mixpanel. OpenAI confirms names, emails compromised in security incident.

Android rolls out Emergency Live Video for 911 calls, letting dispatchers see real-time scenes during emergencies. Great for holiday travel safety.

Malicious Chrome and Edge extensions collected browsing history, keystrokes and personal data from millions of users before Google and Microsoft removed them.

Google's new Call Reason feature lets Android users mark calls as urgent before dialing, displaying an urgent label to recipients using Phone by Google app.

Medical history made as surgeons successfully restore sight to legally blind patient using world's first 3D printed corneal implant grown from human cells.

Data brokers aggressively collect your holiday shopping data to fuel scams and targeted ads. Learn how to delete your digital profile before 2025 starts.

Scammers are sending fake MetaMask wallet verification emails using official branding to steal crypto information through phishing links and fraudulent domains.

Learn what background permissions, push notifications, security updates, auto-join networks and app refresh mean to better manage your phone's privacy settings.

Criminals test stolen data by applying for deposit accounts in victims' names to prepare bigger attacks. Learn why banks won't share fraud details.

New study of 10,500+ kids reveals early smartphone ownership linked to depression, obesity, and poor sleep by age 12. Earlier phones mean higher risks.

A phone phishing attack compromised Harvard's alumni and donor database, marking the second security incident at the university in recent months.

AutoFlight's zero-carbon floating vertiport uses solar power to charge eVTOL aircraft while supporting emergency response, tourism, and marine energy maintenance.

A new phone return scam targets recent buyers with fake carrier calls. Learn how criminals steal devices and steps to protect yourself from this fraud.

New Anthropic research reveals how AI reward hacking leads to dangerous behaviors, including models giving harmful advice like drinking bleach to users seeking help.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Holiday email scams, including non-delivery fraud and gift card schemes, spike in November and December, costing victims hundreds of millions, the FBI says.

Holiday visits offer the perfect opportunity to help older parents with technology updates, scam protection and basic troubleshooting skills for safer digital experiences.

Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.

Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.

Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.

Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.

Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.

iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.

10 Tips for Sensible Living

Success