We all hold on to a lot of things in our lives that we just don’t need. Things that are memorable or could be useful one day but they often just aren’t. After moving house three times (and being stuffed in the only place it could fit) that old thingummy that was going to be so useful one day is nearly always broken when you need it. The pointlessness of owning it all this time is often lost on us beneath all our excuses for owning it in the first place and our general grumpiness that it was broken when we needed it. Wouldn’t it have been better to buy it just before you need it? Too right!

So, how do we stop ourselves hanging onto stuff we don’t need? Well, working out why we feel we need it is a start. For some it’s a fear of forgetting something important. For others it’s a fear of not having what you need when you need it. A wise person once told me (and I’m so glad he meant this in jest) “Well, the only things I remember throwing away are the things I needed later”. Well, duh! The truth being that there are many more things you never thought of again.

So, why worry? Consider the tale of an old jumper of mine (Oh, go on. It won’t hurt). I always felt the need to keep this particular jumper regardless of the fact that it was too big for me (and never looked any good) just in case I got cold enough to need it. I never wore it. Ever. It was completely illogical to continue to hold on to that jumper. I have other jumpers. I didn’t need it. It still took a lot of work to give it to charity (honest!).

How to declutter? Home decluttering is easier than you might think. Pick up every item in your house and question it’s value. Is it useful? Do you use it? Do you love it? Do you need it? Do you want it? Is it broken? Will you fix it? Is it pretty/ornate? Is it valuable? Does it bring back memories? Was it given to you? If you can’t work out why you still have it then get rid of it. If it’s an ornament you don’t like then give it to charity. If it’s pretty then put it on display, dammit! Use it for what it is. Make it worth owning. If it’s only use is for memories then store it safely and in a way that you can access when you want to remember. If it needs fixing then make an effort to fix it. If you’re not going to fix it then give it to someone who will. There’s no point having a gigantic mending “to do” list that only serves to clutter your house and make you feel guilty. Take a photo and let it go: you can still dream grand thoughts without hanging on to physical manifestations of the dream.

Here’s a hint: If you are considering getting rid of something but you’re not quite sure try packing it away for a while. If you don’t need it within a few months then get rid of it. And do the world a favour and sell the item or give it to charity. Don’t just chuck it.

In the end it comes down to separating the needs from the wants (and separating the don’t needs and don’t wants from the needs and wants). Most of our accumulated clutter comes from buying things we don’t really need or want. Maybe it’s time to think more carefully about what we buy. It would save all the pain and suffering later when we are forced to contemplate chucking it away.

Well, there’s that one down. But what about other things we keep around that do us no good at all. Jobs, partners and friends? We really need to question the value of the things we spend a lot of time on and the people we spend a lot of time with. Why? Because life is short and we need to have the best time we can before we die. Slightly morbid, I know. But it’s true, okay?

Let’s tackle the harder topic first: People. It might sound nasty to want to spend less time with the people that do you no good. But take a little time to consider this thought carefully. For starters, you’re probably not doing them any good either. If you’re constantly arguing or bickering then you’re causing each other undue stress for no good reason. Spend less time with this person and reserve seeing each other for occasions where you will enjoy each other’s company for a short while only. It’s no secret that parents and teenagers get along far better after the child moves out. And I’ve just given you reason why. Now, don’t worry too much about this. You don’t have to completely cut contact with the people in your life that are wrong for you. You don’t have to do anything at all. Just spend more of your time with the people who are right for you. You’ll still see the others when it’s important to do so.

So, let’s try similar tactics to finding value in people as we did with clutter. Do you love them? Are they funny? Do they like you? Are they interesting? Are they inspiring? Does time fly when you’re with them? Do you look forward to being with them? Do they make you feel special? Do they help you? Do you feel inspired to help them? Does it make you feel good to help them? Are they an old friend? Are they family? Are you responsible for them? Are they close to someone you want to stay close to? Do you enjoy your time with them? If you can’t see a good reason to spend time with them after asking yourself these questions then you are probably spending your time with the wrong people (in fact, you might well choose to continue to do so. But at least do it knowingly).

Who does make you feel good? Who do you enjoy the company of? Get on the phone and invite them to something, silly. Surround yourself with people who inspire you to be a better person. People who keep you on your toes mentally. People who you can talk to for days at a time. People who have achieved great things (things that you admire as great things). A friend may achieve great things by volunteer work or by remembering everyone’s names. As long as you remain impressed by the achievement you will probably find great value in the friend.

On this point, I have one friend who can speak Chinese as a second language fluently whereas my partner has read just about every science fiction book ever written (okay, slight exaggeration). These two both admire the other for their achievements and yet fail to recognise the value of their own. It is probably worth recognising what draws people to you. For your own sanity, that is.

And now onto the big nasty: Work. When do you draw the line? How do you tell if work is doing you more harm than good? What would you do if you weren’t there? There’s lots of things you need to ask yourself before you can make this judgement. It’s worth seriously weighing up the pros and cons before deciding. And speak to your boss because it may only take a change of pace to make you immensely happier at work.

Do you love your job? Is it rewarding? Do you make a difference to the world? Do you get make a difference for a few people? Are you satisfied? Is the job keeping you interested? Do you look forward to work? Do you dream of a different career? Do you like the hours? Do you like the minutes? Is the way you spend most days appealing? Is the content of your workday appealing (ie there’s a very big difference between working in a call centre for a manure company and a call centre for an insurance company)? Do you have status in the company? Is there potential for promotion or restructure? Does your employer train people for higher roles? Are the wages high enough for the work you do? Are the wages high enough for your budget and lifestyle? Do you get to work autonomously? Are you micro managed? Are you a leader? Are your opinions heard? How does the office location suit you? What are the office aesthetics like? Do you have a view? Is your desk comfortable? What is the office politics like? Do you like your boss and peers? Is there a social culture? Are you a part of it? Do you value the company itself? Do you believe in the product? The list can go on and on..

I have a list of questions for the flip side, too: If you were to leave this job what would you do? Would you have enough money to survive? Can you go back to study something more fulfilling? Would you be more happy with a part time bar job than your full time office job? Are you thinking of starting a business? Are you the right sort of person to run a business? Are you ready? Face it, leaving your job without a plan of what else you’re going to do could be a pretty stupid move. Even if you have savings you might use them up before you work it out your life’s purpose. Plan first. And don’t forget to talk to your boss (before doing anything) about negotiating fewer hours or further responsibility. They might be able to help you.

So, sort out your stuff, your friends and your job by really questioning their value. Be honest with yourself! Then you can de-clutter your home, stop yourself spending on things you don’t need, have awesome friends that make you feel great and get a job you love!

Image Credit: Karl Sinfield

“If you’re unsure about what you’re going to do with your life, try to remember some of the most interesting people didn’t know what they were going to do at age twenty-two or even at forty. And nearly all of them are unemployed drug addicts forced to live on cat food. ” — John Safran, Not the sunscreen song

Sorry, I wanted to inject something funny (yet dire) to get you thinking.

How do you work out what to do with your life? What a huge question! And so many answers. How can you even possibly begin to pin down an answer? My theory is that you don’t. Well, don’t try to choose just one thing. It’s too hard. Narrow it down to a small handful and then follow the path that looks best from there. Or if you do choose one path don’t forget that you can back out and choose another one if it doesn’t work out. I think that’s the problem with decisions. People think that once they’re made you have to live with them forever. I mean, sure, give it a go. A real go. Put some effort into making it work for you. But if it doesn’t work then choose something else!

“Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand” — Thomas Carlyle

And what exactly are we talking about here? What to do with your life. That’s pretty broad. By this, most people mean career paths. Some will mean getting married and having kids. Others will mean charity work or religious calling or whatnot. Or they might mean moving overseas or to the country. It might be as simple as choosing to slow down or stay working hard. Lots to decide on. But let’s think about career type only. Most people (unless they’re very lucky) have to find a way to earn a crust somehow. So, since you’re probably destined to have to earn money in some way you need to work out what the best way for you is. I know, I know. That’s your problem. We’ll try to fix that.

Well, let’s start with a question some will find easy. This is like a shortcut to finding out. Picture a situation where you have enough money to live off and never needed to get a job. What would you do with your time? Would you go sailing? Would you go hiking? Would you volunteer at a charity or a library? Would you travel? Would you babysit? Would you go into local council or politics? Would you tinker with computers? Really think. Hard.

Okay, so now you’ve got an idea of how to spend huge amounts of leisure time. How can you work that back into your career? For some this will be SO obvious. For others you may still have too many things to choose from. It should still help you to draw a picture. If you like babysitting in your spare time then get yourself working in childcare right now! Get paid to do what you would do with your time anyway. That’s the plan! If you like to travel then maybe becoming a travel agent is on the cards. Or if you are currently an accountant then you might consider staying an accountant and shifting your place of work to a travel agent.

Now, I’d like you to think about your dream life. Visualise it. When you wake up what do you see? Who do you live with? What do you do that day? Try to incorporate as many of the little things into your life as soon as possible. They’ll make you happier. Now, the reason I mentioned this is to remind yourself about potential contradictions. If you love hiking, but want to wake up every day in a city apartment then you might not really want to work as a tour guide in the sticks. Whereas if you love hiking and you visualised a place with a good view of nature out your bedroom window then a tour guide just might be the trick. Your call. You need to think things through to make it work. As I implied with the example of the accountant, you may find your ideal field this way but not your ideal job role. Or you may find your ideal job role and not the field. Depends how your imagination works, really. So, we need to help you find a job role that fits. Chosing your favourite skills can be tricky. There are lots of tests out there that help you to narrow down your favourite skills sets. Doing these may help you or it may not. It’s up to you how you decide. Suit yourself. But you need to know what your favourite skills are. You don’t want to end up a construction worker when you prefer to help people. Make sure you know.

Do lots more investigation into yourself before deciding. A great resource is the book “What colour is my Parachute” and the related website, The Job Hunter’s Bible, written by the author, Dick Bolles. Here is a very easy way of working yourself out. Divide a page into three columns. Write down all your favourite interests (including your dream pastime) on the left. Write down all your favourite skills in the middle. Make up a list of jobs on the right that mix your favourite interests and skills. Write down any weird and wonderful combination you can think of. Even if it’s silly. It might lead you to think of something more realistic when you look at it later. There’s also plenty of career planning tools online.

Right. Now you have some brilliant career paths opening up. How to narrow them down? Well, you have to research them a bit. Once you come up with a great idea you have to investigate it. Get career planning advice if you can. Spend as much time as you can working out how to earn money in one of these dream jobs. You might surprise yourself. Don’t just presume everyone in the world is killing themselves to get that job. Find out. No slacking off here, alright? Remember, most of the best jobs (in fact, most jobs) are not advertised. Work out how to make that dream job yours. But that’s another story…

We really don’t get taught anything about financial management in school. I’m shocked at how many of my friends know nothing about how their credit card works, let alone how to use simple accounting to correctly assess their financial position. We need to have financial literacy to survive.

The book explores the types of financial management lessons the rich teach their children. These are the lessons that the poor and middle class miss out on. They are simple and basically revolve around learning as much as possible so that you can make educated decisions about money. Most importantly, this book gives you some basic ideas of things you will need to learn more about.. so you’re not just learning useless facts and you are in fact learning the right things to become financially literate.

A most important thing to learn from this book is that you don’t get rich working for money. Wages will only keep you just above broke. Seriously, how many times do we have to be told this before we believe it enough to change our lives? Get out of the rat race!

“Most people never see the trap they are in.” — Robert T Kiyosaki

Most people work because they are afraid of not having money or they desire things that they think will make them happy. Then they are stuck working for fear of losing that income. They want security. The aim is to not let money run your life. Curb your desires and don’t be afraid of having nothing. Beware of the hole in your pocket. Don’t let your emotions rule your decision making. Think with your head!

“With each dollar bill that enters your hand, you and only you have the power to determine your destiny. Spend it foolishly, you choose to be poor. Spend it on liabilities, you choose to be middle class. Invest it in your mind and learn how to acquire assets and you will be choosing wealth as your goal and future. The choice is yours and only yours. Every day with every dollar, you choose to be rich, poor or middle class.” — Robert T Kiyosaki

Learn to correctly identify assets and then buy assets. For most people, a home is a liability not an asset. Assets put money back into your pocket. Make every dollar you get work for you. Invest it. Then it will come back as more income. Easy!

“Build and keep your asset column strong. Once a dollar goes into it, never let it come out. Think of it this way, once a dollar goes into your asset column, it becomes your employee. ” — Robert T Kiyosaki

Always make sure you pay yourself first – and that means assets, not splurging! If you invest your money wisely it will create the income you need to pay the bills later. Plus, it will scare you into making your brain think about how to create some more money in the meantime. Forbid the words “I can’t afford it” and replace them with “How can I afford it?”. You’ll turn your brain on and force it to come up with a solution.

Learn legal ways to avoid paying so much in taxes. Protect your investments through corporations. Corporations pay less in tax than the highest income brackets. Now, due to the tiering structure in Australia you’d have to be earning quite a bit before a flat 30% tax rate was less expensive than your tiered rate. But the point is to LEARN. Find out about taxes and legal ways to minimise them. Talk to an accountant about your current situation. Hire intelligent people to help you.

Don’t just do what everyone else does. Educate yourself and then take educated risks! You’ll get better at it every time you try it.

“Sometimes you win and sometimes you learn.” — Robert T Kiyosaki

Ensure you have enough money not tied up to be able to take advantage of good opportunities. Just like when you are playing Monopoly, you need to ensure you have sufficient cash to buy properties in auction or you could miss a bargain.

Young people should develop investment portfolios before deciding to own a house. The benefits of the extra years on the portfolio are phenomenal. What are the best types of assets? Things that make money by themselves: Businesses that don’t require your presence, managed funds, stocks, bonds, royalties and income-generating real estate.

“Money is only an idea. If you want more money simply change your thinking” — Robert T Kiyosaki

To start off with, most people need to earn a wage to get their initial funds for investing. This doesn’t have to lead to a career. Choose jobs according to what you will learn from them. Groom yourself as a CEO would groom an young, rising star. Learn a little bit about everything and try not to over-specialise. Specialisation is a risk in itself. What happens if that profession becomes redundant? Where will you be then?

Get over your fear, cynicism, laziness, bad habits and arrogance. Fear of losing, rejection, lack of money. We learn by making mistakes. Make some! If what you’re currently doing isn’t working you have to change it. Stop being a cynic and ask wealthy people you know how they did it. Find role models. Read books. Look for new ideas. Go to seminars. Learn! Beat laziness by asking yourself “What’s in it for me?”. Get off your butt and do something about your situation. Now!

“A person needs to sit down and ask, ‘What’s in it for me if I’m healthy, sexy and good looking?’ Or ‘What would my life be like if I never had to work again’ Or ‘What would I do if I had all the money I needed?’. Without a little greed, the desire to have something better, progress is not made.” — Robert T Kiyosaki

To receive you must give. Give generously. Teach others what you know as you will learn more also. Help others to have what you want as you will gain also. Give money to charity. Smile at people. Help others gain contacts and sales. What you give will come back.

• Curb your desires and get rid of the hole in your pocket
• Make every dollar work for you
• Always think “How can I afford it?”
• Change what you’re doing to something that works
• Learn about finance, accounting and taxes
• Learn about business communication, sales, advertising and PR
• Learn about management: cash flow, systems, personal time management and people
• Get over your fear of rejection and fear of failure
• Work with people smarter than you are
• Work to learn
• Give generously
• Learn about investment options
• Learn about how to raise money to finance good opportunities
• Keep your finances ready to take advantage of a great deal
• Always keep your eye out for good investment opportunities
• Make offers
• TAKE ACTION!!

“Action always beats inaction.” — Robert T Kiyosaki

Folks are doing so much these days that we are at breaking point most of the time. We rush from home to work and appointments, then have no energy for house work, cooking, hobbies, family and friends at the end of the day. What are we doing and why are we doing it? This is madness!

Why work? For money? So you can buy nice stuff for your family who you never see? I’m sure they’d prefer to see you. I’m sure you’d prefer to see them. Get real. How much do you really need to earn? Work it out. Then get a life!

Or, if you have no family, why else do you earn money? To spend your free time well? Working hard to earn money purely to give you quality leisure time is a bit of a farce. How expensive are your hobbies anyway? Can you make them cheaper? Do you have other hobbies which don’t require much money? Reading, cycling, running and walking are just a few examples of things people often wish they had more time for and don’t cost anything to do. What else do you want to do? Think!

So, what if your favourite pastime is related to your work? You could be on to something here. For example, the people who take tandem parachuters on jumps are really living their dream. To get that job they had to do LOTS of jumps tandem, then complete a course and do LOTS more jumps solo. Basically, they loved it so much they turned it into a job. Now they get paid to do exactly what they do for fun. It doesn’t get much better than that, does it?

Then there’s the age old story of the fisherman. A businessman tries to get the fisherman to see the merits of working harder and catching more fish so that he can sell to others and make a lot of money. Then, when the fisherman has his made his fortune he can relax and do whatever he wants to do with is time. Which is fishing. I’m glad the fisherman sees the pointlessness of all the hard work. Most people don’t. Even when your profession and leisure are in no way related, the premise is still the same. Why work hard so you have more free time? Why not just work less? Or get a job that feels like leisure? Obviously, we need to draw a line somewhere. We need some money to survive. But don’t kill yourself by working. There’s no point. Live a little.

I often found when working full time that I had little free time for myself. I constantly felt I had to “reward” myself for putting in long hours. So, I spent lots of money in the short amount of time I wasn’t at work. I actually would have preferred to have less hours and less money. There wasn’t an option of dropping my hours. So I quit. That company then had to retrain someone to do my job, just because the company ethos was to have fewer full time employees over many part time employees. They have a lot to learn about changing mentalities and the needs of people today.

Today, we have many people who want to downshift or go part time for various reasons. Some want to have more free time. Some want to study while they work. Some want to start businessSome want to have portfolio careers (with more than one career at a time). Yes, even people building portfolio careers can work less than full time hours. But mostly, people downshift so they can start families.

With two parents working part time hours you have created an ideal situation for bringing a child into the world. Both parents can stick to their chosen career path without either feeling like they have lost all their work skills due to years of parenting. Both parents continue to have adult contact and the mental stimulation of their career. Both parents get one-on-one time with the child. There should also be plenty of overlap where the whole family can be together.

Without even considering parenting, the average couple has a big problem with both people working full time hours. In fact, the same problem is noted by single people working full time hours. What is the problem? Well, think about it. Who gets the shopping done? Who does the cleaning? Who goes to the post office? Who goes to the bank? Who runs the errands?

If you work full time it can take weeks to get that tiny errand done because the places you need to visit are only open the same hours you work. Some places have call centres, but not all of them are open very late. And not everything can be done over the phone. Also, you can’t palm everything off to a well meaning partner, family member or friend. A lot of places (especially banks) require you to conduct your own business. There are privacy laws in place which mean no-one can do these things for you. And in the meantime that unfinished errand will bug you and stress you out further. This is the sort of thing that leads you to a mid-life crisis.

We have created a world which doesn’t actually work. If we’re all working full time no-one can get anything done. Everyone rushes to the post office at lunch time and wonders why the queues are so big. Worse still, the post office staff have lunch breaks too. So there’s less staff on at peak time. Companies that have responded to this demand on hours are responding only in one dimension. They increase the amount of hours they are open. Which means people are working longer hours! Even less time for living. Why not respond by letting more people work part time hours? It would also increase the amount of jobs available. Wouldn’t that be great?

So, we can all see plenty of reasons to change to part time work or start businesses. Downshifting is great! More time to go get a life! So, if this is what so many people really want they why is it so hard to get? Have a think about who runs most of the companies we all work for. Most of them are older men, probably from an era where it was expected that they would have a wife who ran the household while he was the breadwinner.

Simply put, the managers of this world just don’t realise that work-life balance and flexibility are an issue. They’ve never had those needs. So the company has continued with the same structures it has always had. Only these days people don’t fit the mould so well. Governments are also run by men of this generation. They continue to push unemployment policy that aims for full time jobs for all. This may be what generations before us wanted but it doesn’t suit most of us now.

We need to stand up for ourselves and ask for what we need. If you want more time then ASK for more time. If you can’t get more time then go to a company that will let you have it or start your own business. Make sure your exit interview details exactly why you left. Help to induce social change by talking to your local MP about promoting shorter and more flexible hours. Eventually, these companies and governments will catch on and life will also become easier for those too meek to ask for what they want. But if you want things to change before you’re too old to enjoy it then do something for yourself now. Life’s too short to waste.

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
– Ferris Bueller

You might even zone out for a while in front of the teev, but it’s still going to bombard you with ads for things you don’t need (but now strangely remember when you’re out shopping). And worse still, if your kids see the ads they’re going to bug you for stuff you can’t afford. Why choose to do that to yourself?

If you come home stressed out and in need of relaxation then actively make time to relax. Take a bath with some candles and a cup of tea or glass of wine. Or curl up in a quiet place and read or take a nap. Take the time to wind down. Put on some quiet music. Maybe a classical radio station. Something peaceful, anyway. An hour like this and you’ll feel much better than you would after an hour in front of the TV. Honestly. Do yourself the favour.

Make mealtimes a sociable thing. Get the whole household motivated and cook together. Get everyone chatting during the meal. You’d be surprised how many families and share houses don’t do this. And it makes such a difference to communication within the household. Well worth the effort.

Building good relationships is far more worthwhile than watching an hour or so of TV. And it’s actually fun. If you live alone you could invite people round for dinner a few times a week. They might even return the favour. Either way, it’s a pleasant way to spend an evening. Much more fun that the teev.

How about going for a walk after dinner with everyone? Nice and healthy. Also nice to see the neighbourhood and pay attention to it a little. Or do some study. Play a board game. Something pleasant and/or self improving. It’s very fulfilling to do something wholesome. Or go and meet friends for coffee or cocktails. Not as wholesome, but definitely fun!

Personally, I spend a lot of time going to concerts, theatre, gigs and movies etc. That can be quite costly, but you can sign up for cheap subscriptions or watch amateur performances to keep the costs down.

Another cheap and fulfilling form of entertainment is to take dance classes or join an amateur theatre group or choir. Have fun meeting people and perfecting your talents for very little cost. These things can often let you explore another side of yourself and take time out from the normal schedule.

If that’s not your thing then why not consider a short course in something you’re somewhat interested in? New cooking style? Something historical? Learn a language? Maybe something more important like a night course for your upcoming change of career.

But if you really are looking forward to an evening of pretty pixels in your own lounge room there are still ways in which you can improve the quality of what you watch. While you’re out and about doing interesting things you can still record your favourite shows for watching later. That way you can fast forward the ads. If you don’t know how to programme your VCR or DVD recorder then take the time to learn! That way you can watch your favourite stuff when it suits you.

The biggest positive to recording shows for later is to avoid the adverts. But the next best reason is that you are only watching the shows you value and not getting sidetracked watching things just because you’re sitting in front of the box. Another way to only watch shows you value is to buy or rent the dvds of that show or movie. Most libraries have a good selection of DVDs to hire FOR FREE (Wow! Books too!). Local and online DVD stores can supply you with hours of entertainment for very little cost.

The point is to be discerning with your viewing. Don’t just watch any old show. Surely you have better things to do. You have a life. Don’t you?

Face it, we are only really satisfied with out lot in life on occasion. The rest of the time we are struggling with something or other and trying desperately to get back to that sense of peace. We feel we need to work hard at a job we hate so we can afford a holiday somewhere special.

But what makes the holiday so much better than normal, everyday life? I mean, really? Yes, new places are exciting and all. But it’s more than that. You’d probably be happy to just stay in the hotel room, right? Well, if it was a nice hotel. Conversely, a holiday with too much planned can begin to feel like a chore.

I believe a lot of the feeling of wellbeing is just to do with flexibility. Knowing you can stay in bed and do nothing is just so refreshing after months of 9-5 work. And you can plan day trips and touristy things. You are in charge of your own destiny. Every day. So, would it make you happy to have that freedom every day? Maybe not if that meant you had no money. But if you could have an entirely flexible schedule and still make ends meet that could very possibly make you one of the happiest people on earth.

So, relax a little. Live a little. Today, with the people you have and the things you have. Don’t think that happiness is something you have to wait or.. or pay for. Just do it. Be happy!

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