Living Large without Spending Big

Everyone wants to live a full life, and I believe everyone can.  Some would say that to do so costs money.  It's true that it takes some money to meet basic needs, but I feel that most people can do much more with the resources they currently have than they think they can.  I'd like to share a few ideas with you.  Of course, you will think of many more that will work for you--these will just set your mind in motion.

What is "Living Large"?

I'm glad you asked.  To me it means that you feel your life is full and has minimal restriction.  You feel satisfied with where you are spiritually, mentally, socially, and physically.  Does that mean that all attempts for self-improvement will cease?  Not likely.  There is always room to grow, and those who live large are constantly extending their borders.

We all have various aspects to our being.  For instance, we are spiritual beings.  To ignore that part of us is to live very small.  So, living large involves getting your spiritual life in tune--the most important aspect of our lives.  Our mental capacity is another aspect of our beings.  To live large, we must continually be learning new things and exercising our marvelous brains.  It is in this area that we most expand our horizons.  We learn new things, find new an better ways of doing what we already enjoy, and explore new ideas and concepts.

We are also social beings.  Living large in this arena means that relationships are exceedingly important.  Did you know that one of the primary reasons God states for making man was for companionship?

Another important aspect of our lives is physical.  To be happy and productive, it is vital that we take care of our bodies.  Eating well, drinking adequate amounts of pure water, exercising, and supplementing our diet where necessary are all ways we take care of the bodies we live in.  We are NOT our body, but we must have a body to indwell--and we only get one.  To explore more about that, check out my lens on the subject.

Finally, we have a financial life.  Truly, the way we use money is a reflection of what we feel is important and  affects all the other aspects of our lives.  You will notice that I said, "...use money..."  Money is merely a tool.  We can use whatever amount of money we have to live large in all the aspects of our lives.  For instance, traveling to the Holy Land would feed my spiritual being; however, an armchair excursion may be more in keeping with my financial reality.  Yet, they accomplish a similar goal:  connecting me to my spiritual source.  In the same way sharing a meal can be a wonderful way to enhance relationships; where the meal occurs, and what is eaten, is of little importance.

So, what are some ways that you can live large in your current financial reality? Let's think about some ideas from each arena.

How do I 'live large' in my Spiritual Life?

One of my favorite things to do in the evening is to watch the sun set.  Can you think of a more spectacular display of natural beauty?  Some are pastel, quiet, and invite reflection.  Others are wild with color, vivid, and exciting!  I hope you have a place from which you can watch sunsets--or sunrises, if that is more to your taste.  I am blessed to live close to the ocean, and I love to sit on the beach and bask in the sunset.  If you are not so fortunate, there are many breathtaking sunsets that have been captured in photographs and paintings.  Many are available online.  In fact, my current desktop is a brilliant sunset over a pine-rimmed lake.

Meditating, going to church, listening to our favorite music, watching uplifting movies, or reading spiritual books are other ways to feed our spirits.  Most cost little or nothing.

Here are some of my favorite uplifting movies:  Field of Dreams, Chariots of Fire, Meet the Robinsons, Remember the Titans, The Sound of Music, Mr. Holland's Opus, Hoosiers,October Sky, Top Gun, Stand and Deliver, Apollo 13, Lean on Me, National Treasure,The Pianist, Driving Miss Daisy, and Dave.  There are many others, and you probably have a list of your own--movies that feed your soul and spirit.  Movies that encourage you and give you hope.

In addition to the Bible, I love to read J.R.R Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, C.S Lewis'Chronicles of Narnia, the Little Women series by Louisa May Alcott, and the Little Houseseries by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

How do I 'live large' socially?

Sharing a meal with friends is one of the best ways to build relationships--even anthropologists agree on this.  Have you ever participated in a Progressive Dinner?  This usually involves several people and their homes.  The entire group has hor d'oeurves at one home, salad at another, a main course at a third, and dessert at still another.  Other courses can be added, of course, to suit your needs/desires.  One home can be provided for babysitting young children.  Another might be a place for games.  This is so much fun!

You need not be so elaborate, however.  Sharing a warm bowl of soup and homemade bread with your family or a best friend can be just as valuable.  I have a monthly "lunch date" with a dear friend.  Sometimes we eat out, but we more often eat a simple meal at her house.  The conversation that comes with lunch is what really counts, after all.

Other activities to enjoy with others might include visiting a museum, bookstore, or other mutually interesting place with a good friend, hosting a game night for friends (my daughter does this regularly), or working a puzzle together.  My husband and I often go to local fast food restaurant and work on word puzzles together--while enjoying ice cream. A favorite New Year's Eve activity for our family is working a jigsaw puzzle together.

What ideas can I try to 'live large' mentally?

You can't truly appreciate living large without continually learning new things--at least in my opinion.  Learning keeps a person young.  It prevents stagnation.  It rejeuvenates us.  Growth in this area can be as inexpensive or as expensive as you want it to be.

You could work on a degree through a university (that would cost money, for sure!), or you could take a class at your local Community School for Adults (much cheaper).  An alternate would be to find someone who participates in the activity you're interested in learning, and just be friends with them--hanging around and working with a master is the time-proved way to learn new skills.

Staying sharp is also rewarding.  Reading good books, working puzzles of various kinds, solving mathmatical problems, or pursuing a challenging hobby are all ways to stay sharp--and maintain a feeling of living large.   In addition to self-help books like Think and Grow Rich, Psycho-cybernetics, and The Magic of Thinking Big, I also enjoy reading history and biography.

What about 'living large' physically?  Any ideas?

In the physical realm, living large, at least to me, involves being healthy.  That means eating correctly.  Did you know that you actually spend less money when you buy fresh than when you buy prepared foods?  That's right, by purchasing fresh ingredients and preparing your own food, you will actually save money.  For instance, greens, carrots, bell peppers, tomatoes, and celery for at least a dozen salads can be purchased for less than $15.  As a bonus, there will be lettuce for sandwiches and celery and carrots for veggie stix.  Buying just the salad mix for those salads would cost at least $15 and wouldn't contain celery, tomatoes, or bell peppers.

Being healthy also means exercising regularly.  However, it does not mean you have to buy a gym membership.  Walking is actually one of the best all-around exercises and costs nothing--except for a comfortable pair of walking shoes.  Swimming is another great exercise that costs little or nothing.  Other low-cost examples:  gardening, doing housework, using the stairs instead of the elevator for fewer than 4 floors, or participating in community sports teams.

Now it's your turn.

Living large is a choice you have to make for yourself.  I hope these ideas will be a springboard to a new, more abundant life for you.  I will continue to blog about more ideas for large living.  Check back often.  In addition, watch for my book that will be coming out soon.  Till next time....live well.

10 Easy Ways to Save Money Every Day

1.  Keep your freezer FULL.  Did you know it actually takes less energy to keep food cold when the freezer is full?  It's absolutely true.  You see, the cold food helps keep all the rest of the food cold.  And cold food takes much longer to warm up than cold air does.  So, if you have lots of cold air in your freezer, you're spending a lot of money to cool the air.  If your freezer isn't full, fill clean milk jugs or cartons with water and freeze them.  The big chunks of ice work great in a cooler (when you get more food for the freezer). 
2.  Here are some other ideas for filling your freezer.  Store flour in a sealed container in the freezer to prevent weevils.  Keep paprika (especially imported paprika) in the freezer for the same reason.  Other herbs and spices can also be frozen.  Buy bread in bulk and freeze it.  It will be as fresh as new when you thaw it.  Store an extra gallon milk.  Keep extra bags of frozen vegetables.  Not only do they make quick additions to a meal, but they are excellent ice packs in case of injuries.  Buy meat in quantity.  Freeze cans of fruit for delicious snacks.  Just thaw slightly and serve.  It's a great way to cool off on a hot day--and more nutritious than Popsicles are.
3.  Unplug electronics or plug them into a power strip you can turn off. If you're like me, you have a bunch of electronics that come on almost instantly when you hit the 'on' switch.  They can do that because they are always part way on.  Some of them, I am not willing to wait for (or I rely on their digital clock), but most only take a few extra seconds to get going.  So, unplug them and save electricity.  It will save you money.  If you have several plugged in to the same outlet anyway, put a switchable power strip there, and turn them all off at once.  
4.  Use coupons--but only for products you planned to buy anyway.  It really isn't a savings if you buy a product just to "save" money on the purchase price.  If you don't buy it (because you didn't really intend to anyway), you don't just save the $1.00 off the coupon promises.  You save the ENTIRE purchase price.  One exception is when using a coupon allows you to try a product you've wanted to try--but at a reduced price.
5.  Choose one or two stores to grocery shop in, and be a loyal customer.  If you regularly patronize the same stores, you learn their secrets for where the best deals are.  You will also be familiar to the staff, who just might tell you about upcoming sales and promotions--often before the general public knows.  This can allow you to delay the purchase of an item a few days--at a substantial savings.  Also, driving from one store to another to save a few cents often costs more in gasoline than you saved inside the store.  And, isn't your time worth anything?
6.  Take a simple calculator with you when you shop.  Stores have lots of ways to "help" you spend your money.  Have you noticed that there is almost always a Special" running on something?  Of course you have.  But, not every "special" really saves you money.  Get in the habit of calculating the cost-per-use or cost-per-serving for whatever you are buying. Simply divide the total cost by the number of uses or servings.  Buy whichever is less. And be vigilant.  At one store I regularly patronize,   5-lb. bags of potatoes often sell for around $2.00 - $2.50, while the 10-lb bags sell for $5.99.  Bigger is not always better.  This also works in hardware stores, big box stores, and other retail stores.
7.  Make a list.  Retailers count on customers to buy on impulse.  That's why their displays are so attractive, there are extra displays in the aisles, and they make you walk all the way to the back of the store (passing all those displays) to buy a gallon of milk. Only purchase items that are not on your list if 1) You use that item regularly, AND the current savings is substantial, or 2) You realize the item is something you need but forgot to put on the list.  The key here is that you truly forgot it--not that you just want it because you happened to see it today.
8.  Use concentrated cleaning products.  We are all tempted to buy the biggest, cheapest products on the shelf.  Often that means we are buying extra water. Read the labels.  Many times, a smaller package will have more uses--and not cost any more.  Read the label.  In determining the best value, calculate the price per use.   Simply, divide the cost of the package by the number of uses it promises.  This strategy also means you don't have to shop as often, and that saves gas!
9.  Use less hot water.  Put the hot water heater on a timer so that it turns off just before the last bath is typically taken and comes back on about an hour before the first person showers.  Take shorter showers.  Use cold water to launder everything except underwear and linen.  Use cold water to wash your floors.  Best of all, install a solar water heater.  This will cost money up front, but it will save money in the long run.
10.  Start a small business.  The IRS recognizes that businesses incur expenses and allows them to pay for those expenses before they pay taxes.  If you receive a W-2, your first expense is taxes.  It is also true that over half of all jobs are created in small business that employ  fewer than 50 workers.  The Small Business Administration (sba.gov) has a huge amount of information available.

We The People

My prayer is that somewhere, some way, President Obama has a chance to see this message.  It's too important to miss, so I'm sharing it wherever I can.

We the People Video

Customer Service for Those in Direct Sales

I have been a member of DNA for several months now. They offered a valuable service to law enforcement officials who were looking for lost kids by paying folks to collect and report license plate numbers in public parking lots. They have since expanded their services and even offer excellent business-building articles in their member area.

I just read a great article regarding customer service for those of us in direct sales. It is service that really builds our business. I am providing a copy of the article below.

Direct Sales: Customer Service the Magic Bullet to Getting and Keeping Clients

"These are great times for Direct Sales professionals. Knowledge and best practices for building a successful business are so widespread that anyone can learn whatever they need to know to get customers without breaking the bank. But did you know that it's easier to keep a client than to get a new one?
A lot of distributors end up spending too much time chasing new business because many direct sellers don't understand that customer service is the core of business, not something that gets slapped onto the business as an afterthought.
Here are four tips for getting and keeping clients with superior customer service.

Compete With Service And Value Because You Can’t Compete on Price
As a Direct Sales person, you often have some of the best products in your respective industry. However, often times when you go to market your customers want to talk price. Since you don’t control the prices focus on what you can control. Make sure you are pointing out the unique qualities of your product or service and blow your competition by offering VIP customer service. Smart businesses fight differently.
Netflix and Blockbuster fought over prices at first, but eventually came to a standstill with almost identical prices. To gain an advantage over their behemoth competitor, Netflix decided to offer phone customer service, while Blockbuster's phone representatives encouraged clients to use their website. Netflix removed the option to get customer support by email and placed their call center in Oregon, while most companies outsource this part of business overseas.
What can you do to provide more support to your clients? Here are some suggestions: 1) Offer a newsletter to your customers answering the most frequently asked questions. 2) Do webinars demonstrating how to use the product or service 3) Create customer appreciation events with special promotions for your best clients.

Give Your Direct Sales Team Room to Improvise
All Direct Sales Companies have policies and procedures in place about what to do if a customer is not happy with your product or service. But what is your policy? Remember this is your business. So even if the company has a policy that may leave the customer unhappy you have to think about what this is going to do to your business. Think about creating a policy that if the product or service has not been used but your company can’t take it you will so that you keep a good relationship with a person who could potentially give you more business later. And remember a disgruntled customer is sure to complain and it is easier to try to come up with a win-win solution. This allows you to build a human connection with your customers and create goodwill that will spread much faster, and have more lasting impact.

Understand That Satisfaction Does Not Equal Loyalty
A research study showed that up to 40% of customers who are satisfied can switch suppliers without thinking. Another study reported that more than 80% of customers who switched suppliers were satisfied with their former providers. Finally, an average American company loses between 15 and 20% of customers each year. In Direct Sales just delivering a fairly-priced product on time does not always equate to loyalty. Creating a relationship based on loyalty requires ongoing commitment to make clients incredibly happy.
Zappos does that very well. All of their clients are encouraged to buy as many products as they want and return those they don't like. Zappos also surprises clients with overnight shipping and encourages call center employees to be creative and flexible in solving clients' problems. Start to create a customer service philosophy and policy in your business.

Avoid Making Excuses
Every company makes mistakes at some point in business. And if you are in business long enough it will happen to you. Maybe it’s the wrong thing gets delivered or something did not get delivered at all. However, it’s not what happens it’s how we respond to what happens. Don’t make excuses. When something unexpected happens, do your best to fix your mistake and go above and beyond what is expected. Then improve your business and customer service to avoid making the same mistake in the future. Turn errors into possibilities for growth instead of sweeping them under the carpet with excuses.

Great customer service is the foundation of your business. It's what makes you different from many other entrepreneurs that are selling similar products. If you follow these simple tips, you will establish customer service that will create loyal clients who will happily talk about your products and services truly helping to make you a word of mouth business."

Indymac Boys Get Sweetheart Deal

More Americans Looking for Apartments in the First Quarter of 2010

More Americans Looking for Apartments in the First Quarter of 2010

I thought this was very interesting. Cycles come and go. The last cycle was that everyone had to own their own homes--even those who couldn't really afford them. Unfortunately, many have lost their homes and are now moving into apartments.

The question is, who will provide the apartments for them? The answer is: Entrepreneurs who are willing to grab their own destinies by the tail. Those brave souls who insist on captaining their own ships--who understand that having a business is the best legal tax-reduction strategy available in our great nation. And those who want to create win-win situations.

To those courageous souls,....happy hunting. May this wave bring you success and prosperity. But always remember to pay it forward.

Unstrapp'd Trailer - "Reality TV for Entrepreneurs"