California Drought

Part of simple living is being aware of potentially bad situations beyond your control, but also not losing any sleep over it. As many people know, California is experiencing a multi-year drought. In a small town at central California (East Porterville), residents are experiencing life without regular water. Yes, that thing we take for granted every day, no longer coming out of the magical pipes in all houses.

Water is precious

 It's hard to understand a first world country lacking something as basic as water, but, similar to Detroit, some Americans go without running water or electricity. I don't believe in prepping for a zombie invasion...I think it's a waste of storage in my mind, and also the processing it takes to calculate unlikely variables. However, it makes sense to have basic precautions for something like water not coming out of the faucet, or not having electricity for a few days. No country or city is invincible.

I know a lot of people who are afraid to be afraid, and bury their head in the sand. Fear often causes poor decisions, but discounting any fear inducing idea produces blindness.

Okay, so the practical stuff. A great experiment is to turn off your water for two days and see how you do. If that isn't possible, then perhaps prevent yourself from using water by signs or other measures. Needless to say, it would be a good idea to prepare prior to this test so you don't get ill. The point of this is to reduce worry by increasing your ability to survive.

Here are some basic tips:

1. About 1 gallon of drinking water per person per day. The actual drinking recommendation is less but water is often used in cooking too.
2. Have water for everything else you do. This is vague, but how am I supposed to know whether you water your lawn every hour, or live out of a two gallon bucket? This is where testing is helpful. This water doesn't necessarily need to be drinking grade, but should be clean...at least enough to water plants. Hopefully you have vegetable plants if you are reading this blog. A good water plan is scaling down your consumption.
3. The water you use above that isn't consumed (drinking, given to plants, wasted on hourly watering...) should be saved for pouring down your ol' toilet. Yep, the toilet can flush just by pouring water into it. At a job I had, some houses we went to didn't have water turned on and this is what we did to flush.
4. Have extra water. Be aware that pool water isn't really the best thing for you to drink...or water plants with. Remember that for larger, open storage containers (like rain collectors) it can be wise to add a couple goldfish during mosquito season.
5. Consider having a water filter to supplement your drinking water stock.
6. Plan out your storage. Below is one of the storage cases we use. Remember to add the required drops of bleach.

Budgeting Tool Every Dollar Review

Today I would like to review the Dave Ramsey's budgeting tool Every Dollar. This video gives a good summary of creating an account, setting up the information in the account and getting started. I've used spreadsheets and have considered projects like Mint. However, this is my favorite.

I encourage you to give it a try and see if it fits your needs.

Happy Easter?

Why do American holidays often encourage greed? Christmas, whether you believe in God or not, is about Jesus coming down from heaven to earth to later sacrifice everything for all of mankind. So, where is the disconnect? Advertising says Christmas is about possessions filling an empty life. TV shows says Christmas is about finding a partner to fill the emptiness felt by lonely people (among other things. It is interesting to see how television handles Holidays as it can vary greatly). The local radio stations are about conning Santa into giving more gifts, or Christmas tunes lacking virtue to avoid offending others. Since when did America's liberty deny people the rite to express what they believe? To borrow from media I've listened to, it is useful knowing what people believe by what they say no matter how offensive it is. If someone believes black people are evil, I'd rather know about it from what they say (to distance myself from such prejudice), then not know.

I'm not an altruist. I don't believe that is an end, or even an always good means (selfish people can do good things that reflect their selfishness, rather than helping people in need. It's like the missionary friends you may have that are more interested in posting pictures about holding minority babies than quietly devoting time and effort to help others. Knowing that God is their reward should be more important than recognition). The older I've gotten, the less idealistic I am. One day I will sit on a floating rocking chair complaining about the gentle hum it produces and how wooden rocking chairs were far superior.

For now, what is the non-tainting truth that will help my child grow, love, respect and pursue the important things in life? I can't control Emma. If I give her good principles and truth, she has a greater chance of growing into a respectable adult. This needs to be balanced with memory creating fun and adventure. I'll tell her to express herself so people know who she is and she doesn't pretend to be someone she isn't.

What will I tell Emma about Christmas and Easter? Christmas and Easter was originally celebrated by pagans and is now a central Holiday about the Jew named Jesus that some people believe is God who sacrificed everything to save humanity from separation from God. Today many people are more interested in exchanging impressive gifts, singing seemingly humble songs, and making themselves look good then following a sacrificial model. A polished turd is still a turd. Okay, maybe I won't include the last part...

Finally, I'd like to tell her to be careful with want. Maybe showing an example about how people do bad things because of greed. I volunteered at a yearly company egg-hunt with my wife from a nearby restaurant that contained prizes inside the eggs. 1-2 of the prizes was a year of free food from the restaurant. Let me tell you, it got ugly. Parents would come up complaining that their kid didn't get eggs (despite a full basket), parents would shove small kids picking up eggs to snatch them up, and kids would come to us crying because of this. It was insane to watch hundreds of eggs snatched up as fast as humanly possible. When I was a kid, I remember being bad at egg hunts. I was bad enough that parents and other kids felt bad for me and pointed to eggs for me.

Isn't the point of Holidays to celebrate the finer virtues of life by modeling them in front of skeptical family? When did greed become a priority that superseded this? I've lived with just a backpack on my back relying on the kindness of others...matter is a fleeting thing. If I didn't get an excellent prize, maybe someone needed it more than me. Before I had no where to live, I won a sweater at a contest. This sweater became one of my most prized possessions because it kept me warm on cold nights inside lobbies, etc.

Since when did Holidays become the celebration of vice? I don't know, but I think changing that starts at my own household. Thanks for reading this.

Little Chicks and Random Thoughts

 Living in the country has certain spoils, like being able to purchase chicks and raise them for eggs. Over the past few weeks, we and the in-laws have been talking about raising chickens for eggs. Over the last year, egg prices have gone up, and we eat about a dozen eggs a week. The in-laws eat maybe 8 eggs a week...it is hard to count when I'm not home for breakfast.

Also, an advantage of "home grown" eggs is that you control the setting of the chicks. Want them to roam the earth in search of bugs? Set 'em free! Want to put them in the coop so they don't get eaten? Save the chicks!

The amount of money we will save from this is not huge. If 24 organic eggs from Costco cost $7, and we have to pay for grain/time spent watching them, we probably only save $20-30ish a month on eggs. But who doesn't want fresh eggs?

As I grow older, I'm continually impressed by the good life not coming from possessions but experiences and trying new things with companions. I get more satisfaction out of our family joking about the chick named "nugget," than making a few bucks from fixing troublesome technology.

Part of exiting the rat race is replacing it with something. How should I spend time instead of keeping up with the Jones's? I listen to podcasts to and from work to help keep me sane from traffic. What I listen to is budgeting, technology, economy and general side earning business concepts. It helps me refresh before I get home and enjoy the wife and kid's company, rather than being in a grumpy mood due to kamikaze drivers (I'm looking at you Subaru Impreza driver!)

This is definitely the "talk about whatever I feel like" blog post, but the point is that you should use your strengths to your benefit, but not at the expense of ridding your life of what is really important. When I sit on my deathbed, I'm going to think about the family, volunteer work, God, and has my life been spent well. Investment advisors will often tell you to start investing at a very early age so the interest will yield a high retirement savings. What if I treated my life like that? I'll do what is important at the young stages of my life and won't have to catch up as much when I'm a crotchety old man. This is one of the reasons I'm always looking to get slightly ahead financially. Not so I can be a rich guy, but so I can be a content old guy not anxious about income/family relations (assuming I get old. A bus could take me out!).

Quick Guide to Save Money

Cutting costs makes my wife uncomfortable. However, I believe it is key to living simply. Every situation is different.

Pre-req's
1. Make a budget.
2. Compare to your income

Comparison Items:

1. Housing is usually the most expensive budget item. Simply, is your living in an extremely expensive place? Do you own or rent (renting is much more appropriate if you living lease by lease and want the option to move)? Do you have more house and property than needed? How much could you save by downsizing? This is often the hardest thing to adjust. Currently, I live in a multi-family setting for a very manageable amount of rent.
Savings:
$600/month lower rent
$50/month utilities (split)
-$60/month extra gas

2. Cars are another large budget item. Do you pay monthly payments on a car? What if I told you that most people don't need a newer vehicle? My wife's car is 18 years old, with 231k miles on it, running strong. I paid $3000 for it and have done minimum repairs on the about 40k miles put on it. No monthly payments, low insurance cost and cheap parts. The value of the car isn't going to fall with a small new scratch. This is the easiest thing to quickly save on. Do be careful when buying a used car though as many people who do no maintenance try to overprice their car. Use kbb.com. Stick with an inexpensive, reliable car. My wife had a Saturn when we met and spent about $100/month on it for some random repair. Sometimes reliable vehicles are not in good condition. Have someone you trust help you choose a vehicle. The people who are braver than me ditch 1-2 cars and go bikes. That is the ultimate way to save, but you need to have transportation worked out.
Savings:
$500/month no vehicle payments
$100/month lower insurance from older vehicle
$50/month high mileage vehicles (mine gets 35 average per gallon. Not bad for a $2.5k car)

3. Health insurance is a sore spot due to new regulations. This I don't know as much about since you have to comply with new rules and coverage not always accepted. Remember that the purpose of insurance is risk management. A Dr. visit isn't a risk. Large overpriced medical bills are a risk. Somehow, I ended up with a job including benefits. This is harder to calculate how much we save, but comparing it to when we were on another plan it is about $100/mo
Savings:
$100/month lower monthly (lower deductible)

4. Internet and cell services can also make quick savings. My wife used to be with Verizon because we lived in a remote location. Now she is with Republic Wireless (reseller of Sprint, roams on Verizon). For unlimited texts and calling we pay $10 a month. We had to buy the phone for about $200 but have no contract. Meaning, we can have the phone last as long as we want and not be forced to pay for it via subsidized phone price in monthly cost. In 2 years, she will have spent $440 on phone service on Republic Wireless, compared to $1060 on Verizon. In 3 years if the phone lasts, she will have spent $560, compared to $1540 on Verizon. She also now can use her phone on WiFi for internet, with a much better phone. Internet service is more tricky due to different providers. Research what is local to find savings (without bundling! Stay away from that!)
Savings:
$26.67/month

5. Cable. Trade your cable in for Netflix (or Hulu). Go from overpriced to $8/month and have no commercials.
Savings:
$12-92/month

6. Cut your local landline. You can just use cell phones, or set up a new telephone number via Google voice and use that. Last I checked, that could be used to have off-time to prevent sales calls at inconvenient hours.
Savings:
$20+-/month

7. Taxes. The tax code supports tax avoidance (legally finding ways to avoid paying taxes). Tax evasion is illegally lying or not paying what the tax code determines you should pay. Collecting your donations, mortgage interest, student interest, Hope/American Opportunity Credit and dozens more can help you have a refund. If you don't care about knowing taxes, perhaps ask your accountant what will give you the best return on your time.

8. Find new ways to save. Make it like a contest or something you do to enjoy yourself. Do you really both need 2 Macbooks? What if you had 1 Macbook and 1 tablet/Chromebook? That could save $800 on a one time purchase.

9. Get buy-in from yourself and family, otherwise extra purchases will replace savings. Perhaps you are saving for a down, or trying to get debt free. The important thing is to get the entire team on board. If you are married to a spender, provide limited amounts of credit. Sure, this person may max out the credit card, but if they have a credit limit of $200 or less per month, that is manageable.

10. My wife cooks naan bread from bulk ingredients instead of buying bread. We also grow some vegetables. A quick estimate says we save a few bucks per month, but it is much more healthy so that is a quality of life increase for less money.

If you add up all of the saving minimums, it comes to about 16.7k a year. That is quite a bit of savings for minimum sacrifices. Be sure to somewhat regularly compare to your budget and make sure you are spending within it. Lean more to asking if you need it, rather than you want it. Dear reader, what have I missed? What are some things you do to save extra money and what do you save it for?

Ignoring Alternatives

"You can find anything on the Internet, if you try hard enough" so says Kyle from Last Man Standing. I think it works the same in the regular world. This is how people often operate. I am drawn to people I agree with and don't give the time of day to listen to people I disagree with. The possibility of being wrong makes me uncomfortable. When I was young, Republicans were good and Democrats were bad. Kind of like in Star Wars where the was the light and dark sides. Growing up, life has taught me that things are more complicated than that. Good and bad people are in all cultures and sects. It isn't like Lord of the Rings where Goblins and Orcs are universally bad.

Sometimes I internalize my thoughts without giving people the opportunity to state why they think what they do. This makes me narrow minded, rejecting ideas that make me uncomfortable.

When I at one time managed people, I quickly discovered I had to listen to employees who had different experiences and ideas. It was mentally exhausting to work out every detail without help.

What I'm saying is to leave yourself the freedom of being who you want to be by at least listening to other people and cherry-picking aspects and ideas you like, while entertaining things you don't like. Be brave. Many great ideas make you uncomfortable.

Intro to Satisfaction and Random Thoughts

Everyday when I drive to work, I chuckle. The rat race continues day after day. The part I noticed today is that it prevents people from not only being happy, but from pursuing their dreams. When people are buried in debt with many commitments, it is hard to take risks. If you ask most people if they are pleased with what career they are in, they will grunt and say yes after mulling over the regular paycheck.

I'm not saying that people are wasted in the workforce, but that people don't take risks due to commitments and may not fully realize their potential. The difference is that someone can have more than one talent and ability that is not always marketable to employment. So, maybe I want to post every other day about denying indulgences and finding satisfaction in life itself, but have difficulty squeezing the time to do it.

So, rather than let myself feel bad about circumstances and depressed, maybe a unusual solution exists. I was thinking, I spend hours driving during the week, what if I went podcast style and talked while driving? I don't think there's a law against that and there are parts of the road where relatively fewer drivers are trying to bump me off. Also, it may help determine who is at fault if my last words are "why!! Why would you cut me off"-BOOM!

My dream in life is to find something to do that can help people. Legally, I have to limit how much advice I give people, and how specific it is to save money. Also, there are many blogs telling you how to save money, make money and invest money.

I guess my point is that this is 2015. People can post blogs, make podcasts, make websites, use a variety of online tools for many purposes, write books, self publish, apply for online work, find work online for unique talents and so much more. We aren't stuck with a limited unintegrated internet consisting of slow speeds. We have so much potential but limit themselves due to priorities and not having a good enough idea. Our economy is very interesting, you can hire a couple guys to make a single purpose app, give or sell it to thousands of people, and then be bought up by a large company wanting to integrate your app with their existing services.

Are you waiting for someone to give you permission to use this new economy? If you have an idea, pursue it. If you don't have an idea, listen and read sources that will give you inspiration.

Confessions

Earlier this week while I was at work, I got turned on to an application for my Smartphone. It’s a game where you attempt to level up the buildings in your village and defeat other villages. It is well made and entertaining.

In high school and college I discovered I’m prone to certain types of addictions. Games with no clear ending, where you can become richer and higher leveled are a particular weakness for me. In high school this game for me was Runescape. Runescape is an online Role Playing Game with other players where you can do quests, earn cash, and fight. It was somewhat fascinating and horrifying watching myself get mentally consumed without any hope of moderation.

I wrestled with quitting for years. It seemed like I could never rid my mind of PKing (Player Killing), or stop thinking of how to more effectively do it. This is to the point that I didn’t eat enough or waited very long to go to the bathroom. It invaded my dreams and video preferences in Youtube. Keep in mind, I was only moderately good and wealthy. Maybe in the top 20-15%...nowhere near the top.

There was some good that happened in this though. I learned how to make money by the basic principle of selling high and buying low. I learned how to generate the margin between wholesalers and regular consumers. I learned that many people are not worthy of being trusted online, especially if they hold your money.

Flash back to today. Although I am thankful for all I have learned in an addiction, I never want to go back. I didn’t like who I was. Although my buddies at work meant well, I saw myself begin to become someone I didn’t like, someone very familiar but unhappy. So, come the next workday. I get the pleasant task of saying “sorry guys. It’s not you. It’s not the game. It is me. This is a weakness I have and I’d rather do other things like reading or blogging.” I doubt I’d get as bad as before since I have learned a little moderation. It still would rob me of other joys in life like family time, reading…etc. Discovering and conquering this weakness to addictive gaming is one of the best things I have ever done.

I can already hear people say “well sheesh Aaron, why didn’t you just stop being that way?” How many years do I need to waste before it becomes something to avoid, not fight? I discovered the weakness in high school…it didn’t get dealt with in Jr. High and prior. How long should it have been before I said “enough. I am untrustworthy with this and need to better myself by avoiding it as much as physically possible.”? I waited some 7 years before successfully doing that. Should it have been longer?

Well, gentle reader, do you have something optional preventing you from realizing your dreams in life, or keeping you from being someone you admire? Maybe that needs to change. Just a thought.

Want

My want is never ending. No matter what quantity or quality exists in my life, I always want it better with few exceptions. This is great for businesses but contributes to discontent people being envious.

Something I have found to be helpful is separating need from want, and having moderation with want. This is why I am a firm believer in having a budget. The mysterious nature of money being scarce remains, but life doesn’t feel financially cruel because I have mapped out where it goes.

If the foundation of my life makes me happy, than extra is good but not necessary. Yes, it is important to create memories with family and friends. However, if I am discontent with both, how is making memories going to help? I’ll just remember being unhappy.

Matter is a terrible escape. It consumes my cash, time, and happiness and also leaves me wanting more. Sounds a lot like an addiction. Simply living isn’t about having everything, or even nothing. It is about being content wherever you are. If I was more content with where I am, maybe I wouldn’t always be looking for the next thing to provide temporary pleasure.

Multi-Family Living

People tend to approach multi-family living with curiosity and intimidation. This is the start of our third week of multi-family living. If I had to stress only one thing, I’d say it should be grace.

When people have their own space, they begin to develop norms that other people may not be used to. This can vary from leaving the sponge wet on the sink, to how hot the thermostat should be set. As an American, the American dream is taught early. Even though my family did not fully subscribe to the expensive car, home and pet, I was surrounded by it when growing up. The neighbor was proud of their new SUV, regurgitating much of what the salesman had told them. The grocery store boasted how you deserved organic food. Those other people lived below the dream…maybe they didn’t know what it was?

There’s nothing wrong with having your own space. What I am communicating is that sometimes the American dream belief is so strong, that anything different is rejected due to being different.

Here are some things I’ve noticed:

1. Living together doesn’t mean you are always together. Interestingly, work schedules are not always the same and people are not home every day of the week. On average, we have two weeknights to ourselves, and 1 weekend day.
2. Living together does mean that you are consistently aware of the existence of other people in the home. This means that you need to be extra gracious in keeping areas clean, and not mess with other people’s stuff. So an example of this is that this morning the cat almost hopped on the wife and my bed. We don’t own cats…we go off and on with being allergic. When attempting to shoe him away, the cat wouldn’t let me push him out. So I picked him up, put him out of the room and closed the door. This all happened while the baby was asleep. The old me would have put him out of the house and complained about him all day.
3. Married people still have sex in this situation. Not sure more needs to be said.
4. A person being in your area becomes normal. This is completely foreign to the American dream. However, you get used to it.
5. Life is less dull. More things go on in the house. I can still rest during down time. It is nice though that quick babysitting is more available for a few minutes.

There are more observations to come. Living in a multi-family home is not for everyone or the faint of heart.

Having Joy in Life

For New Years day, the family and a group from a nearby church went on a walk. It was about 3.5 miles so you serious exercising people can chuckle at our limited walking ability. It was nice though. Emma was sleeping in the stroller, instead of continuing her fussiness. Grace talked with some locals of the area about life, animals and her childhood. My father-in-law told me about how the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) paid low prices to force the owners of the houses off the land where we were walking, built a road for a future dam, and then closed the project when the dam project was canceled due to invalid reasons that were later disproved. The land was never returned from BLM.

Dog without a leash

Although we complained about the dam and the unleashed dogs ignoring their owners calls, we all recharged from the exercise and community of shared beliefs. This brings me to the importance of exercise. Even small efforts to regularly work out can greatly improve your life quality.

When I was in college I was dirt poor and homeless. I did not have many possessions and would parkour. It was the free thing I could do that kept me strong, and helped keep me be happy. With that said, due to car accidents and sleepless night with the child, I completely got off an exercise schedule and didn't parkour anymore. To help combat this, our family has joined this walking group. Grace is miles ahead of me in exercising. She regularly goes to a gym and is excited to receive work-out equipment for Holidays. I have much to learn from my wife for utilizing my body to achieve simple living.

Babysitting. It Rocks

Today was a nice day. The wife and I celebrated our anniversary today. We went to P.F. Chang's today. How did we afford this extravagance while the RV is in the shop and we are living in a multi-family house with the in-laws? Well, my parents gave us a gift certificate and watched the baby Emma. Emma's great grandpa also saw Emma. Bless their hearts.

We went to the restaurant, and experienced what it is like to date like single people. It was lovely. I love my wife and understand how people have a hard time staying in love. My kid is amazing, and I developed a love for her I had no idea that I had. My wife is amazing too though, and I want to keep her loved.

After P.F. Chang's, we went to Barnes and Noble. This is something we used to do a lot while dating. It's a relaxed environment with a great selection of books. My wife looked up some books to help spice up our intimate life, and I looked up a couple books to help me know what I am supposed to do for blogging. They also had some very interesting games. Most of what we saw was not the best of deals especially considering used books. We did buy a few books there that were decently priced to help the local community and a few books online after the fact to help keep the budget in check.

This brings me to the heart of Simple Living. We don't need to make our lives complicated to help it feel better. The groundwork is good. I love Grace. I love Emma. I love my job. I love the challenges life throws at us. Simple Living means that I stop keeping up with the Jones's and enjoy everything.

My wife and I tell ourselves we are very independent...although I think co-dependence is a better description. I am totally guilty of over-burdening myself and the wife in the name of perceiving ourselves as independent.

So, what do I take away from this? More babysitting, more relaxing, and less stressing over the uncontrollable things in life!

Not Keeping Up With The Jones's

Money does not solve everything

Tonight, my wife asked me what this blog was for. It is about enjoying a full and rich life instead of distractions. Abandoning the pursuit of wealth is a bit like calling yourself off of a race you cannot win. There is always someone richer than you, and if you are the richest guy in town, often you have sacrificed the people and relatives in your life.

What is better to maintain, everything you need or everything you want? Sure, it would be cool to own a fleet of cars, but the upkeep on them would take much of your time. You could hire someone to take care of them, but then you would probably worry about that guy scratching one, or stealing your bank account info from his paycheck.

What if...and just entertain this, you had what you needed, but did not have to worry about more than that? What if you keep your worrying at a minimum and focus where you are at, in the correct time?

I know some people of the Jones descent who don't worry. They are like wealthy people, minus the wealth, and are relying on credit. The problem with borrowing from the future is that eventually the future comes, and you must pay.

The old friend

In many modern-day Jones family's, both parents work full time and the kids go to school and come home to a nanny. The kids miss out on genetic role models, while the parents roll the dice on a school and nanny. The parents may be very successful at their jobs, but the family portion of their life is incomplete. As the kids and parents age, it is a bit like seeing an old friend that you have a hard time relating to. Simply starting a conversation is difficult, and can quickly become an awkward argument.

A rich life that I picture is one where one parent works and the other chooses what to do with their free time. Maybe they work part of the time or volunteer, but the second parent is physically around the children for most of their life. Work is important. Family is important too. Neither should be ignored. However, I believe that worrying about money is unimportant.

If you are able to get to a state where you have a budget and know what you are working toward, then you can eliminate one of the most common causes of stress and divorce. That is simple living. That is what I want. I believe that part of you wants to exit the rat race, figure out what truly is important in your life, and pursue that instead of wasting time.

Why would I trade time with Emma
for worrying about stuff?

Living rich is to have more of what is important, like having more time, making deep relationships, having few things to worry about and making great memories. That is the life I want. Not the life of the Jones's where possessions are the sum of success. I would rather take pictures of my Emma and Grace, than worry about purchasing the latest boat, phone or any other false promise of happiness.

Please note that I do not believe all purchases are wasteful as many things in life are needed.

Inexpensive Entertainment

Sometimes I feel like these batteries

Sometimes, I just want to recharge. The wife and I call this my "nothing box" because I don't think but immensely enjoy it and recharge. My newest computer is a work Macbook so my youth urges to play video games for free often go unfulfilled. As a previous Windows user, free demos took care of these urges. As time went on, my computer became too old and I was left in a state of playing online chess at gameknot.com and chess.com. Both of these sites are nice, although I prefer chess.com due to extra features. What I discovered though is that when I want to do something mindless, the male nothing-box, chess is not perfect since I must think.

However, I’ve recently discovered Risk and Monopoly online at pogo.com. Every 5 or so minutes during play you are greeted by a 40 second break to watch a sponsor. I use these times to go to the bathroom, plug in my computer charger, check email...etc. What I like about playing these games online is that I don’t have to find people to play with, the website simply matches players. Also, you can learn from people better than you in the never ending quest to improve.

My wife enjoys me doing my nothing-box because if I don’t play a game, I’ll instead pull out the budget and start thinking outside the box on how we can save money. Sometimes that makes her nervous.

On a somewhat related note, Netflix streaming just released Friends. 220 episodes ready for instant consumption. That alone could be worth $8 a month for your movie entertainment. Although I am frugal, if I have no source of entertainment it encourages me to be impulsive with indulgences like eating out, catching a $12 film, or buying a few movies in the bargain bin. Not that any of that is particularly bad. It is just helpful to have an inexpensive alternative to spending money for entertainment.

What is your inexpensive go-to? What do you like about it?

Disclaimer: I do not pay for any of the above websites except Netflix.

Change, Lovely Change

Hello,

This change is sudden

The last week has been a doozie. When I started this blog I assumed we’d be in the fifth-wheel for years. Instead, right after Christmas Day, the kitchen floor had unbearable soft spots. So, we moved everything out of it and sent it to the dealer for warranty. Graciously, my in-laws offered to have us move in, possibly for years should we decide to sell the fifth-wheel. This is a big change for us though, especially our daughter since we have lost a degree of independence. 

When you move out for the first time, you enjoy freedom. You eat when you want, you sleep when you want, you can do all sorts of things as long as you don’t annoy your landlord and neighbors too much. We also have the added bonus of teaching the in-laws to hold off on treating us as kids.

Free, like a bird

Regardless of all of this, things are great. We didn’t have to move into an apartment. Emma still knows her in-laws very well. The fifth-wheel may finally have the weakness of the floor fixed. I am choosing joy in all of this despite the potential for negativity. My wife is very helpful in focusing on the good. Things will work out in the end.