(I thought that Thoreau said that word three times in a row in Walden but it was only twice.  Oh well.)
Simplify, simplify, simplify.  As in make things simpler.  As in get rid of the minutiae that weigh you down.  Here are some suggestions for freeing up money and freeing up time by freeing up your finances:
  • Simplify your clothing.  This may not work in every situation but can you get by without dry-clean-only or gentle-cycle-only garments?  Or what about buying clothes that match more of the rest of your wardrobe?  Or one brand of tube socks so that a lost sock doesn’t render the unpaired sock useless?
  • Simplify your hair.  Again this is a matter or choice but a low-maintenance hairstyle costs less money and time than a really good looking style that needs attention.
  • Simplify your meals.  Cooking a bunch of servings of rice and varying the stuff you put on the rice means only needing to cook rice a quarter of the time.
  • Simplify your bill-paying.  Getting as many bills on automatic payment means fewer stamps, fewer envelopes, and fewer finance charges.  Having fewer billable services accomplishes this, too; are there any that can be dropped?  Can you bundle services with one provider and possibly save money in the process?
  • Simplify your accounts.  There are some advantages to having multiple checking accounts, multiple savings accounts, and multiple credit card accounts (as I found out this past weekend when my wife lost her wallet).  If you have more than you really need to cover the bases, then canceling the unnecessary ones makes your life easier, and avoids possible expense in keeping the extra accounts open.
  • Simplify your grocery shopping.  Buying more groceries less often saves time and gas.  (Just make sure you can use what you buy before it goes bad.)
  • Simplify your family’s activities.  (This is one thing I’m finding I need to do.)  What are the most important activities your family does?  Have some of them become more trouble than they’re worth in terms of time and cost?  Dropping commitments can be very liberating, and money-saving.
  • Simplify your career or business.  (I’m working on this one, too.) There’s something to be said for keeping options openwith career choices but how many can you maintain?  Just like pruning a bush helps the healthy parts to grow, cutting the losers in your career or business frees up resources to allow the others to flourish.
  • Simplify your gifts.  (This may be up for debate but hey, that’s what the comments section is for!)  Aside from your close family and friends, if you feel the need to give gifts, why not get a bunch of the same thing?  This saves a ton of time and could save money.  I usually don’t feel such a need but I know that’s not everyone.
  • Simplify your landscaping and decorations.  Fewer things to take care of, fewer things to break, fewer things to clean and dust.
  • Simplify your stuff.  (I’m a pack rat in a long line of pack rats, so this is tough for me.)  Stuff needs attention, commands attention.  Stuff takes up space.  The self-storage industry is booming, and it’s printing money as far as I can tell.  Pass your unwanted stuff on, and liberate that part of your attention to more important matters.
Any other things that can be simplified?

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