meditation on 2 dollars

As I walked out one morning earlier this week I found 10 krones on the pave walk. That is about 2 us dollars. I decided to take it as a signal. Abundance is coming, soon money will flow into my life, and all my financial worries will disappear...

As I walked to work, I caught myself thinking that now, with these 10 krones in my pocket, I could treat myself to a latte without feeling guilty...., and I realized how typcial this is for my relationship with money. As soon as it flows in, I find a way to throw it out. Everything I earn, is immediately spent. Actually, as I found out yesterday, it is even worse than that. In every dollar earned I find justification for spending a dollar and a half. In the case of the 10 krones and the latte....a latte costs anywhere between 20 and 40 krones. Finding 10 krones in the street does not equal a free latte.

So I took the 10 krones with me to work, put it on my desk, and it is still there, as a reminder that it is possible to have a different kind of relationship with money. A penny saved, is a penny earned.

I am going on vacation, so for the next two weeks I will not worry about weekly planners, and I will probably not blog much either....but I will be back:)

Have a great weekend! /D

Money: Making peace with the past

The first step in the program introduced in YMOYL involves the following:

A. Find out how much money you have earned in your lifetime-the sum total of your gross income, from the very first penny you ever earned to your most recent paycheck

B. Find out your net worth by creating a personal balance sheet of your assets and liabilities

The purpose of this exercise is to get you to ground zero, to locate you in time and space. The authors emphasize that this should be done as accurately as possible, preferably to the penny….or at least to the dollar. In step B, you are supposed to add the value all of your assets that you could possible sell (craigslist, amazon, ebay). It took me some time to gather all this information. And I was definitely not able to count every cent that I have earned, or to put an accurate price tag on everything I own. But I did my best.

Here is what I found:

Total Money earned: 326,000 USD
My Net worth: -128,000 USD (my student loan is the biggest culprit for this insane number)
My Consumer Debt: 9,858 USD

After going through step A, adding together all of the money I have earned through my life, I wasn’t sure what to think. I have no sense of whether this number is small or big. Actually it is a bit more than I expected, but still it is kind of abstract to me. If I had every cent that I ever earned in a saving account, I would be able to pay off my student loan. On the other hand, I would barely be able to buy a decent home for my family without a loan. It is perhaps shocking how much time and energy the average person spends in the labor market just to afford their house/apartment. I also can't help thinking about whether it was rational of me to spend all this money on my education.... I guess time will tell.

Doing step B, at first I was a bit shocked how little I have to show for my paychecks. I don’t really have any big assets. I don’t own an apartment, or a car…where has all the money gone? (well I guess food, rent, education, books, travels, clothes, too many cafe lattes....). On the other hand, going through every shelf and every drawer I was still amazed by the abundance in my life. So much stuff. So much luxary and convenience really, when you stop to think about it...

Not surprisingly I found my net worth to be negative (I thought it was nice of the authors to point that net worth does not equal self worth;)). I have managed to spend more than I have earned. In some sense this represents lack of freedom. Because borrowed money, is borrowed time. I owe many working days, in order to pay off my loans and credit card debts.

I have been super bothered by my credit card debt. Although when I look at the consumer debt next to these other 2 numbers, it doesn't look as overwhelming as it used to. But in any case. That is my first goal, to get rid of that consumer debt. At this point I am not sure how long it will take....a year? 5 years? but to start with this number should go down by some number of dollars every single month.

So the fog is cleared. I've stepped on the scale. No shame, no blame. This is where I am at.

And now I can start building up a healthier relationship with money.

colors and precious moments

When I was living in the US I was impressed by the way most Americans seem to be able to talk about their strengths and talents without seeming arrogant or obnoxious. In Europe, I think, and in particular in the northern part, this isn't acceptable. The highest virtue is modesty, to the extend that you should never claim or believe that you are really good at anything.

So, breaking the rules of my upbringing, I want to tell you that I am really good with colors:) Like some people are with numbers. (Actually since I've started, I am not so bad with numbers either). I have always been interested in and fascinated by colors, and when I was a kid words and names had colors in my head. When I took a painting class a few years ago, the teacher constantly commented on my talent with colors. (And I scored perfectly on this test;)).

So, as someone who loves colors, I am really enjoying filling out the weekly planner in various ones. (The template for my weekly planner comes from the Positivity Project) ...Now I see my time in colors! In my schedule I have different colors for work time and family time, yellow represents appointments, and now bright aqua blue (perhaps I am not so good with the names of the colors...?) represents my precious, precious moments. In these hours I have planned things that will undoubtedly give me some really happy and meaningful moments in my week. Who says you can't plan and schedule your happiness...?

First: I just got home from a weekend getaway with a very good friend of mine. Whole 3 days of walking around the beautiful streets of Amsterdam with nowhere to go and nothing to do. Just chat,wine,chesse,coffee,food,museum,little bit of shopping...it was absolutely perfect.

Secondly: I finally scheduled massage/spa treatment using a gift card that I received more than a year ago. I think it is crazy that it has taken me more than a year to squeeze this into my schedule. But finally I did. And I am really really looking forward to it.

Lastly: I have scheduled "a cozy night" with my children. En hyggeaften as we say here in Denmark. The plan is to make pizza together and then watch Winnie the Pooh. Not very original or extravagant. But the key here is just to be present, and to enjoy the company of my wonderful children.

So much happiness in one week:):):) Life is good.

money

I have never thought too much about money. In fact I have probably given too little attention to money in the past. But as I am trying to move forward towards the calmer, simpler, and happier life, I have come to the conclusion that money is an issue that needs to be dealt with. Gaining control over my financial issues will give me peace and space to focus on other more exciting aspects of life. As it is, the stress that money gives me is contaminating other parts of my life.

Money seems to be a “blind spot” in my brain. I spend money without thinking. I buy without looking at the price tag. I think everything will somehow work out fine. Except when I get panick attacks where I think there is no way I can work out this mess. Over time my increasing overdraft and credit card debt have increasingly been causing me to feel helpless and out of control.

So it is time to tackle the problem: get out of debt, accumulate savings, and hopefully one day become financially independent. To help me “face my finances”, I am reading Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence. The book outlines a program to become “financially healthy” in 9 steps:

1) Find out how much you have earned in your life, how much you presently own, and how much you presently owe
2) Calculate your real hourly wage, and keep track of every cent that comes in or goes out of your life
3) Create a montly tablulation of all income and all expenses, convert dollars to "hours of life energy"
4) Look at your expenditures in terms of life energy, are they in alignment with your values and goals?
5) Plot your total monthly income and total monthly expenses
6) Minimize spening
7) Maximize income
8) Calculate your "cross-over point" (if you have savings and investments, when will the returns be enough to cover your monthly expenses)
9) Manage your finances

I am going to tackle these steps and will keep you posted on the progress.

Have a great weekend! /D

begin with the end in mind

The 2nd Habit in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is to begin with the end in mind, i.e. to create a clear vision of your life as a whole, and keep that picture in mind every day. That way it becomes easier to use each moment of your life so that it contributes to your journey in a meaningful way.

This requires you to think about what really matters most to you, and how you want to spend your precious time here. And it prevents you from getting caught up in a life where you are busy just for the sake of being busy. By beginning with the end in mind you make sure that you are moving in the right direction.

Imagine yourself as a 100 year old wise and beautiful person. You are looking back on your life, what are you happy about? What are your regrets? How will people remember you? What was your contribution? Did you treat other people well? Do you think that you had a positive or a negative effect on the life of the people around you? Did you treat the earth, its anmials and resources with respect? Did you treat yourself with respect? What would you advise the younger you?

This week I want to think about which values and principals are important to me. I am going to think about the roles that I have in my life, and the goals I want to accomplish in each area.

To think about the end may perhaps seem a bit morbid, but I think that it is a very powerful way of getting to the core, of finding out how you want to live your life. So I will meditate on this and write up a personal mission statement that incorporates my values and visions.

recipe for success?

When thinking about my goals and how to reach them, I find it inspiring to look at all the wonderfully successful people around me. I have a friend who recently reached her goal of shedding 40 pounds in 6 months (by exercising and eating healthy). I know so many people who have set out to loose weight but given up half-way through. So what made her succeed?

• Positivity. She is in general a very happy, positive person. During the whole process she has focused more on the benefits of her changed lifestyle rather than the difficulties. I.e. she focused on how much better she felt, and looked, rather than on that ice-cream and chocolate she had given up, to reach her goal.
  
• Goals. She set her self a clear goal, with smaller goals to celebrate along the way.
  
• Babysteps. She didn't try to change all of her bad habits in a day or two. In the beginning she only focused on improving her eating habits. Then she gradually started exercising.
  
• Resilience. Like most of us, she had her weak moments. The key to success is getting back on track rather than loosing oneself in self-pity and despair.
  
• Role-model and/or support. One of her friends had recently succeeded in reaching a similar goal. This friend was both her role-model and support throughout the process.
  
• Internal Drive. She was fed up, and wanted to loose weight for her own well being. I think this is essential and that it is difficult, perhaps almost impossible, to reach your goal if it is only motivated by what you think you should do.

Are there other factors that you consider important ingredients in the recipe for success?

Have a wonderful weekend! /Di.

Staying Healthy While On the Road

This is a guest post from Mike Manning, who writes about health and positivity on his blog Manning's Musings.

Staying Healthy While On the Road

We've always suspected, but now the Mayo Clinic confirms it for us that being on the road makes eating right and getting the right exercise a lot more difficult. Whether you are headed on the road for a much-needed vacation or you have to travel regularly for business, you'll find that it is extremely hard to find ways to stick with your regular exercise regimen. Here are some tips to keep up the fitness battle on the road.

Plan Ahead

When you are booking your hotel, it is worth your time to see what kind of exercise facilities that they have. For example, many people find that staying at a hotel with a gym allows them to keep up with their exercise while they are on the road. Make sure to do some research on reviews sites on what type of amenities that hotels offer in the area. On a recent trip to Las Vegas I searched many reviews on hotels in Las Vegas that were in my price range. I ended up booking one that fit my personality and price range perfectly. It will truly make your trip much more enjoyable if you are in a place that fits your personality. You may get a chance to try out new exercise equipment when you are there, or maybe you can get a few laps in in the hotel pool. If the hotels do not have a gym, consider finding a hotel with a trail area where you can walk or jog.

Consistency

When you want to make progress with anything, you need to think about how you can do it consistently. If you are someone who has created a workout habit, do not allow your time on the road to break it. Too many people allow their exercise routines to get disrupted while they are traveling. Not only does this make your exercise harder to get back to, you will also discover that it can slow your process. When you are consistent about getting exercise even when you are on the road, you will continue to progress.

Eating Well

Part of staying healthy while you are on the road is eating well. When you are traveling, you are often confronted with a lot of food options that are not your usual choices. Skip the fast food, and if you cannot, stay away from anything that is fried. Opt for green salads and fruit. If your hotel has a kitchen, do some of your own cooking instead of eating out. Not only will this keep more money in your pocket, it will prevent you from taking on calories that you do not need.

Exercise After Driving

Have you ever noticed how tired you feel after driving? Many people feel quite fatigued after they have been driving for a while, and all they want to do is to slouch around the hotel room. The truth is that after all of the time cooped up in the car, it is a lot better for you to do a small amount of exercise. This will reinvigorate you and help you sleep more soundly. Remember that even doing a bit of exercise is far better than doing none at all.

Take a few moments to consider what your options are when it comes to eating well and getting enough exercise while on the road. It takes some time and some planning, but it is an entirely possible goal. Think about how important exercise and good food are to your schedule and move on from there.