I Want That! And That! And That!

Stuff. Things. Possessions.

We all like to buy stuff, right? As a self-admitted collector, there’s nothing I enjoy more than perusing a quaint used bookstore in search of a rare first edition to complete a collected set of one of my favorite authors.


We work hard all day, why not splurge a little and go for that extra-extra, big-big flat screen HDTV, right? Or take that expensive vacation to the Mediterranean. Or opt for an extra 500 square feet and the three-car garage for that stunning house in that gated community.

Why not?
You deserve it.
Or do you?

Merit. Deserve. Entitlement.
I want it all! Now!

Living ABOVE your means.

The recent credit crunch, housing market bubble burst, and subsequent Wall Street meltdown has made all of us more cognizant of our financial situations. But all these financial fireworks and government bailouts and foreclosures and job loses and political promises and 401K angst have one major connection, one common thread:

PEOPLE LIVING ABOVE THEIR MEANS!

I like to compare those living above their means to someone who is grossly overweight, knows they need to change, but just keeps eating too much of the wrong foods until they eventually face dire health (and all too often catastrophic financial) consequences.

They need help.

They need to learn to “budget” their caloric intake. Need to understand why they THINK they NEED to eat the wrong foods and the wrong amounts. Same thing goes for those overspending, being financially careless.

They need to live within their means.

While practicing better fitness and nutrition is always a major focus of mine at livelife365.com, this particular post deals more with financial responsibility and personal accountability. By the way, if you are looking for ways to help you lose weight or would like to learn more about nutrition and fitness, these videos will help.

For more about my feelings on Living Within Your Means, please enjoy this video:



Now, for the hard part: Changing!

Just as the politicians, during the recently completed (it IS over, right?) presidential campaign, pounded the need for change into our heads, we, too, need to make changes in the way WE do things. But, guess what?

Change is good!

Is change easy?

That’s another story. Change can be painful, difficult, challenging, but no less painful or challenging as filing for bankruptcy. Or having your house foreclosed on. Or having to ignore a medical condition because you can’t afford to visit a doctor.

Here are some ways to help you try to live within your means:

* ADMIT you have a problem. Take personal accountability and understand that you CAN’T AFFORD everything that you WANT. Hey, I would love another 500 square feet and a nifty three-car garage, but will not put myself into unnecessary debt just to have it.

* BUDGET YOURSELF. Go on a financial diet. Just like when dieting to lose unwanted pounds, this is easier said than done. What can you do?

* EDUCATE YOURSELF. Reading this post, as well as visiting websites like livelife365.com, is a great start, but don’t stop there. Read, read, and read some more. Ask questions to qualified financial experts every chance you get. The more you know the better ability you have to understand your particular financial situation, what you can and cannot afford. You should know how much of a mortgage you can afford BEFORE you ever sit down across from a member of any lending institution. If you don’t, then you’re probably not ready to buy a house.

* THINK LAYAWAY. Before the human race became consumed with credit, they used to pay for things BEFORE they bought them. This not only gives you a wonderful sense of accomplishment and appreciation, but it also keeps you out of unwanted and sometimes devastating debt. It helps you…

LIVE WITHIN YOUR MEANS.

In a way, living a layaway life is the antithesis of being under the misguided misconception of feeling compelled to have a life of entitlement.

Simply put: We need to change.

Change the way we think.
Change the way we spend.
Yes, change the way we eat (had to throw that one in).

Change the way we live.

There’s a lot of nice stuff out there, things and possessions that we all think we need and can’t live without. But unless you really, really need something, or at least can easily afford it, then the solution is simple:

Just say no.

And try to change your life…for the better.

Until next time…

peace,

Mike

The Collector

Whenever someone visits my home, one of the first things out of their mouth is, “Wow, read much?” Or something along those words. Why? Picture a library, with furniture—not library furniture (desks and chairs), but living room, bedroom, dining room furniture—and you have a snapshot of my house (“our” house—mine and my lovely wife’s, who besides being wonderful in countless ways, is a saint for allowing me to turn much of our home into a book lovers paradise).


I am a collector. Not just books, but a collector of many things collectible.

Is this a bad thing? A form of some obsessive/compulsive disorder?

Here is the Mayo Clinic description of Obsessions:

Obsessions are repeated, persistent, unwanted ideas, thoughts, images or impulses that you experience involuntarily and that appear to be senseless. These obsessions typically intrude when you're trying to think of or do other things.

And for compulsions:

Compulsions are repetitive behaviors that you feel driven to perform. These repetitive behaviors are meant to prevent or reduce anxiety or distress related to your obsessions.

I can relate to my collecting the words—repeating, persistent and repetitive. But not “unwanted ideas or images”—I WANT to collect. Does my desire to visit bookstores intrude on my thoughts when trying to do other things? Sure, at times, but that’s not a BAD thing, is it? Do I feel driven to collect? Again, sure, at times. And, again, not a bad thing…is it? Does collecting help reduce anxiety or distress? Ahh, some good news: not when related to my obsessions, which are still debatable. Okay, now I’m not just concerned about the possibility of my having OCD, but bordering on confusion and bewilderment that may appear to be senseless. Let’s skip the psychological evaluation portion of the program and get back to collecting.

I was talking about books. Okay, maybe I exaggerated about our house looking like a library—my wife may be a saint, but she’s not stupid. She has magically managed to tastefully distribute over twenty bookcases throughout the house while still able to maintain…oh, heck, the place reeks with books, almost 3000 of them! What can I say? I can’t help myself—I’m a collector.

My love for reading began as a boy growing up watching my dad devour paperback after paperback with delightful ease. He was a paperback juggler, able to read a half-dozen at a time, leaving dog-eared, food-stained, abused and battered pulps strewn throughout every room of the house. Yes, I always enjoyed reading, but collecting? I used to be like my dad—read a paperback with nary a concern for its safety, then toss it aside like a candy bar wrapper. Then one day, about two decades ago, something clicked inside my skull. While visiting a book store, I noticed a queue of folks, brand-new hardbacks in hand, waiting to meet an author. I grabbed one of the books for myself and joined my fellow readers, met, chatted with, and enjoyed watching this writer (Robert McCammon) autograph my copy—and like that, I was hooked.

I started collecting signed first editions from all the writers I already liked, then expanded my tastes and collection from there. My hobby quickly became a passion; my passion a vocation—one that has yet to show any signs of slowing down. I still love nothing better than leisurely perusing the musty shelves of a used book store in search of buried treasure in the form of an elusive first edition needed to complete a collected set of one of my favorite author’s works. I’ll figure out where to put it (my book cases are overflowing) later. I just can’t help myself. Why? You guessed it—I’m a collector.


And I don’t just collect books. I have happily amassed turtles and frogs (not the real things!), guitars and magazines (I cannot throw them out), globes and tea. Yes, tea! I have over fifty varieties of organic teas, mostly green, rooibos, and yerba mattes. And, yes, I drink my collection every day. That’s another great thing about my collections—they, for the most part, are functional. I read the books I collect, drink the teas, play the guitars, read the magazines. Okay, I admit it—I like to talk to my fake turtles too.

Eliminate the massive quantities of these items and I am basically your everyday normal person…save for a few idiosyncratic tendencies that shall remain nameless.


It is just me? This collecting thing? I don’t think so. Human beings are pack rats, they enjoy accumulating things—be it old newspapers, cabbage patch dolls (remember them?), hammers or Hummels. It could be worse— Jay Leno collects expensive automobiles . Besides being way out of my league cost-wise, imagine what his living room looks like. Oh, that’s right; he has a garage the size of ten of my houses. Makes sense—he also collects a much larger paycheck than I do.

How about you? Are you a collector?

I bet you are.

Until next time…

peace,

Mike