Don’t Be Part of the “No Vacation”

Don’t Be Part of the “No Vacation Nation”

 byBe Brain Fit

The US is known for being the “No Vacation Nation”. Not only do we get less vacation time that many other countries, we are more likely not to use the vacation time we have. Nearly ½ billion vacation days go unused each year in the US!

People who don’t use their vacation time are more likely to develop heart disease and depression, and are even at greater risk of death than those who do.
If you don’t have any vacation plans for this summer, it’s not too late to get away. Early fall is actually my favorite time of year to travel. Once the kids are back in school prices, crowds, and temperatures go down.
Before you make plans, make sure you take the best kind of vacation for you by first looking at your day-to-day lifestyle.
When Life is Routine
If your life is routine, the days seems to blend into one another, or you find yourself pondering, “Is this all there is?”, you could stand to shake things up.
St. Augustine said “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” Read another page by traveling somewhere you’ve never been before. Vacationing in the same place year after year might be pleasant (as in BORING), but it won’t provide much stimulation. It won’t make you a more interesting or interested person, either.
Meeting new people, eating different foods, finding your way around unfamiliar places, and taking different modes of transportation are all ways that travel is stimulating. If you travel abroad and have to try out a new language, even better!
Travel forces you to use skills that remain dormant and boosts your confidence. If you stop pushing yourself to try new things, eventually your world and confidence shrink.
When Life is Hectic
Many people have the opposite problem — their day-to-day life is crazy and stressful. These people imagine they would benefit from a more relaxing vacation.
The problem with forced relaxation is that if you’re used to a hectic life, a completely unstructured vacation with days of nothingness stretched out before you will be stressful. There is no point in white-knuckling it on the beach wishing you were checking your email.
A better choice for you might be a guided tour. A tour can provide enough stimulation to hold your interest, but not much stress since all the details and arrangements are left to others. There are tours for all price ranges, age groups, interests, and levels of activity. Guided tours can be as active or cerebral as you like. You can white water raft the Grand Canyon, volunteer to save turtles in Costa Rica, or explore the art of Italy.
If independent travel has always been your style and you really can’t see yourself doing a tour, you might want to dip your toe into the waters by signing up for a few organized day trips. You’ll find you learn more and stress less with a professional tour guide. No worries about driving, directions, or parking – all you have to do is show up.
Leaving the driving to others can be a great relationship saver, too. Driving in a foreign country with your partner navigating can lead to some serious friction. (Ask me how I know this!)
When You Absolutely Can’t Get Away
If financial restraints or personal obligations can make going away unrealistic, try a “staycation”.
If possible, check into a local B&B, hotel, or resort. If not you can sleep at home. But play tourist for the day – avail yourself of the “must-do” sites and experiences in your area that you rarely, or never, get around to.
Even a 24 hour staycation can leave you greatly refreshed.
No Vacation? Try Meditation
When you find you need to get away right now, but it’s just not possible, give yourself a mini-break anytime you need one with meditation.
If you haven’t meditated before, you’ll have more success using a guided meditation or brainwave entrainment MP3 to get started. Then go someplace quiet, get comfortable, and listen, using a headset or ear buds. You should feel emotionally lighter, refreshed, and more relaxed immediately. Do as needed whenever you could use a mini-vacation.
While meditation is one of the most beneficial habits you can incorporate into your daily life, it’s still not a substitute for a getting away. I recommend experiencing the benefits of both by being part of the “Meditation AND Vacation Nation”!

Personal Finance in Ten Sentences

(Almost) Everything Useful I’ve Learned about Personal Finance in Ten Sentences

By Trent

 

It’s not really that complicated.

1. Spend less than you earn.

2. If you’re facing a pile of debts, make minimum payments on all of the debts but the one with the highest interest rate, then make the biggest payment you can each month on that high one.

3. Never expect that your “future self” or anyone else will bail you out of your dumb mistakes today and remember that only you can make better choices for yourself.

4. The quickest way to financial recovery is to get a grip on your spending impulses.

5. Life is going to hand you emergencies, so keep at least $1,000 in your savings account for those emergencies.

6. Be completely open with your spouse about every single dime that comes in and every single dime that you spend.

7. Buy items that will last for a very long time at the best possible price and you’ll rarely be unhappy with them.

8. If your employer offers matching on your 401(k), take as much of it as you can get.

9. When you’re deciding how to invest, remember that past performance does not indicate future returns and focus instead on the fees and expenses.

10. If you have dependents who rely on you, you ought to have life insurance, but ignore any salesperson who tries to sell you anything other than a term policy.

A final “bonus” life and career tip: treat every single person in your life as you would like to be treated, regardless of whether you’re in the workplace or in everyday life.

If you can handle all of these things, you’re going to be just fine.

The Best Collaboration Tools for Small Groups and Teams

The Best Collaboration Tools for Small Groups and Teams by lifehacker

We talk a lot about personal productivity tools at Lifehacker, but sometimes you're not the only person who needs to get things done for a project or job to be a success. Whether you're trying to organize a home renovation, organize a little league team, plan a family vacation, or get everyone at the office working on the same projects and priorities, there are plenty of great tools to help.

We have some of our own, and we'll share them in the discussions below, but instead of just throwing a list of items together, we want you to share your own with us too, on the same terms. Here's how to format your favorite collaboration app or tool:

1. Include a picture! Show us what the tool looks like, or at least give us a logo. A little visual interest never hurt anyone.
2. One tool per comment please! Let's keep it simple and easy to read—if you have multiple apps or services, add them as separate comments!
3. Try not to repeat apps! If you see someone who's already shared your pick, click the star or reply to their comment to give it a boost!
4. Tell us how why it works for you. Herding cats is difficult—how did the app work for you, and what did you use it for? Do you pay for it, or is it free to use? Why do you like it?

So then, let's begin! We'll get you started with some of our favorite time-saving tricks in the discussions, but we're really interested in yours, so fire away.

Cozi (Free, with Pro features available)

Cozi was one of your favorite group project management tools the last time we asked you about them, and for good reason. The nice thing about Cozi is that while many other tools are aimed at office workers and professional teams, Cozi is squarely aimed at organizing family members (and friends) to do things that matter outside the office. Family reunions, renovations, picnics, vacations, you'll find tools to help you organize those types of things, as opposed to project management tricks designed to help you build charts and reports.

The service also helps you build schedules and calendars for your family, so you know when everyone is in practice or when the kids are in class or have an activity; that way you don't try to schedule something on top of that. You can even organize grocery lists and give everyone in your household input over what goes into the pantry on a given week. It's remarkably powerful, and it's directly aimed at home users and individuals, something a lot of other tools.

CatchApp (Free, with pro features available by subscription or referral)

CatchApp is a collaboration app for the iPhone (sadly, iPhone only) designed to help people keep tabs on where their documents and workflows are going. It's developed by the same folks behind Hojoki, a service we've mentioned before, that sends you updates whenever documents you've shared or networks you're a part of update, like Dropbox, Basecamp, and so on. CatchApp takes the idea to the next level by making the whole thing mobile, giving you a constantly updating dashboard of updates and notifications when someone opens documents you're working on, modifies them, posts comments or updates, sends a relevant message to you, and so on.

The app integrates with all of your favorite apps and services, including Google Calendar, Basecamp, Dropbox, Evernote, Google Drive, Github, and others—and when any of those files are changed, uploaded, updated, or otherwise changed, you'll see it in your CatchApp stream for that application. They're even working on connecting with Asana and SkyDrive. You don't use CatchApp to actually organize projects so much as you use it to keep track of your team's activities, and any associated files and folders.

Asana (Free for up to 15 users, you only pay after that)

Asana is one of our favorite personal project management tools, and for good reason. It works well if you're just keeping track of your own to-dos and pet projects, and you need to keep an eye on something from start to finish. However, Asana really shines when you get other people into the mix, and start sharing projects, workspaces, and other ideas with them for their feedback and support. You can easily assign specific to-dos to other people, keep track of everyone's progress using the web or the mobile apps, add and manage tasks on the go, add comments and have conversations about specific tasks on those tasks (which keeps them where they need to be but also gives everyone room to talk), and so on.

Everyone who uses Asana can even customize the layout and view so it works for them, and people who prefer smartphones or tablets can work on those devices, while people who prefer desktops and laptops can use the webapp. Setting deadlines and milestones is also easy, so if you want your general contractor to know they need to get the countertops finished by the weekend, you have a clear and easy way to communicate that to them with no confusion.

Teambox (Free, with premium features available)

Teambox is a project management and to-do app for small groups that supports document sharing, to-dos and sub-tasks, milestones, and more. It even supports Gantt charts and project calendars for those folks who are project management fans. You can manage to-dos and messages by email, set specific permissions for individuals on your team, have conversations over to-dos and events in the app, and more. Teambox is ideal for people who are generally digital workers or who all have access to the same service, so everyone can see the same charts and get on the same page.

If you and your team all work on the same documents, you can create custom workspaces for each project, complete with charts with milestones and timelines, attached and associated documents, and chats. You can even use the service for HD video conferencing with your teammates or co-collaborators. If you do need to leave your desk, you can keep track of your projects using the Teambox mobile apps.

<img src="http://b.scorecardresearch.com/p?c1=2&c2=6770184&cv=2.0&cj=1" />

 

 

The Top 5 Mental Challenges of Paying Off Debt

         

The Top 5 Mental Challenges of Paying Off Debt and How to Cope with Them       by Amanda

The hardest part of getting out of debt is not the math. For many of us, it’s not even the money. No, for most people the hardest part is the perseverance that is required in order to complete your goal of being debt free.

Any long-term goal takes focused effort, fierce prioritization, and a healthy appetite for making sacrifices — and paying off debt is no exception.

Since paying off debt takes time and perseverance, it goes against human nature. But you can help get your mindset right by learning some coping mechanisms. Here are the top 5 mental challenges involved in debt repayment (from my experience) and my tips for how to overcome them:

1. We Have Short Attention Spans

Human beings naturally gravitate towards short-term thinking. Our lizard brains are wired to react to immediate danger and short-term gains. This means that our attention spans are, well, short. Unfortunately, when it comes to paying off debt, our lizard brains are a liability and not an asset because – let’s face it – without any short-term benefit it’s hard to stay focused on debt repayment. Sometimes it seems like there is no light at the end of the tunnel.

Coping Mechanism: The easiest way to cope with our tendency to be short-term thinkers – making that long tunnel seem especially dark and difficult to navigate – is to break up your debt payment goals into manageable and measurable chunks. A “chunk” could be one credit card, one creditor, or a specific amount of debt paid off (such as $2,000). After each chunk is paid, you can give yourself a frugal reward. Then rinse and repeat.

2. We Feel Deprived if We Have Less Than Other People

Did you know that the phrase “keeping up with the Joneses” originated over 100 years ago when it debuted in the comic strip Keep Up With The Joneses? This should tell you that the tendency to compare our lives to others’ – and particularly to those who seem to be doing very well for themselves – is inherent in humans. The only problem is that we are left feeling deprived when our lives are compared to others’, and we are often unable to move forward and better ourselves because of this preoccupation.

Coping Mechanism: Realize that the longer you spend watching other people’s lives, the less time you have to live your own. Instead of feeling deprived or jealous, keep a gratitude journal. Each day, write down five things that you are thankful for. This will turn your feelings of deprivation around and leave you feeling an abundance of blessings instead.

3. Tracking Our Spending and Payments Feels Overwhelming

For so many people, the hardest part of paying off debt is keeping track of spending and making payments on time. I’m sure you realize the importance of tracking your spending and payments. However, it can be to keep track, right? This is because it seems to go against our desire for ease and simplicity (and minimizing stress).

Coping Mechanism: Your best chance to cope with feeling overwhelmed at debt repayment and tracking your spending is by automating everything. Do it once rather than having to do it over and over each time. Start by setting up a plan and putting a system in place at the beginning, and then automate it so that your financial life runs seamlessly.

For debt repayment, sign up for ReadyForZero and link each of your financial accounts. In order to decrease the amount of tracking needed with your spending, make an initial budget with specific categories. Add up the amount for discretionary spending for all of the discretionary spending accounts (groceries, gas, entertainment, etc.), and memorize this number. Instead of tracking every purchase throughout the month, just make sure that all of your spending is under this number – and you can track that by checking into your accounts once per week for heavy-spending weeks, or once every other week if you haven’t spent much. Remembering one number is easier to do than remembering each purchase you’ve made.

4. The Goal of Being Debt-Free is Intangible

Have you poured over others’ debt payoff stories – eager to learn their secrets – only to convince yourself that you could never actually attain the same thing? Part of the reason why debt is persistent is that the goal of becoming financially free is not tangible. That is, you can’t see it in front of you; it is an abstract idea even though it has such a real impact on your life.

Coping Mechanism: There are two ways that you can make your goal of debt freedom more tangible. The first is to visualize yourself in your debt-free life. Create the scenario in your head, see what day-to-day living would be like, and really feel your new circumstances. If you can see it, then you can believe it. To really make this tangible, create a poster board with pictures that symbolize your future debt free life. You’ll be so inspired by the pictures you see on the poster board that you’ll be super motivated to keep up with your planned payments!

The second way to make debt freedom more tangible is by using our tool with targeted debt information. Plug in your debt, the amount you have committed to pay each month, and then look at where you will be one year from now, two years from now, five years from now. This will help you to see that debt freedom is X amount of years away – an actual, tangible date. For example, “May 2016” sounds a lot more tangible than “someday”, doesn’t it? And best of all, you can change the date if you find ways to pay more each month!

5. Sometimes Our Negative Thoughts Paralyze Us

Thoughts are very powerful. This is because the decisions that we make and the opportunities that we pursue are sourced from the thoughts in our head. Negative thoughts can keep us from attaining any goal, paralyzing us in inaction and depression/guilt over that inaction. And we all know that inaction will get us nowhere.

Coping Mechanism: You need to stop the repetitive negative thoughts leaving you in paralysis. If the thoughts are based around doing something (i.e. you are afraid to move forward), then it’s probably better to confront the situation and take action than to sit and stew over it. If the negative thoughts have no true purpose, then try to cut them off. When one pops up, ask yourself, “is that really true?” Finally, spend time around positive people, read uplifting blogs, and write down your good thoughts on a list of paper that you keep near you.

So… that’s it! Those are the 5 biggest mental challenges to paying off debt, in my experience. Hopefully these tips will help you conquer these challenges and achieve your goal of paying off your debt. What do you think? If you have any other mental challenges you’ve faced, post them in the comments below.

How to Financially Prepare for 4 Big Life Milestones

Many of us fantasize about buying a house, getting married, having a baby, then retiring at 65—specifically in that order. In fact, according to recent research, these are the things we define as the American Dream in 2013. But the one thing that all four of these goals have in common is that they're expensive. So, if you have a major life event you're saving up for, how do you get your finances in order to achieve it?

This post originally appeared on LearnVest.

We asked four people what the next step is in achieving their American Dream. Then we asked David Blaylock, a Certified Financial Planner with LearnVest Planning Services, how they can each get one step closer to turning those dreams into reality.

Having a Baby

Raising a child is full of surprises. No matter how many books, parenting forums, and Dr. Sears articles you read, nothing can completely prepare you … Read…

My husband John and I are having a baby this April. We're excited, but it was a surprise, so we weren't saving for it. It gives me anxiety, because we already live close to the margin. I have a great job with daytime hours and a $52,000 salary. John, 37, left his job as a hotel chef this past June to start a food truck business called Smoke & Spice. He cooks and sells Texas-style barbecue. He mainly caters events in the evenings. His income varies month-to-month. Childcare is expensive, so John will be the primary care provider.

John has a 3-year-old son from a prior relationship, and though we're not entirely financially responsible for him, it's more dollars out the door. We live in a four-bedroom home (mortgage is $2,000 a month), so there is room for my stepson and the baby. We don't have any debt, but the cost of living is high in Hawaii.

I contribute 10% of my salary to my 401(k) and 5% to a savings account. I had to drain my savings, though, due to a surgery and car trouble. Now there is only $1,000 in my savings. John has a 401(k) and contributes a little to a savings account, but I'm not sure how much is in there. We have jointly saved $5,000 that we were calling a "vacation fund," but that will be renamed a "baby fund." We were also hoping to remodel and redecorate our house, but that has to be put on hold.

After the baby is born, we want to start a college savings account. We also have to think about early education. The Hawaii public school system is bad. I'd love to send the baby to private school, but Montessori pre-K is $10,000 a year.

What David Says

What an exciting time! Many people never feel that they are financially prepared for a new baby, so this couple is not alone. Hillary and John have made some great decisions here, with putting household renovations on hold and repurposing a travel fund. If the child's learning is important, they could move to a place that has better public education options. They could also supplement with a private tutor, which could be less expensive than private school.

After they are sure that they are contributing sufficient amounts to retirement savings and emergency savings, using a tool like a 529 account to save for post-secondary educational expenses could be beneficial.

Planning a Wedding

My fiancée, Marisa, and I got engaged in August and are getting married next August on Long Island. It's great to find somebody you want to be with—we want to celebrate that by bringing our families together. We live in a two-bedroom house that I bought in 2011, before we started dating. I'm a hospital engineer. Marisa, 28, is a teacher. We have a combined income of $160,000.

Marisa paid off her student loans and has $16,000 in savings. She wants to put all of that toward the wedding. I used to have savings, but I spent that on the down payment and home renovations. I'm still paying $500 a month in credit card payments for Marisa's engagement ring. I have a 4-year-old son from a prior relationship, so I pay for his expenses ($300 a month).

Ever since I got engaged, planning my wedding has been a financial challenge—especially since I’m both a sentimental and thrifty person. On the one… Read…

Marisa's parents are generously helping with some wedding stuff, like Marisa's dress, hair and makeup. In May, we set up a joint bank account and each of us has been putting $500 into it monthly. By August of 2014, we should have $15,000. We should have a total of at least $31,000 saved by August of next year—plus whatever our parents contribute. But we have no idea what the total cost of the wedding will be.

Some costs have caught us by surprise. We thought we'd invite 150 people, but our guest list is now closer to 200. A good band will be another big-ticket item. Marisa wants the high, expensive flower centerpieces. We're shipping in wine from California. But we're cutting back in some areas, like we decided not to hire a videographer. If we end up wanting to spend more money than we've saved, I have two credit cards. Plus, if we get money from guests as gifts, we might pay off any extra costs with that.

What David Says

Timothy and Marisa have made some great decisions regarding saving and planning for their future as a couple, but all of that hard work can be undone with this one event. It's time to tap the brakes and make sure that the wedding is not going to put this couple into financial difficulty. Dipping into the $16,000 that was saved for emergency purposes is dangerous, and they should not use a credit card to finance their wedding.

This party needs a budget, and then they must look for ways to save. Trimming the guest list and selecting a less expensive band or DJ are options. Long Island, where they live, has many wineries. They won't get everything that they want, but they can still have a memorable day. I would suggest limiting the event to the $15,000 that they are saving, plus the contribution from her parents.

Buying a House

I earned three different college degrees, so when I finally graduated in 2009, I had a lot of student loans. I decided to start my own business as a nutritionist. So I kept living with my parents to save money. I became debt-free in March of 2011. About six months ago, I moved out of my parents' house and rented a one-bedroom loft that costs $750 a month.

I've been contributing $125 a month to a mutual fund since I was 22. That totals $20,000. I have a checking and savings account, and there's a combined total of five figures in those. I also have a separate bank account for a side job that I do—I knit hats with cat ears on them and sell them online and at craft fairs—and there are four figures in that account. I have two retirement accounts that total in the five figures.

Like many other homeowners, I researched the heck out of buying my first home: what to look for in a house and location, what kind of mortgage to… Read…

I would like to buy a house by the age of 35. A lot of mortgages last for 30 years and 65 is a common age to retire, so buying a house by 35 would make financial sense. I hope that by then I might be married. It's hard to justify owning a multi-bedroom home for just one person. But when I rent, I'm throwing money away, so it would be nice to invest. It would also be nice to have a husband so someone else could chip in money. I would love to have at least a 30% down payment. For that, I want to combine my savings with my mutual fund. My dream home will probably cost $350,000. But as a small business owner, it can be difficult to get a loan, because my income fluctuates.

What David Says

Ah, the American dream of home ownership. Adrienne is following a great strategy of planning for this major purchase by making sure that she has enough money for a sizable down payment. In most cases, 20% or more is a solid goal.

The next few years are likely to bring a lot of change. Waiting at least that long will allow her to become more stable in her career and maybe even meet Mr. Right! In her situation, delaying the purchase of a home is the best option. While she may not be building equity, she's also not risking making a poor decision that she can't easily escape.

Retiring in Your 60s

After being married for 27 years, I got divorced in 2006. I had to move out of our home and suddenly support myself on one income. I bought a high-rise, one-bedroom co-op. My mortgage plus maintenance totals $2,400 a month. I'm paying a lot for my apartment, but I had to leave a house that I loved, so I felt that I deserved to live somewhere beautiful.

I first worked as a librarian and left the job in 2003 after 25 years to take an early retirement. I get a pension of $2,000 a month from that job—though it would have been $300 more a month if I hadn't retired early. Since then I've worked as an administrator of a library consortium, where I make $80,000 a year.

At this job, I have a 403(b) retirement account. As an incentive, my employer was initially putting in the equivalent of 10% of my salary, and as I've gotten raises, I've opted to have them contribute that amount to this retirement account rather than add it to my paycheck, so, by next year, that will be 18%. I also fund my 403(b) with my salary to the max—$23,000 per year. Currently my 403(b) contains $300,000.

I also moonlight as a reference librarian twice a month, tutor a kid in writing and sell vintage items online. I have $30,000 in savings. I have $180,000 in an annuity. I have no debt. I'll have to pay a $15,000 one-time fee soon to fix structural problems in my building.

With the stock market constantly rising and falling, it's hard to predict what kind of luck you'll have when you retire and how much you… Read…

I would love to retire for good next year. I'd like to volunteer at hospital or teach ESL. I'd like to get to the gym more and visit any kids that my son might have someday. My brother has dementia, so I'd like to visit him more in Tennessee. While the going is good, I'd like to enjoy my time. But I'm not sure what my income would be if I quit my job at 62.

What David Says

Arlene has made progress, in terms of recovering from a major financial setback. But her mortgage and maintenance fees are significant. Staying in her current home will likely mean that she cannot retire next year. I would encourage her to look for more affordable housing.

Through the combination of her retirement accounts and her pension, Arlene may be able to draw approximately $45,000 per year throughout her retirement. This does not include any potential Social Security benefit. She could work another year and spend that time selling her condo. By working part-time for the next few years, she could delay taking her Social Security benefit until the full-retirement age of 66, which will increase the monthly benefit.

The Three Types of Freedom

The Three Types of Freedom by Afford Anything

  You can smash almost any limit.

You can escape the cubicle. You can fire your boss. You can overcome your internal self-doubts.
You can sculpt a flat stomach, make dozens of new friends, and speak a foreign language. Heck, you can even learn to dance.
Limits don’t apply to you.
Well, most limits.
Unfortunately, there’s one limit that we can never shatter: our time on this planet. Time is our most limited, and therefore our most valuable, possession.
Yet the majority of us are trading that precious resource, time, for something that’s near-infinite in quantity, money.
That’s unsustainable. Keep it up, and we’ll exhaust our supply of time.
But there is a way out.
You see, money is a renewable resource. It can automatically regenerate itself. Money is self-sustaining.
Time is not. It’s limited, it’s non-renewable, and once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.
Rather than trade time for money in perpetuity, it makes far more sense to momentarily trade time for money, and then harness that money into renewing itself.
Lather, rinse, repeat. Soon the money will sustain itself enough that our time becomes fully ours again.
****
But we can’t quit the time-for-money trade tomorrow. Freedom comes in stages. And that’s why I’d like to chat about three types of freedom:

• Debt Freedom
• Location Freedom
• Financial Freedom

Stage One: Debt Freedom

This variety of freedom is self-explanatory. When you experience Debt Freedom, you don’t owe a dime to any lenders. Screw you, MasterCard!
Many people describe Debt Freedom as the day that they felt a massive, crushing weight lifted off their shoulders.
I applaud them, but I have to admit, I’m also a little bit befuddled by that description.
Because even after you’ve achieved Debt Freedom, you still have the rather irritating responsibility of needing to feed, bathe and clothe yourself and your family. And unfortunately, you must resort to the dreaded time-for-money exchange to achieve this.
That’s why the quest for freedom can’t stop here. Debt freedom is the starting point on a much longer journey …

Stage Two: Location Freedom

Location Freedom is the ability to spend your time anywhere on the planet, anytime you have a hankering to travel there.
Want to explore the jungles of Borneo next week? Sip coffee in Paris? Snorkel the Great Barrier Reef? You got it.
You live in the 21st century, you lucky duck, and that means that you possess more location flexibility than any human being at any point in history. You have cheap airfare + ubiquitous internet connectivity at your disposal, and by golly, you’re not going to squander that opportunity.
Location Freedom is a stepping stone. Some people leap from Debt Freedom to full-fledged Financial Freedom without experiencing this intermediate level along the way. They trade a few grueling years of shackled hard labor in order to fast-track a lifetime of passive income.
Other people, myself included, cultivate Location Freedom to make those intervening years more enjoyable. We tend to prefer “multiple mini-retirements” throughout every stage of life.

Stage Three: Financial Freedom

Financial Freedom is the ultimate independence. You no longer need ride the time-for-money carousel.
At this point, you can do anything you damn well please. If your job is your life’s mission and calling, and you’d love nothing more than to continue working, you’re free to continue working. Likewise, if you want to move to Tahiti and read books on the beach all day, you’re free to do that as well.

Here’s Where We Get Nerdy …

Now here’s a head-scratcher: Are these consecutive levels, like you’re advancing from freshman to senior year? Or can you leap from one stage to the other as though you’re playing hop-scotch?
I’ve laid these out as stepping stones that gradually carry you across the freedom spectrum. Like this:

But some people say all three are independent of one another. You can hopscotch from one stage to another.
Kinda like this:

Who’s right? I’m don’t think it matters.
People can get stuck spinning their wheels about Awesome Life Theory. They’ll spend an hour debating between the four types of retirement. Or they’ll argue that this whole model isn’t scalable because “if everyone ditched the cubicle, our economy will collapse.”
They’ll postulate and rationalize and absolve themselves of any need to improve their station in life. Then they’ll battle rush-hour traffic, sit in a crummy cubicle with a flickering florescent light overhead, and fume that the cards are stacked against them.
Instead of debating Awesome Life Theory, how about taking some action? Pay an extra $200 towards your debt. Negotiate with your boss to work remotely every Friday. Put $100 into a dividend stock fund. Toss an extra $400 into your savings accounts. Read one book about how to buy a rental property. (Better yet, buy the damn property).
If conceptualizing the three stages of freedom as a linear 1-2-3 progression motivates you, then embrace that worldview. If conceptualizing the three stages as a Venn Diagram / game of hopscotch motivates you, do it. If adopting a totally different paradigm lights a fire under your butt, then go for it.
Just don’t sit around debating the minutia of awesomeness.
Instead, take action. Start smashing limits. Start building a big ol’ heap of savings. Start negotiating with your boss, or building your side business, or buying some investments.
Reclaim your time. It’s all you’ve got.

Stress, depression and the holidays: Tips for coping

Stress, depression and the holidays: Tips for coping

Stress and depression can ruin your holidays and hurt your health. Being realistic, planning ahead and seeking support can help ward off stress and depression.

By Mayo Clinic staff

The holiday season often brings unwelcome guests — stress and depression. And it's no wonder. The holidays present a dizzying array of demands — parties, shopping, baking, cleaning and entertaining, to name just a few.

But with some practical tips, you can minimize the stress that accompanies the holidays. You may even end up enjoying the holidays more than you thought you would.

Tips to prevent holiday stress and depression

When stress is at its peak, it's hard to stop and regroup. Try to prevent stress and depression in the first place, especially if the holidays have taken an emotional toll on you in the past.

1.     Acknowledge your feelings. If someone close to you has recently died or you can't be with loved ones, realize that it's normal to feel sadness and grief. It's OK to take time to cry or express your feelings. You can't force yourself to be happy just because it's the holiday season.

2.     Reach out. If you feel lonely or isolated, seek out community, religious or other social events. They can offer support and companionship. Volunteering your time to help others also is a good way to lift your spirits and broaden your friendships.

3.     Be realistic. The holidays don't have to be perfect or just like last year. As families change and grow, traditions and rituals often change as well. Choose a few to hold on to, and be open to creating new ones. For example, if your adult children can't come to your house, find new ways to celebrate together, such as sharing pictures, emails or videos.

4.     Set aside differences. Try to accept family members and friends as they are, even if they don't live up to all of your expectations. Set aside grievances until a more appropriate time for discussion. And be understanding if others get upset or distressed when something goes awry. Chances are they're feeling the effects of holiday stress and depression, too.

5.     Stick to a budget. Before you go gift and food shopping, decide how much money you can afford to spend. Then stick to your budget. Don't try to buy happiness with an avalanche of gifts. Try these alternatives: Donate to a charity in someone's name, give homemade gifts or start a family gift exchange.

6.     Plan ahead. Set aside specific days for shopping, baking, visiting friends and other activities. Plan your menus and then make your shopping list. That'll help prevent last-minute scrambling to buy forgotten ingredients. And make sure to line up help for party prep and cleanup.

7.     Learn to say no. Saying yes when you should say no can leave you feeling resentful and overwhelmed. Friends and colleagues will understand if you can't participate in every project or activity. If it's not possible to say no when your boss asks you to work overtime, try to remove something else from your agenda to make up for the lost time.

8.     Don't abandon healthy habits. Don't let the holidays become a free-for-all. Overindulgence only adds to your stress and guilt. Have a healthy snack before holiday parties so that you don't go overboard on sweets, cheese or drinks. Continue to get plenty of sleep and physical activity.

9.     Take a breather. Make some time for yourself. Spending just 15 minutes alone, without distractions, may refresh you enough to handle everything you need to do. Take a walk at night and stargaze. Listen to soothing music. Find something that reduces stress by clearing your mind, slowing your breathing and restoring inner calm.

10.  Seek professional help if you need it. Despite your best efforts, you may find yourself feeling persistently sad or anxious, plagued by physical complaints, unable to sleep, irritable and hopeless, and unable to face routine chores. If these feelings last for a while, talk to your doctor or a mental health professional.

Take control of the holidays

Don't let the holidays become something you dread. Instead, take steps to prevent the stress and depression that can descend during the holidays. Learn to recognize your holiday triggers, such as financial pressures or personal demands, so you can combat them before they lead to a meltdown. With a little planning and some positive thinking, you can find peace and joy during the holidays.