Make a Goal to Reduce Your Waistline

An article on the BBC’s website titled “Love handles” raise death risk caught my eye, not in part because of the humor potential the next time someone says their love handles are “good to grab onto.”

I don’t mean says that to me. Well, interpret it how you want.

Then I noticed that love handles are a cause of not only death but the recession, global warming, crime, Alzheimer’s, and heart disease. This in addition to the well known fact that a large waistline can indicate a tendency toward diabetes.

So find something else that’s good to grab onto and work on getting rid of those love handles!

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Cheap and Easy Secrets to Being Green

Green this and green that. Before the economy free fell, the hottest thing around was keeping the environment cool by acting green (sustainably).

The good news is, being green means a return to the simple life. Not the Paris Hilton one. The real, old fashioned one. Here are some ideas, probably not secrets realistically:

1. Walk. You’ll save on gym and transportation fees and enjoy getting to know your area.
2. Get to the farmer’s market at the end of the day. Eat well and eat less. You can afford organic and will likely get a discount if you arrive just before the farmers are packing up for the day.
3. Re-invent leftovers. Almost everything can become a stirfry. And a stirfry can become ingredients for an omelette. Eggs for dinner. Yummy, cheap, and fun.
4. Get and give on Freecycle. Free what? If you don’t know of this resource, immediately check out Freecycle.org. It’s a karmic exchange where you can de-clutter and share, while requesting things you need—all for free.
5. Check SustainLane for more ideas and shopping tips.
6. Wear warm clothes in the house. I’ve lived in drafty old Victorians in California, where I enjoy bundling up indoors. In colder climates I often find blasting heat is the norm. Moderate wherever you live and enjoy the feeling of being bundled up indoors.
7. Borrow and lend to your neighbors. Do you really need your own weed wacker? Throw a block party and sign up to share various tools and machinery that you don’t need all the time. Less for the landfill. More for your bank account.
8. City folk? Join the urban garden movement. Whether you have a 1×1 foot dirt area, pots on a terrace, or a small yard, explore the many ways people are “growing their own” for good taste and economy.

Ask questions or add more tips here. I’d personally like to help you live sustainably on a budget!

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Five MORE Things Happy People Do

I enjoyed reading Gabrielle LeBlanc’s research-backed article Five Things Happy People Do in Oprah Magazine. Mostly curious to see how many of the five I was already doing.

1. They find their most golden self.
Meaning, “striving toward excellence based on one’s unique talents and potential.” Making a life list and thinking about and acting on what you’re meant to be is the first step.

She quotes Richard J. Davidson, PhD as saying this type of “well-being is much more robust and satisfying than hedonic happiness, and it engages different parts of the brain.” My first “aha” moment about this flowed when reading the book Flow by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi. He points out that people are most happy when deeply immersed in a satisfying activity vs. partying or sitting around doing nothing in the pursuit of relaxation.

2. They design their lives to bring in joy.
Acting on #1 is the second step! Thinking about your daily life, how you spend your time and energy. Where you live, if your lifestyle harmonizes with “you.”

In a follow up post I will share an easy and fun way to analyze your life to discover, if you’re unsatisfied, what exactly you need to change. Feel free to contact me to ask directly too.

3. They avoid “if only” fantasies.
Or as Santana would say “wishing it was.” The second “if only” comes into your head, squash it!

4. They put best friends first.
She means, vs. people you don’t know. It’s true. The state of flow from great conversation and banter with people close to me is unbeatable.

5. They allow themselves to be happy.
“As much as we all think we want it, many of us are convinced, deep down, that it’s wrong to be happy.” Step 0. Get over this!

My Five More Things

6. They keep busy with things important to them.
I do believe that “idle hands are the devil’s workshop.” I don’t believe in the devil but that general idea. That’s why I love my life list. Even if I have spare time I can look at the list and find meaningful activities to work on, whether they’re fun or “work.” The times I haven’t felt like working on anything I definitely felt the downside.

7. They exercise and eat well.
I needn’t blather about how feeling great and strong physically impacts your happiness, need I?

8. They smell the flowers.
See YouTube video.

9. They don’t procrastinate.
Living each day with intention, breaking down your goals into steps, and taking action—does anything feel quite so good?

10. They spread happiness.
See a quick idea for making a friend happy today—which in turn will make you happy.

And try to smile even if you don’t feel like it. Be helpful.

With help from the Greater Good Science Center, parents can learn specific techniques to instill happiness in your children…and more importantly How Not to Raise an Ungrateful Brat. (Perhaps playing an online game called Darfur is Dying will help with that attitude of gratitude!)

If you’re in the San Francisco area and curious about the academics behind happiness, check out the Happiness & It’s Causes conference. Although it might make you happier to spend your money another way, sit under a cork tree with a good book, and just be happy.

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Frugal European Travel for Singles - Make a Goal to be a Tart in Paris

Oh wait, I meant to eat a tart in Paris.

In a great New York Times article, Lessons From the Frugal Grand Tour, Matt Gross, the Frugal Traveler, notes:

“The trick, I learned over a summer spent trying to absorb European culture, is to ignore the guidebooks and magazine articles, and to simply adopt the persona of a local.”

The article included one of my life list goals—to go WWOOFing—and inspired me to add a few tips of my own.

As an often solo frugal traveler who tries to maximize travel enjoyment by traveling as a local (which the article suggests for cost savings), consider the following:

Make Friends in Advance

Single travelers, check out online dating sites to find people in countries you’ll be visiting, beforehand. That’s how this photo of now a long-time friend came to be: Driving from the airport in Paris to a snowy area off the beaten path to take photos at sunrise.

Leave enough time before your trip for ample chatting or connecting. Look for people who have also traveled and specifically have posted profiles on dating sites in your country, hoping to meet people just like you as you travel.

Online dating is, of course, not a money saving tip but an idea to connect you with locals for a richer “local” experience, to make friends, to get tips on how to save, and who knows what else…

Couch Surf!

Couch Surfing, which I experienced and wrote about recently, belongs on every frugal traveler’s experience life list. It’s not limited to singles by the way; you may find people happy to accommodate several people at once.

In fact a Couch Surfer in Senegal who found my profile just wrote me. As a lover of Senegalese music, and having befriended a woman from Senegal once on a trip to Paris, who knows. Maybe a couch in Africa awaits.

As you wonder why tourists visit the same tired attractions in your city or town, think the same as you travel. Veer off the beaten path for fun and frugality!

Of course, use common sense and your intuition to guide you.

Craigslist rental caveat: In the Frugal Traveler article he mentions renting a place via Craigslist. Always be careful when renting from afar and wiring money in advance, as Craigslist itself warns. And make sure you’re comfortable even upon meeting the people you’re renting from that it’s their place. I’m mentioning this because of a scam I heard about recently.

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