Money Screw Ups: And the Frugal Living Lessons that Will Save You - 1

2015 was quite a money ride.  Some of the progress toward financial freedom made following my own frugal living tips (outlined in this post "Can I make it on $3k per month?"  got tossed overboard.  
  

Cushion the Body Blow with Frugal Living 

I can recover because my frugal living ways helped me saved.  That and the personal finance software addiction and fascination with minimalism and aggressive downsizing. 

But my pride and confidence hit the surf and it felt like I slammed into concrete.   Worse, it may have derailed complete financial freedom by a year or more.  

And some of it I could have avoided by listening to those much wiser than myself.     

Surfing Lessons From the Sages

1.  Retirement really is a psychological journey and you might want to prepare for that.

The first time I retired was about 15 months ago.  

As the retirement sages on www.earlyretirement.org said might happen,  I experienced a sudden depression. 

I wasn’t ready psychologically or emotionally, which affected how I dealt with the other surprises to come (i.e., not great). 

Just like every one said -- a great deal of your self ­perception can be tied to your work identity and title.  

In the past party talk - "So, what do you do?"  

My answer  - "Oh, I am a marketer and public relations professional."  

Notice - I didn't say what I do.  I said "this is who I am."   

It took about a year to adjust.  Therapy helped.  So did part-time work and volunteering for professional associations.  

There are plenty of resources on the web about transitioning to a new life phase, even AARP has a coaching service available.    

2.  Sound financial planning is not an exact science.  

I asked all the wise ones on the early retirement forums for advice as to "don't I have enough to pull the plug on this job?"  

The answer wasn't as positive as I expected.  As much as I had saved, they still said, "you need more of a safety cushion, nobody gets this stuff right on the money.  Hold on!  Give yourself a 5-10% margin of error." 

Financial Freedom: the Marie Kondo Life Changing Magic Way. But Watch Out for Those Emotional Barriers

From 2600 square feet (2010) to 1500 in 2010.    

From 1500 square feet to  697 square feet in 2014.  

I’ve cut my living space and stuff by 66% in the last five years and never felt freer or happier.  But each time I scaled down, I had to step over and toss out more than unused clutter – I had to face the accompanying fears and bogeymen haunting my psyche. 

The Top 3 Fears:

• What if all my stuff fit in the new space?  Would I end up embarrassed, with furniture or boxes of (fill in the blank) at the doorway, left by the movers who couldn't fit it into the new place?  
• If I have to get rid of it -- how will I manage without it?  (i.e.,)   Could I really live without a (fill in the blank?) 
• Wouldn't I be spending more money to replace the stuff I tossed?  Because obviously I would not be able to live with out.

Reality Check:  

The only things I ever gave away to movers because they wouldn't fit in my new space:

• A chest of drawers handed down to me from my family that I really didn't like.   Good riddance.  The mover seemed thirlled!  0% regret.
• A 9 foot-high-bookcase.  10%  regret.  I really liked that bookcase, but it was a choice between the bookcase and the antique sideboard my daughter loves and wants some day.  The mover who loves books ended up with the bookcase.  I can buy another one someday.  So far, I've done great without it.

But as I consider downsizing to 280 square feet, I’m even more perplexed and wondering "good grief, how am I going to live without a living room??" 

The rewards of downsizing draw me forward anyway:  pure joy, a new view of the world, a fuller life.

The KonMari Method Is Helping This Time.  Real Life Case Study Below.

For those of you facing the same kind of emotional collapse that is either slowing you down or halting the process all together, I’m sharing some of the tools that helped me and recent photos from my current use of the KonMari, the process laid out in The Life Changing Magic of TidyingUp by Marie Kondo. 

First Things First:  Your Clothes 

Marie suggests that you start de-cluttering your clothes.  NOT your closet, because clothes are stored many other places too.  And clothes are the easiest.  So here goes my Saturday.