If you have found keeping up with Joneses has become an all-out sprint and you’re tired of it, here are some notions that can help.
• Fiscal fast. Conduct an experiment to determine what it’s like to live with less. Start cutting expenses, especially optional ones that show up on your credit- or debit-card statement every month, such as subscriptions. You might cut all spending for a period.
•Temptation. Don’t make simplifying harder than it needs to be. Stay away from advertising, and try to eliminate temptations. That might mean unsubscribing from retail e-mails and catalogs or staying out of the shopping mall.
• Cash is king. Some find it helps to use a simple system of putting cash in envelopes for a few common expenses such as groceries and entertainment. When the envelope is empty, you stop spending.
10-10-10. Before making a big or complicated purchase, ask yourself how it will affect your life in 10 minutes, 10 months and 10 years. Espoused by Suzy Welch in her book, “10-10-10: A Life-Transforming Idea,” it makes decisions less impulsive and more deliberate. Gregory Karp, Chicago Tribune
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