Introduction to Simplifying Our Lives

Over the past year, my wife and I have been trying to simplify our lives. We’ve made some big changes. First, on December 31, 2007, I quit my comfortable job with a comfortable salary plus benefits. To many it seemed like lunacy, but both my wife and I have been building our freelance careers, so we were confident we could come close to my salary on our own. The reality of losing our benefits hit us, but otherwise we’ve made it out unscathed–and we’re both always home now for our young children.

In January and February, I started cutting our “complicated expenses.” Upon examination, I discovered we were spending hundreds of dollars monthly just like everyone else: on things we don’t really need. We only use a combined 300 minutes on our cell phones, so I cut Verizon off and went with Prepaid Wireless–that’s $115/month to $10/month for both cell phones because of the way we use them.

I cancelled our landline and went with the phone package our cable company had. At the same time, I cut our extended cable. We have a TiVo with lifetime service and generally get more than enough viewing on our local channels anyway. This changed our cable and phone bills from $90 and $30 to a total of $75/month. That’s another $45/monh savings.

We cut our critter control and I went to Home Depot, got the best self-pest control solution. That changed our bill from $20/month to $20/year…an annual $220 savings. I also cut a few other services we didn’t use much. Some online multiplayer game subscriptions and other online site subscriptions. I even switched banks from Wells Fargo with their hefty account fees for using Microsoft Money and online banking to Charles Schwab which gives me all that and more for free. All in all, our total savings amounted to nearly $200/month.

But it wasn’t enough. It’s amazing how complicated life can seem. It’s not just about getting out of debt or slashing expenses. It’s about a lifestyle change. And this is why Gena and I have created this web site. It’s a way to record our journey simplifying our lives–and our children’s lives–forever. I hope you subscribe and join us for the journey! I believe as you do, you’ll be encouraged to make some changes as you rebel against suburbia yourself.

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