I think that those of us who are into frugal living are blessed with a lot of fine resources. Among them is a magazine and website called "Real Simple." Their main focus is on simple living (with a modern interpretation). They had contacted me about an article they were working on awhile back. Just published it the other day. You can find it here 

The concept of simple living seems a little strange. Especially when we discuss it in a blog wired to the net. I'm sure that it doesn't mean the same thing that it did years ago. Back then living simply meant a return to a less mechanized, more rural life. Supporters tended to be self-reliant. The live off of the land types.

But like so many things you don't have to go all the way to benefit from the concept. You don't have to leave civilization behind to simplify your life. Depending on your lifestyle it could be something as simple as getting rid of some of the clutter in your home. I suspect that if we did more of that there would be fewer people looking for bigger homes (did you know that the average home is about 50% bigger than it was 30 years ago?).

It might be time for you to simplify your finances. I don't know the statistics, but I bet a lot of people have more than one IRA. That's ok if there's a specific investment reason for each one. But if they're both doing the same thing it would be simpler to only have to monitor one of them.

I remember watching westerns on TV. Occasionally you'd see one that included a wagon train heading west. Often, if they ran into trouble, they'd leave behind the things that they felt that they could live without. Sometimes those things had traveled with them for many, many difficult miles. It must have been hard to do that. 

It could be that our lives are a little like that wagon train. Look around your world and see if there aren't some things that are not adding anything to your life. If you find something like that it's time to give serious consideration to leaving it behind. Even if it's been part of your life for years.

In case you'd like to find out more about the simple living lifestyle you might like to check out an email newsletter called Simple Times A good friend of ours, Debi Taylor-Hough, has been sharing great ideas with her readers for years. Might be a good way to get a start on a simple, more fulfilling life.

Keep on stretching those dollars (and other resources!)

Gary