But wait... there's less!

How is it possible for a book to be depressing, supportive and hopeful all at once? Man Down looks at the problems men have today and how it managed to get this way. What price 'success'? It seems so many of the problems come from the external pressure to be a 'success' - whatever that means. Over time this pressure becomes internal and drives us to make decisions to satisfy that pressure, but which are detrimental in so many other ways. It can be the pressure to take a 'successful' career, though it's one we don't want or aren't suited for. Or to take a promotion, because salary is apparently success - or at least it buys all the things that signal success to others.  The promotion only means more pressure, less sleep, and poorer health. At the same time the extra responsibility takes away from our ability to exercise, take care of our health and form social connections. The lack of social connections means that retiring is one of the most dangerou...

First question. Why 4000 weeks? That's the average human lifespan. If you're reading this you've probably used up 1000 already. If you're a bit older you may have only 2000 left. Maybe just 1000. That can be a startling thought - given how quickly each week goes by. There's so much wisdom in this book, it's hard to summarise it briefly. But I'll give it a go.... Face the Finitude If time was infinite, we could work for 40 years and not miss out on anything. We could spend frivolously as we could always earn more money later. But in the real world there are time limits. Even if we have enough money to escape the nine-to-five, our time (though more plentiful) is finite. Just like money, we will run out if we fritter it away on low-value options. "Face the Finitude" has become one of my internal phrases now. It's my reminder that I don't have infinite time to waste. It may be helpful to think of it like money. eg. I might like something, but d...

What do Snoopy and the Peanuts gang have to do with decluttering? It's a typical example of parting with things we no longer need. In doing so we're making money, saving money and bringing joy to the lives of others. Peanuts While I still enjoy the Peanuts characters, comics and movies, I wasn't really using these Linus and Lucy figures. They were sitting in a shoe box (along with Schroeder and Snoopy). Schroeder and his piano now serve as a bookend on our bookcase . But for Linus and Lucy I decided they'd be more loved by someone else. The other day a Peanuts-loving parent bought them for her (and her kids) to enjoy. Another success is increasing the joy in the world. Numbers I love stats, so I keep a record of our sales. Together, these two Peanuts figures were the 598th sale my wife and I have made. This particular sale because the $8 took our combined sales to $4,500 (over several years). I've double checked with my tax accountant and this is tax-free income. :...

"Why is it so hard to resist new things even when we know we already have too much. Can we find an alternative to the more, more, more mentality?" That promo got me hooked into the half-hour doco "Too Much Stuff". Australian viewers can see it online . Otherwise, here are some of my highlights. Host Sarah Wilson sums up the problem right at the start. "At every turn we're urged to possess the next thing that will make us feel smarter and more desirable. Anything we want is available with just one click. We're filling up our lives with stuff; yet ultimately, many of us feel empty, guilty and stressed out by our consumption." She sets out to explore an alternative. To see if "radically reducing our consumption" can lead to a better life. (Spoiler alert: Yes) Sarah says many people call her a minimalist but she's not so much about getting rid of things, more about not buying stuff. What's wrong with the Marie Kondo approach? Each ep...

Ever felt yourself wondering where all the time in the day went? Or asked yourself why the things you wanted to do haven't got done? This book might be what you're looking for. Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky worked for Google. They helped redesign Gmail and You Tube. Then they worked out a way to redesign how they spent their time. They share their tactics in this book Make Time: How to focus on what matter every day . As you might imagine, I really like the idea of doing more of what matters by wasting less time. Two big things that steal our time The Busy Bandwagon is the "culture of constant busyness - the overflowing inboxes, stuffed calendars and the endless to-do lists" . Much of this not really necessary. Infinity Pools are "sources of endlessly replenishing content" . Social media, TV and streaming services are examples. Obviously when there is no end to the content, there's no limit to how much time they can suck away from you.  Apparently the ave...

"Been busy?" is a question we're often asked. Sadly we're often far too busy and don't have time for the things we really want to do. We've made working our number one priority and are suffering the consequences. But it doesn't have to be this way. Author Celeste Headlee explains the reasons work takes up too much of our lives and shows a way forward to being less busy, less overworked and more happy. The title "Do Nothing" might put you off reading this book. I recommend you read it anyway. The subtitle "break away from overworking overdoing and underliving" is a better description of the book. In a world of overworking we seem busier than ever. How is it that our grandparents had so much leisure time even without the assistance of robot vacuums, online shopping, microwaves and the internet? Author Celeste Headlee suggest that instead of gritting our teeth and forcing our "body and mind to work punishing hours" as if they w...

You don't have win the lottery or receive a big inheritance. Money magazine interviewed seven people who are getting financial independence on fairly average salaries. "They are followers of the popular personal finance FIRE movement (financial independence retire early)"  who are saving rigorously, investing sensibly and enjoying a modest lifestyle. The article describes the FIRE movement as "the opposite of working flat-out through-out your life, piling on debt, living beyond your means and consuming voraciously." "While most Australians rely on drip-feeding their ... retirement account FIREs are aggressively saving much more outside super." So who are these people doing it so well? Kate is 22, aiming to retire at 40. Pat (32) is on track to retire at 35. Dave retired at 28 having left school in year 11 Leo  (34) and Alisha (32) will retire this year on 90k/year Serina  (48) retired at 46 with a family on 60-70k/year Jason  (48) is nearly at his 9...

It's no secret that almost all of us have too much stuff. Peter Walsh's book Let it Go is very helpful for people looking to do something about it. Aussies may know Peter Walsh from Space Invaders , where he regularly assists people in letting go of about 75% of their clutter. In this book he gives a mental framework, and practical approach and a step-by-step guide for downsizing your physical possessions. It's particularly geared for people moving house, often in a life transition such as marriage, job change, kids leaving home, retirement, or moving into aged care.  Here are some of my highlights: Why is this so hard? At the moment the Baby Boomer generation is inheriting a lot of stuff from their parents while also entering retirement and trying to downsize. So they pass things along to Gen X and Y. The event that caused the downsize can be stressful in itself. Then we realise that we own way more than we want or need. In our society, consuming and accumulating is consid...

Joshua and Ryan (The Minimalists) have a new documentary Less is Now . Their key message - life is better with less stuff - remains the same. This time around they've interviewed regular people, and looked into the causes of our consumerism - and how it hurts us. Here are some of my highlights: S‫imple vs Easy They're not the same. Easy is going with the flow. Buying whatever advertising tells you to. It takes work to be intentional but it's worth the work. Haste makes waste The idea of anything we want being "on your doorstep within 24 hours" sounds convenient. But convenience can be our enemy . "If I can get you to purchase before you can think, I'm gonna get you to buy stuff you don't need". Manipulation Selling is OK - we want the grocery store to sell us food. But what people are pushing is not always compatible with what we need. Corporations are there to make money, make sales, and make more of both. Marketers are "really impressive...

This book is often recommended. The author sees shares as safer than term deposits, prefers low dividends and isn't keen on property. I was keen to read it. Here are my highlights: Two tips Spend less than you earn. Borrow less than you can afford. Those two tips alone would help so many people. Assets and liabilities What we often call assets are really liabilities (they cost us to maintain). Houses, cars, boats can be liabilities - useful for "status or position in the pecking order" . He uses the example of a retiree with $3 million in assets. A million dollar house, a million dollar boat and two $500k cars. They sound wealthy but how will they buy food, let alone pay the ongoing costs of all those items. By contrast, assets bring in an income. Attitude to shares He says the sharemarket is our friend, and "provided it is treated with respect, it creates appropriate wealth for all those who use it sensibly. However if we approach it as a gambler, we need to be prep...

We humans like to think we're smarter than monkeys. But we may be getting caught by a very similar trap. The future we choose The book I'm reading wasn't meant to feature here. It wasn't going to be one of my book reviews . I thought it was unrelated - until the subchapter on consumerism. The author mentioned the monkey trap - a fixed container of food with a hole in the side. The hole is big enough for monkey's hand to enter, but not big enough for a monkey's fist (full of food) to be removed. So many monkeys are caught because they can't bring themselves to let go. They thought they were holding food, but it was really the food (bait) that was holding them. At least monkeys do need food While it's understandable that the monkeys would desire food, our bait seems to be consumerism. It's not even the essentials - it's just things that we are told we need. And we believe it, even if it means we're trapped.  Or in the author's words, "...