But wait... there's less!

If you're 21, you can probably stop reading now. If you're a bit older and own CDs keep reading.  CDs are an example of "calendar clutter" - once-useful items that time has rendered obsolete. But what should we do with CDs rather than dump them in the garbage. Is there a way to recycle CDs and DVDs? Other options Obviously I'm a big fan of selling (people bought my Batman DVDs and my Abba CD) or giving away. These are both better options than landfill. But there are discs that no-one wants. The installation disc for the printer you no longer own, the Microsoft Encarta 98 disc, the CD computer backups (pre-external hard drives), the disc of digital photos from your holiday with a friend, and self-made music CDs (the 90s/2000s equivalent of an 80s mix tape). Unless you want to do a crafty DIY project the next best option is to recycle them. But where? Officeworks This is me at a nearby Officeworks, recycling a bunch of discs we've had for ages. Out of interest...

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...

It's been about 10 years since I've owned a car. My wife doesn't own one either. "You must save a lot in petrol" That's one of the frequent reactions when someone discovers we don't own a car. "Of course, but it's just the tip of the iceberg" is the usual theme of my reply. Many people I've talked to just aren't fully aware of the real cost of owning a car. Or even that there are six different costs of owning a car. Six? Really? Yes. Occasionally a work colleague or friend will boast their car only costs $X per week. Of course it turns out only some factors have been counted. Sometimes it's just petrol alone. To some people, that feels like the only cost they pay each week. Why does this matter? You might be questioning the need for a second car in the household (or even having one at all). Or you might just be choosing which car to get next. Either way, to make an informed decision we need proper information. So let's look at...

One of the themes of this blog is buy less spend less, work less, stress less. Some things are essential. Others are far from it. Like personalised licence plates. I've never fully understood the desire for them. I get that people like to express themselves. But it still feels like a waste of money. I took a deep dive to find out how much people pay for this self-expression. The plates website says each plate "has a character behind it and a story to tell" . Let's have a look at some of the 'stories' being told and what they cost. Colour This is the "colour" category of plate (though the owner chose white on black). Buyers can choose a combination of 3 letters and 2 or 3 numbers. Why has this person chosen to make a word like camera? Are they a professional photographer - or do they like the irony if they ever get caught on a police speed camera? I'm not sure, but at $485, it's an expensive joke. Theme Another motorist is spending $485 to ann...

Will we be OK in old age? How much will we have? One of the great things about living in Australia is superannuation. Our employers are required to pay into an investment account for our retirement. In recent times, my wife and I have been in several conversations with friends who are wondering (or worried) if their balance will be enough. That's what inspired this article. Great question It's a great question to ask, especially around the age of 35 to 40. At that point, old age is less of a distant abstract concept. It's becoming a medium-term reality. At 35 the number of years of living off super is possibly more than half of your remaining years. At 40 you may consider yourself about half way through your working life. Looking at your balance, it's easy to think that twice that balance may not be enough.  Read on, because I have good news for you. It's better than you might think As I've mentioned in earlier posts, compound growth means the investment grows f...

Yes, by now we all know that smartphones and social media are doing us harm. How do we harness the benefits of them without the destructive effects. The book Offline makes 5 main points. If you've only got a minute, here they are: The addictive design keeps us on online platforms longer. The 'brain hacks' disrupt our brain's ability to function. Humans need "real" interaction, and social media does not deliver this. Technoference (digital over-riding direct interactions at the play ground, coffee shop, dinner table) result in something valuable being lost. Speed of the transformation is astounding. 75% of people are connected, with almost half using social media. We have no idea what the long-term effects of this real-life experiment will be. Going a bit deeper, here are some of my highlights from the book. So what are side-effects? According to various studies, the effects can be grouped into the physiological (poor sleep, neural re-wiring, and increased str...

That's the slogan of one company providing an alternative to car ownership. Here's our experience with them. Why not just have our own car? Another time I'll write a full post about that, but suffice to say that car ownership is a pain in the neck. The servicing, the maintenance, the repairs, the parking, the traffic, the registration, the insurance, the cleaning... For my wife and I, about 98% of our transport needs can be done on foot, by bike, by train, bus or ferry. Maybe 99% if you include rideshare. So we choose to avoid the pain (and cost) of car ownership. However, car use (I think of it separately from car ownership) can be handy in certain situations. We had one of those situations last weekend. Here's how it went. Booking a car My wife signed up for GoGet , and booked the car online for the time window she needed it. As a first-timer, she received her little membership card in the mail. On the day of the booking, GoGet sent her a reminder email about 20 minut...

Here in Australia, there's a new TV show -- Space Invaders. The expert team visits ordinary families and help them declutter their home and improve their lives. Just one episode in and it's already a must-watch for me. Meet the Team "Declutter Guru" Peter Walsh is accompanied by renovation expert Cherie Barber and treasure hunter Lucas Callaghan. Their mission is to help households remove clutter, renovate the decluttered space and maybe find some treasures along the way. Episode one Empty-nesters Julie and Pete were in need of help. Julie's birthday presents lived on the dining table as there was nowhere for them to go. The spare room had barely enough floor space to walk in. The main bedroom was not much better. Pete's clothes were stored in the living room. Julie herself admitted "each thing I recognise and love - but as a whole it's just become a bit of a mess" . So what did they lose? Julie's nine racks of clothes were reduced to three. ...

Here's a superquick way to work out how much money your investments might make. No need for fancy exponential maths . Just simple division and some doubling. Maybe you can even do it it your head. The rule of 72 Years to double = 72 / growth rate That's it. Pretty simple. Just 72 divided by a number. Working out the double-time So a 2% investment would take 36 years to double in value. (72 divided by 2) At 6% it would take 12 years, and at 8% it would take 9 years. How many doubles? Let's say someone is investing $50k for 36 years. At 2% , it would double once. Result $100k . At 6% , it would double three times. (36 years divided by 12 years). Three doubles means it becomes 100k, 200k, then $400k . At 8% , it would double four times. (36 years divided by 9 years). Four doubles means it becomes 100k, 200k, 400k, then $800k . This is astounding I was stunned when I first came across this. I probably still am. It's amazing to think that moving from 2% to 6% changes things ...

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...