Before I get into my Project Worthwhile Life 2017 goals, I want to talk a little about goal setting in general. I think that one of the essential components of a happy life is setting and achieving goals. Many others agree, that’s why the planet is awash with exhortations to set goals for 2017. A […]
How to Eat Well and Save Money on Food
As I mentioned for my 2016 Transplantiversary, I’m hoping to make some significant lifestyle changes to get down to the hospital recommended weight (and I’ve set up a monitoring page to track it publicly). I’ve ordered new cookbooks to help! During my cookbook shopping, I found a review of Jamie Oliver’s Everyday Super Food (affiliate link), which dismissed […]
Wealth Management for a Happy Retirement
Katy recently told me that her company had completed a tender for new cleaning services. She was working late the other day, and she met them. The tender “winners” are an older couple in their sixties who can’t afford to retire, so they have started an office cleaning business. Instead of the happy retirement life […]
Deliberations on Luxury
With the research for my new book Holistic Personal Finance progressing nicely, I’ve been thinking about luxury. Partly inspired by the old guy who just paid $55 for a packet of cigarettes (I believe they were about $15 when I quit), but more particularly luxury in food. DB recently came home with a chocolate bar, and […]
Alexandria’s Adventure in Morning Routine
Following my brush with the collapse of control, I have been noticing a lot of chat about “morning routine” in my podcasts and webinars lately, and there has been one thing that stood out for me. No one agrees on why you have a morning routine, but they all think it’s critical to use one: Craig […]
The Happy Benefits of Old Fashioned Budgeting
I haven’t mentioned it much, but I’m researching a book on Holistic Personal Finance, (if you’d like to help me make it more relevant for modern people, please take my short survey). I’m finding the difference between modern and old fashioned household budgeting amusing, confusing and a disquieting indicator of the change in our values. Modern Budgeting Modern […]
A Short History of Attitudes Towards Household Expenditure
I’ve started researching my next book, which is about Holistic Personal Finance. Like Build Your Signature Wardrobe, it draws on the wisdom our ancestors developed through Two World Wars and The Great Depression. I am intrigued in particular about how the attitudes towards household expenditure that I have been reading about have changed. I think they […]
2015 Signature Wardrobe Summer Plan part 3
I have to say that I am really loving these Second World War summer uniform pictures – so stylish. In part one, I gave myself a budget of $500 to build a signature summer wardrobe of fitted yet loose pretty clothes in natural fibres, coloured scarlet, blue, cerise, black or white to match my existing wardrobe: 2 house […]
2015 Signature Wardrobe Summer Plan part 2
Last time, I gave myself a budget of $500 ($334 for Cinderella [house] clothes and $166 for Princess [good] clothes) to build a signature summer wardrobe consisting of: 2 house outfits 1 street outfit summer coat pretty street shoes My preference is for nice clothes that are fitted, yet loose enough to permit air flow, and […]
2015 Signature Wardrobe Summer Plan part 1
After four years of unemployment, I have recently acknowledged to myself, that I probably won’t be leaving the house to go out to work in a nice air-conditioned office any time soon, so I must do what I advise others to do and buy clothes for the life that I am currently living. It’s time […]
A Critique of Glamour’s “24 Fashion Essentials You’ll Need in 2015”
Stradbroke Day 1935 at Ascot (Brisbane, Australia) race day fashion essentials. By Contributor(s): The Queenslander (6 June 1935) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons In a large nutshell, this is my problem with “fashion essentials”. An essential is something that you just can’t do without; the air that you breathe for example. Fashion is a customary or conventional way […]
Wardrobe Planning 1935 style
Today’s advice about wardrobe planning 1935 style comes from a college textbook I discovered during my book research [1]. It offers advice on designing and fitting clothing, gaining the most satisfaction from your clothes and handily, a four step wardrobe plan. 1. Understand What Makes a Good Outfit Your outfit (or as they say, costume) starts with your […]