Passive Income

Matthew 6:20 – Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not break in and steal.

It snowed at my house on Sunday night. Four inches of snow and the whole state of South Carolina shuts down. I have to say I was pretty excited about this. I got to spend the entire day with my son. That makes it one of the best days I have had in months.

We spent the morning making snowballs, watching the older kids sled down the street and playing with Thomas the Tank Engine. All in all, a perfect day. Since we played pretty hard in the morning, my son slept until around 4:30.

I am never home during the day, but since I was, and my wife was sick, I watched a little TV during nap time. I have mentioned before that I cannot stand Oprah. I do not like what she stands for, who she puts her faith in and the unnatural sway she has on millions of women across America. But today’s show was in my area of interest, personal finance, so I watched it.

The basic premise behind today’s show was “What Could You Live Without”? Oprah, in conjunction with Suzie Orman, challenged people to:

• stop spending for one day
• stop using the credit card for one week and
• stop eating out for one month

To be honest with you, these are all extremely reasonable ideas. Nothing earth-shattering, but overall, a pretty decent start for someone trying to start taking control of their personal finances. If it were my show, I think my challenge would have been as follows:

• create a zero-based budget – purchasing food, clothing, transportation and gas with cash
• stop using your credit AND debit card for one pay cycle
• hold a budget committee meeting with your spouse, or responsibility partner, once a week
• fully understand Dave Ramsey’s baby steps and implement them in your daily life
• repeat as needed

While many people knock Mr. Ramsey because they think the “math” does not work, I can promise you one thing – simplifying your life will make it so much more meaningful. Take a look around your house. How much stuff do you own that you could live without? How many items did you buy because you could not live without them? Do you use (or wear) them often? If not, why are you keeping them?

I have decided to go through my house once a week until 2010, and sell one thing that I no longer need on eBay. While this may not seem like a lot, at the end of the year I will have gotten rid of 40 – 50 things that I no longer use (or need). This may not bring in a lot of money, but it should remind me (at least weekly) of how much I do have, so perhaps I will stop focusing on what I do not have.

What about you? Are there any items sitting around that you could live without?

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