It's Time to Pay Attention

Anyone else get the feeling that our economy has gone haywire? Stocks are surging ahead, while our National Unemployment Rate stands at 10.2%. In case you're not an economist, that is the highest the unemployment rate since the early '80's. Small businesses all over are shutting their doors and abandoning their dreams of expansion and wealth. All you have to do is take a walk down Main Street America and observe the "For Lease" signs plastered across commercial storefronts. Foreclosures are still out of control as this new surge of Adjustable Rate Mortgages begin to "adjust". In the next year we are likely to see that number skyrocket.


Something is amiss for sure. But in any economic bloodbath there is immense opportunity.


One of the essential tools in our LOL toolkit is to pay attention to our personal finances and manage where our savings are going. I know a lot of friends that refuse to watch the news because it is too negative and they don't want to be bothered by all of the wars, violence and negative economic news. I also have friends who invest every month in aggressive mutual funds and have absolutely no idea how their portfolios are performing.



It is is time to pay attention to what is happening. Economies, governments and the habits of millions of people are rapidly changing before our very eyes. Watching economic and global events while staying emotionally detached provides you an advantage from the typical "Jon and Kate Plus 8" American who is hellbent on being entertained by mindless not-so-real reality TV while the world goes through an immense change.



Do you know that the US Dollar has lost 9 percent of its value in the past year? What does that mean? It means your savings account making 1 percent interest actually has lost eight percent in a year's time. That is why investors are moving their money out of banks and putting it in commodites and stocks. Gold has gone up 16 percent in the month of November 2009. This is an indicator that people are losing faith in paper currency. I believe US Stocks are in extreme peril right now. Do some research and find out for yourself.



The masses are starting to wake up and pay attention. My advice is to get educated on the current trends and forecasts for the upcoming year. Get investment advice from a variety of sources and then trust your instincts.



One thing is for certain. Consumerism is dying quickly and we will be faced with a new economy and new ways of creating value. If you are to maintain a good standard of living in the coming years, you need to manage your nest egg closely and consider operating from a paradigm of safety and wealth preservation as opposed to "getting rich." Working to reduce your needs and sell and discard what is unnecessary will assist you in this process.



The government wants you to get into debt (i.e. Cash for Clunkers and the Homebuyer Tax Credits). I am asking you to reconsider. Work to get out of debt and research investments that will increase in value during times of financial crisis. Staying liquid and mobile should be a factor with regards to your finances while our economy resets itself. Make no mistake, we are in for one hell of a wild ride.

IS THE LOW OVERHEAD LIFE (LOL) RIGHT FOR YOU?

Let’s be honest with each other. A simple life, free from debt and unnecessary material goods is not for everyone. It is even more difficult to let go of the relationships, idealogies and routines that have colored your life’s journey. We are conditioned to live our lives a certain way and subject ourselves to criticism if we veer from that path.




However, there is a subtle movement that is taking place in our culture. It involves restructuring our lives to obtain maximum freedom and maximum contentment. It involves taking command of the activities of our day to day living and proceeding only when we have weighed our objectives against the level of love and freedom they will provide. I feel the shift towards more natural living is mainly driven by the economic collapse and people’s need to “off load” things that may not be so important in the wake of financial disaster. Still others seek to eliminate unnecessary energies in their lives so that they may travel , retire early, or explore artistic and spiritual endeavors.




If you are happy, content, and dare I say, blissful, in the details of your life, then by all means, the LOL may not be for you. However, if you have an open mind and feel that you may need to do some spring cleaning with regards to the complexities of your life then this may be worth a look. I promise you that more freedom and time will result with a little effort in the beginning. You will be amazed at what simplifying everything in your life will do for your energy levels and mental clarity. Besides, de-cluttering is so much fun.



I will create blogs in small, simple segments to facilitate your journey to simplicity. Little by little we will drop the objects and ideas that are no longer useful. So if you’re ready, let’s start with the most important and oftentimes the most cluttered aspect of your life, your home.


There are entire books written on home efficiency and organization. That’s fine, read them if you would like. Create checklists, blueprints, battle plans...whatever. That’s just more stuff to chuck.



I have a better idea. Just go through your home, maybe one room a week, or one cupboard/closet a week and start chuckin’ out crap you don’t need. Sell it, donate it, trash it. Create three piles. Make one a Craigslist Pile, one a Goodwill Pile and one a Good Riddance Pile. Then, release your clutter out of your home and into the world. Remember, items of sentimental value that you may look upon once a year, are still taking up unnecessary space and ultimately constricting your energy. Why not photograph the item(s) and download it into your “Memories” file on your computer desktop? This works well with old trophies, medals and paper photos. Your mantra should be, “when in doubt, chuck it out.” There are plenty of people out there that still love clutter. That is not you anymore. You are becoming free, one step at a time and de-cluttering your home is a viable first step to achieving that freedom. Be ruthless. Don’t rationalize. Just expunge the junk and feel the new lightness in your life.

See you next week.

Welcome to the Low Overhead Life (LOL!)

Did you ever think that the Great American Dream was a actually a sinister concept created by the government, religions and large corporations designed to keep us enslaved to a system of conformity and servitude? Well, that may be a bit radical, but I think that is exactly what has occurred.







I have watched with awe as "The Great American Dream" which has guided the spirit of this country has finally been laid to rest. The majority of American homeowners have lost their financial and emotional solvency as the real estate boom has screeched to a grinding halt. Theoretically, the post-millenial housing boom was largely fueled by greed and the "get rich quick" consciousness that continues to pervade our economy. Investors were "flipping" houses for quick profit. Mortgage brokers were making a killing on their commissions. Realtors were buying up bus benches everywhere to advertise their businesses. Homeowners were purchasing fully loaded RV's, installing Greco-Roman swimming pools and financing week long Las Vegas jaunts with their Home Equity Loans. It seemed like it would never stop going up. Do you remember these phrases? "Get in now! They're not making anymore land! You're throwing your money away on rent!"



And what of man's search for God? The religions of the world are at war with one another and hundreds, if not thousands are killed everyday in the name of "God." If I was God, I would be pissed! I don't think that's what The Great Spirit intended for us. Or how about the Roman Catholic Church who continues to conceal thousands of pedophiles as these same priests live lavishly off the tithing of their victims? And, why exactly is this organization still thriving? It's simple. We live in a dysfunctional system where the ego's need for power, wealth and pleasure continues to guide every aspect of our lives, even in our religions.

There is much to contend with in our current culture. Marriages are struggling, debt is skyrocketing, all the while the masses shake their heads and shout "how could this happen?" "My realtor said real estate will continue to go through the roof!" Now, let me guess, did your financial adviser tell you that there is no such thing as a housing bubble back in 2006? I know mine did. He adamantly disagreed with me and labeled me a conspiracy theorist. I fired him. Now, I'm no brain surgeon, but when I observed people buying $500,000 homes with no money down on an interest only loan, and no proof of income, I knew things were going to crap eventually.

Barely surviving a head-on collision with the pitfalls of the Get Rich Quick Schemes of the 90's, I detoured off the path to the traditional American Dream and as a result found the quality of my life skyrocket. I finally freed myself from iron chains of consumer extremism. I did not have a home equity line of credit. I did not have granite counter tops. I did not have a "pimped-out Escalade with 24 inch chrome wheels.

Had I missed the (jet) boat? What was wrong with me? I was driving a paid-off Ford pick-up and renting a nice apartment close to work. I was taking guitar lessons, studying martial arts and meditating in the mountains on my days off. I was traveling often and if I wanted to drive a nice car, I would rent it for the weekend. By the way, Enterprise Rent-A-Car is half price on the weekends. If my roof was leaking, I would notify the management company and head out to lunch with my friends. I was doing things differently and I discovered that I had more free time, was saving nearly half my income and was completely debt free.

I wish to share with you some of the techniques I have used to lower my overhead, not just financially, but emotionally and spiritually too. Some say it is extremism and for the most part, I agree. However, there are concepts here that anyone can use and if only some of these simple steps are put into play, you will be rewarded with a little more peace of mind in this crazy world.

Welcome to the Low Overhead Life (LOL!) This is a blog for those who have grown weary of the lease payments, mortgages, credit card bills and the toxic belief systems that weigh us down and keep us from living the life of our dreams. The LOL! is a simple philosophy which can assist you in unloading the unnecessary baggage from your life and set you free, forever.

Who am I? I'm just a simple, spiritual guy living in L.A. People like me usually go unnoticed on the freeway or pulling up to the nightclub. The valet guys usually park my pick up truck in the rear parking lot behind the recycling bin. That's fine with me. I'll let the slick guy in the Maserati get the great parking spot in front of the valet line. You know why? I feel sorry for him. He's probably making a $1000+ a month lease payment to impress all the club goers. I'd rather take that $1000 a month and put it towards my early retirement account and bug out a five years early. Some choices are great for our egos and status within society. Other choices are profoundly liberating and facilitate a deep contentment. What's important to you?

There is competition everywhere here in Southern California. From the VIP Guest Lists to the jam packed freeways, people are trying to get ahead, pushing their way to the front of the line, or asserting their superiority at every opportunity. When you rush through life, it only gets you to your gravesite ahead of schedule. There is so much freedom in "dropping out" of the collective insanity that has infested our world. When you observe with detachment the craziness of the our consumer culture and the pointlessness of keeping up with the Joneses' you can exit out the side door into a world where you're in control, free from the need to impress anyone.

I learned several important things while living the LOL. I discovered that I could not find lasting happiness in materialism, romantic relationships or ego-driven pleasures. Rather, I learned that by reducing my needs and reducing the negative influences in my life, I was breaking free from the conditioning that had chained my spirit. As I became more natural, my creativity and passion for life ignited. I had aligned with an energy that had eluded me while I pursued materialistic excess. I had found that continually lowering my life's overhead creates a profoundly liberating lifestyle.

In the near future, I will share with you radical ideas to break free from the collective insanity in which you may currently find yourself. Some you will find useful. Other ideas may not be appropriate for your current life situation. However, we will explore the rewards of simplifying the elements of your day to day living. The LOL! will afford you more freedom, more love, and more time to the pursue activities that matter most to you.

What is the LOL?

It's not about getting ahead.

It's about getting down.

It's about reducing.

It's about de-conditioning negative mental programming to reveal the true You.

It's about becoming more natural.

Its about being strong and impervious to the scorn of other's opinions.

You'll need humility.

You'll need to re-define success.

You'll need a sense of humor.

You'll need a trash bin.

Welcome to the LOL! Stay tuned......