Work Optional

Work Optional Retire Early the Non-Penny-Pinching Way

by Tanja Hester

288 pages

This book is the best of a few that I've read about retirement and finances because its start, center and focus is not on earning enough to retire but on defining what kind of a life you want before and after retirement. Finances are clearly a part of any retirement (or work-change plan) but money should be in the service of life goals not the other way around. The book was practical and focused with enough detail to offer guidance in defining goals, outlining a process to work with life partner these, making a financial plan to accomplish those goals, reviewing the plan and putting the plan into practice through retirement, semi-retirement or a gap year -- through savings, lowering expenses, increasing income for a time, or finding new streams of income. In prioritizing life-goals the book does not assume keeping present house, location, cars, expenses, health insurance, meals out, lifestyle, etc. but identifies financial options in these areas to review so that bigger goals can be accomplished.

The Year of Less

The Year of Less: How I Stopped Shopping, Gave Away My Belongings, and Discovered Life Is Worth More Than Anything You Can Buy In A Store by Cait Flanders        Audio Book: 5 hours, 30 mins 

                                                                                                                                                                                                  Hardback Book: 216 pages

Cait Flanders has had her issues with OCDC.    She has been an alcoholic, an imbiber in pharmaceuticals that had addictive tendencies, binged on food, couldn’t hold onto a loving relationship and comfort shopped when life got too overwhelming until one day she came to that point where she stopped.    It took a long time to get sober, it took a long time to give up the party-girl scene, it was no picnic –pun intended- giving up eating voraciously to comfort the feelings of low self-esteem, she is still meandering through the relationship swirl tending toward the, you know, I think I’m o.k. alone mindset, but, shopping was still her go to form of self-preservation when her feelings became too much to bear like when her Mother and Step-Dad who raised her after her real Dad split and oh yeah when the jerk resurfaces during her childhood creates a horrible fiasco –must read sequence here – the Step-Dad who became her real father figure for life- when he and her mother divorce she had a major melt down, and when her romantic relationships broke up – she couldn’t deal with the grief of lost love and all the one days she dreamt of, anxiety attacks a plenty hit her like a brick wall falling on top of her.    Trying not to find solace in drink, trying very hard to stay with her newly vegetarian lifestyle and exercise regime, no longer looking to drugs as her retreat of choice she instead of those bad choices did what she thought was the best of the worst and comfort in shopping.   She reasoned if she treated herself to something it would give her a sense of her own worth again, afterall she just experienced another let down, another disappointment another tragedy wouldn’t buying something new cheer her up and take her mind off of it?    Yeah, that momentary adrenaline rush of the chase until the bills came in and she realized she was over $30,000 in debt.     She shares with the reader and her followers on her blog her journey to learn how to be enough without all the trappings and crutches.   How to rise up out of the despair pit in positive ways that would serve her instead of like after a sugar high dropping back to the low energy, depression she had been in.    She could sink or she could swim and it was a very easy road to sink afterall she had drawn her own map on that one over the years.   She decided to come up for air, survey her surroundings and pull herself out of the funk and do right by herself.   She set a goal to spend as little as possible for one year to get her finances back in order.   She job hopped a lot until she ended up with a successful blog that would support her needs comfortably.   She found out all the stuff she was buying she seldom really honestly needed.   She decided to kill the impulse buying trigger by getting rid of her cable t.v. – no marketing to her subconscious to buy their products on the commercials or stuff she saw in the t.v. shows she had been watching.    She unsubscribed from every coupon site and every retail site she was constantly getting bombarded with MUST HAVE sale ads.    She kept her airline sites only because she continued to travel on the savings she had by cutting down about half of her expenditures by not shopping.    She also decided to cut down on the stuff she owned, had bought that still had the tags on, etc.   Returned anything she could, sold anything she really didn’t need or want and either tossed or donated a load of stuff in her home and closets that held no real reason to keep.    She even moved from a house that was way bigger than what she actually required and moved to an apartment thereby causing the need for more paring down – no longer did she have the space to stockpile stuff.   She even did a check on herself to inventory what she spent on what items and how many times in the year she replenished her stock.   Formerly she felt the need to always keep a stash of extra toiletries, cleaning products, food which took up much space, and often expired before she could get the benefit of it.    She loved numbers so working through keeping track of how many bottles of shampoo she used in a year and making spreadsheets was very revealing.     It gave her a new eye to see what she really needed and what she thought she had needed.    She got serious about revamping her lifestyle and has never gone back.     Her blog keeps her in touch with her followers who cheer her on and being in charge of her blog when she starts getting backlash from haters and naysayers, she can delete the negativity, though, she keeps the differences of opinions which make her think.   Everyone has an opinion but the ones who want to argue just for arguments sake or call her names or try to destroy what she has built for herself – who needs that?   So bye bye meanies.    She speaks in all honesty and tells stories on herself that made me say, “Girl!   What were you thinking.   The road out of the dark tunnel has been a long one for her, but, now that she has gone through it she wants to help others.    Her story is inspiring and positive and I really enjoyed this book.  I would definetly recommend it.     

It was Me All Along

It was Me All Along by Andie Mitchell    240pages

For my 2018 New Year’s resolution, I made an easy one; one that I know I could accomplish. Once a month, I would grab a book that’s been lingering on my shelf for ages, sometimes years.

My pick for January was this memoir, and now that I’ve read it, I could kick myself for not having read it sooner.

I can’t remember how old Andie was when a doctor told her that if she didn’t change her eating habits, that she would weigh 300 pounds by the time she was 20 years old. The doc wasn’t far off; she topped the scale at 268 pounds.

Suffering a lonely and miserable childhood, Andie found comfort in food. The anecdotes of her binge-eating were heartbreaking. When she went to college, she found some acceptance, but college life only added more pounds.  Her agonizing tales of exercise and diet were equally as heartbreaking.

The focus of how Andie managed to lose 135 pounds is captivating. Readers watch her learn to eats healthier, yet still have most of the foods she craved. The key is movement and moderation.

I was completely fascinated by Andie’s story. .It was Me All Along receives 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

The State of Affairs

The State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity by Esther Perel     Audio Book:  12 hours  Hardback Book:  336 pages

An enlightening look at the psychological faces of affairs from just about every side imaginable.   The author connects on very deep emotional levels with all of the people the reader is introduced to in this book.   She learns what each person has endured in the life to make them the person they are at the time she is counselling or interviewing them.   She explores what makes a person tick as much as she explores the many causes leading to people who are involved in romantic liaisons already to seek outside "strange."   Sometimes it is about the motivation that comes from simply being appreciated or the flattering way another person finds them attractive or the appreciation another shows for the struggle the person is going through or appreciates the person for who they are at that moment without any expectation for them to change or be other in any way.   Sometimes it is based on lust - this person is hot looking or acting, they seem sexually open to advances or are the giver of the advances knowing the other person is married or in a committed relationship but still offering coitus with no strings or expectations for more.   Sometimes a person's significant other has become unresponsive or is not interested in exploring fantasies or trying anything new and the same old way just isn't working anymore.   Reasons can be emotional, psychological or raw sexual connections, they can be short lived or long term.   There can be no emotion at all or there can be real love relations that develop.    The reasons are as numerous as the scenarios.  Basically any one given the right set of circumstances might be tempted to step out on their partner, some more than others.    The definition of "stepping out" or the more severe "cheating" can be defined in many terms as well.  Many people do not feel watching and interacting with porn or online chats, or online sexual encounters really count as the other person is "not actually there' and the encounter is all in the initiators mind.    However the partner walking in and observing this act going on generally feels differently about that.   If a relationship is open but one person seeks other partners more often than the other which can lead to jealous or hurt feelings on the less active partner - where do you draw the line?   Do you agree to wait until both have someone else so it stays even?    Partners who have been loving and supportive believing their arrangement to be monogomous only to be told one day the other partner found someone else and wants out can devastate the unwitting other half.   The author explores all relationships friends, lovers, friends with benefits, marriage, gay, lesbian, bi-sexual,  straight, transgender, swingers, mongomous, polyogomous you name it.   Reasons are explored as to why it happens, how it happens, how to rekindle love that got lost along the way, how to get a relationship back on track and how to let go when it is time.   She talks about many of the cases she has studied and worked with in her career and the counselling sessions and feedback she has received from all parties involved those in the relationship and those affected by the relationship (children, family members/in-laws, friend of the couple who now have to choose who to stay friends with or how to work out an amiable relationship with both the couple and their new additions, etc.).   She also explores how sometimes an affair brings an added joie de vivre to a less than exciting relationship.   One couple renewed their excitement for each other because what their relationship lacked the wife was able to find with other lovers then return to her husband recharged and happy making their relationship better.   It is all in how the couple or unit is able to cope or not in how forgiveness can be found and amiable relations can be restored or at least amicable separations can be achieved - best case or counselling can be sought by those left in the lurch searching for reasons they are left behind and the love of their life chose another while they struggle with building their life as a single person.   The promise of forever or till death do you part is not always easy to keep especially if one person feels they are carrying the relationship or living without love from the other person in the relationship.   Disrespect, lack of love, incompatibility, free-spirits and conservatives, over active libidos teamed with underactive libidos so many reasons can lead to infidelity and the author deals with each of them in such knowledgeable ways.    This is a very interesting read and I recommend it as a well rounded look at the many facets of relationships and the ways relationships can change and outcomes can be positive or negative depending on what all parties are willing to give up, give in or compromise on to make them work or to get on with life and not let one bad relationship regardless of what has been put in to it keep anyone from moving forward.   Very well done.  No shaming, no blaming just a no nonsense look at the reality of life and love and sometimes loss of love.   Well done.

Almost Amish

Almost Amish:  One Woman’s Quest for a Slower, Simpler, More Sustainable Life by  Nancy Sleeth             Paperback Book:  272 pages                        

Nancy Sleeth and her husband gave up the materialistic lifestyle to pursue a simpler more Christian less capitalistic way of living.    Not only did they sell or giveaway half of their belongings, their children opted to do so, too.    They returned to doing more things by hand and less out of pocket paying others to do.   They took lessons from their Amish neighbors in learning to live simpler more minimalistic lives while putting their religious beliefs first.    They help their neighbors, they spend time with each other instead of t.v.s, computers, or video games.    They spend more time outside, open their home to visitors and the needy and live in about a 1/10 of the space they once did.    They find having the basics at hand, in the garden, in walking distance or simply borrowing distance has made their lives better and less stressful (and cluttered) and has improved their faith and their friendships so improving life, love and community with a deeper relationship with God works for them.   This was a very enjoyable read with lots of tips on how to do complicated things simpler and how to let go of the actually unnecessary.    

Ageproof

Ageproof: Living Longer Without Running Out of Money or Breaking a Hip by Jean Chatzky and Michael F. Roizen     Audio Book:  12 hours, 30 minutes     Hardback Book:  352 pages 


This is the first book that I have read that ties a person’s health and their finances together for an overall healing of both for a better life.    There are so many laser pinpoint truths the reader will find here.    If your finances are out of whack, if you have lost control of the things you owe, if shopping over exceeds your income – your financial health is bad.   If you aren’t taking good care of your body, if you aren’t exercising and monitoring what you are putting into your body  and you stuff it with a lot of feel good but bad for your health foods (transfats, empty calories, too much sugar, starch and the wrong kind of fats) you are going to gain weight, feel sluggish, and lose control over your health.    Financial expert,  Jean Chatzky brings excellent financial advice throughout the book and Dr. Micheal Roizen,   the Chief Wellness Officer at the Cleveland Clinic offers terrific tips to improve your life through taking care of your health in order to stay focused and clear minded, feel energized naturally and by the way, he is pro coffee, and he even teaches on how decluttering can affect your life, your health and even help you get a handle on your finances.    Great book.   Very inspiring while remaining very down to earth and readable and better yet, doable.   I really like the way these three topics were brought together to improve life in a total makeover comprehensive kind of way.  I have always seen the connection between these 3 areas in life and I was very happy to find a book that addressed all those issues as being equal parts that when made right bring about the best life we can hope for.    Standing ovation for this one.    Bravo, Jean Chatzky and Micheal F. Roizen.    The American embodiment of the principles of Feng Shui and yin and yang – balancing our lives brings balance with all that is us and all that we can become for our better and the betterment we can bring to not just our world but to the world.    Excellent work.