{"id":4963,"date":"2009-09-16T15:44:19","date_gmt":"2009-09-16T21:44:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145705.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=4963"},"modified":"2009-09-16T15:44:19","modified_gmt":"2009-09-16T21:44:19","slug":"financial-sustainability-the-best-things-in-life-are-free","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/financial-sustainability-the-best-things-in-life-are-free\/","title":{"rendered":"Financial Sustainability:  The Best Things in Life are Free"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><!--[if gte mso 9]&amp;gt;  Normal 0 0 1 738 4210 35 8 5170 11.1282     &amp;lt;![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]&amp;gt;  0   0 0   &amp;lt;![endif]--><!--StartFragment--><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/files\/2009\/09\/commun-play.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-4964\" src=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/files\/2009\/09\/commun-play.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"288\" height=\"216\" \/><\/a>Millions of Americans are declaring financial sustainability, even if they don\u2019t exactly call it that.<span> <\/span>After all, we can\u2019t borrow our way out of debt.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">We\u2019re paying down or <a href=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/2009\/04\/08\/cutting-out-credit-cards-living-within-or-beneath-our-means\/\">paying off credit cards<\/a>.<span> <\/span>We\u2019re getting rid of our mortgage or putting an extra payment toward the principal balance (which has huge cost savings advantages).<span> <\/span>Or we\u2019re practicing other frugality rules.<span> <\/span>According to data from the Federal Reserve, the amount Americans owe on consumer loans and credit cards plummeted $21.6 billion in July of 2009 \u2013 the largest monthly drop in consumer debt since the Federal Reserve started to track it in 1943.<span> <\/span>The \u201ccash for clunkers\u201d will, no doubt, alter the outcomes for August and September, but the trend continues to be less appetite for debt, not more.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">People are working to get the bankers out of our lives, demanding that we become someone other than a \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/2008\/06\/04\/why-are-people-called-consumers\/\">consumer<\/a>.\u201d<span> <\/span>So while the Federal government continues to re-affirm their \u201cwise\u201d decisions to bailout bankers and big finance, Americans are choosing to fire their credit card companies and break their \u201cdeath pledge\u201d (aka mortgage) by paying it off early.<span> <\/span>Of course, there are also many Americans who are in so far over their heads that unfortunately, personal bankruptcy and home foreclosure are the only remedy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">I am, however, focusing on those who thrive in abundance, <a href=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/2009\/09\/02\/book-review-less-is-more-embracing-simplicity-for-a-healthy-planet\/\">simplicity<\/a> and sustainability when it comes to community, lifestyle and, yes, financial intelligence.<span> <\/span>As my wife and I write about in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ecopreneuring.biz\">ECOpreneuring<\/a>, you cannot have ecological sustainability without a large degree of social and economic equity.<span> <\/span>The ECOnomy is not about \u201cfree trade\u201d but fair trade; it\u2019s about commerce that restores the planet, not destroys it or exploits people.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">You can join these financial freedom-seekers too, by practicing financial sustainability.<span> <\/span>As most of us intuitively recognize, the best things in life are free (or close to it).<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><!--more--><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">The Best Things in Life are Free<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Community Concert<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Perhaps there\u2019s nothing wrong with paying big bucks to catch a show on Broadway, next time you\u2019re in New York (let\u2019s ignore, for the moment how you got there).<span> <\/span>But don\u2019t rule out community live performances, school musical shows and neighborhood concerts \u2013 most shared for little or no cover charge.<span> <\/span>The performers love what they\u2019re doing, and it shows.<span> <\/span>The performances might not be \u201cperfect,\u201d but most of the ones I\u2019ve seen are entertaining, provocative and enjoyable.<span> <\/span>Pocketbook damage: zilch.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/files\/2009\/09\/farmtable-interns_3773-lr.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-4965\" src=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/files\/2009\/09\/farmtable-interns_3773-lr-300x197.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"197\" \/><\/a>Good Friends<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Time and time again, we keep hearing that people to have lots of meaningful relationships with fellow human beings are genuinely happier and sometimes live longer, healthier lives.<span> <\/span>The great news here, is that we don\u2019t need money to buy our friends.<span> <\/span>It doesn\u2019t work that way.<span> <\/span>We make them, through common interests, earned mutual respect, an investment of time, or perhaps a circumstance that allows for companionship, feedback and convivial communication.<span> <\/span>Of course, good friendships, like good health, should not be taken for granted.<span> <\/span>They require commitment, just like a productive garden.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Potluck<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Food, glorious food.<span> <\/span>There\u2019s nothing better in our part of southwestern Wisconsin than heading to a potluck.<span> <\/span>People, some we know and many we don\u2019t, come together to share the harvest in the form of a dish that features a recipe favorite.<span> <\/span>It\u2019s all about passing along the surplus to others who may have a little less, and celebrating our connection to the food that sustains us all.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Fitness and Health<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Going for a brisk walk in the park, just a half an hour a day, can do wonders for your mind, body and spirit.<span> <\/span>Meet up with a friend and pass the time deep in conversation instead of text messaging from a desk or chair.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Our good health is, and should always be, the most important value we share.<span> <\/span>Sadly, it\u2019s often not.<span> <\/span>I remember weeks that passed by as I diligently pecked away at the computer in a cubicle in a stressful corporate job, eating take-out fast food and never seeming to get to the gym or on a bicycle as often as I should have.<span> <\/span>I had taken my health for granted; greed and getting ahead were the drivers, then.<span> <\/span>Now, eating right, exercising regularly and trying to minimize stress in whatever forms it may take guides both my livelihood and lifestyle.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Daily Observation<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">For me, a morning cuddle from my son, just after he wakes up in the morning is worth more than a year\u2019s worth of Lattes.<span> <\/span>What a way to greet the day.<span> <\/span>Thanks to being my own boss of a green enterprise, Inn Serendipity, which I operate with my wife, if the weather is beautiful, I can take a two hour lunch break to enjoy it.<span> <\/span>I might water the gardens, relax under a tree with a cup of lemonade or play a game of chess outside with my son, being mindful of the breeze carrying scents of whatever flowers are in bloom.<span> <\/span>Thich Nhat Hanh, a widely respected Vietnamese Buddhist monk, refers to this mindfulness as \u201cbeing peace.\u201d<span> <\/span>And it doesn\u2019t cost a cent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Photography: John D. Ivanko\/www.ecopreneuring.biz<\/p>\n<p><!--EndFragment--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Millions of Americans are declaring financial sustainability, even if they don\u2019t exactly call it that. After all, we can\u2019t borrow our way out of debt. We\u2019re paying down or paying&nbsp;[ &hellip; ]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":4964,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,1],"tags":[2070,3925,920,456,466,1708,3083,621,62,925,3926,3927,3928,404,3575,2306,3929,2022,167,1062,816,8512,3930],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Financial Sustainability: The Best Things in Life are Free &#8226; Sustainablog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/financial-sustainability-the-best-things-in-life-are-free\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Financial Sustainability: The Best Things in Life are Free &#8226; Sustainablog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Millions of Americans are declaring financial sustainability, even if they don\u2019t exactly call it that. 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