Happiness and money

Applying Karma in Personal Finance

March 7, 2012
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Applying Karma in Personal Finance

Warning: This is a philosophical post, not based on hard-facts. Many of you may disagree to most of the content, but it sure can induce thoughts in your mind. What is Karma The Sanskrit (an ancient Indian language) word karma means “actions” or “deeds.” As a religious term, Karma refers to intentional (usually moral) actions that affect one’s fortunes in this life and the next. For simplicity, we will only consider the causes and effects in this life time. Karma is a concept common to Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, For the purpose of this article we will consider the karma as its known in Hinduism. I apologize to religious people if I miss-state or misinterpret religious matters. The concept of Karma or “law of Karma” is the broader principle that all of life is governed by a system of cause and effect, action and reaction, in which our actions have corresponding effects on the future. In many ways its same as Newton’s third law ‘Every action has its equal and opposite reaction’. The similarities end there.  A Karma has far-reaching effects and causes than a simple solitary action. As Karma is about the set of actions, it can be good or it

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16 Ways to Show Your Wife You Care

October 17, 2011
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16 Ways to Show Your Wife You Care

Everyone needs pampering, and everyone likes to feel appreciated. After 7 years of marriage, every once in awhile I take my wife for granted (especially since I started blogging). I thought she accepted me putting numerous evening and weekend hours into blogging. Also, my frugal ways don’t really match with hers. We were raised in contrasting lifestyles – I never had plenty of things in my life, whereas she got whatever she wanted. We both know that marriage is a bond of love with mutual compromise keeping the bond intact. Lately I’ve doing my part of the compromising a little less. Although I have amended this in the last month, I still have so many things to catch up on compared to other husbands! I have read a few articles on relationships and marriage in preparation for writing this article. Here is what I learned – I hope the list will add spark to your life as well. Let me start by asking, do you know your wife/girlfriend’s birthday? 16 Tips to make your wife happy Don’t forget special occasions. I track important days with Birthday Alarm. I set it up some 10 years ago. Since then, the website has

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What Makes You Feel Rich And Wealthy?

September 20, 2011
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On my Google Analytics report, I see a few search terms that contain “how to become rich” in one form or another. Basically, they all go to these two posts: How to become rich by saving 1 hr of your daily wage and How to become rich, find time to be rich. I don’t know if those readers get the inherent message that, to become rich, we need to be disciplined and use our limited time effectively. There’s no shortcut, my friend. Unless you inherit a fortune by some means, the only way to become rich instantly is by stealing or gambling. What you can easily do instead is just feel that you are rich and wealthy, and always remember that ‘being wealthy’ or ‘rich’ is a relative measure. The money I have accumulated in just 6 years of living in America is enough for me to go back to India and live a happy retired life. I would be known as a rich man in my neighborhood. When I see myself around fellow Americans, I am a middle class non-homeowner. No one can say I am rich. If you ask me whether I feel rich? I would say ‘yes’,

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Never Miss Good Opportunities to Spend Your Money

September 15, 2011
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This post was written by Shaun, writer of the blog Smart Family Finance. He writes to inform and educate young families about good spending habits, saving tips and intelligent career decisions. Having adhered to the laws of frugality and spending, my family ends the month using only $80 of the $100 budgeted for family entertainment. An extra $20 now resides comfortably in the family bank account and initially, I’m elated. It’s a badge of honor and a testament to my family’s self-control and frugality. We knew it would be hard to adjust to $100, but we met the challenge and did $20 better. So, why am I so bothered by coming in under budget? For some this feat of spending will-power is a goal worthy of aspiration. We tend to view every budget limit as a ceiling meant to be raised by lowering the floor. But for me, I feel unsettled when my family misses the budget goal, even when we’re under it. It’s all related to SB’s conversation he had with his wife the other day, if we postpone happiness for later, what we will live for at present? That $20, it haunts me. Not because I want to

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Make Saving A Fun, Be A Motivated Saver

September 12, 2011
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Make Saving A Fun, Be A Motivated Saver

We spend money in an attempt to gain happiness. Big vacations, dream homes, and happy kids make us happy. Then why do personal finance experts advise us to save money in order to feel happy? We can just spend money and buy happiness to remain happy always, can’t we? I know you will start counting the benefits of investing and making money grow. You will tell me that the same money can bring more happiness tomorrow (compared to today) if I let it grow and earn interest. Last evening my wife wanted to go watch a movie at the theater, and I, being frugal, tried convincing her how costly a theater ticket is as compared to overnight DVD rental. She asked me, “Why are you working so hard?” I said, “To earn more, and to have more money so we can have a better life.” Her: “When?” Me: “A few years from now.” Her: “Exactly how many?” Me: “I don’t know, but pretty soon. Let me save enough to have a home and blah blah blah…” (my usual wish list) Her: “Then, what exactly will we do with those things?” Me: “We will have a happy life and lots of

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Finance Is Simple, Keep It Simple, 50 simple Money Ideas

July 28, 2011
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This will be a different post in comparison to my other posts, the idea for today’s post is simplicity, so let this write-up be simple too. Your finance can be overwhelmingly complicated if you let it be complicated, otherwise, it will be as simple as eating your daily lunch if you are on top at it. Keep these simple fundamentals in mind starting from the day one of your working life. They are valid for every one, for people with debts and for people with billion dollars in bank. Simple Personal Finance Fundamentals Always spend less than what you earn. Practice simple living and consume less, get rid of clutter. Earn more and invest more. Pay-off credit cards in full every month. Use credit cards wisely. Spread your risk by diversifying your investments. Don’t let a single penny go out of your pocket due to negligence. Prepare a budget, and stay within. Use every stuff you buy, don’t buy things you don’t need. Pay all your bills on time. Always shuffle your investments, take out money from investments with lowest return and re invest in something else every year Be prepared to adopt forced hardship to avoid debt or to become

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It Is Difficult To Live Frugal But Not Hard

July 11, 2011
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It Is Difficult To Live Frugal But Not Hard

Few days back my car was serviced, after dropping it in, we headed for a festival we planned to attend. It was just a regular servicing with oil change and tire rotation and inspection. The guy from the service center called me an hour later to let me know that the wiper blades need replacement. It was nothing I didn’t know, it was long pending, I always wanted to do it myself. Don’t know what happen in that exact moment, I agreed that they should replace my blades. Problem here is, after reading on many blogs, and myself pitching for fixing your small problems with car or home yourself. I did agree for them to put a new wiper. When I returned to pickup my car in the evening, it was a hefty $25 charge on the invoice! Two years back when I did replace wipers on my own, it costed me $8 for the pair at Wal-Mart. How did I miss on this occasion? If I think, problem is broader, it is difficult to stay frugal. It is comparatively easy to stay frugal when you are living frugal to survive, than when you choose to be frugal to be rich. If

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Why This Blog Is Named One Cent At A Time

June 27, 2011
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While starting this article I made up my mind to not write another typical ‘about‘ page I already have. For many years, my idea of personal finance blog was solely Get Rich slowly. It was part of daily routine. When I realized I wanted my own blog, I started researching and found many other great blogs like The Simple Dollar , full list is available in my blog roll. My last post was related to ‘being rich’, where I mentioned about the most important aspect of being rich, that is,  finding time to do fruitful work that can set you on course of becoming rich. Only the lucky ones become overnight rich, rest, like most of us, takes time, in most cases it takes decades to become rich. This post is about the word “Rich” and how it relates to the site name. Trent, at Simple Dollar, today posted about the definition of the term rich. I agree with him when he says ‘rich’ is a relative term, I do not consider myself as a rich guy. There might be some one who earn less than what I earn or have less net worth than i do, yet, he/she might

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Best Way To Be Rich: Find Time To Be Rich

June 24, 2011
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Best Way To Be Rich: Find Time To Be Rich

You must have heard the phrase a thousand times. “Time is Money”. I grew up in a family where every one was busy doing their stuff, all day, till they went sleeping. When ever I wanted to spend time with them, I was always told to concentrate on my studies and not to waste time, because..”Time is money”. Now if I see my family and their financial situation, they didn’t really make a lot of money. While living after-retirement life, they are always under pressure to cut on spending. What went wrong? If I quiz my dad or my uncle, they will probably say they didn’t invest and save their money wisely. Although we were not raised in an affluent life style. We never wore designer cloths, we had below average toys compared to our friends. We never took more than one vacation in a year. To me, the cause was lack of financial planning, or lack of time to plan for future. Time is money, even though, was the buzz word, it was not interpreted or implemented the way it should have been. Time should be devoted not only to earn it, but also, to plan for its use

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