1/12/2002 VS Chicago Meeting Notes

 

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"We can't change the past,

but we can gather its lessons and move on, stronger and wiser.

We can't control the future,

but we can send our dreams ahead to help prepare the way.

We can live each moment with heart and soul,

and cherish this day's greatest gift: the gift of now.

May peace, with faith in the future, gently guide you through each

precious moment of this year"

(anonymous poem)

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VOLUNTARY SIMPLICITY MEETING NOTES

JANUARY 12, 2002

Julie, Woodie, Pam, Lisa, Marie, Dick, Anne, Kim, Kim, Roberto, Colin, JR, Jim, Linda, Dave, Jenni, Nick, Mary, Nancy, Bob, Laura, Ross, Dick, Bob, Micky, and Mike, welcomed Mary Kay, Joan, Irene, Yumi and Scott to their first meeting.

Linda opened the space with a brief round of introductions. Ross announced a VS Northwest Indiana meeting, Saturday, January 19th, 9:00am, at the Munster, Indiana library (8701 Calumet Avenue). The group then began posting discussion topics, creating an agenda for the meeting:

 

Following, is a brief recap of the six discussions:

 

Ecological Footprinting & Offer to get started...
Kim relayed her experiences with the Global Living Project's (GLP) Summer Institutes programs. Kim spent several weeks learning first hand the effects and impacts of our choices on our environment -- can the Earth keep pace if six billion people consumed as I do? How do I feel about the amount of time I trade to earn money to buy "things"? Through a technique called Ecological Footprinting (EF), Kim learned how to mathematically translate items in her home, into an estimate of the land and sea area (acres) needed in continuous production, to supply all resources and to absorb all wastes associated with the choices of her lifestyle. Kim says it's a real eye opening experience to put into physical terms, just how much of the planet you use in order to sustain your current lifestyle. From EF, Kim has made many changes -- conscious, concrete choices to reduce her and her family's use of the planet. She continually monitors her EF, and continually makes conscious choices that maximizes "value/least environmental impact" ratio. From the book, The Global Living Handbook, by Jim Merkel, there are 5.3 acres for each person alive today -- the average EF/person in the U.S. is 24 acres. How can the Earth keep pace?

Kim made an open offer to help anyone get started with Ecological Footprinting. EF involves weighing items you own, monitoring what comes in to and out of your home, and doing some math to calculate your EF. Once you know your impact, conscious choices become apparent. Kim is an expert on the practicality of doing this, and if offering to come to your home (with her scales) to help you get started. Contact Kim.

 

Beg, Borrow Or Barter...
Conversation included mutual sharing of items and services. Use a neighbor's lawn mower, lend a tree branch trimmer when need arises. Exchange one hour of service, for one hour of your service, where time is of equal value (no one person's time is worth more than another's, like a Time Dollar system). Freely give time to help others in need, without expectation of anything in return. Before going to buy something, ask your friends and neighbors first -- they may have an extra or one they don't use, or they may be glad to simply give it to you (and be glad they found a good home for it, ie, wine making equipment...).

What motivates you to pursue FI/Simplicity...

A yearly retreat by yourself is a very helpful way to get some time without distractions, to think about your life and what you want it to be. Kim takes a 3 day retreat each year. Remembering how short life can be can help motivate you to move towards how you would rather spend your time. You may need to actually quit work to have the time to think about what to do next. For some folks, the fear of, "involuntary simplicity" (IV) is a motivating factor -- less stress due to more financial security. Maybe a work sabbatical is possible to get some time to think about your life. There are seminars about figuring out your calling. The book, Getting A Life was mentioned.

 

Investing for FI and after...
With 30 year Treasury Bonds disappearing, low interest rates, and a shaky stock market, Mary asked where does one invest for FI (the book, Your Money Or Your Life's [YMOYL] term for Financial Independence)? Lots of rich (pun unintended) conversation began around YMOYL's Chapter 9.

The U.S. Government has suspended issuance of 30-year bonds (see http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/po749.htm). What other options are available? Buy existing 30-year bonds (through a broker/bank). Go to the business pages of the newspapers and find the US Bond Market tables. Look at the "yields", and select a bond that has one of the highest yields and longest maturity dates. If you anticipate needing the cash soon (at least sooner than 30 years), look for the highest yielding bond that matures around the time you'll need the cash. (To learn more about bonds, see http://www.fiassociates.org/faq1-step9.asp#1)

The New Road Map Foundation (NRM) recently revisited Chapter 9, and developed a table comparing available investments with the investment criteria in YMOYL's Chapter 9 (see http://www.newroadmap.org/money-step9.asp).

Mike noted the best advice he and Linda got when asking the NRM about Chapter 9, was "Do The Steps -- you'll find your answers there."

When looking for higher rates of returns for your savings/checking accounts, Woodie mentioned Credit Unions (CU) as an excellent source. There is a CU for just about everyone -- Alumni and work Associations are usually connected to a CU. Your local community may have one. Do an Internet search to find a CU close to you.

Mike pointed out the focus on investing always is on getting the highest rate of return (RR) -- a no brainer, BUT little is often mentioned about accumulating savings. By doing the 9 steps in YMOYL, Mike and Linda were often able to "out-save" folks getting a 25% RR => a 25% RR on $1000 is great, but if that's all you save when you might be capable of saving $2000, $3000, $5000 is sort of missing the boat. Mike also noted the same question has been around at least since they started YMOYL 10 years ago -- "Why buy bonds -- their interest rates are so low" (comparatively speaking to other investments of the time). Why buy? Because they meet the criteria of Chapter 9. By doing the YMOYL steps, you can do some "out-saving". In response to a letter, Joe Dominguez wrote about the historical range of interest rates, noting it was looking as though rates would be returning to their historical lows of 2-4%. He said in 1993, "Those rates of 7-8% today, might look pretty good 5-10 years from now. Just keep doing the steps."

 

Starting with the end in mind...
Are you enjoying life, or are you being stressed out by life? Enjoy your good crystals everyday. Use Active/Reflective times to check in to your life. Check in to what is going on within and around you. A good metaphor discussed was, "... throw a line out to a point in time. Others will throw a line to that point too, but each line will be different -- each person will be taking a different path to that point."

 

Knowing where your money goes...
Mike hosted this topic, beginning with a focus on YMOYL's Chapter 2. How illuminating tracking the money in/out of your wallet is, and methods for doing so were discussed. After 10 years, Linda and Mike still look forward to doing a "monthly tabulation" of their expenses (YMOYL Chapter 3) -- they learn something from every month.

 

Linda adjourned the meeting and closed the space at noon.

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(Reported by Mike Lenich)