Downsizing My Life

Call it whatever you want -- purging, downsizing, simplifying, minimalizing. I'm getting back on the bandwagon.  Not that I ever really got off.  In 2013 I spent a year (albeit on and off) purging a lot of stuff from my house.  At the time I didn't think I was going after a minimalist lifestyle, but in retrospect I can see that is where I am slowing heading.  The whole 'live more with less' idea really resonates with me.  One of the things I like about minimalism is that it can be absolutely personal.  No two minimalist lifestyles have to be the same to lay claim to the title.  Today I'm embracing a different aspect of downsizing, because it's not just the physical stuff that needs purging.  I feel freer having made just two simple moves.

First, I changed my cell phone plan.  The kid's too.  Because our phones had been tied together for years due to one of those 'family sharing' type options, I had always assumed payment for both of them.  But it was time to cut the wireless cord.  And what did we really use the phones for?  Not as phones, that's for sure.  I rarely use mine to make or receive calls.  And the kid?  Well, if hers rings, nope, doesn't answer it.  And because there are so many other options, she rarely even texts anymore.  The biggest expense when it comes to cell phones?  Data.  Sure, nice to have when you're out and about but do you really need it when there's free wifi just about everywhere these days?  So we nixed the data and went from a post-paid to a pre-paid plan.  For $100 each for the year we get 100 anytime calling minutes and unlimited texting. Simple and basic.  Compare that to my previous plan and I'm saving about $1,400 a year.  WHAT?  Seriously?  I was utterly gobsmacked by that number.  How had I gotten so used to paying a non-essential monthly bill that could easily cover the cost of a flight just about anywhere in the world?  Every year.

And that's the thing with technology.  It wiggles and worms its way into every aspect of your life making you believe that you can no longer function without it.  Which brings me to move number two.  I deleted the couple of games I had downloaded onto my iPad.  We have never been into video games in our house -- no Nintendo or Xbox or whatever is currently de rigueur.  But somehow I had ended up with a couple on my iPad.  Word games and the such.  Strictly to exercise my brain, you understand.  To ward off dementia. But talk about a time suck.  And talk about an umbilical cord to the iPad. Because not only did I fall into the trap of "just one more game" but I had to keep jumping through hoops to get the 'free coins' or whatever was required to allow me to continue to play these games for free.  The only thing that was free was me -- after I hit DELETE.

It's not that I'm ridding myself of all my tech.  Because after all I am typing this on my iPad in bed at 4:30 a.m.  (Damn that mid day coffee.) But in two simple moves I managed to downsize my budget and a major waste of time.  Next up?

Facebook and the cable bill.