<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"As you know, I love reading personal finance articles. I read them for instruction and inspiration and I always hope that I&amp;#039;ll find that &amp;quot;Aha&amp;quot; advice that will change my life forever. While these articles definitely lead to positive changes, they are much more gradual than &amp;quot;Aha&amp;quot; and I&amp;#039;ve learned to be OK with it. One thing that seems to be the common trend lately is features on individuals and couples who have drastically reduced their lifestyles to eliminate their debt and have happier lives. I love reading these stories because I always pick up something in them that I could do to reduce my own costs. Recently, I read about one couple who was desperately in debt and finally decided to sell everything that they own: Their home, furniture, jewelry and all other material things. They paid off their debt and purchased an RV, had a baby and are now working, living and traveling on four wheels. They say that they now have the greatest satisfaction that they&amp;#039;ve ever had. I&amp;#039;ve also read articles about those who go on a one-month spending fast and use that money to pay off debt. I don&amp;#039;t think such extremes are the answer, but I can tell you, I feel that there&amp;#039;s something in my life that I&amp;#039;m not quite seeing, something major that I could eliminate to make my financial life much easier. I definitely have some beautiful things in my home that I really love but could live without. I have a gorgeous antique reproduction of a grandmother&amp;#039;s clock that my ex-husband and I paid over $2,000 for (silly, silly couple). It gets a lot of compliments from visitors but really, it just sits there. I&amp;#039;m sure I could put a lot of things on eBay and get rid of cable and my land-line altogether and I&amp;#039;m sure it wouldn&amp;#039;t be half as bad as I think it would be. The point is, I&amp;#039;m actually looking forward to updating my budget on a spreadsheet and looking for ways to cut back. I want this to be an ongoing process that turns into a habit and a way of life for me and my children. It&amp;#039;s so easy to see the pork in other people&amp;#039;s spending habits but it&amp;#039;s not as easy to see my own. I&amp;#039;m going to try. Have you made cutbacks in your budgets that have positively affected your life? Were you nervous about making these cuts initially? Share your experience with me! \uFEFF "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/life/a42952/less-equals-more-8907/>