I'm so proud of you guys! I think this was the most impactful portion of YMOYL for me when I first picked it up.
Totally agree with what someone said about it getting you to think about how you've spent your life energy. It TOTALLY made me think about how I was spending it from that point forward!!
Carry on! Any work on this step is going to benefit you - I was going to say even just this discussion, but no, there has to actually be an earnest attempt, I think, which you are doing!!! Yeah!!!
Hey all,
I've rejoined the forums after being away for a bit. I've started working on step 1 and can commit to finishing by Cinco de Mayo! As I was typing my list of personal items into a spreadsheet, I could not believe how much we have. I don't consider myself a minimalist by any stretch, but I think we do a good job of decluttering our home on an ongoing basis. I live in SF and am challenged by a small living space so everything we have is used at least annually. Still, we have a lot. A real eye opener for me!
Teri
One of the best things about the inventory for me was realizing how incomprehensibly rich I was in material goods. By American standards I have very little, and yet all written down like that it shows as huge prosperity.Originally Posted by tgardella
Wow - this is a beautiful thing - great idea, EarthSky! I just want to reiterate the excellent points Reader99 made initially:
"IIRC, the purpose of tallying up the money and money-stored-as-goods in your life is to light that spark of taking conscious control of the fruits of your labor.
A thought on the inventory - if it's a thing you don't really enjoy, you'd probably get most of the intended benefit by starting with big ticket items, and dealing with the finer details later."
There are other motivators too, that other people have touched on: accurate insurance coverage; more easy to get compensated and/or do replacements in case of loss/theft; in case of emergency, you can more easily decide what items to liquidate; it's harder to ignore your "gazingus pin" habits (which helps immensely with Step 6.)
You can always access the steps for free through New Road Map's Financial Integrity Program Guide, which I think is a little more forgiving/flexible than YMOYL, and might help you get a fresh perspective if you're feeling stuck.
Personally, I just track major asset classes: homes, vehicles, tools, home & yard equipment/gear, office equipment, as I figure everything else has either little resale or will be fully "depreciated" within a year, i.e. broken -- (2 dishes in the past week!), worn out, or donated. I was once a second-hand sales person, but my SO insists it's not worth the time. Those books, though... I just finally unpacked the last boxes after 5 years of storage pending construction of bookshelves... sure it's a first edition recent Nobel Laureate Doris Lessing, but now it smells like mildew and the spine is broken...! (Did I mention gazingus pins?)
Best wishes to all for 5/5 accomplishments!
I found my social security statement but it is close to a year old and does not include 2010. I went online to request a new statement and learned that they are not currently issuing them ... bummer!
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/mystatement/
~ Teri
My apologies for my absence. I am 80% done with the 'count' - slowed down b/c I did some much needed purging and organizing of paperwork along the way. Been absent due to a family issue - and putting in my first garden in years!
Everybody done? No? How about a new goal-line of July 4th?
Count me in for a Step 1 update by July 4!
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