Why should you simulate different spending levels? Spending decisions quickly become habit, and normalized to the point where we fear any reduction will ruin our lives. The Stoics, among others, recommend practicing the fates we fear. Preparing for possible changes builds resilience, with opportunities of discovering preferred states. In other words, you might end up enjoying parts of a lower cost lifestyle. You can jump right into the most extreme scenarios, but I recommend looking at $5,000 increments:

You will realize, as I have, that certain levels are easier to reach with different reductions. In my case, housing isn’t as pleasant to reduce, until I make a significant change. Conversely, I wouldn’t add much to housing if I spent more. I’d rather fund experiments and exploration, which I’ve categorized as part of shopping and entertainment. Exploring the examples, I preferred simplifying most of my shopping and groceries. Not only did I save money, but time and energy freed from constantly searching, selecting, and managing purchases.

After deciding how you would live at different spending levels, it is important to consider how much you want to work to maintain your current spending. Would you reduce spending to work less often? Maybe retire earlier?

I stumbled upon Loyal Books when searching podcast topics. They allow you to stream and download recordings in several formats. I like having them with my podcasts, as I prefer the interface. If you would rather have a dedicated application, Loyal Books offers both Android and iPhone apps.

Recorded by volunteers, quality can vary from chapter to chapter. You can go to the website, or use the apps, to see reviews of each recording. In their defense, I have listened to my share of lacklustre samples from Audible. Audible disappoints less from sound engineering than narrator style or interest. Conversely, the variety of volunteers also supports recording books from over 30 languages. I am now considering using them to brush up on my french, and get exposure to other languages.

If you don’t know where to start, I suggest Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. The entire book is a collection of the Roman Emperor’s journal entries. Most people find him through Stoicism, along with Seneca, but anyone should find his insights fascinating.

About TextNow

TextNow is a North American service offering talk and text over internet. In the US, they offer cell phones and data plans, in addition to the usual talk and text. As a Canadian, I only have access to their application, which provides a local number and free unlimited calling and texting to North America.

Using TextNow

I pay the 4 USD/month to hide ads, lock my number, and block telemarketers. They also offer call forwarding, for those who want a second line. By having to use their application, certain methods of phone number verification won’t work. I preferred texting through other applications, but contact only a few people through SMS/MMS, so I barely notice. I used to hate fighting terrible reception in my office, but can now use WiFi for a reliable connection. I have noticed some services block VOIP calls, which seems odd.

My Favorite Part

Until last month, I spent $80/month, after tax. I only bought unlocked phones, which allowed me to keep an old talk and text plan with unlimited data. Even with reckless usage, I rarely surpassed 5GB monthly. Only needing data, I converted to a 5GB data plan for a jaw dropping $20/month! With taxes, and TextNow Premium, my new bill is just under $30. I more than halved my bill, without sacrificing anything I used before. If I could stand the ads, and wanted to be careful with data usage, I could reduce my after tax bill to $20.

Amazon Prime (CA/US) is a popular subscription, and there are many good reasons to use it. Depending on your principles, and situation, you should also consider a few warnings before committing.