SMART Living 365

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A Case For Simple Living; Or Why Shiny Objects Don’t Equal Happiness (Part 1)

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Aware, Rightsized, Sustainable

I recently read an interview of a man named James Roberts who is the author of a new book entitled, Shiny Objects—Why We Spend Money We Don’t Have In Search Of Happiness We Can’t Buy.  It’s a great title and I’m sure there are very few people who would disagree with what it says.  But while we may agree with that statement, most people continue to try to buy happiness every single day.  Not only do a large number of people spend money trying to buy stuff they don’t need or oftentimes even use, many actually go into debt in the process.   Others spend money so indiscriminately they might as well throw it out of a speeding car window.  So, what’s the deal with money? And what are we searching for that we think money can buy?


[Read more…]

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A Journey of Right-Sizing, or How Big Is Big Enough?

By Kathy Gottberg
Filed under: Rightsized, Sustainable

 

Just over three years ago, Thom and I bought a new home in the “village area” of La Quinta, CA.  We called it an experiment because we weren’t sure if we could live in a house that was nearly a 1,000 sq. feet less than the one we had before.  Never mind that the new house had 1,400 square feet with three bedrooms, two bathrooms and was plenty large enough based on comparables around the world.   But with huge changes happening in the economy, and our personal growing awareness in the “green” movement, Thom and I felt it was time to discover if the American obsession with size was just a habit we’d adopted or a true necessity.   What we’ve come to know during the last two years is that smaller is plenty big enough, especially when it fits perfectly within your needs. [Read more…]

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About

Kathy Gottberg is an author with seven published books and hundreds of articles covering dozens of topics in the last 35 years. Along with her books, her passion today is SMART Living 365 where she explores ideas and experiences that help to create a meaningful, sustainable, compassionate and rewarding life for herself and others. Beyond that, she lives with Thom, her best friend and soul mate in Tucson, AZ.

To contact Kathy: click here

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