The "Live Big" List

Activities for a Frugal, yet Rich and Fulfilling Life

In the Sept/Oct 2009 issue of From the Research Desk, we explored "consumer spending" and its ramifications for our economy. One means of combating excessive spending, and increasing savings, is to focus on activities which don't cost much money at all - yet still enable one to "Live Big©". Following on an idea first put together by my friend and colleague, David Yeske, and his partner Elissa Buie, I suggest a "Live Big©" manifesto for our clients. Can you think of other activities which could be added to this listing? If so, please drop me a line at rrhoades@josephcapital.com or by calling our office at 352-746-4460, and we'll add your idea to the list, to be republished in future issues.

1. Start a gratitude journal - every morning or evening, write down five things for which you are grateful.



2. Read all those books you've been collecting while drinking all that tea that has accumulated in your cupboard.



3. Write someone an "old-fashioned letter."



4. Get Skype (Internet required) and call friends all over the world.



5. Take a child to a public park or playground - and go down the slides with them!



6. Write a poem, or at least read one.



7. Continue to make your charitable contributions.



8. Volunteer at a food bank, homeless shelter, or house of worship.



9. Watch a thunderstorm.



10. Watch "It's a Wonderful Life" or "Love, Actually" or some other super-feel-good movie.



11. Make a game out of cooking dinner for a week using only ingredients found in your pantry or freezer (adding fresh vegetables).



12. Have a book swap party.



13. Write a letter to a soldier.



14. Exercise.



15. Clean out the closets and garage, and donate unused items to the poor.



16. Take digital photos and share them online with family and friends.



17. Join Netflix and watch hundreds of movies (many of them "online").



18. Teach a teenager to balance a checkbook.



19. Donate blood.



20. Listen to music.



21. Read stories to your children or grandchildren.



22. Make a hobby out of finding free weekend activities and planning outings with family and friends.



23. Feed someone's parking meter.



24. Hug someone.



25. Pay a true compliment to someone who annoys you.



26. Visit monuments and museums in your area.



27. Use home exchanges for vacationing.



28. Attend adult education classes at your local college or university - to expand your mind or learn new skills.



29. Discover a new national or state park; go for a hike.



30. Walk the dog, or volunteer to walk a neighbor or friend's dog.



31. Clean out your pantry at home, and donate cans of food that have languished on your shelves to your local food bank.



32. Invite an elderly neighbor to lunch.



33. Breathe, pray, meditate.



34. Play cards or a board game with neighbors, friends, and family.



35. Watch a comedy routine and laugh the day/night away.



36. Burn an aromatherapy candle.



37. Dance.



38. Explore a craft (find something on sale at Michael's or another craft shop, take a class, or learn from a friend).



39. Look at old pictures and marvel at how great you still look.



40. Make somebody laugh.



41. Get fresh vegetables from a farmers' market.



42. Lay back in the grass, look up at the clounds, and imagine all kinds of shapes.



43. Catch a snowflake on your tongue.



44. Volunteer at an animal shelter.



45. Give a stranger a compliment.



46. Go to the library and check out books and DVDs and CDs (for free!).



47. Match all your mismatched socks.



48. If you find a tails up penny, turn it over for someone else to find a heads up penny.



49. Be a Big Sister or Big Brother.



50. Create something (stained glass, a photo album, a collage).



51. Make a quilt.



52. Color - with a child, by yourself, or outside the lines.



53. Organize a silly 2K or 5K walk/run in your neighborhood.



54. Put a puzzle together.



55. Take silly/pretty digital pictures just for fun.



56. Bake some bread or cookies and share them with a neighbor or friend.



57. Plant some flowers or vegetables. It's fun to watch them come up from seed.



58. Take a leisurely walk around a new neighborhood in your city - be a "tourist."



59. Give yourself a beaming ear-to-ear smile for five minutes, just because you're alive. A big grin triggers a flood of serotonin and endorphins, creating a virtuous cycle: literally creating happiness where none may have existed before.



60. Hug your pet.



61. Men - save on haircuts - go bald (submitted by one of our Directors...hmmm...)

Excerpted from "What does it mean to Live Big® in these trying times?" Copyright © Yeske Buie Inc. 2009. We thank our friends and colleagues, David Yeske and Elissa Buie, for sharing this idea with us.