Top 10 Ways to Feel Rich (Even When You're Not)

Some of these will seem counter-intuitive at first, but here is my list to Top 10 ways to feel rich.

1. Acknowledge your inheritance from God. Romans 8:14-17 says:

Because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs — heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

2. Be thankful. A lot of feeling rich is noticing what you have, not what you don't have. If you have good health, good friends, good family, or even have a good day today - acknowledge it!

One practical way to be thankful is to keep a family photo album (put pictures in it often and keep it out where you think to look at it frequently). Another way is to keep a "thankful container". When something awesome happens in your life (like a raise at work or an illness leaving quickly or an unexpected visit from a friend), write it on a piece of paper and put it in the container - some folks use a decorative vase. When Thanksgiving rolls around, read them aloud for you and your family.

3. Get rid of clutter around your house. Getting rid of possessions might seem like a backwards way to feel rich, but an overstuffed house can make a person feel disorganized and overwhelmed quickly. Remember, space is a precious thing.

4. Give money to charity. Nothing makes you feel more rich than a generous heart. The catch is you have to plan the amount you give into your budget and give consistently - and give to a charity you've researched to be legitimate with a mission for which you are passionate. Giving money you honestly needed for gas or groceries will just make you panicky. Conversely, nothing will make you feel poorer than thinking of yourself as the person most in need of charity. Everyone (especially in America) has something to give.

5. Have a savings account and put something into it every payday. Financial times are changing, and I understand that to some folks the best savings can range from a Mason jar to buying gold or silver pieces. I'm not going to tell you exactly how to save. Just do it. It's a good habit, and it can save you from going into debt when unexpected expenses emerge.

6. Make friends - close friends. Everyone needs a good 3 or 4 very close friends that would do just about anything for them.

7. Become a parent. I know! Kids are SO expensive when you look at the bottom line. However, the joy you receive from your own child is priceless. It cannot be matched, not even with the most expensive nights on the town or the sleekest car. Children change you. You will never feel richer!

8. Share your stuff and trade stuff with others. You know those 3 or 4 good friends you now have? Offer to loan them the book you bought and just read. Accept their invitation to come over for dinner. Ask them if they need an extra couch because you don't like yours anymore. Help them move into a new house and thank them when they decide they don't need that leather recliner anymore and think it would look great at your house.

9. Live on a spending plan. This is sometimes called a budget. Basically, have a plan for how and where your money will be spent. Don't forget to budget for your (consistent) charitable giving. This will help you notice when a large chunk of your income is going towards something basically useless (like lattes or fast food), so you can live more intentionally and less on accident.

10. Try to keep your body healthy. This goes beyond looking good. Do things for yourself that help you feel good. Figure out how much sleep your body needs at night (hint: most adults need at least eight hours every night!). Cutting down on sugar consumption can keep your body from feeling stiff (learn to do this easily by meeting one time with a dietitian instead of pouring over conflicting Internet articles). Drinking adequate amounts of water can reduce the frequency of headaches. Daily (or every-other-day) exercise can give you energy to last the entire day (instead of crashing around 3pm).


Okay, there are my Top 10 tips for feeling rich. If you have any to share, I'd love to read your comments!

Practical Application: Networking and Resale Shops

Resale shops can be hit or miss. Upscale resale shops can be fairly predictable - they always have something good in stock - but their prices are only slightly below retail. Truly great bargains can be found at lower-end shops (and yard sales), but you have to be willing to check them often for fresh merchandise. Here is a better strategy: network your resale shopping.

Here's an example of how this worked to my advantage this week. My friend has mostly grown children and one granddaughter. While shopping resale, she found an unopened Pixar Cars themed birthday party pack for $2! She knew it was a great buy, and immediately thought of me and my soon-to-be three year old son. She gave my cell phone a call, and it was convenient for me to swing by that shop while I was out running errands that day.

By networking, I was able to find a great buy thanks to my pal. When I return her the favor, she'll be very excited.

Extra Credit: Importance of Consistent Generosity

Just a quick note on consistency. Our church experiences a summer lull in giving during the months of June and July. I don't know if the reason is a lack of planning and what would normally be given is siphoned into the family vacation fund OR if it is because we tend to miss more Sundays in the summer due to weekend trips here and there and tend to get out of the routine of giving.

I do know this. Giving is a conscious decision, and it must be done consistently. Giving has to be a stable part of your monthly budget. The words of Jesus as recorded in Matthew ch 6 and Luke ch 12 tell us the following:

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

What you do with your treasure ALWAYS reflects where your heart is. Continue to bless your church and other charities with your heart through the summer months.

DISCLAIMER: No soul is saved through giving, living a clean life, or being a good person. We are only saved by faith in Jesus Christ. No amount of works can earn salvation. We give to charity as a sign of obedience. No matter if you can afford to give $5 or $500 a month, your offering reflects a giving heart.

Practical Application: Saving Money While Shopping

The way I see it, the cheapest place to shop is in your own house. Learn to appreciate what you have, reorganize your stuff to to be more usable, and re-purpose old stuff to be useful. It also helps to get rid of things you don't use so they don't clutter your home and your brain.

That being said, the next cheapest way to save money while shopping is to trade with friends. Once we traded a full-size bed with mattress for a queen-size bed with mattress. We wanted a bigger bed, and our friends wanted more space in their guest bedroom. We also gave them an extra twin mattress that we did not need but they needed for a trundle bed. I would have never bought a used mattress from a stranger, but we knew our friends and their account of the mattress' history. That was good enough for us.

Along with trading, you can also borrow from friends. With our second baby on the way, we have arranged to borrow a friend's glider and ottoman for the baby room. In our experience, a lot of newborn baby equipment is only useful for a few months (infant bathtubs, for example) and can be borrowed short-term or purchased second-hand from the original owner.

If you just can't get what you want for free, another great place to shop is resale shops. Kids look great in everything, and at a young age they usually outgrow clothes before they ruin them. I love shopping at The Children's Orchard in Springfield. Their store is clean and organized and offer low prices. Bonus: if you know someone getting rid of all their baby stuff because they are done having kids, here's an idea. After you've combed through their stash for stuff you can use (of course), offer to take their stuff to a children's resale shop for in-store credit. Resale always offers more in-store credit than straight cash, so offer to buy your friend's in-store credit at a discount. For example, buy her $70 in-store credit for $60. You save $10 and she makes $10 to $20 more than she would requesting cash from the store. Lots of resale shops have semi-annual dumping sales where they get rid of all their back stock of clothes by holding frenzied events like fill-a-bag for $5. If you attend, leave the kids at home and wearing comfy clothing!

Garage sales and Craig's List can also be great sources for cheap treasures if you know where to look and how much something is worth. You can definitely pay too much, so just know what you're doing there. We had our eye on a Sit and Stand stroller, which I knew retailed for $130 new. I was determined to get that particular style of stroller. I found an older model in perfect condition for $60 on Craig's List. The way I see it, I just made $70.

Finally, when you shop retail, be smart and shop during holiday sales and hit the outlet mall. Also, if you're a credit card user (we use our card for gas and groceries and pay the balance every month), you can find a card that gives you useful rewards. Our credit card gives us gift cards for Old Navy / Gap instead of airline miles. We average earning $20 a month in gift cards!

Practical Application: Moisturizers and Lotions

I recently learned a little fact about lotions and moisturizers that might save some money. I'm talking about the stuff you put on your body, hands, and face.

Lotions and moisturizers do not moisturize your skin all by themselves. They actually just lock in the moisture from recently wet (now slightly damp) skin. So, applying lotions to dry skin doesn't do a lot of good - in fact, it might dry your skin further if it contains alcohol. The best time to apply a moisturizer is just after washing your skin - following a bath or shower and after washing your face or hands.

And, while we're on the subject of lotion, take time today to sort through that drawer or basket of old lotion in your bathroom and recycle the old, mostly empty bottles!

Practical Application: Vacuum Cleaner Filter

If you think you need to buy a new vacuum cleaner, you might be mistaken. I have recently seen the light.

My vacuum was getting so pitiful that Asher was actually picking up Goldfish Crackers by hand and feeding them into the accessory hose because my machine didn't have enough power to pick them up. I don't know why it took me so long to realize that (A) although my bag-less vacuum doesn't need vacuum bags, it does use a filter, and (B) not changing the filter for seven years might affect the vacuum's performance.

With a toddler in the house, vacuuming is a daily necessity. I was getting very fed up with the lack of suction power from my vacuum - to the point that I found myself daydreaming about a new vacuum at Wal-Mart and online, starting at around $100 and going up to $1,000.

When the realization hit me that I should at least TRY to give my old vacuum a tuneup, I started looking at filters. All I had to do was go to the Eureka web site and type in my machine's model number. From there I got the part number for a replacement filter and then went online to find the best price (eventually at vacuumsinc.com). For $20 including shipping, I now have a new filter and a very powerful vacuum. Thank goodness I didn't shell out $100-plus for a new vacuum before I tried the new filter!

Practical Application: Libraries and Library Book Sales

Although reading can be one of the least expensive methods of entertainment (vs. movie tickets, vacations, etc.), the price of that entertainment can vary greatly depending on where and whether you buy your books. Large book-selling chains like Borders and Barnes and Noble create a great atmosphere for bookworms like myself - who can resist those comfy chairs and mocha lattes? However, purchasing books from a first-run bookstore on a regular basis can get expensive. The occasional Harry Potter midnight release party with corresponding $25 book purchase is exciting, but what's more exciting is getting the SAME BOOK for a much smaller price - like FREE!

You see, there is this thing called a li-brar-y. I know, I know. If you're a kid that grew up in a rural town like me, you have preconceived ideas about what a library is like. Your county library was about the size of most people's bathrooms nowadays. It contained exactly 5 Dr. Seuss hardbacks, three Stephen King paperbacks, and a whole slue of encyclopedias from pre-1950. The checkout time was three days, and the library shared a building with the smelly county courthouse. Barf.

Libraries are different now! If you haven't been to a library in the past 10 years, you owe it to yourself to see just how much they've changed. Some county libraries have much better funding thanks to literacy programs. In fact, you are paying for your county library with your property tax each year. If you're not using your county library, you are just giving that money away. Some communities even have private libraries. The funding there can be all over the chart.

Libraries contain more than traditional books. Not everyone has time to sit with a book in hand, but most people can make time for audio books, music, movies, and computer games. All of these are available at your library - our library even lets you download audio books from home straight to an mp3 player!

Most libraries offer programs beyond children's storytime. Many offer movie-showings with free popcorn, host book clubs for all ages, and hold seminars on learning computer basics and even genealogy research and writers support groups.

Library locations are getting smarter. Instead of the institutional settings like the county courthouse or some weird brick building with fewer than five good parking spots, many libraries now share a building with a coffee house or cafe. Many libraries offer quiet study rooms and a sectioned-off children's area were two-year-olds can run and scream a bit without the traditional "shhh!"

You can even find better service at today's libraries. In the computer age, card catalogs are now totally online, which means you can look for books from the comfort of home. Our library let's you put them "on hold" and will email when they are ready to pickup in the drive-through window. That's right! We have a drive-through pickup window, not to mention drive-through book returns all over town.

Additionally, many of the "library pages" (as they are called in our town) are teenagers with jobs. Nothing sounds better to me than a teenager learning the value of money with their own job at the library.

And, if all that isn't enough to lure you in to your local library, consider attending the library book sale. I know some people out there are book buyers, and the thought of borrowing a book with a return deadline can be stressful. Yesterday I attended our library's semi-annual book sale. I bought 20 children's books (mostly board books) for $10. For those of you who don't know, one child's board book at even a discount store like Wal-Mart will cost at least $5, and probably more like $10. A few of them had some small Crayon markings, but they fit right in with my son's collection of once-new but now semi-damaged books.

I can think of a dozen more reasons for you to visit your library, but what I'd really like is for you to go discover them yourself. Today!