2 posts tagged “david bach”

I was reading a David Bach post tonight where he challenges you to express your true feelings with gifts from the heart rather than from the wallet.  I really like that concept because really if it's not a really good substantial gift, you honestly will have a hard time remembering what the gift was next year.

I told my significant other not to buy me anything this year.  I told her this for a couple of reason.  One we just moved into a new home and had quite a large number of moving expenses, two I really don't need anything and there isn't a whole lot I want at the moment, three flowers die, and my ass doesn't not need nobody's candy, four I will be out of town on business for V'Day this year.  I told her we could do something this weekend, I can appreciate Valentine's Day but over the years it's lost a bit of it's excitement.  I guess, because I've been in a committed relationship for going on six years, the love is there I don't need to prove it up one day out of the year - we have our excitement year around.

Bach suggests.... This Valentine's Day, try loving rich with gifts that can't be bought with money and offers the following:

Three Heartfelt Tips

Here are his steps to creating a truly rich relationship this Valentine's Day.

1. Express your feelings in writing

You don't have to be a professional writer to craft a truly meaningful love note. There simply is no such thing as a poorly written love note. But if you need help, here are some suggestions.

Write a love letter that tells your loved one just how much they mean to you. But don't just write to write, take a few moments to put your heart and soul into it. Dig down and convey what you're truly feeling. If you lost the person you love (and this could be anyone, not just a significant other), what would you wish you'd told them?

Don't wait until it's too late. You'll be giving a gift that literally costs nothing, and if this simple gesture is all you do this Valentine's Day, it will mean more than any store-bought card, box of chocolates, or bouquet of flowers ever could.

2. Make a home-cooked meal.

I'm going against tradition with this advice, but in my opinion Valentine's Day is about the worst possible night of the year to eat out. Restaurants are packed (it's the second-busiest day of the year for them), the menus are often prix fixe, the prices are inflated, and the staff is overworked.

So this year, stay home and prepare a meal instead. It can be as simple or as elegant as you'd like. Make it special with a cozy table setting, candles, and music. If you don't cook, then plan a simple picnic in front of the fireplace. Or maybe you could snuggle up on the couch and watch a movie. Turn down the lights, pour two glasses of wine, and settle in for a relaxing evening.

Finally, it's the perfect time to give your sweetheart the love letter you wrote. Better yet, read it aloud to them!

3. Dream about the future together.

Nothing strengthens a relationship more than having a dream you work on together as a team. Talk about your dreams together, and spend your Valentine's Day planning your future.

Maybe your dream is to take an exotic trip. Visit one of the popular travel web sites to research destinations and costs, and have some fun planning it together. Or maybe you want to start saving to buy your first home. Sit down at the computer together and go on a few virtual home tours. Envision the kind of house you see yourselves in. Finally, if a vacation home is your future, use the Internet to find that perfect island getaway that you hope to someday own.

Then take the money you would have spent on each other for Valentine's Day and make a deposit into your dream savings account instead. Work together to save for your dreams and you'll find that they soon become a reality.

Three Heartfelt Tips

Here are my steps to creating a truly rich relationship this Valentine's Day.

1. Express your feelings in writing

You don't have to be a professional writer to craft a truly meaningful love note. There simply is no such thing as a poorly written love note. But if you need help, here are some suggestions.

Write a love letter that tells your loved one just how much they mean to you. But don't just write to write, take a few moments to put your heart and soul into it. Dig down and convey what you're truly feeling. If you lost the person you love (and this could be anyone, not just a significant other), what would you wish you'd told them?

Don't wait until it's too late. You'll be giving a gift that literally costs nothing, and if this simple gesture is all you do this Valentine's Day, it will mean more than any store-bought card, box of chocolates, or bouquet of flowers ever could.

2. Make a home-cooked meal.

I'm going against tradition with this advice, but in my opinion Valentine's Day is about the worst possible night of the year to eat out. Restaurants are packed (it's the second-busiest day of the year for them), the menus are often prix fixe, the prices are inflated, and the staff is overworked.

So this year, stay home and prepare a meal instead. It can be as simple or as elegant as you'd like. Make it special with a cozy table setting, candles, and music. If you don't cook, then plan a simple picnic in front of the fireplace. Or maybe you could snuggle up on the couch and watch a movie. Turn down the lights, pour two glasses of wine, and settle in for a relaxing evening.

Finally, it's the perfect time to give your sweetheart the love letter you wrote. Better yet, read it aloud to them!

3. Dream about the future together.

Nothing strengthens a relationship more than having a dream you work on together as a team. Talk about your dreams together, and spend your Valentine's Day planning your future.

Maybe your dream is to take an exotic trip. Visit one of the popular travel web sites to research destinations and costs, and have some fun planning it together. Or maybe you want to start saving to buy your first home. Sit down at the computer together and go on a few virtual home tours. Envision the kind of house you see yourselves in. Finally, if a vacation home is your future, use the Internet to find that perfect island getaway that you hope to someday own.

Then take the money you would have spent on each other for Valentine's Day and make a deposit into your dream savings account instead. Work together to save for your dreams and you'll find that they soon become a reality.

I really like numbers 1 and 2.  I know we will do something to celebrate Valentine's Day this year, but I will going the living rich route.

I'm a fan of David Bach's Automatic Millionaire Personal Finance books.  He often talks about the "Latte Factor" which is essentially about an automatic savings plan - and how saving the money you spend daily on a tall "Mocha Choco Latte add whip and two pumps of almond" can add up over time.

I was reading an article he published on "The Live Rich Factor" to sum it up it's about changing the quality of your life and how you can live rich without being rich.  I thought it was a pretty good piece so I'm sharing it here:

Excerpts from David Bach's Five Principles for Happiness in 2007 article:

There are five basic principles involved in creating your Live Rich Factor:

Principle 1: Give Yourself a Break

We all tell ourselves the story of the one that got away. You can't move forward if you spend time focusing on what you shoulda-woulda-coulda done in 2006 or before. It's over, and its time to move on. The fastest way I know to do this is to write all of your regrets down on paper.

Make a list of all your personal and financial if-onlys. For example, "If only I had saved more money. If only I hadn't quit that job. If only I hadn't taken the job I have." You get the idea.

After reading the list aloud to yourself, get rid of it. Let it all go by literally burning the list (safely). Now you're ready for a fresh start in 2007 -- a new beginning.

Principle 2: Get Connected with Your Truth

The hardest thing to do is be honest with yourself. Asking yourself some key questions will lead you to some amazing discoveries, and possibly motivate you to do what it takes to create the life you envision for yourself.

I suggest writing your (honest) answers to the following questions in a new journal for the new year:

• What makes you happy at work?
  
• What makes you happy at home?
  
• What makes you happy with your friends and family?
  
• What makes you happy when you're by yourself?
  
• What do you love to do?
  
• What would you do with your life today if you weren't afraid of failure?
  
• What's not working in your life?
  
• What are you currently doing that prevents you from experiencing joy?
  
• What's working in your life?
  
• Who's not working in your life?
  
• Who in your life is subtracting value from and adding misery to it?
  
• Can you fix any of these relationships, or should you let them go from your life?
  
• What relationships are working in your life?
  
• If we were getting together one year from today, what would have to happen for you to be able to tell me that you now have more joy in your life?
  
• What's the single most important thing you've learned about yourself as a result of answering these questions?