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Imagine your life as an onion.

Photo by Flickr user James Jin

You are at the core with several layers around you. The first few layers are jucy and tasty (fulfilling), however, the further out you get the thinner the layers become, the less tasty they are until eventually you come to the final layers and they aren’t tasty at all. You get rid of those layers.

That is pretty much your life (I’ve only had one tia maria honest!)

You are the centre of the onion. The first few layers represent food, shelter and clothing. The next layers are your car, phone, internet, annual holiday. The final layers are the take-aways, boozy nights out, excessive amounts of cds, dvds, jewellery, the third (or fourth!) television, the starbucks coffee every morning (that old chestnut eh?)

The first layers are life’s necessities and thus should be paid for and provided before everything else. So that is ;

Food

Mortgage/Rent

Clothes (basics only)

Second layer items are luxuries, although nowadays they are often seen as necessities. Examples are;

A (yep, that’s just one) Car

Annual holiday

Phone and Internet connection (not necessarily a mobile)

You should only have these if you can afford them (ie if you have met the necessities above and saved the desirable amount – more on that later).

The final layer represents the extravagances. Take-aways, alcohol, designer stuff, entertainment. These should be seen largely as treats. Often, however, these are the reasons people justify working long hours.

This (very) simple chart represents a sensible way to apportion your earnings to each ‘layer’. The larger lilac section is the necessity section (food, shelter, clothing & savings). The indigo or dark purple section is the car, holiday, phone, internet bit. And the smaller blue slice is the luxuries budget. If you stick to this kind of income divider no matter what you earn you can live comfortably and retire on time (or early!) – as the more you earn the more you will be saving and investing too.

You can read more on budgeting and investing here in a ‘simple’ 3-step plan to growing rich slowly.

If you cut down on extravagances you can simplify your life.

Less extravagance > Less money > Less work > More FREEDOM

More time to spend doing what you love. The same principles apply to time. Cut down on tv and other wasteful time-users, you could free up the time for what you really want to do. Read my post on finding that 25th hour for strategies on how to release more time for hobbies, family time, exercising, blogging or starting a new business (stay tuned for my next series!).

Not really sure if you want to simplify your life, try it for 30 days and see what impact it has on your life……You can always go back

That concludes the ‘Authentic Series’.

Part 1 – Introducing Authentic Living
Part 2 – Authentic Choice
Part 3 – The Happy Formula
Part 4 – Authentic – A Religion?
Part 5 – Authentic Education
Part 6 – Finding Your Purpose
Part 7 – Simplify Your Life