This year my husband and I went from being ‘DINKS’ (Double Income No Kids) to ‘SINKS’ (Single Income No Kids). Lol!  Being a small business owner in their first year means that pretty much any money the business generates we’re throwing back into the business so that it blossoms and blooms for us.

Today I thought I’d share some of my saving tips.  Whilst it is a lot harder to save, I find that because we have less money I’ve focused my attention on the importance of reducing debt and saving, whereas previously I didn’t think about it too much and that would have come to our detriment when we reached our later years in life.

Here are some key tips to surviving a reduction of income:

• Treat yoself!  I know I probably shouldn’t write this as the very first one, however maintaining sanity is very important!  Now that your income is less it means you’ll be doing less fun activities that require money.  So, give yourself the permission to treat yourself once in a while by either buying a take out once a fortnight, or if you receive some unexpected income perhaps put 75% of it towards your savings and treat yourself with a night away or an expensive face cream you’ve been wanting with the other 25%.  If you’re not cashed up enough for take away or nights away then treat yourself by doing something free in your city
• The importance of inner work.  Your body is now your number one money maker and you need to be the fittest mentally and physically than you’ve ever been.  The last thing you want to be doing is putting yourself out of action due to illness or mental exhaustion.  Spend quality time doing things that relax you such as spending time with your family, being creative or simply sleeping!
• Categorize.  I found setting up different bank accounts for things such as bills and emergency funds really helped maintain a focus and let me know how far I need to go to achieve a goal
• Acceptance.  Being able to accept your current situation and not pine after your richer days is a great asset to have.  This will help you stay in the present moment and focus on what needs to be done
• Automation.  When you have over a million things on your mind the last thing you need to do is think whether you’ve paid a bill or transferred money into your savings.  Automating payments has been a great help to stay on top of bills so that they get deducted when it’s due. 

One thing that keeps me centred and focused is having small achievable goals.  It may be a goal I have for the day, week, month or year.  I don’t get too caught up in the emotions of not achieving a goal however when I do achieve a goal there is a lot of living room dancing going on.  It gives me direction and something to work towards. 

Side note: Another part of me also likes to welcome the ‘unknown’ as usually my goals are miniscule compared to the infinite possibilities that lie within the Universe.

Okay, back on track –

I’ve been a planner for years (since I was a kid) and I think I’ve managed to get quite good at it, but I’ve found that goals need to be revisited and tweaked and at times completely canned.

Here are my tips to achieving goals:

Break it down.  If your goal seems daunting then break it down to smaller achievable goals and celebrate each time you reach a milestone.  Once you’ve completed one milestone you can then start focusing on the next one (or just chill – whatever you prefer).

Maintain your energy.  It’s easy to start off working towards your goal with plenty of motivation and enthusiasm, however as time goes on your energy can dwindle. Remind yourself daily as to why you want to achieve your goal.  If that ‘why’ doesn’t feel as strong anymore, then perhaps you need to redirect your energy into another goal.  Changing your goal is absolutely fine.  Listen to your inner self as a guide.

Celebrate!  Celebrate your goals no matter how big or small they are.  Treat yourself to perhaps a lunch time treat, a facial, a massage or whatever your heart desires! Take a few breaths before jumping into the next goal and simply appreciate how far you have come and believe that you’re capable of achieving your next goal.

Remove distractions.  The more distractions you have that will interrupt or deter you from your goal needs to be minimalised. Whether it be the environment you’re in or perhaps the people that surround you, make any changes required to achieve your goals.

Create a system.  There’s a reason why companies and professionals track their stats.  It’s because they want to constantly be aware of where they are, where they’ve come and how far they need to go.  Find ways to track your progress whether it be via photographs, data or perhaps even journaling.

5 tips to start being more Mindful

I recently re read (well actually listened on Audible) to The Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle.  Like most people who are into mindfulness you would have read The Power of Now at  least once along your journey.  But this time I listened to the book with a wiser version of me and I’d like to share the top 5 things I’ve been reminded of to be more Mindful so that perhaps you can begin this journey.

Surrender

Eckhart often talks about ‘surrendering’ and accepting the current present moment.  It’s probably one of the most important tips because it will change your attitude when things either don’t go your way or you fail at something you’ve been working towards.  It basically means to ‘go with the flow’

Think positive

Thinking positively can sometimes sound cheesy however it is another mindset shift that can help you to greatly see a change in the way you view the world and events around you.  Most of us tell ourselves negative thoughts majority of the day.  Start to tell yourself positive thoughts instead.

I always think that the way you talk to yourself should be in a manner that you would speak to your best friend or partner.  You wouldn’t tell your best friend “you’re ugly”, “you’re never going to get that job” or “You’re not smart enough” etc. Think positive

Be peaceful

Find that inner peace no matter what the condition of your external world is. Just because something is terrible now doesn’t mean things are always going to be terrible. You CAN be peaceful amidst chaos

Learn from your mistakes

The hardest part of failing is getting back up again.  If you can get back up, brush yourself off and keep on going then you are stronger than most.  Being resilient is not only about getting back up but also learning from the mistakes that made you fail so that the next time you go down a different path.  Even though you may fail again, you get backup and repeat.

Be present

You don’t have to be enlightened to be present.  You can do this in your every day life.  Don’t wait for the future or allow your thoughts to linger in the past, rather focus on the ‘now’.  Take notice of what is around you, what you feel and enjoy the moment.  This will help bring about satisfaction, joy, peacefulness and clarity.

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I’m surprised at how much I’m enjoying writing blog posts!  I never realised I had so much to write about.  I won’t try to explain myself too much, however here  is the basis of why ‘Rookie Life’ was the name I chose for this blog.

As with most bloggers, their aim is to shoot for the stars,have over 5000 subscribers to their blog and be able to live off the income it generates. 

The more I researched into it,the more my confidence and expectations of living ‘the bloglife’ dwindled.  I allowed my hopes and dreams to turn to ash and be blown away by the evening breeze.

However something still remained in me that wanted to write and simply express myself even though I’ve never studied journalism, my writing is extremely childish and I don’t have the instagram bloglife to go along with it.

Hence why I chose ‘RookieLife’, because I’m a Rookie in all of my interests and especially at Life in general.  I have no desires to become an expert in any of my interests and  I simply like to do certain activities as it brings me joy.  Yes I’m qualified in a few things, however even that doesn’t mean I’m an expert. Yes, I may know more than the person sitting next to me however that still doesn’t make me an expert either.  And I’m okay with that.

This is simply a place for me to share what I learn along the journey called Life.

Everyone talks about how they’re just about done with Facebook.  There are numerous podcasts, blogs, articles and research about how Facebook is one of our greatest ‘distractions’ and yet people still continue to be on there for numerous hours per day.

My experience with Facebook lately is jumping from one bored state into another bored state.  For example: I’m waiting in line for something and I’m bored – so I jump onto Facebook and get bored looking at Facebook.  (it’s a vicious cycle!)

Today, I use Facebook to connect with customers as well as family and friends, however my aim is not to get absorbed in the newsfeed and scroll for hours.

My rules for Facebook

Fighting the Facebook temptation is a real struggle #firstworldissues.  It’s not easy, however it is simple.

Rule #1 Block people and Unfollow pages

Blocking people is a big relief and something you don’t need to feel guilty about.  Once you’ve blocked a whole lot of people that are no longer part of your life then you’ll be able to see the people you do want to see in your newsfeed.  Don’t just stop at people, also look at all the “Pages” you have followed over the years and unfollow any that you no longer need to keep updated on.

When you block someone they won’t be able to see anything that you post or comment on, they won’t see anything you’re tagged in, they won’t be able to invite you to events or groups, they won’t be able to start a conversation with you in messenger and they won’t be able to add you as a friend.

Rule #2 Cut out anything you don’t want to see and Unfollow people

Okay so now that you’ve blocked the people you don’t want in your cyber life, now it’s time to ‘unfollow’ people.  I’ve learnt that this has been a massive help to detox my newsfeed and avoid seeing certain things I know some of my ‘Facebook friends’ like to post about. 

So Unfollowing is different from blocking.  When you Unfollow someone,they won’t know that you’ve unfollowed them since you’ll still be friends and they’ll still see your post (unless they’ve unfollowed you – hahahaha). The person you’ve unfollowed can still talk to you via messenger, add you to events or groups, see photos you’ve been tagged in etc.  The only thing is that you won’t see any of their posts in your newsfeed.

Rule #3 Work with less distractions

The most important reason why I aim to simplify Facebook is to decrease distractions.  When working from my desktop computer at home I can access Facebook however I’ve removed the newsfeed.  There’s an app you can download for Google chrome called “News Feed Eradictor for Facebook”.  The key use of this tool is that I can use Facebook to do any business posts, events, get back to customers etc.  however Iwon’t be distracted by the rolling newsfeed.  It’s also super cute since it gives you a daily quote instead of your newsfeed (Image posted below)

Here is a link to the app: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/news-feed-eradicator-for/fjcldmjmjhkklehbacihaiopjklihlgg

Rule #4 Use my mobile less

If you always find yourself picking up your mobile for no reason what so ever, then this is a great rule to apply.  I’ve found that by me simply picking up my mobile, it can cause a minimum of a 5 minute distraction and when you’re doing this several times a day, it becomes a massive waste of time.  I always imagine when people are at death’s door and they say that “they saw their life flash before their eyes”, I imagine my life to simply be an image of my Iphone! – how sad

There are many more tips out there, however these are the key rules I use to have a healthy relationship with Facey, which I think in this era is a key factor for living a fuller life. Incorporate these rules into your daily routine and see what shifts occur.  You’ll soon have more time and less distractions!

My first ever blog post.  Here I go!

I decided to start this blog because I wanted to be a “pro” at something and then I realised Who am I kidding?! I’m the biggest rookie out there and I’m certainly a rookie at life.  Let’s just say I’m pretty sure this isn’t the first time my soul has come on this Earth, and I feel like the ‘angels’,‘spirit guides’, or whatever that is looking into this realm is watching me and saying with a clipboard in hand *sigh* “Soul 41665 is stuffing up their mission again.  She’ll be going back to earth for round 3 million until she gets it right”.

Well, apart from the usual mediocrity I have actual accomplished/ done quite a few things this year so far.

Of course being the planner that I am I had quite a few goals I wanted to achieve this year and I was super excited about this year since it’s Year of the Dog (In Chinese Zodiac) and I’m Year of The Rabbit and apparently they’re meant to be friends or something and I’m supposed to ride the wave of the Year of The Dog and have an awesome year as well! 

Let’s just say…this year has taught me to throw all my plans out the window because the Universe has other things in line for me.

HOW I’VE DEALT WITH CHANGE

It’s all great to have a positive mindset when things are going great, but when things take a turn you really need to turn it up a notch (let’s make that a few notches).  Not only that but I had to remain focused on doing my inner work for my outer world to fall into place. No, I didn’t stay on track the whole year and Yes, things did come crumbling down when I didn’t.  But thankfully, I have a supportive network of family and friends.

TOP MEMORABLE ACHIEVEMENTS

Handstands: Being able to have the confidence to get off the wall and do a handstand in the middle of a room and to be able to hold it for at least a few seconds.  It’s not where I’d like to be and there is certainly a lot more training I’ll be doing to improve this.

Stamina improvement:  Teaching Hot Yoga just about every day except for Sunday (where I participate in a class as a student).  Gained massive improvement in stamina,especially from teaching Hot Power (A cardio and strength intensive Hot Yoga class). 

House Change:  Moved in with the In Laws to save more whilst the business gets up and running.  I’m so blessed to the opportunity to do this so that we can chase our goals without having a heavy financial rain cloud hanging over our heads.  We later hope to move back into our own home in a year or so.

Finances:  Met with a Financial Advisor at Commbank.  Created a financial plan.  Making regular repayments to decrease debt.Only 20 years to go until it’s gone! Hahahha but it’s going to feel fantastic once it’s done!

Saving:  Setting aside some dollars and building up our “Emergency Fund”.  So far so good.

Meditation:  Started a daily meditation practice.  At least 15 minutes each day.  Some days I’ve meditated three times because it’s super fun!  I learn so much from meditating and it’s certainly something I will continue to do regularly.

Minimalism(ish):  I didn’t intend to live a minimalist life but when you only have a bedroom to live in, it certainly helps!  Most minimalist will most likely scoff at my take of a minimalist life, but I’ve certainly reduced the number of things I think I need so therefore it’s minimal for me. I’m much happier having less“things” to worry about.

Taking action:  I’ve been keeping myself busy by doing things to help improve my business as well as my inner self.  I’ve taken a couple of courses and workshops as well as “reading with action” (when you not only read a book and put it down, but chose a few things to implement into your life)