My children ask a lot of questions and, for most of their lives, I have taught them that the simple answer to every question is always: Money.

Yes, that is callous and no, money is not the answer to every question they pose, but it is definitely the dominating factor in the discussion, especially if they have reached their teen years. Any parent who has to think for just a few moments before answering a question from a 15-year-old, likely is trying to decide if they can … or can’t … afford the answer they’re about to give.

Which brings us to Part II of one way to lead a simpler life: Can I pay cash for this?

It’s a yes or no answer in my house. Yes! I have the money in my pocket (preferred answer) or I have it in the bank if I choose to write a check for it. We don’t use credit cards with our kids, meaning they don’t have one and we don’t use ours to answer their questions.

I will confess that this has caused disagreements, especially when first applied. My oldest son regularly asked for something while standing in the checkout line, and I regularly asked him if he had the money in his pocket to pay for it.

“No … but I,” he would whine in his little voice, and I would quickly cut him off with my standard reply: “Do something around the house to earn some money, and you can use it to buy whatever you want, whenever you want it.”

Kids Catch On Quickly

It didn’t take long before the same answer worked as we passed fast-food restaurants and toy stores and sporting goods stores, etc. He didn’t want things nearly as much when the money came out of his pocket.

Fortunately, the oldest passed that along to the next two boys, who asked all the same questions and would have received all the same replies, if their older brother didn’t step in and do the work for us. That alone – having a peer answer the question instead of the parent – was worth the effort.

Of course, as they got older, this did not stop them from wondering out loud the same thing most teenagers wonder: Why can’t they go on vacation President’s Day weekend like so many of their friends? Why do they have to wear the same jacket they wore last winter? Why aren’t they getting a car for their 16th (or 18th) birthday? And why do they have to pay for most of their college education?

These are all legitimate questions that led to some great discussions about the value of having money, why it answers so many questions and how to get some of those answers yourself.

Zero Debt is the Goal

Two of the three boys are in college now, and we saw the value to all of this as soon as they left home. The oldest one has paid for 75 percent of his education himself. He will graduate in May with zero debt. That is quite an accomplishment when you consider that 67 percent of the graduating class of 2013 has taken out loans to pay for school, and their average debt is $27,000.

My second son is only a freshman at a state university, but he learned fast from his older brother. They both started with a prepaid college tuition plan. The second one also went away to college, accepted no loans and kept expenses low. The result is that savings from a high school job will allow him to get through his freshman year of college with no debt. He understands that he needs a summer job to re-supply his bank account and already has made plans to work.

Our youngest son is a sophomore in high school. He has applied for a summer job and intends to put away money for the same purpose. Like his brothers, he does not own a car, does not have much of a wardrobe and doesn’t own a credit card. He pays for what he wants with the cash in his pocket … or waits another day.

That’s really not such a bad thing for kids to do. The unexpected bonus from this life of thrift is that they have plenty to look forward to. Buying a car, going on vacation, dining out – getting a credit card! – will be great moments for them in the coming years. It’s a guarantee that they will appreciate those milestones a little more when they reach them.

And for me and my wife? We feel lucky that we stumbled onto a simple, productive way to answer our children’s questions.

Bill Fay is a staff writer for Debt.org, America’s Debt Help Organization. Bill has a wide-ranging background in reporting and writing, including for daily newspapers and magazines and also for public officials.

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1. What Kind Of Life Do I Want To Lead?
2. How I Live My Simple Life.
3. Simple Living, Self-Employment, & The Ability To Travel At Will.

Stay tuned. 2013 is going to be killer.

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1. 10 Ways To Simplify Your Life Starting Today.
2. How I Live My Simple Life.
3. Doing “More” – Is It Healthy To Feel Like You Aren’t Doing Enough?

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1. What Exactly Does Simple Living Really Mean?
2. What Simple Living Means To Me Right Now.
3. Simple Living And Voluntary Simplicity.

Save Money on Doing Laundry

• Only do full loads. Yes, I know most people already know this, but make sure you stick to it. Spending money on a half-full washing machine load is not only wasteful of water, but of your hard-earned cash, too.
• Use the big machines. Laundromats have the regular-sized machines and they have the gigantic ones. Use the gigantic ones when you can. They cost more to run a load thru but you can fit more clothes in them, saving you from doing multiple loads in a smaller machine – which saves you money over the long run.
• Skip the drying. If you have access to outdoor space, and it’s not against the law where you live, consider packing up your freshly-washed wet clothes and bringing them home to dry. Line drying is free, uses no fossil fuels, and helps your clothes last longer.
• Wash your clothes in cold. Speaking of clothes lasting longer, washing in cold water helps too. And having clothes last longer saves you from having new clothes too often, saving you money.
• Watch for discount days. Many laundromats have discount days or times, which they publicize to try to get people in during their slower times. Take advantage of the savings they offer if you can manage it.

Save Money on Laundry Supplies

• Use less detergent. The laundry detergent companies tell you to use way more per load than you actually need to use. Cut that amount in half and your clothes will come out just as clean while also saving you a substantial amount of money on detergent.
• Make your own detergent. Want to save even more? Make your own laundry detergent and spend just pennies per load. Making it yourself usually results in a better product that costs a fraction of the store-bought brands do.
• Skip the dryer sheets & fabric softeners. These are completely unnecessary, wasteful, and expensive. Try a few loads without either, you won’t even miss them.
• Search for coupons on detergent. If you don’t want to make your own detergent, at least try to get the best price on what you do buy. While I recommend an eco-friendly brand like Seventh Generation if you buy detergent, coupons can easily be found for lower-priced detergents online and in circulars.

While everyone knows that having to do laundry at a laundromat can be a pain, there is no reason you should also be emptying your wallet when doing so. By using some of these tips, you can easily save money on doing laundry – and maybe use the savings to buy a washing machine of your own. Do you have tips that help you save money on doing laundry? Please weigh in and let us know!

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1. Simplify and Save Money With Amazon Subscribe & Save
2. Products You Should Rent Instead Of Buy To Save Space & Money.
3. How Long Can You Go Without Spending Money?

This fall I will start over. You’ll see. I’m not writing this for any reason other than to attempt to hold myself accountable in some way. I hope you are pursuing your goals, whatever they may be. See you soon.

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Traveling super light sounds ridiculous to most people. Why less and not more? What’s the point? I love answering this question. There are so many benefits to ultralight packing. First of all, you’ll have fewer aching muscles from lugging everything around. There’s also less time spent packing/unpacking. No more digging through your bag trying to find things. More freedom. Think about how awesome it would be to arrive in a new place and not have to worry about multiple suitcases. You can do whatever you want, because you have so little to carry around. You’ll also be less of a target for would-be pick-pocketers.

Those aren’t the only benefits, but definitely some of the best. Here are some of my favorite minimalist traveling tips.

1. clothes. Two of everything. Wear one outfit and pack the other. Same with socks and underwear. Bring one versatile pair of shoes that can be worn anywhere (if you take flip-flops you can leave your socks at home). If you wear jewelry, take one set that goes with both outfits.

2. laundry. Ultralight packing makes laundry a necessity. You won’t always have a machine, so it’s important to be able to do it yourself. There’s always the sink, but my favorite method is the aloksak. An aloksak is basically a durable, completely waterproof, zip-loc bag. I only discovered these a few months ago, but they have been amazing. Google “aloksak laundry” to buy one or read more.

3. cosmetics. One of everything. Try simplifying your beauty routine before the trip. Find out which items are really necessary. Do you really need that eyelash curler to survive? What about your bottle of shaving cream (soap works just as well)? How about that all that makeup? Your big container of hairspray? Nail polish? Go through your products and figure out what you’re able to do without. Guys definitely have the advantage here!

4. electronics. Technology can be incredibly useful, but sometimes it’s best to leave it behind. It’s so much easier to live in the moment if you eliminate distractions. I do like to travel with my mp3 player(which doubles as a phone), because I love listening to music on the way. Experiment and do what works best for you.

My packing list, to give you an idea of what it looks like.

1 t-shirt
1 skirt
2 pairs of underwear
1 pair of socks
toothbrush
deodorant
toothpaste
contact solution
glasses
mp3 player
money
1 pair of pajama pants
razor
wearing: clothes + silver earrings

If you’re new to ultralight packing, I encourage you to give it a try. Afraid of being without stuff you may need? Go on a practice run. Live out of your bag for a week and see how well you do. Have you ever tried traveling light? What are some of your favorite tips?

Related posts:

1. E-Book: The Simple Guide To A Minimalist Life.

So remember, you do actually only live once. Whether you believe something happens afterwards or not is a different conversation to have. I believe that our time here is, in fact, the only time we are given. So what are you going to do with the years you are given? There may not be a tomorrow or “later”; what will you do today?

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In so many ways I am jealous of the people that have the capacity to try these grand experiments. It takes a lot of courage to just head to the nearest abandoned island and try to “make it” on one’s own. But honestly I would much rather do my off grid experimenting in the desert of South Texas like John Wells does rather than in freezing-cold and wet Alaska. Sure, water won’t be an issue, but nearly everything else will be.

Do you think you could live alone on an island for a year?

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Having left a corporate job six years ago, my entire livelihood working online has been about providing value. (Corporate work didn’t care if I valued my “customer”; I wasn’t paid to have such insight) If I don’t provide enough value to others, I don’t get a paycheck; it’s that simple. My primary website is a good example of that. The Good Human now gets over 100,000 visitors a month, has thousands of subscribers through RSS and email, and has 11,100 followers on Twitter. It has become a brand that I need to work on every single day. For a website that started back on the Blogger platform on a whim, this is pretty amazing. I am still blown away by the community that has been built around the site. That’s not to toot my own horn; I am literally astounded that it happened at all. But were I not providing value, it wouldn’t have been a success. For six years and 2,300+ articles, I have done my best to provide value to the reader. I know I need to continue to do it or they will disappear tomorrow – I can’t afford for that to happen. So I strive to provide value a few days a week in hopes that long-time readers continue to read and new readers climb on board. My work is providing value, and I try to be good at it.

But what about in my own life?

Do I subscribe to the concept that value is important? Sometimes. I don’t always use my time wisely. I sometimes get lost on the internet, blindly clicking from one link to another. I sometimes buy a product that I know won’t last that long. I sometimes do something just because someone else thinks it’s a good idea, even if I realize I don’t. I sometimes watch TV shows I don’t want to watch, read books I don’t want to read, and attend events I don’t want to attend just because someone else thought they were good/worthwhile/important. I am accepting someone else’s definition of value and rolling with it.

I need to work on this.

And I am getting better. I am better at saying no thank you. I am better at standing up for myself. I am better at making the decision that is right for me, regardless of what anyone else thinks. I am getting better. I am bringing more value into my life.

If I go out of my way to provide value for others, I should be willing to do the same for myself, yes?

I hope you said yes.

And I hope you do the same.

Don’t live anyone else’s life, live your own. Your choices, your needs, your desires, your wants – they are yours to make and yours to live with. Bring value to your own life if you have been too busy trying to provide value to everyone else that you have been neglectful. It’s not selfish, it’s healthy.

Think about it.

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