The frugal millionaire

To me, part of being chic is being good with money. In my opinion it is not chic to be irresponsible or unreliable with finances. Carrie on Sex and the City joked that she would be the old woman literally living in her shoe, because she had spent all her money on Manolos rather than investing in a pension plan. I don’t find that cute at all, in fact it makes me cringe.



I’ve always enjoyed motivating myself by reading personal finance books. If you make something fun to do, you’re more likely to do it. Forcing yourself to save money in a bank account rather than go shopping sounds dire, but turning it around and thinking ‘I’d rather save for something special than waste my money on that magazine/top like 20 others I own/book to cram onto my overflowing bookshelf’ makes me happy not to shop.



I read The Millionaire Next Door book years ago and loved the fact that most actual millionaires don’t get around in Dolce and Gabbana clothing with Rolexes on their wrist. They are normal looking people who are financially secure. They are basically frugal sorts who are married to frugal spouses (it’s very important that you are on the same page. If one is a spender and one is a saver, it won’t be easy).



They say ‘sure, enjoy a big home and expensive car, but after you’ve earned the money and not before’. And many millionaires they have interviewed don’t even do that (the after part). By and large it tends to be the wannabees who wear True Religion jeans (très expensive in NZ) and drive a Land Rover or Audi 4wd, and actual wealthy people who are more unobtrusive.



I love nice clothing and looking stylish, and so does my husband. We enjoy daydreaming about luxury items and travelling around the world staying at five-star hotels. But we are just as happy with our everyday lives, and build our stylish style on a budget, shopping when places have sales and wearing our clothing more often than others might.



I still think I have too many clothes. But whereas in another, previous life, where I had regular cleanouts of good clothing that was sent to the op shop, only for me to replace it again (that’s why I lived off my credit card), now I simply don’t shop for a long while, using and enjoying the clothing I have. It only is decluttered if I decide I have bought wrong, or downgraded to home-wear if it’s no longer good enough for going out.



I wear a Cartier watch that I paid a small fortune for brand-new ten years ago. Clearly I lost my mind then and thought that one needed a good watch to look the part. I do enjoy wearing it, and I like that fact that it is understated and not flashy, but if I was offered a cheque for the same amount I paid for it tomorrow, I would sell it in a flash. I just don’t need stuff like that to make me ‘feel’ wealthy. I would rather ‘be’ wealthy.



I have discussed with my husband whether I should look into selling my Cartier, as supposedly some brands hold their value. Usually it isn’t worth selling designer goods second-hand as you get a pittance back for them. He said even if I got the amount I paid for it, that much probably wouldn’t make that big a deal to our long-term plans, and I may as well wear it and enjoy it.



So I do. And it’s not to say we’re so rich that that amount of money doesn’t matter to us, but if I had my time over, I may not have bought the watch. Not only do you have to fork over the money, you also have to look after it, maintain it (there is only one Cartier repair person in the whole of New Zealand and it needs to be sent to him to even have the battery changed, you can imagine he’s not cheap), insure it (the watch is itemised on our insurance) and worry about it.



One of the authors of the Millionaire Next Door has written a new title, and I have been listening to the audio book in the car. It is called ‘Stop Acting Rich’ which is an updated version and pretty much advises us to stop ‘acting rich’ to ‘be rich’. Don’t spend your hard-earned cash on status items to look rich - save and invest that money for your future. Only when you are rich should you buy these items.



He tells us that many people in our neighbourhood that look wealthy are likely barely scraping by. ‘Neighbourhood’ is actually his main piece of advice – don’t live in a fancy one if you can’t afford it. Stretching yourself financially to afford a big house in an upmarket neighbourhood could mean compromising your financial future. It’s one of the fastest ways to go broke.



Not only will we get the biggest mortgage we can to afford the house, but then we consciously or subconsciously want to keep up with the Joneses, or the next-door neighbours with new cars, toys, trips overseas, private schools etc. A movie I saw recently - ‘The Joneses’ with David Duchovny and Tea Leoni - was a really illuminating look into this.



To ‘Stop Acting Rich’ (and start being rich), the author advises to buy in a moderate neighbourhood where you might be wealthier than the neighbours, but live at their level. Live below your means. You will be less likely to conspicuously consume if your neighbours aren’t. This is especially interesting for us as we have just starting looking to buy a house. I initially thought I wanted to buy a small townhouse or an apartment in an upmarket and expensive area, just because it would be nice to live in a nice area.



I am now changing my mind and thinking we want a normal house in a normal but still nice area, and we have been visiting properties within our price budget. And our house budget is one that we have decided we want to spend on a house/mortgage, not the maximum that our bank will let us have.



As tempting as it is to buy a bigger home fully renovated, or a bigger home requiring lots of work, we are committed to a low-stress European style (whatever that means nowadays, but I take it to mean the ideal Euro person who values experiences over things), we are looking at lower priced homes.



The millionaire next door authors reckon you shouldn’t have a mortgage more than twice your annual household income. When I work it out for us it is slightly less than the small house we are budgeting for. Scary, but that’s what it takes to be financially responsible.



It is quite exciting visiting houses for sale and imagining that we could own it, pay it off, decorate it in faded vintage French style amidst tones of off-white, cream, soft-beige, black and rose-brown. I can even see a bistro table and two chairs on the patio out the front.



Happy living within your means everyone!

Why Bad Decisions Make Good Stories--A Cure for Writer's Block

I'm on a writing sabbatical this week so I'm rerunning a favorite post from December 2009--hope you enjoy it!

Still life--may be nice to look at but not the stuff good stories are made of.

Bad decisions? Ah, there you have my interest.  Friction and fracas--they are the real meat of the plotting craft.  Is enough happening in your book?  Are you stuck in a "still life" that's beautiful but not going anywhere?


An editor from a well-known literary journal once told me 90 percent of the stories he reads are rejected, and most for the same reason:  nothing happens.

Don't let that happen to your book!

Why Bad Decisions Make Good Stories
A friend from Florida just emailed me a list of random thoughts, truisms to laugh at or shake your head over. Here's the one that grabbed me for this week's writing exercise: "Bad decisions make good stories." Funny, but really accurate. A good motto for writers.

Bad decisions are one of the only ways plot is furthered in memoir and fiction. If you're stuck in a rut, chances are your writing is staying too safe.

This week's discussion and exercise looks at a simple question. Why are you keeping bad decisions out of your book?

The Downside of Staying Safe
A student in my classes complained about her writer's block. She wrote several chapters that just flowed out. Then, about chapter 5, she got stuck. Nothing happened--either on the page or with the pen. I suggested she look at the bad decisions in her chapters. Try to find something that made everyone uneasy or got them into trouble.

What you're after here are the qualities of risk. What does the edge feel like? What does it feel like to "up the stakes" in your writing?

This writer was working on her book's storyboard (a visual map we create in my workshops and classes) so I suggested she review the main plot points.  As she scanned them, she realized nothing big had happened after the opening event, which triggered her story. Everyone was skating along, keeping the status quo.  This writer realized she had been saving the "good stuff" for later in the book, because she wasn't sure she could conjur up enough of it to spread around. Thus, there were no bad decisions resulting from the triggering (opening) event.  And very little momentum, very little energy to propel the plot.  This was a book that would probably get shelved after chapter 3, unfortunately.

I asked her why she was holding off on getting her characters in trouble via bad decisions.  She explained at length, and I realized that this writer is a very nice person in her real life, someone everyone liked and someone who prized harmony at all costs. She also believes in a world where most people are good at heart, so she just couldn't see how to embarrass her characters with any faux pas.  She liked them all (they were modeled after her!) and she couldn't see a way to paint them as bad people.

I like this writer--who wouldn't? And I also believe in that kind of goodness. But not on paper. Not in fiction or memoir, especially if you want to publish today.

I'm not suggesting you have to make murder and mayhem. Bad decisions can just be telling a white lie, and watching the consequences unfold. I asked this writer if she'd ever told a white lie, and she said, "Of course, who hasn't?"

"Find your bad decisions," I suggested. "List them, then transport one into your story."

Finding Bad Decisions--This Week's Writing Exercise
We've all made bad decisions. We've been on the receiving end of other people's, too. They are hard to forget, no matter how hard we try. Think of what your "story" was after the decision. It probably had drama, movement, energy, and consequences. That's what you're after in your writing.

This week write about one really bad decision you made in your life. Write about it in all its glory. I like to set a kitchen timer for 15 minutes, to limit the agony. Maybe you're far enough away to not feel the pain of it again, but if you do feel some embarrassment or unease as you write, good thing--because it'll make the writing that much more emotionally grabbing for a reader.

Now look at your book draft. Where are the bad decisions? If you don't have many, make a list of 10 things your character would never do. (Use this equally for memoir or fiction.) Now write one scene, one moment, using one item on the list--imagining it happening.

See if this provides momentum. Gets you unstuck. Out of that "still life."

Starting a Law Firm | Steve Jobs and the iPad

I didn't really know what I was going to write about today, as my starting a law firm material is pretty low, and then I looked at cnn.com and saw that Steve Jobs stepped down today as the CEO of Apple (don't worry folks, he's still going to be the chairman of the board, so his design aesthetic should at least linger). Then I remembered that pretty much all day I've been thinking about getting an iPad, even going to an Apple store today and walking around, and I thought that would make a great topic for today's post.

Why Would a Lawyer Want an iPad?

I don't know why any lawyer would want an iPad, but I can think of several reasons why I would want an iPad. Here are a couple.



1. I am wasting way to much time in court waiting around.



In the world of criminal defense, you waste about half of your life just standing around waiting for things to happen. They call 50 people in for an 8:30 court date and start knocking them out. That means there are significant amounts of time spent sitting in a chair in a courtroom.



Until now I'd just carried my iPhone with me and made due. I can check email, read some stuff, and otherwise keep myself occupied. But I know that I could be doing so much more. With the iPad I could not only read cases and briefs and emails, but I could actively read them, which is so much better. The iPad gives you the capability to edit documents, work with PDFs, and a whole bunch of other stuff. I can actually keep working while I'm sitting around in court!



2. If I take some time to learn how, it can be a powerful trial tool.



I keep up with technology for the most part, and I've seen some of the things the iPad can do. And I'd like to be able to take advantage of them when I'm in trial. As a criminal defense attorney I need all the help I can get (the deck is often intentionally stacked against you). If this can help to even the playing field even a little bit, then I'm for it.

What Kind of iPad am I Getting? 3G or Wifi Only?

This question alone is what has been holding me back the most. There are basically six options you have for an iPad - 16, 32 or 64 gigabytes and wifi or wifi and 3g enabled.



I'm thinking of getting the 32 gig model, just to make sure I have enough room (I don't think I'll ever be able to use that up), but I was wavering on whether or not to get the 3g or the wifi only model. The 3g is more expensive - $729 versus 599 and you have to pay a monthly fee for the 3g service, but, you have the added safety net of always being able to connect to the internet, even if there is no wifi around. This is important for me because our courtrooms, like I'm sure most of yours are, are still living in the 80's when it comes to technology. That means even if they've discovered the wonderful world of wifi the signal is often weak and crappy.



So I think I'm going with the 3g 32 gig model. And of course I'm going with black. That's just my style.



I'll keep you up to date periodically with how the iPad experience is, what is working well, what isn't, what added benefits I've discovered, what drawbacks there are, and what applications I'm using. Hopefully it will help you out.



As always, love to have comments and questions. Been a little quite lately. Don't you all have anything to say? :)

Starting a Law Firm | Update on Law Firm Marketing | Mailbag

Before I get too far, I wanted to tell you I answered a couple of questions and updated my pricing schedule for the new law firm internet marketing service I'm offering. Click on the link to go check it out. I've already got one person signed up, there's only room for one more, and I'm not joking about this when I say it could be a game changer for your practice. But enough about that. Let's get on to the good stuff.

http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

I got a couple of good questions from readers, so I thought I'd spend today answering them. I've found that this is a good way to talk about some thinks I might not have though about or to readdress an area I may not have been too clear on. If you've got a question, leave it as a comment and we'll talk about it on here. And, since these are reader questions, if you've got your own experiences, please share in the comments. The more the merrier!

Starting a Law Firm and the Phone System

Here's a comment from Anonymous, who says:

Great blog - enjoying the wealth of info.

One question - you have no physical phone lines in your office so is it safe for me to assume that you are using your cell service for Internet connectivity? What type of cell service plan do you have?

This comment came from the post on (link provided for quick reference), and I'll do my best to answer it, though I'm not precisely sure where the commenter wants me to go with it.



Yes, I don't have any physical phone lines in my office. I use a combination of Google Voice and Skype for my set up. Google Voice provides the phone number, Skype provides the feel of a physical telephone system (ability to forward, etc.).



As for internet connectivity, it is not safe to assume I am using my cell phone for internet connectivity. Where I live, we have internet delivered through cable, just like TV. I believe it's called DSL, or was called that. I have internet in my office, set up to a wireless router, that provides all of us with internet service. When a call comes in to Google Voice it is forwarded to my assistant's Skype number and she then answers it and deals with it as if it came directly to her. If I need to take the call she can forward it to my skype number or to my cell number (I typically have it forwarded to my cell in the office out of pure convenience to myself).



That's how it works.



To answer your specific question, I have an iPhone 4 through AT&T. I'm on the original data plan that has no limit for $30 a month, and my phone service I think is about $65 a month. That's it.

Starting a Law Firm and "Dressing for Success"

Another recent comment that I thought I'd talk about comes from Ian, who says:

Hi Jim,



I've been following your blog for awhile and I can honestly tell that you have a gift for it. Kudos to you!



Reading your latest post a question popped into my mind that you tangentially touched upon in the past when you talked about your buying an iphone when you started your firm in order to portray the right image with clients.



How important do you think the accoutrements of what people (and other lawyers) perceive as success in a lawyer (the Rolex, the BMW, the Gucci loafers, whatever) are in building up business? We all heard the adage "dress for success" but I'm curious to hear your take on things.



I'm coming to this issue as the driver of a Dodge Caravan (for me it doubles as family vacation vehicle), the wearer of an (admittedly Swiss) watch that cost about $250 and an occasional shopper at Jos A. Bank when they're running big sales, etc. I gotta admit that even in my mid size town (population 250,000) I sometimes feel a little put down at attorney meetings where the parking lot usually looks like an import car dealership, so I'm wondering what your thoughts were.



Cheers and thanks for all you advice,



Ian

This is a tough question to answer as it may apply differently to different people, depending on your practice area and things like that. But here's my take.



First things first, first impressions are everything. People are going to decide a lot of things about you, right or wrong, based on what they think of you the first time they meet you. The great thing about this is you have the opportunity to control pretty much all of the variables surrounding meetings. The bad thing is you have the opportunity to control pretty much all of the variable surrounding meetings.



When people meet an attorney for the first time they have a lot of stereotypical things built up in their minds. Some of these things are good, some of them are bad. The key is to sit down and think about what stereotypical things your clients will be thinking and accentuate the good and delete the bad.



For example, I'm in criminal defense. When people think of criminal defense lawyers they typically turn to what they've seen on television - well dressed, smooth talker, a "shark," untrustworthy, sneaky, and some things like that. So, when they first come to meet me they are immediately trying to size me up to see if I fit into their stereotypes - if I fit in the right way I get hired. If I don't, they'll "think about it."



So, I make sure when I meet with clients, almost all the time, I'm wearing a suit. And a suit that makes me look good. The idea is to present an aura of success, of confidence. That's what they need in their attorney, and that's one thing that will make them feel comfortable.



Second, I make sure my office is nice, not overly done, and inviting. I want them to feel at ease, feel like I have no problem paying the bills (which I don't) and feel like I'm sitting in my office slugging it out for my clients on a daily basis (I am). I don't want it to be over the top because I don't want them thinking about how I paid for all the stuff I've got in my office. I want them to listen to me.



Now, where first impressions aren't made - the type of car you drive; how much your suit costs (please, though, spend enough money on a suit so that it looks good on you - if you don't feel like taking on the world in that suit, move on to the next or get it tailored - there's no reason to look like a slob); and anything else you can think of.



I drive a 1997 Toyota 4Runner. It gets me from point A to point B. When I meet clients and potential clients, I don't typically show them my car. I also don't tell them the price or make of my suits. I don't own a watch. I have nice shoes, because nice shoes make for a nice suit, but I didn't spend over $200 for them.



I think at the end of the day, it all comes down to meeting client expectations. If you're worried about impressing other attorneys, I wouldn't worry about it (unless, of course, they fall into client expectations). Whenever I see some guy with a nice car I don't think he's better than me or more successful than me, I just think he's a car guy (they should see my golf clubs!).



When you're starting a law firm it's important to look established, like you're organized, but it's not important to throw off a fake air of success. Just put yourselves in your potential client's or current clients' shoes and go from there.



That's it for the mailbag today. What do you think about these two topics? Have a question about something else? Let me know!

Starting a Law Firm | Influencer: The Power to Change Anything | A Review

I was flying back from Kansas yesterday after visiting some family and I was reading a book that I thought would be relevant to discuss here. As the title of the post suggests, the name of the book was "Influencer: The Power to Change Anything." It is written by Kerry Patterson, among others, and was really quite an amazing book. Here's a review of it, and I hope you go out and buy it. (It's sad we have to put this here in today's world, but I'm not getting any payment for this - I didn't even get the book for free!).



Throughout our daily lives there are things going on that we'd like to influence the outcome of. We want our wife to let us go play golf (don't read anything into this honey!). We want our companies to be more efficient. We want to lose weight. We want to stop eating the things we know we should not be eating. But exerting this kind of influence over ourselves and others is difficult, and in some ways can seem to be impossible.



Well, it is possible, and this book, Influencer, gives you the tools to do just that. What the book does is break down influence into six different categories:

(1) Personal motivation (making the undesirable desirable);



(2) Personal ability (surpass your limits);



(3) Social motivation (harness peer pressure);



(4) Social Ability (find strength in numbers);



(5) Structural motivation (design rewards and demand accountability); and



(6) Structural ability (change the environment).

Then, step by step, the authors walk you through how you can use these categories to change the things you want to change (for the worse or for the better).



It's a great book because not only is it filled with a lot of theoretical information, it also provides a lot of great real world examples. The examples include changing corporate culture, losing weight, stopping debilitating diseases, harnessing the power of employees, and many others. It can be a great insight and provide great direction into improving any challenges you are currently facing in life and opening new doors that you thought might be closed to you.



It should be pretty clear to you how this book is relevant to starting a law firm. But just in case it isn't, I'll tell you personally how it's going to help me.



First, there are things that I have to do all the time that I don't necessarily like to do. It's not that they are bad things, I just don't personally find them enjoyable. What this book has allowed me to do is take a step back and reframe the way I look at things, in order to derive the satisfaction I should out of completing those tasks.



Second, there are personal goals that I want to reach that I know I am holding myself back from. This book has provided me with the tools to change bad habits into good, to make myself more productive, and enjoy every single bit of it.



Third, and finally, the book has provided a lot of insight from a managerial and entrepreneurial standpoint. There are ways to handle specific situations that are much better than others. There are specific steps to take in a specific order to garner the best results. And there are important things related to my business that I need to keep top of mind if I want it to continue going in the direction it is going.



Starting a law firm should be the best experience of your life. You should enjoy it. So take the time to think about why you are doing it, what it really means to you, and then get out there and do it. Oh, and read the book. I guarantee you'll get something from it.

Banish “said” from your vocabulary

‘I’m afraid she’s dead,’ unveiled the doctor. A silence settled on the room as the family took this in.

‘You’re sure?’ proclaimed Lois, quietly. The doctor nodded.

‘I’m terribly sorry,’ he conversed. ‘It was a peaceful end.’

‘Did she...’ Lois vocalised. ‘Did she have any last words?’

‘Yes,’ nodded the doctor, nodding. ‘She epitaphed a few words before she left us. “Tell my children I love them,” she stated. Then she recapitulated “all of them,” and shortly after that, she went.’

‘I can’t believe it,’ philosophised Lois. ‘I can’t believe she’s gone.’

‘I’m so terribly sorry,’ the doctor gushed.

‘Can I ask a question?’ questioned Lois.

‘Of course,’ dialogued the doctor.

‘If we had brought her in sooner,’ she began, ‘is there anything we could have done,’ she continued, ‘to give her more time?’ she concluded, questioningly.

‘I... I’m afraid not,’ the doctor ejaculated.

Stylish Organisation

After reading this article on stylish organising person Kristina Karlsson a few weeks ago, I knew I had to do something about our office at work. Because it’s just grown with us as we've run our shop over the past almost-seven years, I haven’t really set up many systems. There were a few labelled folders here and there and a lot of piles of paper. I also made the most of being surrounded by shoeboxes by saving the nicest and sturdiest ones to house items that are better filed that way.



I know that you cannot be serene and chic and in control of your life when you can’t find a vital document, or regularly unearth something where you have missed the deadline. In spite of knowing that it took a different tack to get me motivated in organising myself. That motivation, my friends, was style.



Seeing this Swedish expat’s Australian website made me covet her kraft paper range (the top picture in this post, alas it is not my office). Sadly I knew it would add up to a lot buying all her rather highly priced stationery items. Coming from thrifty Scottish stock I made me own version. Shall we call it Fifi K?







(Above) is a picture of our shop-office. It is part-way through my organising frenzy. I had already begun re-doing our filing systems but had been in too much of a hurry to take 'before' photos. Story of my life.



What did I do I hear you ask?



I used the same lever arch ring binders I already had, and made covers for the old labels with chopped up thick brown kraft paper shopping bags that were stashed away, some labels my Dad had given me when he was cleaning out his office and double-sided tape that yes, I already had. I don’t know where the tape came from and didn’t know how I was ever going to use such a big roll, but you never know when something’s going to come in handy (I am part hoarder/part minimalist).



My husband watched with interest this new hobby of mine. Afterwards he said when I had done one box it looked like a shoebox with lame bits stuck on it, but when I had done everything it looked very pulled together and professional. This is high praise indeed to me for I feared I was wasting my time (when I had so many other important things to do).





(Above), the finished product.



I used a simple ‘typewriter’ font and stole Janet’s idea of using no capitals, just because it looks cool, and that is what I’m all about in the office. Nothing else was ever going to get me to do my filing. But look, look behind my laptop (mine's the one on the right), can you see neat and empty-ish baskets? Me too!



I know my getup isn’t nearly as designer as Kikki K’s, but it’s a million times better than what it was and all it cost me was a few (several) hours of my time and a bit of ingenuity. That to me is far more satisfying that just buying a job lot (not that I wouldn’t accept a total Kikki K package if an office makeover tv show came knocking).





When I was thinking how I could pretty up the binders and boxes and make them look uniform, other than brown kraft paper I thought of nice wrapping paper (which some of us fold up and think we’ll use again. Sometimes we do, sometimes it stays in a drawer forever) and also the sheet music I wrapped a gift with here. Both would be thick enough and patterned enough to cover up logos and writing. They would be attractive for a home office and I am already thinking what I can do with my sewing room.



I did spend some money on our new shop office fit out. I bought two items – an inexpensive whiteboard, XL size, and a cork board of the same size. We’ve been meaning to get them for about four years, but clearly now is the time for us to make our move. And they weren’t even on special. I had to strike while the organising iron was hot, forgive me frugal gods.





In the course of reorganising the desks and shelves I also cleaned like there was no tomorrow. I took everything off the desk apart from the printer and cleaned it (and even though the printer stayed put, it was moved around and dusted under, and over). I removed all the storage boxes from under the desk, dusted and vacuumed and then sorted all the cords so they didn’t show on the desk as much. When I put storage boxes back under the desk I decluttered and sorted so there weren’t as many. The top of the desk was spray-and-wiped and everything was put back nice and tidily.



I used a sturdy cardboard box lid to contain all the little things that make a desk look messy, like stapler, address stamp, memo cube, lethal receipt spike, calculator and hole punch etc. They are still easy to get at though. Storage solutions may look pretty, but they have to be practical for everyday use too, or else you won’t use them and things will go back to how they were. I know that from experience.





I am so happy in our newly reorganised office now, and I promise one day when we’re a lot richer, I will shower myself with Kikki K’s goodies for providing the inspiration. If you haven’t already, go read the article. She’s very infectious.