LivSimpl

A crossroads

I find myself at a bit of a crossroads. I haven’t updated LivSimpl in months and feel like I’ve lost my spark with it. Occasionally I’ll roll ideas for a post around in my head but nothing seems interesting enough to write about. I’ve heard about blogger burnout and I guess this is it (although I’ve kept up my personal blog and other site pretty well).

To top it off, my subscription with my hosting provider is up and I’m debating whether or not to continue with the site. While I’ve made a little money from the two ads on here it’s not nearly enough to cover hosting expenses for another year, especially considering I haven’t been able to come up with a topic to get excited about.

So I have a favor to ask: will you please tell me what I should write about? I’m looking for some inspiration.

Please leave any ideas in the comments. I look forward to reading them!

Image courtesy of here.

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Not feeling the econmoic crunch? Adapt anyway.

My family and I are blessed in that we haven’t been directly affected by the economic hardships many are facing, for which I’m grateful. That being said, it’s still something that lingers in the back of my mind. People are losing jobs and, in some cases, having to take huge pay cuts if they’re fortunately enough to find new employment. Not only is getting started at a new job a big change, but adjusting your lifestyle to meet a reduced paycheck can be a huge challenge too.

Why wait?

This got me thinking. Why not start making some of the changes you’d have to if your salary was cut 20% instead of holding onto a lifestyle that may not be sustainable? (And I don’t mean in the environmental way.)

You’ve probably heard about how much people don’t realize they’re spending on things like coffee, eating out, entertainment, and all those other little things that add up. I think there’s a lot of wisdom in making some cuts even if you don’t have to because you still have your job.

Trim now, benefit…now

Conversely, one would argue, “I’ve gotta live it up while I still can.” Ah, yes. The temptation to do so is strong. My wife and I struggle with the same mentality when it comes to driving.

When gas was $3.75 per gallon we were much more careful about where and when we drove than we are now that gas is $1.37 a gallon. Instead of driving less and pocketing the cost savings, we tend to drive more despite the fact that we were getting along just fine when we were being frugal. Horrible, isn’t it?

There are quite a few benefits to making lifestyle changes now, voluntarily, instead of later out of necessity:

• More money. Not that there’s anything wrong with trying to climb the corporate ladder/get a raise, but it can take a while. By changing our lifestyle you’ll have more money immediately.

• If you do end up needing to make cuts, you will have 1. already adapted your lifestyle and 2. have money in the bank from starting early.

• You’re already that much closer to a permanent change in behavior. Think of your grandparents who lived through the great depression. After it was over, when they were back on their feet and had more discretionary income, they still lived frugally. What was it grandma used to say?

Use it up,

wear it out,

make it do,

or do without.

That’s good advice. Especially when it’s done voluntarily.

Try cutting back in some areas. Make some voluntary sacrifices and stick the savings in a jar for a rainy day. Not only will your world not crumble around you if you go without your coffee or Blockbuster subscription, but it may actually help if your world does start crumbling because of a lost job.

Think quick: what kind of things could you cut right away to help adjust your lifestyle to be more sustainable? Leave word in the comments.

Image courtesy of here.

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Finally! Sync notes off your iPhone or iPod Touch

I realize this is a very niche-y thing to write about, but I’m really excited about this (yes, I’m a geek) and I’m guessing there are lots of other iPhone users out there who have been frustrated with the lack of notes synchronization. For crying out loud, the phone can find my geographic location using a combination of cell phone tower triangulation, nearby wifi hotspots and global positioning sattelite, but it can’t get notes from my phone to my computer??

Can you tell I was a bit bugged about it?

Last week Note*spark was released. For two bucks, notes will sync from your phone to a web app and vice-versa. You can tag notes (work, personal, to do, etc.), email them to people and even share notes for collaboration. For example, you could have share your grocery list with your spouse so it can be updated from the web or your phone and it’s always up-to-date. Perhaps best of all, you can add and edit notes even if you don’t have a data connection and it will sync when you get back in range.

There’s only one thing I’d realistically expect from the app that isn’t included, and that’s typing in landscape mode. I emailed the creators and they said they’re already working on that feature for a future, free update.

Note*spark is selling for an intoductory price of $1.99 (soon to be $4.99) and is well worth it. Heck, my wife would have probably given me fifty dollars to spend on it just to keep me from complaining about the lack of this feature.

While this may sound like a paid ad for Note*spark, it’s not. It’s just a good app that has been tremendously useful and, dare I say it? has actually gone a long way in simplifying my previous notes experience which entailed composing an email, addressing it, sending it, retrieving it on my computer and then copying and pasting the contents to another file.

You can check out more about Note*spark by clicking here (iTunes link).

Do you have any other must-have apps for the iPhone, iPod Touch or even Blackberry/other smartphone? Please leave word in the comments!

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Where have I been?

Sorry it’s been a while since I’ve posted. Please know that I haven’t forgotten about the site!

The good news is that the reason I’ve been somewhat negligent with regard to LivSimpl is that my wife and I are expecting our second child! We’re very excited for the new addition (due in late May).

However, having a pregnant (consistently nauseous and exhausted) wife along with a very active toddler who is running around, drawing on my iPod, throwing my computer mouse against the wall and generally acting like a normal 18 month-old means reprioritizing a few things.

An exercise in simplicity, right?

So LivSimpl got knocked down a few notches. It’s by no means dead or off my radar…just not as important as other things going on in life right now. I’ll work on finding some time and inspiration to get back into the swing of things.

In the meantime, check out the LivSimpl archives/categories. And please visit my other site, Write In My Journal where I ask people I meet who look like they may have a good story to tell, to write it in my journal.

Thanks for your patience!

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Free goodies on Election Day – the other perks to voting

…The poll worker may not even ask you for an ID [seriously disturbing...seriously], the amendments may sound like they were written by a 5th grader with a thesaurus but no dictionary, and you may not even be entirely 100% certain which is the lesser of two evils…but the democratic process–and the promise it holds– is still worth celebrating, worth defending, worth participating in. – Sarah Joy

While I whole-heartedly share those sentiments (get out and vote!), I’m also a fan of free goodies. Lifehacker is reporting there are a number of places that are having giving aways for showing off your “I Voted” sticker. Krispy Kreme, Chick-Fil-A, and Ben & Jerry’s to name a few. Jump on over for the full list.

Have you heard of anyone else celebrating Election Day in a similar fashion? Please leave word in the comments.

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