Comments on: Seven Zen Principles to Guide Your Money and Your Life

By: Barb Friedberg

Barb Friedberg — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 00:59:21 +0000

I agree with almost every one of these topics. I particularly like the simple idea of maintaining 1 index fund. In fact, Vanguard has an all world ex us equity fund. I guess you probably would need to balance that with a us index fund and a bond fund. But anyhow, less is definitely more. For my family, 1 TV is not good! I get way to much value having TVs in several rooms:) Other than that, I am even feeling serence reading this article :)

By: Stephen Garstin

Stephen Garstin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:06:29 +0000

This is an awesome list. It mirrors my own blog post from awhile ago ( http://aikihomestead.blogspot.com/2009/08/aiki-finances-accounting-on-thumbnail.html ) but does so with a Japanese twist that I love. I’m jealous I didn’t get to write it!

By: Flexo

Flexo — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:17:40 +0000

Thanks, Sam!

By: Financial Samurai

Financial Samurai — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:29:10 +0000

Flexo, I’m just rummaging through some old posts and cleaning up my e-mail subscriptions and glad I found this one again. Will highlight in a next Katana wrap!

Best, Sam

By: alfomun

alfomun — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:59:19 +0000

I think it's worth noting that the very first principle is keep your finances simple. That one alone is worth adhering to. The Japanese believe in beauty in simplicity and so do I.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:59:00 +0000

I think it’s worth noting that the very first principle is keep your finances simple. That one alone is worth adhering to. The Japanese believe in beauty in simplicity and so do I.

By: Stephen Davis

Stephen Davis — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:40:28 +0000

Very interesting. My life improved greatly when I put into effect the simple principle of have the necessities and paying cash for everything. I have the best of everything but none the less, only what I need and use.

Thanks for putting this out there for people.

By: Stephen Davis

Stephen Davis — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:40:00 +0000

Thanks for putting this out there for people.

By: Austin

Austin — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 08:31:19 +0000

Way to dive into personal finance in a unique way.

I live in Japan and didn't even think about comparing zen gardens and pf!

By: Financial Samurai

Financial Samurai — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:52:34 +0000

Good stuff Flexo. You should have told me you were coming over to my house, because the Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco is where the Financial Samurai resides!

If you come back, I’ll show you a couple new terms and some secret areas the public does not see.

By: Kelly

Kelly — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 04:18:24 +0000

Lovely post.
I need to simplify all the areas of my life. This is a good reminder to do that in life and with our finances.
7 savings accounts? Definitely time to simplify that!

By: TJ Smith

TJ Smith — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:50:51 +0000

Beautiful post. When I woke up to my spending issues last year, the first thing that became obvious was the need to simplify. I heard someone just the other day characterize the economic downturn as a cue to slow down and simplify our lives.

By: Lulu

Lulu — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:04:43 +0000

While I, like many others, have too many accounts still I have simplified my finances tremendously over what they used to be in the past.

By: SteveDH

SteveDH — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:21:11 +0000

Simplicity huh? Let me see: Bank accounts 1, Investment accounts 4, Credit Cards 4, (two store cards kept because of discounts) Budget categories 6 (Taxes, Insurance, Out-of-pocket medical expenses, Services & Utilities, Food, & General Spending) “Stuff”? Not too much – Who are the Joneses anyway? Life balance? As Cheech (or Chong, I forget) would have said, “Work …we don’t need no stinking work”.

Enjoying retirement

Great article, but I have to admit that simplifying my life got easier as my age and priorities changed. The earlier you can start the better though.