Our Best Wishes

Wow! It’s already that time of year again! I can’t believe 2017 is almost a thing of the past...

Perhaps a sign we are not getting any younger, let’s hope it’s also an indication we are enjoying ourselves. Don’t know about you but for us, pleasant times always seem to go by much faster. And age kind of amplifies that feeling.

With big emotions, both good and bad, the last year sure still went by in a flash!

Enjoy Precious Time with Family and Friends

With a brand-new year already at our doorstep, we hope you can take a break from our hectic modern way of life and enjoy precious moments surrounded by family and friends.

Last year’s tumultuous experiences sure gave us an eye-opening perspective and renewed our focus to strive for a healthy balance life.

We are now more grateful and appreciate all we already have. We also savor our privilege of choice and cherish many possibilities to help others.

Have Faith and Dismiss Obscure Thoughts

New Star Wars movies always inspire us corny analogies and statements.

Luckily for you, this one will be quite classic and simple: « May the Force be with you! ».

We just love when a touch of Disney’s magic brings back Star Wars’ wisdom into the mix. We should be well served in the next couple years.

We will also have a great chance to experience the powerful Disney-Star Wars duo up close as we are going to Disney soon.

We look forward to sharing our magical venture with you in an upcoming post.

Meanwhile, let’s hope the Jedi in all of us can survive longer and won’t cave in to the sometimes-irresistible temptations of the dark side.

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Experience Living with Only 75% of Your Salary

Could you live with only three-quarters of your salary? Extreme savers may find this quite easy as they probably already save more than 25% of their actual income. But let’s face it; they are still exceptionally rare individuals.

Heck, many can’t even get by with their full revenue.

I’ve been experiencing it first hand myself for the last 2 years. As some of you might know, my working conditions allowed me to take a differed 6-month leave of absence in 2017 and to spread out income deductions over a longer period so I’ve been paid 75% of my salary since 2015.

So today, we’ll talk about financial and psychological implications of having your salary amputated and how my family and I fared with it. We definitely think the broad benefits are worth the hassle.

I’ve been doing it for real but everyone has the option to at least artificially implement it. For instance, by using pre-authorized transfers to automatically put aside a significant portion of their paycheck. It can be a great way to discover if you have the financial means but also the stomach to live with less money. If you prefer, gradually doing it could give you a chance to learn to slowly cope with it. 

Is Living with Less That Hard?

12-Minute Balance (Revisited)

The 12-Minute Series was originally posted in 2012.

We’ve decided to republish it integrally because we believe it can still help as everyone aspires to make things better.

Let’s hope it stirs up the discussion and stimulates you to change the world 12-Minute at a time!

This article was originally posted on May 12, 2012

Many believe that one of the most important keys to happiness is balance. Sadly, many lives equate to a never ending juggling act struggling in search of that so elusive concept.  

The 12-Minute Approach offers you simple yet powerful ways to achieve that so precious balance in your life.

Let’s hope that, by focusing on rhythm, order and harmony, these 12-Minute Ideas help you strive toward that balance so essential to your happiness and well-being.

Equal Balance between Needs and Activities

In order to stay happy yet still be effective, your life should be equally balanced between your needs and your activities.