Over the past week, my wife, my children, my parents and I all went on vacation to the Dallas/Fort Worth area (we had planned a longer road trip, but we made an on-the-fly decision to just stick around DFW). While there, we visited family and saw a large number of sights and events in the area.

Before the trip, I collected suggestions for free things to do in the area from both readers of the site and on Twitter. The response was pretty surprising, with lots of great suggestions thrown our way. I collected all of the ones suggested by multiple people, selected the handful that I was sure would be a hit with my family, and we tried out several of them.

So, here are the great free things to do in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

Free Things We Enjoyed
Here are the four free things we really enjoyed on our trip. We tried several things, but these stood out from the pack.

Pioneer Plaza

Pioneer Plaza is a beautiful park in the middle of Dallas that features a life-size bronzed cattle drive - three cowboys herding a lot of cattle across a stream. The setting is beautiful and the sculptures are fantastic.

We wound up spending almost two hours here, even on a hot summer day. We admired all of the bronze statues, walked across the stream a few times, and my children petted a horse ridden by a Dallas police officer. It would have been a perfect place to have a picnic had we been more prepared.

You can find out more about Pioneer Plaza from the Texas Trees Foundation.

Dallas Farmer’s Market

What can I say? I love farmer’s markets. There are tons of fresh food samples, opportunities to buy delicious produce at a very low price, and almost always a surprise or two. The Dallas Farmers Market, on the quiet Wednesday morning that we were there, was sparsely crowded but had a lot of vendors happy to talk and offer samples of all kinds.

In the picture above, my daughter was discovering that she loves watermelon - she was trying a (free) piece of yellow watermelon. We wound up buying quite a few fruits at the market, which provided afternoon snacks for the family and some breakfast food as well.

You can find out more about the Dallas Farmers Market at their website.

Dealey Plaza
This is the area where President Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963. You can stand outside the School Book Depository and observe the route that Kennedy took. There’s also a lot of public works projects in the area, built in the 1930s.

Although there is actually a very nice museum nearby in the School Book Depository, I found that the actual setting outside the Depository had much more of an impact. I walked along the route that Kennedy took, absorbed the area, and thought about that tragic moment.

Wikipedia has an excellent entry on Dealey Plaza.

Fort Worth Stockyards

Over in Fort Worth, we visited the Stockyards. While there are a lot of shops in that area, there’s also a ton of free things to see and do - walking around the stockyards themselves, for starters. There are several free special events each day as well.

The highlight, though, was seeing the longhorn steers being leisurely driven down the street by three or four cowboys (pictured above). My son loved this part and kept talking about it for days afterward.

This is a great way to spend most of a day in Fort Worth. You can find out more at the Stockyards website.

Things Recommended By Two or More Readers
Here are five free activities recommended by multiple readers that we simply didn’t have time to make it to on our trip. All of these sounded like quite a bit of fun - and we would have likely done all of them had our trip been a few days longer.

Jazz Under the Stars
Each summer, the Dallas Museum of Art has a free concert series - in 2009, this series is called “Jazz Under the Stars.” Each Thursday at 8 PM, people gather at Ross Avenue Plaza, spread out blankets and picnic baskets, and enjoy a free outdoor concert by some very good jazz ensembles. More information is available at the Dallas Museum of Art website.

Crow Collection of Asian Art
The Crow Collection of Asian Art is a beautiful art museum located in the Dallas Art District that several readers raved about. It’s right in the heart of the city and features a stunning collection of Asian art, both historical and modern. Outside, there’s an extensive sculpture garden, which includes 20 statues from the French masters. Find out more at CrowCollection.org.

Farmer’s Branch Historical Park
This is a large collection of historical buildings from the 19th and early 20th century, maintained in a state as close to the original as possible. For people into folk history, this is apparently an exquisite place to visit. You can find out more about the Farmer’s Branch Historical Park here.

Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center
The Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center is a spectacular concert hall with extremely impressive architecture and acoustics. Built by I. M. Pei, the Center also features one of the best pipe organs in the United States. Check it out at MeyersonSymphonyCenter.com.

Thanks-Giving Square
This is an open area in the center of downtown Dallas dedicated to the idea of giving thanks as a universal human value. The location features an interfaith chapel, a stunning courtyard, and an impressive array of nature and art. Find out more about it at ThanksGiving.org.

Believe it or not, our summer vacations for the next five summers are penciled in right now. For each of those trips, I intend to do the same thing: ask around for free things to do, try out as many as I can, and report on the ones we didn’t make it to.

A few years ago, I first read David Allen’s seminal book on time management, Getting Things Done (here’s the skinny on what it’s all about). To put it bluntly, it was an epiphany for me.

Let me make it as clear as possible: without the insights from Getting Things Done, I would have never found the time to launch The Simple Dollar, nor would I have been as involved in my children’s life as I am today.

Since reading it the first time, I sit down about once a year and re-read Getting Things Done, hoping to add some new insights to my repertoire. On my first few readings, I mostly found value in reiterating the big points. Lately, though, I’ve found that the book contains a lot of hidden lessons that aren’t directly placed front and center.

Here are seven more subtle aspects of the book I’ve found useful in my life recently.

1. The best way to get things done is to “pre-work.”
The single biggest thing that constantly derails one’s effort to get to an empty inbox (i.e., to whack everything off of one’s to-do list) are deadlines. You have to get this item done by 4 PM today, so you toss aside all of the other stuff you might be working on - some of which is likely more useful than the task you’re doing - and get to work. At the end of the day, you have a full inbox/to-do list and you realize that this isn’t working too well.

Thus, one of the hidden goals of GTD is to pre-work - put in effort so that there are fewer and fewer of those urgent tasks that interrupt your work. The best way to do that is to “pre-work.” I do this by writing articles in advance. At my previous job, I used to fill out forms as early as I could, often filling them the rest of the way out with estimates, so that I wouldn’t be tied to the clock later on filling out that form. I’d write lots of “library” code that will likely have use in the future so that when the time came, I could quickly prototype things that were pretty nifty instead of burning the midnight oil.

“Pre-work” helps keep your schedule free of at least some interruptions and makes it much easier to bear down and focus on the more important tasks at hand, like the large projects that you’ve always wanted to accomplish.

2. Keep an active “someday” list - because “someday” arrives sooner than you think.
I take special effort to write down every project idea that crosses my head. Once a week or so, I’ll go through them and toss out a few of the truly frivolous ones, but for the most part, I keep that list. It’s usually between 50 and 100 projects long at any given time - and I may or may not ever do any of them.

So what’s the point? The reason is that “someday” arrives more often than you think. If I’ve managed to work through my inbox and have an empty afternoon ahead of me, the first place I turn is my “someday” list - and there’s always something worthwhile to do on there. My “someday” list produced this and this and this, among many other things.

3. The more you delete, the better.
I used to use services like Tumblr and Delicious to store piles upon piles of bookmarks for future reference. What I found, though, is that I rarely looked at them - and when I did think of trying to find something, it was like finding a needle in a haystack. It was far faster to just Google for it.

The same thing is true for paper documents. When I read a magazine, I toss it. I’ve stopped actively updating a recipe box since virtually any recipe I want is out there in the cloud. I don’t keep many books - I can just use PaperBackSwap to get any book I want again pretty quickly. Why store mountains of music when I can just use Pandora from pretty much anywhere? Sure, I keep a few of each type of thing - but why keep so much stuff when it’s easy to retrieve it again from the cloud when you want it.

Thus, I keep only the minimum amount of stuff - and it’s made my life far, far easier. Very little time is spent filing or organizing the stuff - and is instead spent getting stuff done. Erin’s right - clutter is the enemy of success.

4. Post-It notes as task reminders are useless.
Whenever I see a person with Post-It notes all over the place with task reminders written on it, I usually expect to find that person is good-hearted but surprisingly disorganized. Why? Because Post-It notes wind up all over the place. There’s no consistent place to go to find the next task that needs to be done.

The fewer places you have to look for the next thing to be done, the more successful you’re going to be. Spreading your to-do list across a bunch of websites, notebooks, sticky notes, and other things does nothing more than ensure things will slip through the cracks and also that you’ll spend a lot of time just figuring out what to do next - both are enemies of getting things done.

A single system, even if it’s nowhere near the best system, is better than three or four great systems.

5. Hands-free collection of ideas and to-dos is a winner.
I go back and forth between using a voice recorder and using a small microphone attached to my iPod Touch, but in either case, I find that having the ability to record thoughts while my hands are otherwise engaged (or at least one hand is) is absolutely amazing for productivity.

The key, though, is to make sure these thoughts are actually saved and processed somewhere. I listen to my voice recordings every day and jot them down in their appropriate place so that they don’t get lost in the shuffle.

What’s the benefit? Many of my best ideas come up out here:

I’m pushing one of my kids on the swing and an idea pops into my head. If I try to hold it there, I tend to forget it. If I stop pushing my kid to write it down, the moment is often broken and the child runs away to do something else. Instead, I just pull out that voice recorder with one hand, speak my thought, and keep going in the moment.

6. If you feel negative about something, address it immediately.
Sometimes, I get the sense I’m forgetting something important. When that feeling comes up, I pay attention to it, because it’s usually right. I almost always stop, check my calendar and my inbox, and almost always, I find that there was something that needs to be taken care of.

Trust your instincts, particularly when you’re going through daily routines that are familiar to you. If something sets off your radar and gives you a feeling that something’s not right, listen to it. Address it now rather than later.

This is actually a great principle for life in general. If you feel like something’s wrong in a relationship, address it sooner rather than later. If you feel like something’s wrong with a larger project, spend some time evaluating the project as a whole now before a bunch of work goes to waste.

7. The mechanics of the system itself are not all-powerful.
Every time I’ve run into problems with keeping track of the things I need to do, it’s because I’ve made things too complicated. For me, it’s simple. I jot down things I need to do wherever I’m at. When I’m at a computer, I record them all in one central place (I use Evernote). I keep an “inbox,” a calendar, a project list, and a “someday” list. And that’s it.

For some people, this is overkill. For others, this is not nearly enough. Everyone has a different level of organization that works. The point is if you find yourself fighting your system, then your system isn’t working. It’s either too simple or too complex - and I usually bet on too complex.

No system is all-powerful. No system is perfect for everyone. Instead, mix and match elements until you find what works for you.

Good luck!

All of us have things we don’t want and, at the same time, want or need other things. Usually, the transition between the two requires selling what you don’t want and buying what you want or need - but often, you lose value on both transactions.

A better solution is bartering - exchange something you have for something of roughly equal value that someone else has. This works quite well in some environments, but it’s often difficult to find like-minded people to barter with.

That’s where the internet comes in handy. Here are fourteen great services for bartering, most of them operating by mail and from the convenience of home. I use most of the services listed below and I’ve mentioned quite a few of them before - some of them, particularly PaperBackSwap, are part of the fabric of my life at this point.

Let’s dive right in and get bartering! (One quick note: the sites that trade “everything” aren’t necessarily the best places to go - often, it’s difficult to find things you want on those sites. I find the niche sites have a much higher level of success for that specific area.) For a few links, I’ve included my email address in the link if you click on it so I can quickly touch base with any readers who sign up for the service.

BabysitterExchange
http://www.babysitterexchange.com/
What you can trade: babysitting, carpooling, pet-sitting, tutoring, etc.

This website essentially helps you set up a babysitting, tutoring, pet-sitting, or similar neighborhood sharing cooperative online. Here’s how it works: you get a small group of families who all know each other, then you all sign up for BabysitterExchange. The site helps you schedule exchanges of common tasks like babysitting and so forth, enabling all members of the cooperative to essentially have those services for free (and with easy access) in exchange for providing the service every once in a while.

BizXchange
http://www.bizx.com/
What you can trade: business services and goods

Quite often, businesses are heavily involved in fairly similar marketplaces but aren’t in direct competition with one another. In those situations, it makes a lot of sense for those businesses to cooperate strongly with one another with regards to many specific business elements - sales, marketing, and so forth. BizXchange helps businesses interested in such exchanges to find each other and help set up healthy relationships.

Craigslist
http://www.craigslist.org/
What you can trade: everything

Craigslist is a three ring circus - newspaper classifieds gone wild. There are countless items and services for sale and trade. Digging through it is kind of like walking through a carnival - there are all sorts of interesting sideshows and you may or may not find what you want, but you’ll enjoy the trip!

Freecycle
http://www.freecycle.org/
What you can trade: everything

Freecycle is kind of like Craigslist’s DIY libertarian cousin. It revolves around people wanting to give things away - items they have that they just want to find a good home for. It has its own culture - it’s generally considered good form to both give and take, not just take, making it more of a laid-back bartering site.

Game Trading Zone
http://gametz.com/
What you can trade: video games

Game Trading Zone is a service that lets you set up trades for video games and video game accessories. Instead of listing what you have and receiving credit for those listings, Game Trading Zone allows individual users to trade with each other. They browse each others’ libraries, set up trades, possibly throw in other items, then ship things to one another.

Goozex
http://www.goozex.com/
What you can trade: video games, computer games

On the other hand, Goozex also allows trading of video games and computer games, but instead of requiring users to set up trades, it assigns a point value to each game or peripheral you list. Trades are made basically by moving those points around - if someone with enough points to request an item you have requests it, you send the item away and receive those points, which you can then use to request any other items that are listed. More efficient - but sometimes less fun - than the Game Trading Zone system.

PaperBackSwap
http://www.paperbackswap.com/
What you can trade: books

What can I say? I love PaperBackSwap. I’m an avid reader, and that often means that my shelves get overstuffed with books. I used to take piles of them to the used book store, but I’d get at best a 2-for-1 exchange and the selection at local used book stores was limited. PaperBackSwap works much more efficiently. You just list ten books you want to trade and the site gives you two credits. A credit essentially represents a single book that you can request, so you can immediately request two books out of the more than a million books listed on the site. Want more credits? When someone requests a book you’ve listed, send it to them and receive a credit when they receive it. Shipping is easy, too - you can print off complete shipping labels directly from the site. For me, it beats used book stores in selection, convenience, time, and cost.

SwapACD
http://www.swapacd.com/
What you can trade: CDs

This service works much like PaperBackSwap, except with CDs. You receive a credit for each CD sent out; requesting a CD costs a credit and $0.49. You can swap credits between SwapACD and PaperBackSwap and SwapADVD, so you can effectively make trades in each type of media (send out DVDs and get books in return, or send out CDs and get DVDs in return, for example).

SwapADVD
http://www.swapadvd.com/
What you can trade: DVDs

Again, this works much like PaperBackSwap, except for DVDs. When you sign up, you list ten DVDs for trade and receive two credits. You receive a credit for each DVD sent out and requesting a DVD costs a credit. It’s also “credit compatible” with SwapACD and PaperBackSwap, meaning you can move credits back and forth between the sites.

SwapStyle
http://www.swapstyle.com/
What you can trade: clothing, fashion accessories

This is a perfect place to go if you’re a clothes or fashion junkie. You can swap clothes, cosmetics, shoes, handbags and so on. Although the items are all women’s fashions, several readers have told me that the items available here are quite great.

SwapThing
http://www.swapthing.com/
What you can trade: everything

SwapThing is basically a giant swapping free-for-all, where swaps are individually negotiated between two people. You simply list items you’re willing to swap, then negotiate with the lister of an item that you want. Once you come to an arrangement that makes you both happy, you send out the items.

SwapTree
http://www.swaptree.com/
What you can trade: books, CDs, DVDs, video games

SwapTree facilitates one-for-one trades of the CDs, DVDs, books, and video games you no longer want. Make a list of the items that you have and are willing to trade as well as a list of the ones you want and the site will look for people who have the item you want and want some of the items you have. The wait is sometimes long, but when you actually do make a swap, it usually feels like a great swap.

U-Exchange
http://www.u-exchange.com/
What you can trade: services such as carpentry, cleaning, electricity, etc.

U-Exchange facilitates face-to-face bartering in specific locations. Visit the site, browse through the proposed swaps in your area, and see if there’s anything that you want or can trade. It’s fun to browse, if nothing else, and you might just find a great bartering situation for you.

Zwaggle
http://www.zwaggle.com/
What you can trade: kid’s stuff: clothes, toys, accessories

Lately, I’ve become a huge fan of Zwaggle. Zwaggle is a swap site for stuff for children - in other words, a treasure trove for parents. You can swap kids’ clothes, toys, furniture, and so forth. For every item you shop, you receive a number of points (roughly equal to the dollar value of the item) which you can then spend on other items. Virtually everyone involved with the site is a parent who just wants to find bargains on high-quality items - something I can certainly identify with.

Over the last few weeks, quite a few readers have written to me asking about Angel Food Ministries. I’ve been very hesitant to discuss Angel Food Ministries on The Simple Dollar for a handful of reasons, but this is clearly a topic that many readers are interested in hearing about, so I’ll do my best to navigate this minefield (meaning, I’m pretty sure I’m going to say something that’s going to set someone off, though I’m not intending to). I should also point out that I have a bit of experience in the past with Angel Food Ministries on the ground - I’m personally aware of the type of items that they distribute.

What Is Angel Food Ministries?
Angel Food Ministries is a non-profit group that distributes low-cost food options in many communities (a typical basic box from Angel Food Ministries costs $30 and has approximately $55 worth of groceries in the box).

Most of the funding and organizational structure of Angel Food Ministries is handled through evangelical Christian churches in the United States. Many churches serve as distribution centers in local communities, and each box contains a leaflet that outlines some of the teachings of Jesus Christ.

What’s in the Box?
The May 2009 menu provides a clear example of what a box from Angel Food Ministries will provide:

.5 lb. Lean Chopped Beef Steaks (5 x 8 oz.)
5 lb. Leg Quarters
2 lb. Chicken and Corn Bread Stuffing Casserole (Ready to Cook)
28 oz. Salisbury Steak Dinner Entrée
1 lb. Boneless Pork Chops (4 x 4 oz.)
1 lb. Corn Dogs (6 ct.)
12 oz. Deli Sliced Ham
5 oz. Chunk Light Tuna in Water
32 oz. French Fries
1 lb. Sweet Corn
15 oz. Musselman’s Apple Sauce
15 oz. Pears (Product of U.S.A.)
8 oz. Dinner Roll Mix (Makes 8 Nice Rolls)
7.5 oz. Mac ’n Cheese
32 oz. 2% Shelf Stable Milk
Dozen Eggs
Dessert

This box is available for $30.

At first glance, this is a pretty good deal, and if your primary concern is getting food on the table at a very low price, this is likely a great option for you.

However, if you dig a little deeper, some of these options may not be the best value for your dollar. For example, I would be hesitant to feed several of the options on that list to my children on any sort of consistent basis, at least not without some careful inspection of the actual nutrition facts and ingredients of those items (the corn dogs, the “dessert” item which is often something like Twinkies or Moon Pies, etc.) Under that perspective, though, if I were to get the box, then throw out a third of the items, I might as well simply go to the grocery store at my own convenience and choose the exact items I want for my $30. Other writers have come to largely the same conclusion - it’s a value on the surface, but the quality of items may not be up to many personal standards.

Some would argue that I am somewhat looking a gift horse in the mouth here, and I agree that I am. From my perspective, this box is one option for spending $30 in food for my family. Depending on your financial situation and your food priorities, this can be a great bargain. It mostly depends on the type of value you’re seeking.

What Angel Food Ministries Does Right
One area where Angel Food Ministries hits a home run, in my opinion, is with some of their optional packages. You can choose an optional package as an addition to the basic package, as listed above. For example, one of their optional packages for May 2009 is the “Fresh Fruit and Veggie Package”:

1 head Premium Fresh California Iceberg Lettuce
1 head Premium Fresh California Romaine Lettuce
1 5 oz. Package Fresh Gourmet Classic Caesar Croutons
1 Package Wiley’s Citrus Garlic Salad Seasoning
1 lb. California Cello-Pack Carrots
2 each Premium Jumbo Vidalia Sweet Onions
1 each Premium Jumbo Red Onion
1 6 oz. Bag Premium Fresh Florida Red Radishes
1 head Premium Fresh Green Cabbage
3 lb. Premium Idaho Baking Potatoes
3 lb. Premium Tree-Ripened Valencia Oranges
3 lb. Premium Washington State Red Delicious Apples
1 each Premium Large Vine Ripened Honeydew Melon
AFM May 2009 Fruit and Veggie Recipe Sheet

For $22, that’s a very strong deal, especially if you want to get fresh produce on the table and you’re struggling to make ends meet.

Another strong advantage of Angel Food Ministries is that they often distribute in central community locations (like churches) that are quite accessible for many families that may not have access to transportation to get to the grocery store. Using a church as a distribution center means that the distribution often occurs in the middle of a residential area, making it easier for many people to access the food - particularly those who need it the most.

Is It Right To Use This Service?
In terms of using this service, my biggest question is whether it’s a justifiable option. Quite obviously, this service is trying to target lower-income families who can really use the savings provided by the options made available through the ministry.

The question is whether or not it’s ethical - or socially appropriate - for a person with a higher income level who is simply trying to maximize every cent to take advantage of this service.

On the one hand, the service makes it clear that it’s intended for everyone. There are no requirements at all for people to take part in receiving food from Angel Food Ministries, and they claim that there is plenty of food to go around.

On the other hand, if you’re in a situation where you have a reasonably large monthly food budget, why would you choose to use this service? If you are making it your goal to feed yourself and your family a well-rounded, high quality diet, many of the options in the basic box from Angel Food Ministries probably do not fit the bill, making it much less of a savings for you.

Thus, I think the question really comes down to your own personal food choices. If you are in a tight financial place and the goal is to get sanitary and diverse food options on the table at the lowest cost possible for your family, Angel Food Ministries is where you should go - and you’re exactly the type of person the service was designed for. On the other hand, if you have enough of a food budget that you can make detailed conscious choices about what goes on your table and what does not, you’re likely better off going to the grocery store and the farmer’s market - which, again, is appropriate.

In other words, Angel Food Ministries somewhat self-regulates - if this is a good deal for your life situation, they’re ready and willing to help. For me, though, I’ll stick with my own meal planning, which gives me much more control over what goes on my table (albeit at a higher price - a price I’m willing to pay).

Angel Food Ministries as a Charity
As you can see, in large part, I support the work that Angel Food Ministries does on the ground in getting low cost foods to people who really need them. In fact, I had considered donating to Angel Food Ministries in the past - and, as I’ve mentioned before, that means I sat down to research how the charity itself worked.

What I found sent up a few pretty big red flags for me.

First of all, the charity is not listed with Charity Navigator, an impartial service that evaluates charities in terms of how they manage themselves internally and how much of their revenue actually goes towards charitable work. This is a basic step that many charities of any size take on - it’s the honest way to conduct a charity.

Second, the charity is being investigated by the FBI for reasons that are not being made clear by either the charity or the FBI. Here’s some details on the investigation.

Perhaps the biggest red flag, however, comes from MinistryWatch, a watchdog group for Christian-affiliated charities. It issued a “donor watch” for Angel Food Ministries, stating the following:

Angel Food Ministries is marketing to help individuals that are on the low economic side of the scale and in “need”; however, the leadership for the organization has higher salaries than the norm. In addition, the higher salaries consist of the leadership of individuals that are related. This is just for the known year of 2006, it is unknown of the more current years.

1. Wesley J. Wingo: $588,529
2. Linda Wingo: $544,043
3. Andrew Wingo: $529,014
4. Wesley Wingo: $454,673
5. L.M. Wingo: $384,694

Let alone the fact that these five people are related, the individual salaries are above and beyond what charities typically pay their employees, even large charities at the highest management levels.

Obviously, these discoveries are much more of interest to people who are considering donating to Angel Food Ministries. This should in no way prevent you from using Angel Food Ministries in your community.

My Final Take
On the ground, Angel Food Ministries provides a good service that many people really need - a lot of food at a very reasonable price at the expense of flexibility. For someone in a poor financial situation, Angel Food Ministries can really be a godsend.

However, as a broader charity, I would not donate to Angel Food Ministries when there are many highly ethical charities out there to contribute time and effort to. In many larger cities, there are local versions of Angel Food Ministries that you can donate to or be involved with - just ask around in your own community.

Every other Sunday, The Simple Dollar reviews a personal finance book.

Rich Like Them by Ryan D’Agostino follows in the tradition of The Millionaire Next Door and The Difference: it interviews a large group of millionaires in order to figure out what traits they have in common.

Rich Like Them takes this tactic and runs in a slightly different direction with it. The author, Ryan D’Agostino, identified the fifty richest zip codes in the United States and went to forty nine of them. He quite literally went door to door, knocking on the doors of people in these communities, and asking them if they’d be willing to discuss how they “made it.” Surprisingly, he got a roughly 10% success rate, even including the droves of people that weren’t home or avoided the interview.

The result of these interviews is Rich Like Them - a collection of the advice that D’Agostino collected on this journey. In fact, he codifies all of this advice into five general areas.

One: Open Your Eyes
We’re all almost drowning in opportunities. The problem is that many of us simply don’t see them. We’re either too focused on the specific little thing at hand or simply aren’t keeping our mind open when we’re “off the clock.” Every person you meet and every situation you’re in is an opportunity not only to improve yourself, but to connect to others and open the door to money-making possibilities.

What steps can you take? Build relationships with people - and, even better, try to connect those relationships to each other, because bringing people together in a useful way is one of the best things you can do. Listen to what people are actually saying and doing - and try as hard as you can to keep your own conclusions out of the mix.

Two: Luck Doesn’t Exist
Luck is mostly about preparation. If you have the ability to record great ideas and to take immediate advantage of opportunities that come your way, you’ll seem much more lucky than the guy who never writes anything down and doesn’t have a hefty savings account.

What steps can you take? Write down ideas as soon as they come to you. Have an “opportunity fund” in the bank in cash form that you can use when something great comes along. Surround yourself with people who are doing useful and interesting things.

Three: The Economics of Obsession
Find something you’re passionate about and throw yourself in head first. Become obsessed with what you’re doing. Read everything you can get your hands on. Meet everyone even remotely related to your passion. Try it all. Practice, practice, practice.

What steps can you take? Figure out what you’re truly passionate about, then when you find it, make it central to your life. Surround yourself with people and activities that reinforce that passion. Become so obsessed, in fact, that others sometimes find it almost scary.

Four: The Myth of Risk
Risk is real, but most people use risk as an excuse not to try things. Instead, you should build a safety net for yourself and take that leap sometimes. A risk that others aren’t willing to take is often the source of an incredible opportunity for someone who is passionate and is prepared.

What steps can you take? Make your own life as financially secure as you can. Dig into opportunities and figure out their real risks. Realize that if something is truly in your wheelhouse, you’re likely to face less risk than someone less impassioned.

Five: Humility
Above all, no matter what happens, be humble. Humility takes you far in life - you can mess up and you will. The way you treat others often winds up matching the way they treat you, especially at that key moment when you really need their help.

What steps can you take? Treat everyone well. Don’t complain about the behavior of others - instead, set your own example. Be humble about your accomplishments instead of bragging about them.

The Best Part: Little Points of Wisdom
The part of this book that really stuck with me was the short principles and quotes inserted throughout the book every few pages. I collected these pieces together, simply because I thought they were so incredibly worthwhile:

Don’t forget your goal - even when you’re on vacation
Where others see death, imagine life
When you hear someone say “If only I could…,” you’re hearing an opportunity
Connect the people you meet
Even when you find the sure thing, save some money for a rainy day
Once you connect the dots, follow through
Choose your purpose, and don’t let anyone tell you you’re wrong
Remember: with time comes free money
Watch your pennies, no matter how many you have
Keep your cool - it’s a big part of persevering
Don’t deviate from your planned path to get a quick gain
Perseverance doesn’t take forever
Once you find your calling, persevering is easy
Remember that you can’t do a business transaction with yourself
Prepare to get lucky
Find a driver other than money - it’s usually more lucrative than money alone
Do one thing and do it well
Obsess over whatever job you have
Take your mind off the money - you’ll earn more
Don’t plan a career - plan a life
Obsession makes you work harder
If you look forward to going to work, that’s a good sign
Discover love through immersion
Turn fear into passion
Never stop being a student
Calculate every risk - even the one you live in
Look for your window to go solo
You want autonomy? Let it motivate you
Be cocky when it counts
Don’t worry about what other people think
Reduce risk by believing in yourself
When you fail miserably, rejoice
If you hate your career, um, change it
Sometimes the biggest risk is doing nothing
Never let pride get in the way of profit
Be humble even if you’re as rich as Brooke Astor
Understand your limitations
Don’t be a slave to Plan A - it’ll prevent you from seeing plan B
Don’t be afraid to make less than your spouse
Never feel as if you’re too successful to sweat
Remember that you are not, nor will you ever be, a god or goddess

Good stuff, all around. Somewhere in there is a piece of advice that is probably a life changer for you.

Is Rich Like Them Worth Reading?
Rich Like Them is a spectacular handbook for someone who is a self-starter with an entrepreneurial bent. If you’ve got a strong desire to build your own success, the advice in this book can provide a great foundation.

If that doesn’t sound like you, Rich Like Them doesn’t have as much to offer. Unlike The Millionaire Next Door and The Difference, the focus here is strongly on entrepreneurial behaviors - taking advantage of the opportunities around you.

So, here’s the deal: if you have an entrepreneurial nature, Rich Like Them is an excellent read; if not, I highly recommend giving The Millionaire Next Door and The Difference a read.

After reading my recent article about cooperating with your neighbors to share resources, my always-sharp wife Sarah made a great point.

“You know, we have a perfect example of this at work out in our yard right now.”

And she’s right. Here’s a picture of it.

The play equipment above sits exactly on the property line with our neighbors to the south - the property line actually runs just to the right of the slide. The entire piece is used extensively by both families - we have a three year old and a one year old, whereas the neighbors to the south have a six year old and a four year old.

This item was already in place on the property when we moved in - it came with the house. The previous owners of our home and the home to the south each wanted a large, wooden play area for their respective children, but instead they got together and made the frugal decision to split the cost of the play equipment.

When we moved in, one of the first things we did was discuss the arrangement with our neighbors to the south. It turned out to be a great way to introduce ourselves to them and a great way to have our children begin to play with each other. According to them, they actually bought the very play set that they intended to buy for their children - they just paid half the price for it and got all of the use out of it.

Later, when that family moved out, a new family moved in to the south of us. This provided them an opportunity to meet new neighbors (us) and have our children bond - and they certainly have. The younger child next door and our older son play together regularly and the older child next door loves “mothering” our toddler-aged daughter.

What about liability? Whenever I discuss this arrangement, this is often the first question we’re asked. In this situation, house insurance would cover any claims that resulted from the equipment, just as if another child without health insurance was hurt while playing in our yard. In most practical situations, though, common sense and an ongoing, healthy relationship with our neighbor takes precedence - we’re all aware of a lack of any sort of ill intent with the equipment and the social costs of any sort of legal action in this situation would be tremendous.

What are the potential benefits? As enumerated above, the play equipment itself saved each family 50% on the initial purchase (or it could allow for the families to combine resources to purchase an even better set of play equipment). It also reduced the work load on each family by half when the equipment was actually installed.

After the purchase, it facilitated a better relationship between each pairing of neighbors that lived there - and also helped build a friendship between the children.

What are the potential drawbacks? The drawbacks come if the situation changes. If one family moves out, the new family that moves in has to be agreeable to the situation or else you may have a legal problem (though most situations like this are resolved by common sense). Thankfully, two such moves have occurred since the equipment was installed without any problems.

Another problem that may occur is if one family wants to do something different with the property line, such as installing a fence. Again, we’re fairly lucky in this regard - we have a large shared lawn area where the children of many families play together and most of the families are loathe to interrupt this with a fence or other obstruction.

Yet, even in the face of these drawbacks, the shared play equipment has been an enormous win for us. Half the price, half the labor, all the enjoyment, and a built-in opportunity to bond with your neighbors. Sounds like a great deal for me!

Every other Sunday, The Simple Dollar reviews a personal development, personal productivity, or career book.

At almost every job I’ve ever worked at, from a minimum wage service job where I helped people print documents to a full time job in a research lab, creativity and initiative have been rewarded. A person who is a source of good ideas becomes valuable to their coworkers and to their supervisors - and that value often translates directly into financial and other rewards.

That’s the reason I enjoy reading books on encouraging one’s creative thinking, and Stimulated! (by Andrew Pek and Jeannine McGlade) is a prime example of this genre (along with some of my favorites, The Creative Habit and The Path of Least Resistance). Subtitled “Habits to Spark your Creative Genius at Work,” Stimulated! focuses directly on creativity in the modern workplace - spawning ideas that will solve problems that directly help the bottom line of your organization (and, indirectly, help your own bottom line).

Does Stimulated! offer any useful insights that go beyond other readings, or are we better off just sticking with The Creative Habit and The Path of Least Resistance? Let’s dig in and see what Pek and McGlade have to offer.

Introduction: Awaken Your Creative Genius
If you want to be creative, you need to have a good platform for creativity. That means you need to be healthy and have a lot of sources for ideas. Some tactics for getting there include changing your daily routine, exposing yourself to new ideas constantly, visualizing your future in a positive way, eating well, getting plenty of sleep and some exercise, and laughing often. Your first step towards building a more creative life should be along those lines. Get a full night of sleep. Eat healthy. Start an exercise routine. Make a major change to your daily routine. Spend some time each day absorbing new ideas (reading is a good way to do that). Find opportunities to laugh regularly.

Stimulus: The Catalyst for Creative Genius
The “spark moment” is what we’re looking for - that exact moment when a fresh new idea pops into your head. That idea is usually borne by some sort of stimulus, either directly or remembered. The key, then, is to have lots of different kinds of stimuli in your life. Surround yourself with as many ideas and experiences as possible, focusing on your area of interest but often branching out into any number of related areas. Beyond that, simply enjoy a wide variety of experiences in your own life. Eat a wide variety of meals. Go to a wide variety of places. The more interesting stimuli you have in your life, the more likely you are to have a “spark moment.”

Eyes Wide Open: Scouting for Spark Moments
How can you actively seek to create these spark moments, though? Stimulated! points towards conscious observation - in other words, carefully observing the things you see, taste, hear, smell, and touch in the world around you. The book goes a step further than that, discussing the difference between describing and interpreting the things that you observe - and pointing out that describing what you observe is a far more powerful source of spark moments. Other keys include taking regular breaks (to let your mind subtly work through all of the inputs) and keeping a notepad with you at all times (so you can jot down spark moments as they occur).

Spaces and Places: Cultivating Spark Moments
Obviously, each of us has certain environments where we tend to think well. I tend to think best in small groups, actually - I come up with a lot of ideas at the dinner table with my family. I also find that listening to very rhythmic music helps as well - many of my best ideas actually pop out to the music of The Beach Boys - and changing environments sometimes helps, so I often go to the library or simply go out in the yard with a notebook in hand. Stimulated! recommends trying a wide variety of settings, music, visual elements, and so forth in your primary work area with the goal of finding the elements that seem to make ideas pop out of your head. If you find something that works, stick with it - but riff around it (don’t just play the same album over and over, for example).

Amuse Yourself: Playing with Possibilities
Play. That’s the advice of this chapter. Play a game (both physical and otherwise). Make a sand castle. Do a crossword puzzle. Play a musical instrument. Play with children (and/or watch them play). Play allows you to knock down many of the walls that surround your normal activities and almost forces you to think in a different way about the world around you in a very relaxed manner. I think this is part of the reason I find myself often writing about my children - I’m constantly inspired and filled with ideas when I play with them.

Make the Leap: Venturing into the Unknown
Many people avoid creativity because they view it as “risky.” Creative ideas rock the boat. They often force the person that creates them out of their comfort zone - and for many, that’s not a comfortable place to be. So why do it? The people and events that rock the boat are the people and events that really make things work. Instead of hiding, now is the time to be confident and courageous. Visualize the potential outcomes of making a suggestion that really rocks the boat but really helps the business - you’re seen as visionary, or at least as creative and focused on making the business better.

Real Results: Harvesting Creative Action
You have a spark - a very simple but very creative idea - but it needs work. How do you translate that little spark into a roaring great idea? For starters, ask questions about that spark. Throw every question at it that you can. A good question takes an idea and forces it to grow. Another tactic: keep track of your sparks as they grow in something of an “idea journal” that you can turn to when you need to get your juices flowing. Another great tactic is to share your burgeoning idea with others and ask them to throw questions at it and criticize it, then absorb those questions and criticisms.

Keeping in Swing: Sustaining Your Creative Genius
So how do you sustain this forward progress? The key to getting better at anything - and generating creative sparks is just one example - is to practice it every day. Set aside some time for creativity on a daily basis. Engage in activities that get your juices flowing, keep a notepad or a journal with you, and jot down ideas as they come to you. The more you do it, the easier it becomes.

Is Stimulated! Worth Reading?
Stimulated! takes many of the great ideas found in books like The Creative Habit and The Path of Least Resistance and condenses them down into something of a “recipe” format. While the other books tend to ramble on occasion, Stimulated! does a great job of providing a clear description of how to make the creative process work in your life.

Having said that, The Creative Habit and The Path of Least Resistance provide a lot of stimulation in their “sidebar” moments. It’s often the unrelated things that really got my juices going, and Stimulated! more or less lacks those sidebars.

I think I know what the difference is. Stimulated! is a better book for creativity for those that need structure for that creativity. Some people simply crave a straightforward process, and Stimulated! provides it. On the other hand, if your creativity seems much less process-oriented (and I’ll say that mine usually does), The Creative Habit and The Path of Least Resistance are probably better reads.

I quite enjoyed Stimulated! - there are a lot of great ideas inside the covers, and it’s perfect for people in a large organization.

Every other Sunday, The Simple Dollar reviews a personal development, personal productivity, or entrepreneurship book of interest.

Whenever I see clutter, I see money lost. For one, the clutter itself is usually made up of unused items that have value. Books, decorations, games, DVDs, and so on - they all cost money to purchase and many have at least some degree of resale value. For another, clutter takes up time, and time is money. It takes longer to find things. It takes longer to clean. It takes longer to rearrange and to organize.

Thus, over time, I’ve begun to look at clutter as an enemy of sorts. Stuff that just takes up space, particularly stuff with very limited aesthetic appeal, is stuff that can easily be eliminated.

That’s not to say that I’m entirely successful in my war on clutter. There are many places in our home that are quite cluttered (starting with my office, for example), but I often have difficulty sifting through that clutter and determining what exactly I should keep - and what I should get rid of.

Throw Out Fifty Things by Gail Blanke offers an interesting solution in the title itself. Blanke’s premise is that by going through your cluttered spaces and choosing fifty things to get rid of, you push yourself through the psychological barriers that cause you to create clutter in the first place.

Blanke identifies four key rules of disengagement (how to decide what to get rid of):

One. If it - the thing, the belief or conviction, the memory, the job, even the person - weighs you down, clogs you up, or just plain makes you feel bad about yourself, throw it out, give it away, sell it, let it go, move on.

Two. If it (see above!) just sits there, taking up room and contributing nothing positive to your life, throw it out, give it away, sell it, let it go, move on. If you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backward. Throwing out what’s negative helps you rediscover what’s positive.

Three. Don’t make the decision - whether to toss it or keep it - a hard one. If you have to weigh the pros and cons for too long or agonize about the right thing to do, throw it out.

Four. Don’t be afraid. This is your life we’re talking about. The only one you’ve got for sure. You don’t have the time, energy, or room for physical or psychic waste.

An interesting start, but is there more meat on the bone than that? Let’s dig in and find out.

Getting Rid of the Physical Stuff
Throw Out Fifty Things starts with a room-by-room walkthrough of one’s house (bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, living room, dining room, attic, and garage), highlighting lots of specific areas and specific tactics for getting rid of clutter.

A few particular themes seem to come up throughout this section.

First, memories are in your head and in your heart, not in items. Many people have closets crammed full of things that are kept for sentimental reasons, but they’re things that will almost never be looked at again - and when they think about the prospect of digging through all that stuff, it’s not a happy thought. So suck it up and go through it. Find the stuff that you’d actually like to have out and about for decoration because it really gives you a positive feeling - then chuck the rest. Seriously.

Second, just because you used an item a lot in the past doesn’t mean you have a use for it now. You read that book a year ago, spending an hour with it each night for weeks - and now it’s finished. Will you ever read it again? If not, toss it. Apply that same litmus test to everything you remember using frequently in the past - will you use it frequently again?

Another regular theme: digitize it. Got old documents in boxes taking up space? Scan them in and burn the originals. Got lots of old pictures in photo albums? Scan them in and share the digital images with your friends.

Your Office: Paring Down the Professional Clutter
Here, the “digital” theme really comes to the forefront. In a professional environment, there’s really not an extensive need to maintain a huge amount of printed documents - they take up space and are very cumbersome.

Blanke encourages anyone in an office environment to digitize everything they can. Scan documents, make sure they’re searchable (most modern scanners do this, enabling you to save a scanned document as a searchable PDF), and save them in a place that’s backed up regularly. You can turn boxes and boxes and boxes of documents into digital files stored on a hard drive - and it’s now searchable and much easier to use.

Yes, this takes a lot of time. It’s a tremendous project, in fact, but if you feel like you’re simply overrun with documents in your office, this is the way to go.

Another interesting tactic: get rid of old digital files that are simply outdated. Stick them in an archive folder somewhere and simply forget about them. I’ve found that most presentations and documents that are more than a year old or so tend to age quite seriously, so it’s usually best just to archive them (in case you ever need them again for some reason) and get them out of the way. Out of sight, out of mind - and you’re ready to create new ideas.

Attacking the Mental Mess
Here, Throw Out Fifty Things dips heavily into the “power of positive thinking” realm. Blanke argues that mental clutter is just as limiting as physical clutter and encourages people to get rid of it. A few examples:

“Throw out” negative terms you use to mentally describe yourself. Instead, focus on the positives about yourself. Visualize situations where you come through and succeed instead of imagining scenarios where you fail.

Let the past be the past. Particularly failures. Once you’ve failed, reliving it does nothing but bring you down. Absorb the lessons you can, then move on - don’t think about the mistakes you once made.

You’re not perfect. No one is. Stop focusing on your little mis-steps - they’re going to happen. Instead, work on preparing yourself for success in the future. Picture yourself doing everything right in the future.

You’ve grown. You’re not the same person you were ten years ago. Look at the things you define as your true interests and passions. Quite often, many of these things simply don’t match up with our self-definition. That means it’s time to toss out those old impressions.

Stepping into the Clearing
Once you’ve eliminated the clutter, what’s left? It’s likely much more minimal than before with just the essentials left behind. Those essentials are a fertile breeding ground for some essential redefinitions of your life.

Things that reflect who you are. If you strip things down to a minimal home decor, you’re left with only items that make you feel positive. From this state, you can be very careful about adding new things - again, add only stuff that contributes to your overall positive sense.

Culture that reflects who you are. Perhaps you’ve realized you’re no longer passionate about alternative rock and now you’re interested in personal development. That means you ca stop using mindspace for those old things and devote your time and mental energy to the areas that reflect where you are right now.

Ideas that reflect who you are. Getting rid of the many things cluttering your mind and your life frees you up to explore new ideas that previously intrigued you. Your kitchen is clear of clutter, your time is free of unfulfilling activities, and your mind has let go of old concepts - time to learn how to cook.

Is Throw Out Fifty Things Worth Reading?
Take a look around you. Do you feel happy about what you see? Are you surrounded by things that provide real value to you and are easy to find, or are you surrounded by mountains of stuff (and simply looking at that stuff makes you feel bad)?

Throw Out Fifty Things is a very thought-provoking book if you find yourself in the latter camp. If you can actually get out of the chair and do the things that Blanke suggests (and in this review, I’ve mostly just focused on general themes - there are a lot of great specific tips in the book), you’ll go a long way toward improving the environment around you and the environment in your head, too.

If you’re already organized, Throw Out Fifty Things won’t do much for you. If you’re not organized - and you’re willing to try - Throw Out Fifty Things can be a godsend.