Unclutter and Unplug: A Dog's Advice for Saving Money and Finding Sanity

First, let me acknowledge the obvious: I am a dog. I am a dog that enjoys helping humans work smarter and be happier—which, for most people, includes having a nice little nest egg to fall back upon (or, better yet, to draw upon when they wish to spoil their loyal four-legged friends!).

I am also a big believer that aside from dogs, the happiest creatures in the world are those that make it their business to be happy. These same people often live modest, moderate lives (does the name Warren Buffet ring a bell?). In other words, they don't need to surround themselves with a lot of stuff.

Now, I admit that I like the finer things in life. Things like a fluffy dog bed and premium dog food to keep me fit and healthy. Unfortunately, too many of my human friends are drowning in their own junk. Could this explain why it's easier to spot a self-storage facility than it is to find a fire hydrant? (I may be a dog, but I'm not making this up. The United States has more than 50,000 self-storage facilities with 2.3 billion square feet of storage space. That's a lot of money going toward the storage of stuff…money that could surely be invested otherwise.)

Stuff doesn't just take up physical space, it also occupies precious mindshare. Whether you want a lawn mower or a new living room sofa, humans have a dizzying number of options to choose from. Gas or electric? Leather or upholstered? Once you've figured that out, you have to bring the thing home, find space for it and take care of it. Then when it breaks, wears out or gets clogged with dog hair, you have to find a way to get rid of it. Just thinking about all the steps involved is exhausting—and expensive!

Do you know what else is exhausting and expensive? Negativity! The kind that newspapers, magazines, television and radio deliver into people's lives on a daily basis (and for which they pay a premium).

Let me share a personal story. A few years ago, I started putting on the pounds. Much to my chagrin, my humans started rationing my food, and soon I slimmed back down to the svelte Boxer you see today. Similarly, when my dad discovered that his rich media diet was pumping him up with negativity, he vowed to cut back on his consumption. He stopped listening to the radio in the morning. He canceled his subscription to cable television and the local newspaper. He limited the amount of time he spent surfing the internet. As a result, he went from a self-described news junkie to a happier, more productive person with some extra change in his pocket and extra time to spend with the people (and dog) he loves.

Now, I'm all for being an informed, educated and involved citizen of the world. But too many humans like my dad gorge on a media diet that saps their time and makes it hard to maintain a positive outlook on life. An "if it bleeds, it leads" mentality guarantees that a good chunk of what you see, hear and read paints an unnecessarily grim, unbalanced view of the world. Since the media serves as one big echo chamber, we all end up hearing the same soul-sucking stories over and over again.

So what is a media-saturated human to do? Start by shaking off the salacious and sensational headlines like a dog in the bathtub shakes off water. You may not be able to avoid negativity entirely, but you don't have to absorb it, either. It's as easy to fill your head with positive things as it is to fill it with garbage, so focus on the positive.

My advice is this: Clean out your doghouse. Simplify, streamline and unclutter. Take a look at what you have and decide whether adding more is a wise investment of your hard-earned dollars. Cancel your subscriptions to negative news outlets.

By following these suggestions, you'll not only save a lot of money but also gain back some time—which you can then use to spend with your happy, four-legged friend!

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By Bella the Boxer, adapted from her book Secrets of a Working Dog: Unleash Your Potential and Create Success.