You don't need to be flush to be happy. Author Dina Gachman knows that
from personal experience. She has faced student loans, made ends meet on
unpaid internships, and, along the way, figured out how to live the
dream on a dime.
"It's not about feeling mopey because you can't afford a private jet with solid gold fuselage," her book "
Brokenomics."
"We'd all love free-flowing Dom Pérignon … but it's not about that.
It's about surviving and thriving, no matter what your situation may be."
There are definitely perks when it comes to renting, and if you're in a
funk about your 300 square-foot living quarters, it's time to stop
pining for a Spanish colonial mansion and start loving your little
casita,".
One of Gachman's favorite psychological tricks is to think of her tiny,
oven-less apartment as a "beach bungalow." "If you live near the
mountains, call it your 'cabin,'" . "If you're in the plains, call it
your 'homestead.'
And remember, "you don't have to pay property taxes, deal with
maintenance issues, or stress about whether the value of your house is
rising or sinking … someday, when you're writing a check for your
property taxes, you might just think back on your thimble-sized
cabin/homestead and miss the good old days."