Foo - Would you be happy with nothing?

All of us here at Foo are at various places in our lives and subsequently we all likely have different incomes and therefore possessions. But probably a lot of us hearken back to a time when we were flat broke and scraping together pennies to survive.

I've been pretty close to that desperate but it was a long time ago and now I am at the opposite end. I am not rich but earn plenty to have way more possessions than I really need. In fact sometimes I feel like we are drowning in consumer goods around our place.

I'm not quite dumb enough to say that I would prefer to go back and be "poor" again, but I sometimes long for the days when I didn't have so much STUFF. I'm MWC, so I'm not just talking about my stuff but that of the entire family's. I think I have learned that I can grow irritated by possessions. In fact I am starting to have fantasies of trips to the dump!

I think this might be sort of a guy thing because I have heard co-workers complain of the same things. We males, seem to be more happy with a bare space with a computer, TV, couch, refrigerator and maybe a bed.

As long as I have my health, a roof over my head, and food, the rest does not matter.

George Carlin tells us that's why we buy bigger houses...for more stuff.

Thats cause its less for you guys to clean!!! :)

I'm happy right now in my life. I've come from a very difficult past and I'm excited to see how far I have come along.
I finally met a man whom treats me like I should have been treated all along, I have great health, great friends, love of cycling and (sometime soon a new job) :)

I wouldn't go back just cause it took alot of work, tears and sweat to get to this place. :) Was it all worth it?? Definitely!!!! I feel very blessed for where I'm at.

Could I be happy with nothing YES, I've done it before. :)

Good or bad, life seems to be a little easier if you have money.

I would not want to go back in time to my earlier days, knowing what I know now.

George Carlin tells us that's why we buy bigger houses...for more stuff.

Yeah, I've learned that more space = more stuff. There really is absolutely no reason to get a bigger house because that is all, you'll get....more stuff. It's the same reason I refuse to build a storage shed. Our home has more storage than the average home and yet we still don't have enough room for the stuff. So I realize that building a shed will just increase the inventory. It won't eliminate the problem.

I was never really much into things, though there is certainly plenty of "stuff" sitting around here. And deep emotional trauma has confirmed for me just how truly unimportant this "stuff" is materially. Yet, from an emotional standpoint, it will be quite a while before I can sort through and get rid of much of it....

In general, there is very little I actually "want".

I don't think that I would be happy initially, but I'd get used to it. If it meant I didn't have a bike to ride though... :mad:

I don't think that I would be happy initially, but I'd get used to it. If it meant I didn't have a bike to ride though... :mad:

I don't think you ever get to the point where you don't have a bike. In fact that is part of the equipment issued to you when you become homeless and started scavengering for aluminum cans.

Or in this case, your bike BECOMES your home.

http://www.whileseated.org/photo/img/cycling/IMG_4185.jpg

I remember being so broke i was living on ramuchan noodles and living with on again, off agian power with gun shots going off outside my window. So, my anwser is no, I have no want to go back to that piont. It makes me appreciate everything i've built for myself, and enjoy the toys I have fully, everyday. I don't regret anything i've accumulated, but I donate all my old clothes now, instead of throwing them away like I did in high school.

There is nothing to buy here, so, even though I have the money to buy things - it doesn't do much good.

You wouldn't believe how low our personal expenses are.

There is nothing to buy here, so, even though I have the money to buy things - it doesn't do much good.

You wouldn't believe how low our personal expenses are.
Sometimes I'm tempted to sell my house and come find out. :lol:

But, seriously, I'm not moving anywhere else anytime soon. I love this place and it feels "good" to be here. :)

Not happy with nothing, but happy with finally something after having nothing.

If that made sense.

Not happy with nothing, but happy with finally something after having nothing.

If that made sense.

I've been looking for you.

http://www.conferencingnews.com/images/upl/clara_peller5_150.jpg

I've been looking for you.

http://www.conferencingnews.com/images/upl/clara_peller5_150.jpg
Oh, Clara! :D WTB?

A good freind of mine says we become slaves to our possesions. If you own something you have to take care of it. The more you own the more you take care of, till eventually your possesions own you!
I think she makes a lot of sense!

A good freind of mine says we become slaves to our possesions. If you own something you have to take care of it. The more you own the more you take care of, till eventually your possesions own you!
I think she makes a lot of sense!

She must own a house. Or actually she might be like a lot of us and the house owns her. :)

Home maintenance. Gotta love it. :rolleyes:

:beer:

I really haven't advanced beyond the having "nothing" stage. Turning the question around, I'm under no illusion that acquiring more stuff would make me any happier. But additional financial security would be nice.

Actually I've been thinking a lot the past couple of months about what it was like to have very little. I've had to be planning on what would go and in what order if my wife gets laid off and can't find a comparable job pretty quickly. That would mean pretty close to ane third of our take-home + our health insurance gone. We have a pretty modest house with only 14 years left on the mortgage and a payment equal to decent apartment rent so keeping it is the priority. Moving down would mean neighborhoods where the police helicopter is a frequent occurance. Been there, done that, don't want to again. Of course the bike can't go so that will mean goodbye to the VW conv. , the Harley and the boat. What sucks is that all three are paid for, we would need the money just to pay utilities, insurance and eat. Would I be happy? No. In fact I would either have to not be there when my VW leaves or the new owner would probably see me cry.

I agree with you Portis.
I was raised by a single mom, my dad passed away when I was 5, she had a very high pay job but that wasnt enough to be comfortable on one single pay check and 2 kids.
We were tight.
I now have more then I ever thought I would, Id never want to be poor again but sometimes I want that feeling back, you know the one you have when you cherish everything you have because you dont have much.I miss that. I dont know that having more is always a good thing

True statement - when I met my wife, I was honestly thinking of heading into the Adirondacks and leaving off the land - probably read "My Side of the Mountain" too many times or something. The idea of just living a simple life has always appealed to me.

I actually camped for a solid week in the forever wild section of the Adirondacks by myself. I enjoyed it immensely.

However, my wife is a little more concerned about the finer things in life - but not really that bad. Our current situation is a pretty good compromise. I will also admit that I like a touch of luxury now and then.

I've bounced back and forth. There are some things that are nice, and there are some things that are not nice. It's not nice having to worry about whether you can pay the next bill, or worrying about what will you do if something braks down. I don't mind living in a house that stays at to 57-65 degrees during the winter but it's much nicer to have a house that can stay at 72


I prefer being rich and I want to get filthy rich so that I can help other people in ways other then just giving them welfare or medicare for free so they can be lazy and not do anything

Spent most of my life like that. I grew up very poor. It wouldn't be an easy transition but I could adapt.

I don't think you ever get to the point where you don't have a bike. In fact that is part of the equipment issued to you when you become homeless and started scavengering for aluminum cans.

Or in this case, your bike BECOMES your home.

http://www.whileseated.org/photo/img/cycling/IMG_4185.jpg
haha that would be awesome - Tent, Solar panels, laptop, wireless verizon gis card
a gun and knife for self defense from those rich bastids trying to steal my solar panels
be r0x0rin teh caspa q

with nothing? as in homeless? I dunno. I could be happy with much less than I have. when I think about it there's very little I *need* to have.

The happiest I ever was in life was in the in the early 80's when
I got by on Freelance art and roadying for an up-and=coming new wave
band. I had nothing !! Later, after doing houses, cars, motorcycles
-o-plenty and lots of other material stuff, and now that my job as
a Parent is coming into the golden years with my Son in a great college and having the time of his life, I really want to start to work toward
my dream of living out of a VW EuroBus with just a guitar, bike, art stuff
and some clothes.
This is how I would attain total Nirvana !!! My Wife is not quite as
happy about my plan as I am, however.

I've been poor before, and refuse to go that way ever again. It was a horrible time, and I saw things I honestly didn't need to see at that age (or any age for that matter).

However, if all I had was a roof over my head, my bicycle, and a basic computer (just enough to go online, maybe install a TV tuner card to watch TV on it), I could live just fine. Actually, that was about how I lived in california.....my computer was my TV and stereo system all in one....it gave me more free space that way.

Frankly, I could live out of a P.O. box and a tent and stay bike transport only! I'd have to go somewhere warmar though and would pitch the tent near enough to a Holiday Inn that I could Hobo off their unsecured wireless network. Recharging the laptop could occur at Panera's while hoboing off THEIR network!:p

The wife, however, prefers a less nomadic existence!

I see a pattern - without women, there would be no civilization...

Research has shown that we would indeed be very happy with nothing, as long as everyone else had less than nothing.

I see a pattern - without women, there would be no civilization...

Is that what you call it?

My life is just like a Lexus ad...

I don't need a LOT of things, I like having the basics, just nicer than what I could use to afford.

It's nice having a expensive bed where I sleep like a baby, a fast computer with big LCD monitors, a reliable car, nice bike, and eating good food. I don't have a lot of excess stuff, just a few nice things. And its mostly due to me moving a few times, where I got rid of a lot of stuff cause it just wasn't needed. And it's ture, yout possesions start to own you.

I could be happy with nothing. If I all I had was a bike and didn't have to work, I wouldn't need a computer, a car, tv, or anything like that. I'd be very happy.

All of us here at Foo are at various places in our lives and subsequently we all likely have different incomes and therefore possessions. But probably a lot of us hearken back to a time when we were flat broke and scraping together pennies to survive.

I've been pretty close to that desperate but it was a long time ago and now I am at the opposite end. I am not rich but earn plenty to have way more possessions than I really need. In fact sometimes I feel like we are drowning in consumer goods around our place.

I'm not quite dumb enough to say that I would prefer to go back and be "poor" again, but I sometimes long for the days when I didn't have so much STUFF. I'm MWC, so I'm not just talking about my stuff but that of the entire family's. I think I have learned that I can grow irritated by possessions. In fact I am starting to have fantasies of trips to the dump!

I think this might be sort of a guy thing because I have heard co-workers complain of the same things. We males, seem to be more happy with a bare space with a computer, TV, couch, refrigerator and maybe a bed.

You should add women to that list.