How simply do you live?
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#552
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great topic!!
the less you have ,the more you gain!!!hello minimalists.to make it simple,no vehicles..i ride a motorized bicycle.and have run it on alcohol and castor oil.it tends to lose power that way,but my fuel costs for 2007 were 23 dollars.i own a few 100 year old bicycles,and a english roadster hercules 1934.no credit cards.no loans.everything i own will fit in a backpack.the bed stays and small tv if i split.i enjoy living like this,it keeps my mind clear.
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At lunch, I almost ordered a glass of wine and started asking the waiter about choices. After so many questions and my general indecisiveness, the waiter brought me the wine list. I looked and looked at the various $10+ glasses of wine (already beyond my threshold of pain, btw), wondering which might be worth it, and then saw one at the bottom - you know, where the house wine usually is - and I saw a $10 "half-glass," that he was recommending. Puzzled, I asked about it, then noticed that they were selling a "full glass" of the same for $19. Nineteen frickin' dollars! Damn. That just does not compute to me.
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#554
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One good thing about this (expensive) area though - we are blessed with very close foothills and there are a lot of cycling enthusiasts. Six serious cyclists on my half-block alone.
#555
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Probably just about as much as the wine!
Reminds me of a Three's Company episode:
Captain: A cocktail before you dine?
Janet Wood Dawson: Oh, thank you!
[looks at menu and is stunned at the prices]
Janet Wood Dawson: I believe I'll have some water.
Chrissy: [eyes bugging out at the menu prices] Me, too.
Captain: Of course. Would you care for the imported Rumanian, the Mountain Clear or the Gillian Sparkling?
Chrissy: I'd like Santa Monica tap!
Reminds me of a Three's Company episode:
Captain: A cocktail before you dine?
Janet Wood Dawson: Oh, thank you!
[looks at menu and is stunned at the prices]
Janet Wood Dawson: I believe I'll have some water.
Chrissy: [eyes bugging out at the menu prices] Me, too.
Captain: Of course. Would you care for the imported Rumanian, the Mountain Clear or the Gillian Sparkling?
Chrissy: I'd like Santa Monica tap!
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Aaron
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Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(
ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon
Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(
ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon
#560
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Living cheaply and simply while enjoying wine is easy, but to so do means you probably won't be buying wine at restaurants. Wine is outrageously marked-up at restaurants. 3x mark-up at a restaurant over retail price isn't uncommon in my experience. If you're buying by the glass the mark-up is even more. Buy wine at a local wine shop and you can get darn good wine for very reasonable prices, and then drink it at home so you don't have to pay some restaurants dumb corkage fee. If nothing else Thunderbird and Night Train are reasonably priced, but they can be hard to find on wine lists at restaurants.
#561
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even better would be making your own wine. Not very difficult, plus you could use locally-grown grapes & do some experimenting. Probably come up with a better wine than most of whats out there, cheaper, and its something you actually made yourself.
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You're a Dr? Well ... the fewer patients you have, the more simply you'd need to live!
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Yea, I'm not sure if it's good to feel this way but I kind of like this economic downturn because people are forced to find entertainment in the simple things like a hike in the woods or riding a bike rather than blowing a lot of cash on junk. Oh well.
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Maybe where you live but not in my neck of the woods. I am beginning to think that people are in denial or they are waiting for the magical government bailout. I am waiting for the day when reality hits these people.
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#570
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Ok, so it may be a “craft beer”, but don’t call it a freaking import! Soon after that I think they changed their sign.
I just watched the PBS documentary called "Affluenza" on you tube and it made me think of this thread. Funny how many things they were warning against are now true. I would have to agree with the poster above that I think the economic crisis will be good for the average american consumer in the end
#571
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If this recession serves as a reality check for us, then it will have accomplished something positive and important.
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I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.
In a related vein, I'm not interested in judging others for living with much more than I personally need to get by on, as that would be counterproductive. Additionally, I don't know what their values are or the specific needs of their families, so I would be in no position to be able to pass judgements. For the most part, I couldn't care less how other people live anyway, as long as their lifestyles don't get too much in the way of my chosen way of life; because, within reason of course, I choose to live my own life each and every moment how I wish to live it. To worry too much about what everyone else is doing with their lives would be to lose focus on my own. As for most of the people that know me, and whose opinions I actually care something about, they just think I'm eccentric and I'm fine with that.
At the moment, I live pretty simply, but I still feel like I have some nagging loose ends to take care of. I own a Trek 7.3 FX which I depend upon for transportation as I don't own a car. My room is pretty much bare except for a bed and dresser. My closet is pretty filled up with stuff, though. I have a lot of backpacking/hiking gear in there, but I use it and derive great satisfaction from it's use. Overall, I could move everything I own, save the bed and dresser, in a small car if I owned one. I'm not quite to the point of being able to move on my bicycle, but I'd like to get there. Maybe if I had a trailer... Oh, and I'm single, which helps tremendously.
EDIT: Oh, and I have a desk with a desktop computer on it.
Last edited by cthunter01; 02-18-09 at 02:56 PM.
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In 2004, I packed, sold, tossed, and gave away all my stuff. I got rid of about half of what I owned then ... and I haven't really added to it (a few textbooks and a few articles of clothing).
My remaining stuff has been in storage since then.
And, over the next year, I will be working on getting rid of at least half of my remaining stuff. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it all, but I'll figure it out as I go.
Stuff can be very imprisoning, and although it can hurt to let stuff go, it is very freeing.
My remaining stuff has been in storage since then.
And, over the next year, I will be working on getting rid of at least half of my remaining stuff. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it all, but I'll figure it out as I go.
Stuff can be very imprisoning, and although it can hurt to let stuff go, it is very freeing.
I've been going through my stuff and getting rid of it, but now that our life no longer includes a house, I will be reassessing what I decided to keep and will very likely be getting rid of more than I originally planned.
And for those who think that they cannot live a simple life if they have a woman in their lives ... I am a woman, and Rowan and I are aiming to live a very simple life together.
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Last edited by Machka; 02-18-09 at 06:08 PM.
#574
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I just started scanning through this thread.
Im a young male who is still in school and trying to figure life out just like everyone else. I found living a simple life enlightening. I started going though all my clothes and donating the ones i dont use/ need, old bike stuff donate to a little program or gave to friends, and furniture I gave to my mom who was looking to to upgrade her living space...
I was living with my brother in a decent size 2 bedroom apartment till he wanted to move to london... i moved into the city... so the first move made me start to downsize the things I owned. Once i started doing that I didn't stop. After a bad housing situation I had to move again.. this time back with my mom, she is a pack rat but after telling her how the things you own soon own you she kind of understood that the things we own we can live with out ... in doing so we helped out other ( homeless people with clothes etc..) and saved money.
Fast forward 2 years now Im content with the things I own and the lifestyle I live. Im getting ready to move yet again. But this time to a little studio where all I will have is a bed, a table, dishes, and two chairs. Along with a few other little things OH and my bikes ... Living car free and saving money oh things are nice.
Im a young male who is still in school and trying to figure life out just like everyone else. I found living a simple life enlightening. I started going though all my clothes and donating the ones i dont use/ need, old bike stuff donate to a little program or gave to friends, and furniture I gave to my mom who was looking to to upgrade her living space...
I was living with my brother in a decent size 2 bedroom apartment till he wanted to move to london... i moved into the city... so the first move made me start to downsize the things I owned. Once i started doing that I didn't stop. After a bad housing situation I had to move again.. this time back with my mom, she is a pack rat but after telling her how the things you own soon own you she kind of understood that the things we own we can live with out ... in doing so we helped out other ( homeless people with clothes etc..) and saved money.
Fast forward 2 years now Im content with the things I own and the lifestyle I live. Im getting ready to move yet again. But this time to a little studio where all I will have is a bed, a table, dishes, and two chairs. Along with a few other little things OH and my bikes ... Living car free and saving money oh things are nice.
#575
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Rowan experienced something like this on February 7th ....... and life became a whole lot "simpler" in terms of material things for both of us.
I've been going through my stuff and getting rid of it, but now that our life no longer includes a house, I will be reassessing what I decided to keep and will very likely be getting rid of more than I originally planned.
And for those who think that they cannot live a simple life if they have a woman in their lives ... I am a woman, and Rowan and I are aiming to live a very simple life together.
I've been going through my stuff and getting rid of it, but now that our life no longer includes a house, I will be reassessing what I decided to keep and will very likely be getting rid of more than I originally planned.
And for those who think that they cannot live a simple life if they have a woman in their lives ... I am a woman, and Rowan and I are aiming to live a very simple life together.
Aaron
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Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(
ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon
Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(
ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon