The Simple Life: Your Tips Please
 

Even though I'm not totally "car-free," I try to minimize the use of our small family car. For example, we car-pool to work. I use the bike for shopping, etc. But it occurs to me--as I'm sure it does to many others on this forum--that moving away from high consumption in other areas can be wonderful for all sorts of reasons.

I'm wondering if you have any tips for other activities that both simplify and enrich your life at the same time. A few simple examples that immediately come to mind:

*Growing at least some of our own food.
*Shopping at the thrift store
*Giving stuff we don't use to the thrift store
*Using the library instead of the bookstore

I'd love to hear what creative things you're doing to simplify your lives.

www.simpleliving.net/forums is a great way to simplify your life.

If your interested in learning about how to grow your own food, and other ideas, there are a ton of sites on the net. One cool site I like is pathtofreedom.com. I'll post more stuff related to this thread soon.

I don't own a computer. *gasp*

I use the computer at the public library to visit BF and check E-mail, etc. I go to the library nearly every day to do this. Fortunately there are two libraries within a seven minute ride of my home. They have nice new computers with very high speed access. Rarely, I have to wait to use one, but not more than 15 minutes. We are allowed three hours a day of computer time, more for non-Internet use.

I probably save nearly as much money by not owning a computer as I do not owning a used car! No monthly credit payments, and especially no ISP fees. A cascading effect: Since I don't need broad band, I don't have to have cable TV, another savings.

When I visit my father every month, I have unlimited access to the computer. I spend way too much time on the Internet. This is another reason I don't have a computer at home. (Similarly, when I've had cable at home, I spend more time in front of the tube.)

The best piece of advice that I can offer in simplifying your life is learn to plan ahead.

One of the massive cultural shifts that has occured, almost unnoticed, in western society, is that we have stopped thinking a head in the manner that we used to and technological and sociological developments are often developed to facilitate this mentality.

This extends beyond making sure you have time to shop by bicycle and till the garden properly for planting. When you plant a seed, consider what you're going to be doing to get the most out of the produce. Before the age of electricity and 24/7/365 refrigeration, families would plant a root crop knowing that x amount would need to be stored in a root cellar, variety y kept longer and at a certain time there would need to be jars and vinegar/spices in stock for preserving.

I agree with planning ahead and thinking "big picture" for your life as well.

I think to many people equate "simple living" with a hippie commune - but there's people like me who have a job with big company, 401k,house, but the DAILY financial decisions I make are more on par with the hippies. I go to the library, shop at thrift store, use Craigslist. I never shop for recreation, only for necessity.

I think my financial philosophy boils down to "don't spend a lot of money on things that can be reposessed". i.e. I have no interest in spending money on cars, huge TVs, or all the overpriced stuff in Cargo Magazine (www.cargomag.com) I think what gives me simplicity is being very SELECTIVE about what I spend money on.

I have no problem spending money on a great sushi dinner, my spanish lessons, or travel. Basically things that give life experiences, and things that you can remember. A trip somewhere may only last a week, but you remember it for years. I don't believe a TV or a $400 watch can do the same thing as two weeks in another country, or doing a week with Habitat for Humanity.

I'd like to learn how to grow food - but I'm not a great gardener. I have learned to do a lot of housework myself, saving some bucks along the way too.

Oh also farmer's markets are a great place to get fresh fruits and veggies.

Consider reading......

"Voluntary Simplicity" by Duane Elgin

This book came out in 1981 with an update in 1993 on how to live in
balance (not poverty). It's not a tome on how to build a cabin on the
woods and go off grid. It's honest food for thought.

Either borrow it from you local libiray or buy a copy off e-bay (Publshers
over run) for cheap.

it's odd, but a movement toward simplicity can very easily become a complicated question. we've evolved several guidelines for our own movement toward simplicity.

1) own less, buy less, and spend less money.
2) get out of debt and stay out of debt
3) figure out what your time is worth and make decisions accordingly.
4) take your time.

the rest...just tactics and strategies. for us, that means no consumer debt, very nearly no mortgage on a small house, no lawn but lots of garden (both vegetable and otherwise), a number of bicycles but no car, a diminishing workweek, saturday chore/errand days, and sundays for relaxation (a sort of non-religious sabbath, if you will). we don't buy much, but when we do, it's well-considered (including 30-day waiting period for anything of substantial cost). we still eat out, but not that often. we still buy books, but also use the library heavily. we repair things instead of throwing them away.

there's probably more, but you get the idea.

Is this a joke?

Only to you. I thought it was a fantastic post.

For me, "the simple life" means making everything as easy and convenient as possible. Growing my own food would be a hassle. So would shopping at a thrift store.

I find cycling to be the best way to simplify my life. Breeze through traffic jams, always find a parking spot. Faster and easier than driving much of the time. Doing shopping via the web is another way.

Paul

It may be for some, but it doesn't have to be a chore. I find it no more hassle than watching TV.

Al

I agree with the general points -- although this is specifically tailored to you:

re: working and taking your time: with e-mail people don't each other enough time to reflect and cotemplate a problem. Everyone who's in an office has had someone who sends an e-mail, then calls and says "did you get my e-mail"? I take my time at work, hence less mistakes, and more productivity.

re: debt. completely agree - consumer debt other than a mortgage is ridiculous, but to subsidize our economy and keep it looking good, we're told that we need to go spend money at the mall. What were we told to do after 9/11? Go Shopping! I certainly use credit cards for the perks, airline miles, points, online shopping, but I never finance things like a grill, furniture, or even carry a balance month to month. Everyone knows when you start using a few credit cards, and then start relying on them, then you're late and your rates go up the amounts start adding up faster than the ebola virus spreads. But people won't give them up, (and companies still keep giving credit to students and people that can't pay it back)

And I'm all for banning credit card sign up tables on college campuses. Nothing pisses me off more than a company that wants to give $15,000 in credit to someone making no money. (But they know their parents will bail them out, so they don't care)

And all the articles written about "how to get out of debt" focus on absurdly banal things like "stop buying coffee at starbucks", and "ask your card for a lower rate" (as it will save you $3 a day). Sure the little daily things are important, but that won't curb your DESIRES, and to be debt free requires a complete shift in ideals and lifestyle, like yours described above. Even after reading all the articles people won't get out of debt if they maintain the lifestyle of consumption they're living. Just can't work.

Even saying all that I'm still tempted this spring to go put a new bike on my credit card and pay it next month - and it's unfortunately completely understandable (and scary) watching people spend $800, then $300, then $200, then suddenly it's $4,000.

If you want to live frugally, avoid too much debt, etc, I think that the place you live is an important consideration. Almost everybody uses petroleum energy for their heating and air conditioning and pays a lot for it. It's generally better to have a home with more than one person and that is no bigger than necessary. Share the home and share those bills. Have good insulation, especially at the windows and roof. Wear extra socks and sweaters in the winter and dress cool in the summer, and don't use much heat or air conditioning.

Hey,i'm just asking to make sure its not. Its so fantastic. I suppose it depends where you live. Its a bit strange to do all this yet be online and cable/sat? Forced heating/AC?

ah, no...not a joke.

we live in a post-WWII neighborhood small/medium-sized upper-midwestern city. winters are cold, summers are hot and humid. spring and fall are nice.

as for cable/sat -- no, we don't bother with such things. the TV (big, widescreen) is used only for movies on DVD. some of which we own, most of which we check out from the public library.

online -- yes, broadband internet. but this is mostly because i do part of my work from home and need to be online-available during non-business hours. it's simpler than having to got to the office at 10pm on a saturday night when the server goes down. when i retire or semi-retire (i'm shooting for retiring at 40, by the way), i'll ditch it and use the free wi-fi at the public library and various cafes.

forced air/AC -- yes to both, but we keep the heat down in the winter, use the A/C only when necessary in the summer, and also do some of the heating with wood. most of the wood is scavenged via bicycle-trailer from my various neighbors who cut down their trees every now and then. we also have solar panels. i'd like a wind turbine, but it's not allowed in town.

i don't see why it's strange. first of all, simplicity is what you make of it. for me, that means minimal consumption, underemployment, lots of free time. for some, the amount of gardening we do wouldn't be simple, it would just be work. second, simplicity isn't about self-abnegation -- it's about learning what you really need to live well (notice, i say live well, not just survive).

and there's no contradiction between simplicity and owning a house -- unless you let the mortgage and the maintenance take over your life. our mortgage is nearly paid off (after owning the house for only 4 years, by the way) and we keep the improvements to a minimum -- both in terms of what we do and in terms of what we pay others to do. and, yes, i'm perfectly willing to pay someone else to do the work on my house because i don't care to do it -- it's work to me, not fun -- and because they, being professionals, are better at it than i am. we don't remodel just for the sake of remodeling either -- but sometimes things need replacement and/or repair. this is the trade-off for being able to have a place of our own -- a house that's turning into one big bookcase and a yard that's turning into one big garden.

does that answer your question?

Yep,no different from me. Only AC set to 78 in summer and Heat at 68 in winter. No big screen. Just got DSL. Direct. No cell phones. No debt but for Mortgage. Retire? Another 7 years,i still have one in college.

68 in the winter? how decadent....

seriously though, i'm the warm type so i prefer less heat in winter (55-60 degrees, depending on time of day) so that i can use the a/c when it's hot in the summer. besides, one can always sit near the woodstove.

we went the other direction on the phones -- cellular only, no landline.
the big screen, alas, is from the pre-simplicity days. i doubt it will be replaced once the time comes.

and i clearly forgot what for us is perhaps the most important aspect of simplicity. no kids.

I keep AC at 82F in summer and haven't used heat in >5yrs. (Where I live there are some nights as cool as 28F which means the house is often ~55F in the morning)

Al

No kids. You can get a lot more done like that.
I only turn on the heater as i leave in the morning at 5:30,wife and daughter are wennies.

I don't own a car, I rent a small/cheap room, and I live off of berries that I find on the side of the road when I'm biking or walking. This saves both money and time as I don't have to shop. But the real simplicity came when I installed solar panels in the tops of my ears. Now I don't have to sleep anymore, affording me more time to relish in the idea of all of the things I don't have to deal with or pay for. The panels work great except that I can't wear a hat and must keep my hair short (own a pair of scissors). Of course, I have to take the day off from work if it is overcast.

In winter, I keep my heat at 61 on weekdays and 63 on weekends....I won't turn the air on until it hits 90, or unless its really humid (I can take heat but not humiditiy).

It helps to keep in mind that, even with no car, no TV, no computer, minimal use of heat/AC, thrift store clothing and furniture, and a small residence, you are still living like a king/queen compared to most people that have ever lived.

I think public transportation is so significant in choosing a simpler life. You see so many people on this forum who struggle owning two or more cars while balancing a huge mortgage. These forum members are trapped in jobs and homes that require a motor vehicle. How in the world can you save for retirement or have a simple life when 20% of your income has to feed a motorcar? There's just no way.

Here's my solution. Find a job that's close to a lightrail or commuter rail line and within a mile. Then find a place to live on the other side of the line. You're now car free.

I read in some book at the turn of the century before the automobile, people used to pay dearly to live next to a train line. It used to be hard to find a home close to the stop because that's where people wanted to live as the train offered rapid transportation and an improved quality of life. With the train, you had direct access to shopping, jobs, entertainment and opportunity. The same holds true today.

No reason to struggle,its there own fault if they get a big mort. You dont have to own a house. Keeping up with the jones is what get people in trouble. I'm not saying i'm smarter then the next because i'm not but having a cc for 35 years,i've never made a payment except the payment due so the % rates have never gotten me in trouble. I was lucky to get a 80K house thats worth an unbelivable 600K now. Its to bad we had to take out a line of credit to pay the taxes this year. Strange,in 02,03 and 05 we had to pay almost to the penny what we had saved in our savings.