Simple Living?

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-30-2008
Simple Living?
14
Wed, 04-08-2009 - 5:30pm

I recently finish reading a book given to me from a co-worker called Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence .

From the book:

"Our life energy is our allotment of time here on earth, the hours of precious life available to us. When we go to our jobs we are trading our life energy for money. This truth, while simple, is profound. Less obvious but equally true, when we go to the welfare office, we are trading our life energy for money."

I can especially relate to this after growing up on welfare in the Detroit projects. In it were principles similar to Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover and others. Principles like - pay off your debts, spend less and save more were found throughout the book. The only major difference I found in this book was the emphasis is on simplifying your lifestyle.

My wife found the overall tone of the book too extreme. While I felt some parts were somewhat extreme I found the information in this book valuable enough to continue reading. It appears that they espouse living simple permanently. I asked my colleague to clarify what the concept of "simple living" was all about and all he could tell me was that it has to do with downsizing my life. This did not clear up much for me.Other than the "Simple Living Thing" I think it is one of the best personal finance books that I have read.

I would sincerely appreciate it if anyone could explain what "Simple Living" is all about.

http://over40overweightindebt.blogspot.com/

Pages

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-25-2009
In reply to: brianj2008
Fri, 04-10-2009 - 12:59pm

"But I think both of the people in the marriage have to be on board to live like this. I can see that you would like to gradually simplify your life, but maybe your wife is still reluctant to change. Good luck with whatever life style you choose".

Which is why I think it is so important for all parties involved to ask deep down what they aspire to and define THEIR OWN VERSION of what is simple living. Someone may be reluctant to adhere to the "rules" form a book, but could be more amenable to ideas to simplify live based on his or her unique situation.

Just from the previous post it is easy to tell that different people have different thoughts on this subject. One poster said she does not have cell phones; I do not have a landline and even my internet access is via an aircard. While I dream of living on a farm and surrounded with beautiful plants like you, my reality is a minimalist loft with no clutter. (Just an aside: These days I am completely urban, but I am no stranger to the nightmares that comes with the dream as I worked on a horse farm before. Stacking hay, walking colic horses all night, chipping ice off water buckets in the middle of winter ...)

What I am trying to say is all roads lead to Rome. Perhaps Brian's wife is resistant to what the book said, but perhaps she is open to your, or someone else's idea of simple living.

"The other" Marie

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-29-2008
In reply to: brianj2008
Fri, 04-10-2009 - 8:10pm

There is no "blueprint" for Simple Living.

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-25-2009
In reply to: brianj2008
Fri, 04-10-2009 - 9:52pm

You are preaching to the choir! ;-)

Perhaps I was not very clear in my previous post, I completely agree that simple living takes on many shapes and forms and was trying to tell Brian not to sweat it if his wife does not like what it said in the book.

I mentioned the farm thing because I do miss being able to grow things. Neither container gardens nor window boxes are an option where I live. At the same time, I know I have a very small carbon footprint as I walk to work, my electricity is 100% from wind source, and as a vegetarian the food I eat takes less energy to produce.

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-23-2007
In reply to: brianj2008
Sat, 04-11-2009 - 5:56pm

Hi Brian:

I'm no expert, but Your Money Or Your Life is one of my favorite books. It just resonates with my way of life, and many thoughts that I've had over the years, but they have much more statistical data to back up what they're saying.

Basically, you limit your expenses and increase your income, then invest your income so you create earnings. Eventually, your investment income will exceed your expenses, primarily because you've pared down your expenses but also because you are very aware of where every penny is going. It isn't necessarily about making sacrifices (although some people take it that way). It's about being conscious of what's coming in and what's going out. It's a change in mindset.

We have yet to get there ourselves, but we're at least on the right track. I have a terrible time tracking every penny, but I at least track a lot in Mint.com. I also gave up on my wall chart, but again, I get enough information from Mint, so I'm OK with that.

I often go back and read sections for encouragement. I also check in quite often on their website. Just google Simple Living Network and check out the discussion groups. You'll get plenty of answers there.

Dee


Pages