Living the Simple Life

By

ThriftyFun

Great post Jo, thanks for sharing.

By

Jo Bodey

I would like to add a practical tip. The simple life sounds idyllic and I fully agree with everything Arleen says but how do you achieve it? I started by trying to filter the information and messages I received in my everyday life. What is superfluous? What is misleading? What is the purpose behind this information? These are some good places to start. The majority of the information we recieve each day can be examined using these crieria, and I'm sure you could add many more.

Some examples - advertising. How do you know what your needs are - is advertising 'manufacturing' needs? Of course it is - otherwise how could thousands of different companies, making basically the same product, e.g. storage systems, stay in business. People who live a simple life may know they need something to store their possessions. Advertising tells us we 'need' the latest storage item, in a range of colours and sizes and our home will be transformed into a magazine design feature. Simple people look at what they have and utilize or adapt that if possible, or buy something sturdy and beautiful second hand and save it from landfill. Simple people conside function first, and right down the bottom of the list is 'can I buy something for this need?'

News programmes - how depressing are they???? And can we do anything about it? Usually not. Does it make any difference if we know the latest figures on Wall Street and if the dollar is going up or down? We still have to live/make purchases anyway and any serious investor won't be getting his financial info from the evening news. Even the information on something as important as the Iraq war - we have no way of gauging the importance or accuracy of the information we recieve in the media so why clutter our minds with something when we have no influence over the progress or outcome. Regardless of whether you support the cause or not nightly bulletins are superfluous information of dubious accuracy which add to life's stresses. Simple people work locally to make their own community a better place - they look for the problems there, where they can affect the outcome for the better.

Simple people don't live in bare shacks in the woods - unless they choose to of course! They think long and hard about what they really want for themselves and their families and they resist outside influences which attempt to lead them from their chosen way for ulterior motives. They have comfortable homes and freedom from onerous debt and they look for their fulfillment in areas other than the TV and the shopping mall. The start of the simple life is to question what you are told is the norm and critically assess the information you recieve every day - get rid of the superfluous and go your own way.

My experiences were to discover I did not need new fashionable clothes 2 or 3 times a year - I buy at charity shops.
I did not need an 11 roomed house for 1 person - I downsized to a 4 roomed house.
I did not need the mounds of possessions I owned and never looked at, (and had to get rid of a lot to fit into my new smaller house! lol!). I sold/gave away what I didn't need/want and only have things I love and see everyday.
I didn't want to work 35 hours a week - I wanted to be free to garden, volunteer and just sit! I am in the process of paying off my small mortgage over the next 18 months and then I will be able to pick and choose my work hours. Yes, I will have to make some 'sacrifices' but I prefer to see them not as sacrifices, more as choices to achieve my goals

Change your mind set first by critical thinking and analysing your real needs, and the thrifty living/spending decisions will follow automatically with no feeling of deprivation what so ever.

Regards

Jo