Join Early Retirement Today
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Living With Less. A Lot Less.
Old 03-11-2013, 05:30 PM   #1
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
obgyn65's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: midwestern city
Posts: 4,061
Living With Less. A Lot Less.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/op...less.html?_r=0

"We live in a world of surfeit stuff, of big-box stores and 24-hour online shopping opportunities. Members of every socioeconomic bracket can and do deluge themselves with products.

There isn’t any indication that any of these things makes anyone any happier; in fact it seems the reverse may be true. "
__________________
Very conservative with investments. Not ER'd yet, 48 years old. Please do not take anything I write or imply as legal, financial or medical advice directed to you. Contact your own financial advisor, healthcare provider, or attorney for financial, medical and legal advice.
obgyn65 is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 03-11-2013, 06:25 PM   #2
Dryer sheet aficionado
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: California
Posts: 46
that is a great article! we have loads of albums and old books and boxes that have not been opened in 20 years in the garage we cant park in. and an office with a desk so cluttered with "stuff" that my keyboard is on my LAP. Those are our two collection places and just those two places alone are utterly depressing. Just cleand out our hall way closet this weekend, which was a nice start. this is a good reminder to continue.
ready yesterday is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-11-2013, 06:30 PM   #3
gone traveling
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 329
We now spend money on experiences (travel, dining out etc), not much on tangible stuff anymore. Don't need any more junk in the house, although once in a while we like to replace old white goods, furniture and the old car, just because it's feels good to live in comfort. You can't take it with you !
UserRequested is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-11-2013, 06:31 PM   #4
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Midpack's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: NC
Posts: 21,204
+1. I aspire to be more like the author, a work in progress...
__________________
No one agrees with other people's opinions; they merely agree with their own opinions -- expressed by somebody else. Sydney Tremayne
Retired Jun 2011 at age 57

Target AA: 50% equity funds / 45% bonds / 5% cash
Target WR: Approx 1.5% Approx 20% SI (secure income, SS only)
Midpack is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-11-2013, 06:49 PM   #5
Moderator Emeritus
Ronstar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Northern Illinois
Posts: 16,543
Quote:
There isn’t any indication that any of these things makes anyone any happier; in fact it seems the reverse may be true. "
I've been shopping for a kayak for the last few weeks. I find it hard to believe that it won't make me happier once I get it. But I can understand how some material things do not.
Ronstar is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-11-2013, 06:57 PM   #6
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 241
Great article. I long for the day when I can downsize....need to convince DW first, though....
MDJO is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-11-2013, 07:00 PM   #7
gone traveling
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 329
My car makes me happy, coz I use it to travel. My iPad makes me happy, coz I can surf the net, keep in touch with my mates and search for great recipes and holiday destinations. My TV makes me happy, coz I can curl up with a glass of red and watch a movie on a cold night. The list goes on. The article is unbalanced IMO
UserRequested is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-11-2013, 07:01 PM   #8
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
obgyn65's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: midwestern city
Posts: 4,061
I enjoy reading the NYT readers' comments too. Higher quality and thought provoking input than yahoo news readers, for sure.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MDJO View Post
Great article. I long for the day when I can downsize....need to convince DW first, though....
__________________
Very conservative with investments. Not ER'd yet, 48 years old. Please do not take anything I write or imply as legal, financial or medical advice directed to you. Contact your own financial advisor, healthcare provider, or attorney for financial, medical and legal advice.
obgyn65 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-11-2013, 07:11 PM   #9
Full time employment: Posting here.
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 576
I am finding more and more that material possessions are a curse and will try to start decluttering my life.
bondi688 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-11-2013, 07:12 PM   #10
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
haha's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Hooverville
Posts: 22,983
Quote:
Originally Posted by jags View Post
My car makes me happy, coz I use it to travel. My iPad makes me happy, coz I can surf the net, keep in touch with my mates and search for great recipes and holiday destinations. My TV makes me happy, coz I can curl up with a glass of red and watch a movie on a cold night. The list goes on. The article is unbalanced IMO
+1. If a person has any sense, he or she knows what enhances life and what is neutral and what detracts, and proceeds accordingly. To me, a lot of these blanket assertions about what one should do to be happier are similar to exhortations to get religion- some people temporarily derive energy from that kind of upheaval, and other people are on a more even keel.

But imagine yourself as a magazine or internet feature writer. What do you write about? Mr Joe satisfied who lives his life steadily without many big discontinuities, or Mr.Johnny Upheaval who likes to make BIG CHANGES?

Ha
__________________
"As a general rule, the more dangerous or inappropriate a conversation, the more interesting it is."-Scott Adams
haha is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-11-2013, 08:27 PM   #11
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Northern IL
Posts: 26,821
Quote:
Originally Posted by haha View Post
+1. If a person has any sense, he or she knows what enhances life and what is neutral and what detracts, and proceeds accordingly.
+2 Articles like this strike me as so condescending. Who is this guy to tell me how many dishes or CDs is the 'right' amount? Am I some little baby who can't decide that for myself?

Ten little dishes? Fine for this guy I guess, but we entertain groups from time to time, sometime large sometimes just one other couple. DW likes to have dishes for different seasons and different occasions. It's a 'luxury we can afford', so who cares?

And he doesn't have a single CD? So? He probably doesn't have a high quality stereo either. Maybe he doesn't love music? I love music, why would I deprive myself?

Why would anyone aspire to this? If the message is 'consider what is really of value to you', I think the author fails.


Quote:
But imagine yourself as a magazine or internet feature writer. What do you write about? Mr Joe satisfied who lives his life steadily without many big discontinuities, or Mr.Johnny Upheaval who likes to make BIG CHANGES?

Ha
Right, this is just column filler, IMO. I'm amazed that people see any value in this sort of thing. Can't they think for themselves? I just don't get it.

edit/add: OK, I just had to LOL at this:
Quote:
and an audiophile-worthy five-disc CD player.
Hah! I have NEVER (and I'm the guy who always says never say never), ever seen a five-disc CD player in a true 'audiophile' magazine. These guys are ALL about single function, and do that function well units. Even to the extent of mono-block amplifiers (completely separate units for right/left channels - less cross-talk, no draw on a power supply from opposing channels). A lot of that stuff is snake-oil, but a 5-disc changer - no way!

-ERD50
ERD50 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-11-2013, 08:45 PM   #12
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 9,358
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ronstar View Post
I've been shopping for a kayak for the last few weeks. I find it hard to believe that it won't make me happier once I get it. But I can understand how some material things do not.
A kayak would be on my approved list, along with my bike. But a garage full of stuff we never use? That's what we are getting rid of. It feels very freeing for us. It is cheaper, too. Eventually we won't have to have a big house to buy, heat, cool, insure, clean, repair and pay property tax on.

We would rather spend our free time on hobbies and travel than taking care of stuff.
daylatedollarshort is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-11-2013, 09:32 PM   #13
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Major Tom's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: SF East Bay
Posts: 4,324
I didn't find the article condescending. To my mind, he was simply relating his experiences and sharing his point of view. I thought this particular thought to be very true,

"But my experiences show that after a certain point, material objects have a tendency to crowd out the emotional needs they are meant to support."

My stuff works best when it works for me and helps me live the way I want. The trick, IMO, is to achieve that sweet spot where all my stuff "works", and there's not much of it lying around idle. It's a work in progress.
__________________
Contentedly ER, with 3 furry friends (now, sadly, 1).
Planning my escape to the wide open spaces in my campervan (with my remaining kitty, of course!)
On a mission to become the world's second most boring man.

Major Tom is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-11-2013, 10:07 PM   #14
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
youbet's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Chicago
Posts: 13,151
I found the article interesting to the extent the author is a bit of a whacko who shifted his lifestyle from one extreme to the other. Interesting to hear about, but not something that an everyday guy like me could get interested in doing.

After the sale of his business and the resulting wealth, the author became an extreme consumer.

Quote:
I hired a guy named Seven, who said he had been Courtney Love’s assistant, to be my personal shopper. He went to furniture, appliance and electronics stores and took Polaroids of things he thought I might like to fill the house; I’d shuffle through the pictures and proceed on a virtual shopping spree.
Then he fell in love with a partner and decided to turn the wheel of the ship and now lives in an efficiency apartment concentrating on owning as little as possible. Doesn't even have a personal shopper to help him gather his bounty anymore!

OK, it's his life to lead. And I'm all for wealthy guys spending their time and money as they see fit as long as they're not stepping on the toes of others. But the story of his lifestyle extremes, while an interesting skim read, certainly isn't a likely scenario for many. I doubt I'll ever need a personal shopper to help haul home the goods and I also doubt I'll be living in a sparsely furnished and equiped urban efficiency apartment. Some of us like to live uncluttered and not be overwhelmed by "stuff" but still be able to offer a chair to a guest who stops by.

There's a lot of room between those two extremes.

Personal shopper....... Give me a break!
__________________
"I wasn't born blue blood. I was born blue-collar." John Wort Hannam
youbet is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-11-2013, 10:16 PM   #15
gone traveling
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 329
Quote:
Originally Posted by youbet View Post
I found the article interesting to the extent the author is a bit of a whacko who shifts his lifestyle from one extreme to the other.
+1
Definitely a looney tune.
UserRequested is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-11-2013, 10:36 PM   #16
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 11,401
Quote:
Originally Posted by youbet View Post
I found the article interesting to the extent the author is a bit of a whacko who shifted his lifestyle from one extreme to the other. Interesting to hear about, but not something that an everyday guy like me could get interested in doing.
I was wondering if he might be cyclothymic, that is, have a manic depressive disorder.
Meadbh is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-11-2013, 11:09 PM   #17
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
easysurfer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 13,131
I agree with a lot of what the author says.

I too could use some de-cluttering.

But I like my four solar watches
__________________
Have you ever seen a headstone with these words
"If only I had spent more time at work" ... from "Busy Man" sung by Billy Ray Cyrus
easysurfer is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 03-12-2013, 12:20 AM   #18
Recycles dryer sheets
ChainsBeGone's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Front Range
Posts: 150
I generally subscribe to the practice of most things in moderation, whether it is "stuff" or frugality, with a focus on putting emphasis on whatever provides the most value in one's life, and lesser emphasis on what does not.

I found a great description of this thought process well defined here:
What Voluntary Simplicity Is NOT

I'm not a fanatical follower of voluntary simplicity, but I do admire the sense of knowing one's self and living a life in accordance to one's own priorities.
__________________
"Our lives are what our thoughts make them" - Marcus Aurellius
FIRE'd on 1 June, 2013 at age 48, DW FIRE'd with me on same day at age 47.
ChainsBeGone is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-12-2013, 04:11 AM   #19
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
happy2bretired's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Nebraska
Posts: 1,543
In a study published last year titled “Life at Home in the Twenty-First Century,” researchers at U.C.L.A. observed 32 middle-class Los Angeles families and found that all of the mothers’ stress hormones spiked during the time they spent dealing with their belongings. Seventy-five percent of the families involved in the study couldn’t park their cars in their garages because they were too jammed with things.

The above quote from the article was very true for me while my family and I were all home together. My stress at home was due mainly to junk and clutter - constant moving all of that stuff, buying, sorting, resorting, cleaning, rearranging...garage sales...ugh!

I'm reading a book right now Going Solo by Eric Klinenberg about how the demographics are changing more towards solo living. I think this guy in the article fits into the younger generation's box of solo - high earning, city dweller that spends more time away from their home than in it but still needs space for alone time. They want their own space and they want to enjoy that space the way they want it, with no else to consider.

The book also talks about us old solo farts....widowed, divorced, never married...same thing. Most of us want solo living after our previous lives. Problems arise due to high expenses, especially in cities, old age, etc. The need for smaller living quarters like this guy's apartment is growing. We need to be in control of our own lives as much as we can when living by ourselves - young or old, rich or poor. Have your own space and live like YOU want without bothering anyone else, of course.
happy2bretired is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-12-2013, 05:41 AM   #20
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
jollystomper's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 6,135
The article was interesting, but to me it came across as someone who goes on an alcoholic drinking binge, and then changes to the other extreme and drinks nothing but water.

I can agree that there is too much focus on obtaining "stuff", but moderation is the key. I really believe the bigger problem is looking at what others have and deciding you need the same, or better - the "keeping up with the Joneses" mentality.

DW and I each have areas where one might consider we have too much "stuff". For me it is computers, for her it is books. Both are driven somewhat because they relate to our jobs. But in may other areas we definitely don't need stuff.
__________________
FIREd date: June 26, 2018 - "This Happy Feeling, Going Round and Round!" (GQ)
jollystomper is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Quick Links

 
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 10:34 PM.
 
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.