Posted February 24, 2009 - 11:16 by Philip Brewer
Lifestyle
Is there an intersection between living large and simple living? I think so. To me, living large is not about having more stuff or more expensive stuff, it's about living my life exactly as I choose, without being constrained by what my boss wants me to do, what the neighbors think, or what my creditors will allow. It's about the breadth and width of my life, not about how high I can pile up stuff. If that is how you want to live large, you'll find a lot of inspiration in Richard R. Powell's book Wabi Sabi Simple.
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Posted January 29, 2009 - 20:48 by Paul Michael
Personal Finance, Frugal Living, Lifestyle
First, apologies for the blatantly provocative title (although I do make good on it). But did you know that some people prefer to be homeless? I know, sounds crazy right? But I was watching a news story recently about the growing homeless population in Britain, and the US, and it seems some homeless people stay in their situations on purpose.
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Posted July 7, 2008 - 13:25 by Philip Brewer
Personal Finance, Lifestyle
Nobody wants to be poor. It's a dangerous and constrained position to be in. But there are people out there (me, for instance) who are relatively happy to live at a fairly low standard of living. Choosing to live at a low standard of living means you don't need to earn as much money--which opens up a huge range of possibilities that ordinary people don't have. The way society is organized now, though, that's not a safe option.
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Posted March 3, 2008 - 14:55 by Philip Brewer
Personal Finance, Frugal Living
There's little argument about the minimum a human needs to survive--we know how much water, food, and shelter keep body and soul together. But a certain level of comfort above that has always been considered necessary for a "decent" standard of living. Just how much space there is between necessity and decency, though, is a social construction, and society's opinion changes all the time.
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Posted December 21, 2007 - 08:40 by Philip Brewer
Shopping, Food and Drink, Health and Beauty
Twenty years ago, I parked at a supermarket, near where a poor family had just parked. I knew they were poor, because they looked like poor folks are supposed to look: Their clothes were worn (but mended and clean). Their car was an aging sedan. They were recycling a trunkful of aluminum cans. As I locked my car, they took the handful of change they got for the cans, and headed in ahead of me. There were three of them--man, woman, child--and all three were skinny. It's unusual to see that now. The new face of poverty is fat.
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Posted September 24, 2007 - 05:45 by Linsey Knerl
Personal Finance
I have spent a good portion of my young life being poor. Growing up on a small family farm during the agriculture crises in the 80’s gave me perspective on what poverty really means. Eating cabbage soup for most meals, riding in cars with holes in the floorboards and doors welded shut, and picking out clothing from among the abandoned items in the school’s lost and found will always give me something to compare my financial situation to when times get a little tough.
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The first person I met who practiced voluntary simplicity didn't call it that, and I didn't understand what she was doing until many years later. It left a lasting impression, though, because it was a source of stress between her and her friends.
Continue reading "Voluntary simplicity versus poverty"
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