Extreme Savings Article: Another Couple’s Story
June 24, 2007
Flickr Photo Credit: KissThis
Are we too frugal, I’ve been wondering lately, as more and more people subtly hint they have absolutely no understanding of our lifestyle?
Bulk shopping, second hand clothes, giving away half of everything we own before the government stored it for two years, 6 months of backpacking followed by the landing at our new lake cottage, giving away or handing off most of what was inside this place, too? What were we thinking?
Not only have we pared down financially in an attempt to retire early, we have pared down our belongings in order to enjoy it. We’re becoming minimalists in a society that values the accumulation of goods. Then I ran across this article on the internet. The couple in this article is living with a savings plan at least as extreme as ours. They will be retiring early as well. No, we are not too frugal. Nor are we wrong to be paring down, at least not in my opinion. Having less in the house has helped us be able to focus on the really important details required to track investments and stay on top of home maintainance while running the business and pursuing other artistic project options If we had to move all those other items out of the way to dust, vacuum, or just generally “deal with”, I wouldn’t have time to do even half of the other more important things on my plate right now, and neither would my husband. More square footage in our living space would also be required in order to house them. We’ve been joking lately that if we don’t stop, we’re going to be like one of those couples you see in the modern home design magazines . . . not owning anything but a bed, a laptop, some file boxes and a microwave. Not quite that extreme yet, and truth be told, probably never will be. But the concept is sound. Owning and owing less goes a long way towards having the freedom to live an authentic life and have the means to handle life’s little emergencies along the way. That’s our opinion. We’d value yours as well, if you care to sound off with a comment.
I think paring down is wonderful — but it’s so much work. I suppose it’s fun to do the accumulating and harder to do the slimming, just as with our physical bodies. I’ll look forward to learning more from your blog!
Susanna