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grub
Member
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# Posted: 13 Feb 2017 11:48pm
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Sounds boring but after a life of consumerism (49+ years) Sue and I get a real kick out of not buying stuff. We are constantly told by advertisers that happiness is just a purchase away - but it is all lies. Would love to hear from other forum members about their money saving tricks and tips and how it has made them free. Sue and I no longer have to work a 40 hour week and get a real kick out of life, something the advertisers failed to deliver.
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bldginsp
Member
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# Posted: 14 Feb 2017 12:05am
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For years I collected 'stuff', and now I'm trying to get rid of it. I only want what I really need and will use. So I still have a lot of stuff, but I'm weeding out the things that I got just to have, as though having, in itself, was the goal.
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grub
Member
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# Posted: 14 Feb 2017 12:11am
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We were the same and had a house and 4 bay garage full of stuff. We sold/gave most of our bits and pieces away and now everything we own fits in our house truck and 4WD. The sense of freedom it has given us is wonderful.
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DaveBell
Moderator
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# Posted: 14 Feb 2017 08:28am
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Quoting: grub told by advertisers that happiness is just a purchase away
The more you buy the more you save!
Get two of these things you don't need for just an added fee.
Put this air leak blocker under your door and save on heating bills. (never mind the sides and top of the door)
I think the Flex-Seal guy is making tons of off repackaged Truck Undercoating.
I was spending over $800/year on K-cups. I bought Folgers Colombian and use the brown filter now.
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Cowracer
Member
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# Posted: 14 Feb 2017 09:36am
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I guess I am the opposite. I like my stuff. I like my boat. I like my truck and my camper. I like my motorcycle and my UTV. I like my cabin, and I like all those little things that make my life easier like my riding mower and snow blower.
I am lucky that I have a career that I just love. I literally enjoy going to work. I'm good at what I do, and I am compensated on a level that borders on the absurd. No, I am not 'living for my stuff". I manage to put away plenty too.
I understand that some people have found happiness by "downsizing", but for some it would not bring any happiness at all. Nor does having the consumerist mentality automatically mean you won't have happiness. I am quite happy all around (although, I really could use some more garage space)
What my stuff does is give me options for my downtime. I can go camping, or go to the lake. I can take the bike out for a weekend trip, or sit at home and watch some movies in comfort. The fact that I have those options make me very happy with life indeed.
Tim
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FishHog
Member
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# Posted: 14 Feb 2017 09:46am
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I was a "stuff" guy for years. Now we have decided that a simpler life is better and if it gets me away from work sooner to enjoy life more, I'm all for it.
I still have my boat, snowmobile, atv, hunting stuff and cottage. But you have some fun also. But we have been downsizing a lot. I've sold stuff I haven't used in 10 years. Its very freeing. And will continue down that road, as fast as I can.
Now when I see something I want, I give it a lot of thought, and 90% of the time realize its just something else that won't get used enough to justify the cost or the storage.
I wish I loved my job, but I'm burnt out and know it. So I will give up stuff and the need to keep working asap.
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paulz
Member
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# Posted: 14 Feb 2017 09:53am
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I went to the recycle yard yesterday and left with less than I brought!
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Ontario lakeside
Member
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# Posted: 14 Feb 2017 11:24am
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I don't want stuff, I want time. Every dollar I save is one less dollar I need to earn. That doesn't mean buying cheap, it mean getting value for money.
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creeky
Member
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# Posted: 14 Feb 2017 11:37am
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Maybe has something to do with age. When I was middle aged I loved stuff. Then one day the missus and I were in the basement family room and realized we were just walking between piles of stuff. sure. we'd been frugal. bought on sale. bought at auctions, fleamarkets or liquidation centers. but...
So we started downsizing. had a couple of garage sales. gave away tonnes of stuff. it gets pretty stupid when you realize you made 1k at a garage sale and got back .10 on the dollar.
About that time we also had a friend come down with cancer, an uncle pass, parents move to smaller quarters ...
we were at that age. it wakes you up.
so now that I'm semi-retired. being frugal is a joy. my girlfriend still bugs me that I'm a shopaholic. but I consider myself more a researchaholic. I look but don't buy.
heck I even pass up free now. well okay. not very often. but its happened.
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drb777
Member
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# Posted: 14 Feb 2017 12:10pm
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I've found that many today don't realize the true cost of "stuff". When you consider that you're using after-tax money, you're actually paying as much as twice the price (in pre-tax work effort). Plus I don't feel any responsibility to fund government waste with my sales tax/VAT labors.
Though I've always enjoyed being independent, I've found that "doing-it-myself" actually has many other benefits. The feeling of accomplishment and self confidence are huge, and for me at least, were unexpected benefits.
No doubt everyone has their own idea of personal satisfaction, to each his own.
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hattie
Member
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# Posted: 14 Feb 2017 12:21pm
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We live in a small cabin so space is at a premium. I won't fill it with "stuff" that has no meaning to me. Everything in our space is important - be it family photos, my grandmother's mining pants, an oil lamp from my Dad. We got rid of all our "stuff" when we moved here full time. We gave it to our kids at a "get your inheritance now" party we had before our move here.
We also live on a low income so I coupon at the grocery store and stock up on food sales (but only food that we normally eat).
It is easy to get caught up in the trap of needing the latest device. People don't belive that we don't own cell phones. To me it is all hype. We lived for a lonnnnnggggggg time without those devices and did just fine. I can't believe what people spend to have a cell phone service and then the quality of the sound is terrible.
We live very frugally and that means that if we really need or want something, we can usually get it. I feel a sense of pride knowing I am not wasting my money. Food is made from scratch. We garden and preserve food. Bob makes his own wine from our grapes. Clothes are hung on the line outside or the indoor line to save electricity. It isn't for everyone, but it works for us.
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grub
Member
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# Posted: 14 Feb 2017 01:36pm
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hattie
Hi Hattie
It works for us too, we love our life and get to enjoy a lot more freedom now. Your lifestyle sounds neat and as you said it's not for everyone, but it certainly is for us.
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grub
Member
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# Posted: 14 Feb 2017 01:42pm
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Cowracer
Sounds like you get a lot of pleasure out of life which is great. We are all wired differently which is just as well as the world would be a very boring place otherwise. We have met people who live very basically because they have to and hate it. We have also met people who were like we were and have a heap of stuff, jobs that paid well but were not happy. I now only have a one deer rifle and a 22 and have heaps of time to go hunting. In the past i had more firearms but less time to go hunting. Now my favorite pass time (tramping or hiking in the bush/forest) is how I make my living.
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grub
Member
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# Posted: 14 Feb 2017 01:45pm
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drb777
I think you hit the nail on the head 'To each their own.' Like you we have discovered that having a lot of stuff didn't make us any happier and making do does. We love the feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction like you do.
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grub
Member
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# Posted: 14 Feb 2017 01:49pm
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We are in a similar boat. I'm 51 and Sue is 61 and life seems a lot more temporary. Passing up on free stuff is certainly a milestone but I absolutely get it. That's the beauty of living in a small space, you soon know if you are accumulating again. WE found the same ting when we had our garage sale, all the stuff we had worked so hard to buy over the years was next to worthless and a return of 10 cents on the dollars was about what we realised.
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grub
Member
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# Posted: 14 Feb 2017 01:51pm
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Amen to that. I don't think anyone has wished they had more stuff on their deathbed. Time is wonderful commodity and is worth pursuing.
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grub
Member
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# Posted: 14 Feb 2017 01:52pm
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paulz
That is no small achievement - but it certainly makes life a lot less complicated.
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grub
Member
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# Posted: 14 Feb 2017 01:55pm
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FishHog
Sounds like you are well and truly on the right path to me. I hated my job for years, but am in a position to do what I love for a living because we don't need to earn as much as we once did. I hope you get to the point where you make enough doing what you enjoy.
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grub
Member
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# Posted: 14 Feb 2017 01:57pm
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bldginsp
We were surprised at how free we felt when we got rid of most of our stuff. It is amazing how little we really do need to enjoy life.
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bldginsp
Member
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# Posted: 14 Feb 2017 02:25pm
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You can give a small child all the brightly colored plastic toys in the toy store, and they'll still have more fun with a cardboard box and paper towel tube.
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PA_Bound
Member
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# Posted: 14 Feb 2017 04:50pm - Edited by: PA_Bound
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I have a lot of stuff. Maybe more than I need, but I learned from a wise (now deceased) friend that having the right tool for the job is way easier than trying to make the wrong tool work. So when I have a job, if I don't have the right tool I'm not afraid to spend money to get it.
Now... where I find my happiness is lending that right tool to those around me that need it but don't have it... and can't afford/justify it on their own. For example, my F-150 has moved several kids to college and back, many loads of yard trimmings and mulch, and a bunch of appliances- none of which originated or ended up at my house.
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Salty Craig
Member
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# Posted: 14 Feb 2017 08:25pm
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grub
Great topic!!
bldginsp
So true!! My kids are like that.
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RobWnzl
Member
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# Posted: 14 Feb 2017 08:54pm
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Quoting: PA_Bound Now... where I find my happiness is lending that right tool to those around me that need it but don't have it... and can't afford/justify it on their own
So true! It's the opposite of what we're told ... "Don't let anyone use your stuff, they'll just take advantage of you!"
But the truth is, when I let help others, the value I place on "things" becomes secondary.
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toyota_mdt_tech
Member
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# Posted: 14 Feb 2017 09:10pm - Edited by: toyota_mdt_tech
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I agree, many think they own lots of stuff, when in reality, the stuff owns them.
Think of it, the stuff owns you, it requires care, maintenance, when you move, you must move it, house it, protect it from weather, you are just the caretaker for now. It will all belong to someone else someday.
I do have lots of stuff, mainly tools and items to make work easier and repair items ie plumbing, carpentry, electrical, metal fabricator. I dont mean a few tools, I mean enough to be an actual contractor. 
I do have loads of toys, ie dirt bikes, ATV's UTV's, dual sport bikes, 4 vehicles, 9 chain saws, 3 Honda generators, 1 Honda mower, one Cub Cadet rider....
But I do repair vs replace on washing machine, fridge, items around the house, all vehicles...
I am debt free and right on target for retirement, which is about 5 yrs, maybe a smidge longer.
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Gary O
Member
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# Posted: 14 Feb 2017 11:49pm
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No man can tell another how to live.
Not my place to instruct, preach. I seriously hate that.
Who is to say what’s best?
Not this wood butcher.
The aim is happiness.
The goal is contentment, satisfaction, no matter the journey.
Things?
They’re great
If you use them
I have found;
It’s spiritual renewal that gives one the capacity to enjoy things,
places,
….even people.
I have found;
It's so very hard to generate that renewal when living in the hectic stream of town.
One thinks a good rest will do it, but I'll tell you now, I've kidded myself.
When living in town, I've just maintained my sanity, and even that is questionable.
I have found;
Living out a ways helps to keep a mind from being too busy
This place
This small cabin in the woods..has given me a greater perspective of my wellbeing than I could ever muster within a dense society.
Waking to the sun
Sleeping to the moon
No alarm
Out here the concern is not what hour, or minute of the hour.
Just how much light is left in the day....sometimes.
The seasons dictate the schedule
…and they allow you days, even weeks if the fish are biting.
yessir
I have
Contentment
Like I've never known
Or even dreamt of.
And yes, I have some things.
They’re a huge help.
Sometimes one can be frugal to a detriment.
But that’s just me.
Keep a fire
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grub
Member
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# Posted: 15 Feb 2017 01:34am
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That's very true and I think we have all witnessed it. I've forgotten most of the presents I was given as a child but I certainly remember those special days when my parents spent time with me.
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grub
Member
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# Posted: 15 Feb 2017 01:35am
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bldginsp
That's very true and I think we have all witnessed it. I've forgotten most of the presents I was given as a child but I certainly remember those special days when my parents spent time with me.
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Rickkrus
Member
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# Posted: 15 Feb 2017 03:34am
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Hey grub you ever read Thoreau?
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grub
Member
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# Posted: 15 Feb 2017 03:37am
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Sure have Rickkrus abd it got me to thinking. What about you?
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Cowracer
Member
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# Posted: 15 Feb 2017 09:18am - Edited by: Cowracer
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Quoting: grub CowracerSounds like you get a lot of pleasure out of life which is great. We are all wired differently which is just as well as the world would be a very boring place otherwise. We have met people who live very basically because they have to and hate it. We have also met people who were like we were and have a heap of stuff, jobs that paid well but were not happy. I now only have a one deer rifle and a 22 and have heaps of time to go hunting. In the past i had more firearms but less time to go hunting. Now my favorite pass time (tramping or hiking in the bush/forest) is how I make my living.
I well and truly appreciate the fact that you understand that peoples needs are different. Usually, on forums, if you take a contrary opinion, you are asking for an argument on why you are wrong and the other guy is right.
I'm an engineer. And as a general rule Engineers don't idle well. The thought of sitting in a tree stand or watching a fishing pole is totally un-appealing to me. I find inactivity ponderous. I guess that's why I like my job so much. It keeps me active and mentally engaged.
After watching retirement kill my grandfather, and after watching my Dad give up on living after diabetes took his ability to walk and volunteer at the food pantry he loved so much, I coined a phrase. If you ain't doing, your dying.
Sounds like we are both lucky men. Doing exactly what we love because we love it. (but I wouldn't trade places with you for a big clock  )
Tim
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