The more you rely on things, the more helpless you are... living with less

(From Article) In my early adult life, I got caught up in some very expensive entertainment, simply because I had more money than I had ever even comprehended in my life to that point. Now that I'm older, I realize that most of the things I really truly enjoy have very little cost - reading, preparing food, and so on. I guess the lesson here is to appreciate hobbies and entertainment that have little expense.

 

... I lived with my parents and two older brothers in a very rural area. To put this in perspective to your own timeline, this was the 1980s, in which many homes were wired with cable television, a dedicated phone line, and even such modern amenities as consistent electrical power, which were all things that were absent where I grew up. My parents were both strong believers in self-reliance, and this belief floated through every aspect of our lives. Here are a few brief tales from those days and the lessons I learned from them.

The more you rely on things, the more helpless you are when they go away - and the more companies can get away with charging you for it.

To this day, whenever I rely on a service, I make it a point to occasionally reflect on how I would survive without it, and if life without that service doesn't seem to be much of a loss, I seriously look at removing it. The lesson here is to consider what you really need and what you really don't, and live life accordingly...

 

Read more from posts:

• How My Grandfather Did It: Living Off The Land With Very Little Income
• Lessons From Off The Grid: Important Personal Finance Lessons My Childhood Taught Me