Living small to live big

Top Six Reasons to live and travel in a small space. Less Maintenance, better health, flexibility, less debt, more time, life simplification.

Choosing to live small has many benefits. The positives are obvious: less overhead, less clutter, fewer financial commitments, less stress and more time.

That's one of the first statements of the book Living the Airstream Life. The author goes on to the consequences of these benefits.

... learning more about yourself through having the perspective to consider the bigger picture rather than having to focus on the chores of daily living ... those who live this lifestyle for a long period of time find other ways to make positive contributions, figuring out what their true skills are and how to use them to be a productive member of society rather than having to focus on paying a massive mortgage and credit payments or keeping up with all the chores of modern day living.

That bit resonated with me. I recently left a job to now figure out what my next 'positive contribution' might be. A number of people told me how lucky I was. How they'd like to do that, but can't because mortgage repayments etc dictate their work.

Another consequence

The author says that "making positive contributions to the world can begin by being a conscious consumer. Since you'll need to make the most of your space you will need to choose wisely what to put in it."

Some might miss the unbridled purchasing of whatever we desire (or are told we desire) and the endless accumulation of stuff. For others, it can be freeing to let go - and can actually mean finding more value in fewer things.

Dan and Marlene live fulltime in an Airstream with their three kids. With each family member having only a small dedicated space for personal belongings, selection is key. Dan says "It's not like we can just head to a store and buy more stuff. If they really want something they really have to think about how essential it is and what they are going to have to swap out in its place. It makes them really think about and appreciate what things they do have and be more conscious about taking care of them."

Less is More

Taking a family on the road might not be for all of us, but the philosophy can be the same. Our large and numerous possessions might be what's actually holding us back from discovering ourselves and discovering a better life.

Comments

Your Money or Your Life

Which is more important? Our money or our life? So why do we trade away so much of our life? Vicki Robin's classic book takes an in-depth look at how we can have a better relationship with money. Here are some of my highlights, though there's so much more great value in the book. I found it so inspirational after reading the foreword and the first chapter. While the backbone of the book is a 9-step plan, there are two concepts that really stand out - even if you never start the plan. One is the idea of "life energy" and our "real hourly wage". The other is the point of enough. Life Energy What is money? Vicki Robin comes to the conclusion that it is a form of life energy. It might sound a bit new-age, but it's like the old business saying "time is money". We exchange our time, and our physical and mental energy to get this thing called money. So when we use it we are effectively spending our life. The exchange rate Spending money is almost like...

The real cost of owning a car

It's been about 10 years since I've owned a car. My wife doesn't own one either. "You must save a lot in petrol" That's one of the frequent reactions when someone discovers we don't own a car. "Of course, but it's just the tip of the iceberg" is the usual theme of my reply. Many people I've talked to just aren't fully aware of the real cost of owning a car. Or even that there are six different costs of owning a car. Six? Really? Yes. Occasionally a work colleague or friend will boast their car only costs $X per week. Of course it turns out only some factors have been counted. Sometimes it's just petrol alone. To some people, that feels like the only cost they pay each week. Why does this matter? You might be questioning the need for a second car in the household (or even having one at all). Or you might just be choosing which car to get next. Either way, to make an informed decision we need proper information. So let's look at...

Where is the best place to live?

Where we live determines a lot about our life. So today I'm going to share a resource that can help you decide where might be a good place to live. It started with an article ranking Brisbane suburbs from 1 to 260 . That ranking was based on a set of 17 factors. Here are some of them. But all 17 may not be relevant for you. And some might matter more than others. So they developed a tool where you can rank the 5 factors most important to you and it will give you a personalised list of Brisbane suburbs that would be the best for you - based on those factors. There are also Sydney and Melbourne versions. On the results page, there's also a map that colour-codes each suburb by star rating, for each factor. For instance here's the map for public transport. Five-star suburbs are in blue. When you click on a suburb, you get the name and the star rating of that suburb - for whichever factor you select. I find this to be so enlightening. I choose not to own a car. Some...

But wait... there's less!

Search This Blog