Three little beings I definitely can't live without!
A friend of mine recently forwarded a blog post to me from a site called Inside Higher Ed. It’s a great post called 5 Things I No Longer Wish to Own. I love it that simplifying and paring down is a topic that seems to be on more and more peoples’ radars these days.
Blogger Joshua Kim says, Is this desire to shed ownership of things a life cycle story, a digital story, or something else? Do you share my desire for life as a service? Has owning stuff also lost its appeal to you? The five things he no longer wishes to own are: software, hardware, books, a car, and a house.
What about you? Has owning stuff lost its appeal to you? I know it has for me. What are some things you could live without? Below are some things I either have no desire to own or wish I could rent or share with others.
Land-line: I have no desire for a land line. I’ve been “cell phone only” for many years now and it’s been a great decision. It’s been one less gadget or service I have to upkeep. Occasionally someone says to me, “But what if an earthquake hits and all the cell towers go down? How would you call anyone?” Sorry to disappoint but I was in the “94 Northridge quake in California. The first thing to go was my land-line. I refuse to live my life in fear of what “might” happen. I’ll take my chances.
House: Even though house prices are going down I have very little desire to own. The idea that I can pick up at any time and move anywhere I want is very appealing to me. Another thought that occurs to me often is real estate appreciation might seriously slow down for quite some time. If I ever do buy it will be because I love the place and it’s affordable, not because I think I will one day get a great return on my investment.
Car: We are a one car household but I really long for the day when we have adequate public transportation and I don’t have to own anything with wheels. Well maybe a bicycle because I love to bike. For those times I would need a car, I would rather just rent and let maintenance and vehicle wear and tear be the car rental company’s headache.
Appliances like vacuum cleaners, lawn mowers, etc.. Wouldn’t it be cool to have a center in every community where you could borrow these items? Or maybe people could go in together on purchasing them for everyone to share. This way no one person would bear the financial and maintenance burden. The community would take care of everything together which would save money and precious living spaces in our homes.
Jewelry: I have a few nice pieces and quite frankly I have no desire for anymore. I’m a fairly small person and I look ridiculous with too much jewelry on. Most jewelry is incredibly over-priced in my opinion and I’d rather spend the money on experiences that I can treasure in my heart.
Cable TV, magazines and newspapers: I can get all of the shows, news, and articles I want on-line. Isn’t the internet great? 
I’d like to take this topic of things I can do without one step further so below are some non-material things that I can live without:
Debt: Being debt free is true liberation. I’m not tied down to a job I don’t want to have nor do I wake up in the middle of the night worrying about who and what I owe. Letting go of the idea of having to own so much stuff makes it easier to be debt free and life is so much more enjoyable.
Cable News or any kind of mainstream news that goes for shock value: My mother thinks it odd my husband and I don’t have cable or watch local or cable news channels. But where do you get your news she asks me. Plenty of places and I think I’m probably more informed than the average American. Corporate owned news conglomerates are not the only game in town although they would want you to believe so.
People who suck the life force out of me. We all know those people who take, take, and take and then some. Fortunatley, I don’t have to many of these people in my life but when they do show up, I try to set up my boundaries with them as quick as possible.
Worry: There’s lots going on in the world today and change is on the horizon. What that change will be is still unknown. I’m done with worrying about money, retirement, and whether or not I will have enough money to pay next month’s rent. I still do worry from time to time but the less I do the easier life gets.
(If you’d like to read more about living simply and changing the way you think about wealth please consider reading my book which is available in paperback or Kindle: REDEFINING THE MEANING OF WEALTH: DISCOVERING PROSPERITY AND FORTUNE IN THE UNEMPLOYMENT LINE.
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Haven’t been here in a while. Nice to visit again. I’m with you on most of the things to give up. Still I have a some work before I can live without some things. I’m not good at sharing – maybe ’cause I’m an only child. It would do me good to learn.
Hope you’re doing well.
After being broke for a long time, I got a better job with a better income a few years ago and went through a period of buying just because I finally could. Books, music, art supplies, eating out, fancy portfolios for my design work, magazine subscriptions, clothes, shoes, hard drives, you name it. But in the last year or so, I came to a satiation point and realized that I didn’t have to own all these things to enjoy them or to feel good about myself. I sold a lot of books and now frequent the library. I donated a lot of shoes and clothes and paired down my wardrobe to relative basics. I can now go to department stores and browse but leave empty-handed, which is a huge step for a girl who never left the Gap without buying something! And I got rid of all debt except mortgage and started a major savings program.
Wow Lana! Your story is so inspiring. I browsed around your website a bit . You are very talented.
Myrna, so good to hear from you again. I hope you are doing well also!