Free Ebook.


Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

« Two Ways to Protect Yourself in a Market Downturn | Main | Star Money Articles for the Week of May 14 »

May 17, 2007

Comments

Feed You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.

I find the idea that it takes money to enjoy life offensive.

That statement somehow implies that I need to have money to enjoy life. Sure, there are plenty of things, including necessities, that require money. I believe that once you have a certain amount of income, you should not need much more to be able to "enjoy life".

I actually know someone who refuses to own a microwave because she thinks that they are bad for your health. Yes, it is possible to function without one. As far as cell phones go if you're single and you only have one phone, then I don't think it's much different than having one house phone back then. Did most people have house phones in the 1970's?

after moving to hong kong, i do not have a microwave and instead steam any leftovers and vegetables in a wok. if you don't have a wok, a steamer would do just fine as well.

many people in hong kong only have a mobile phone and no home line. the only reason i have a home phone line is because it came free with my broadband internet access.

interesting article!

The more you expand your lifestyle, the more you're a slave to you job and the more you become dependent on it. If financial freedom is what people are looking for, they should free themselves of material desires.

I grew up in the 80s and 90s without most of these things. We never had a dishwasher or cable/satellite TV. We got our first TV in 1985 and used it as the "primary" TV for over 15 years. Our first microwave didn't appear until 1998, and we used a dial-up modem for our Internet access from 1993 onward. (We did have 2 cars, a computer, and a clothes washer & dryer - but even then, the mantra was "fix it, don't replace it".)

When I compare with what my husband and I have now, I wonder why we feel so many things are necessary. I admit that our jobs as computer programmers would be harder if we couldn't check our email from home over our high-speed internet connection... but do we really need that large LCD TV and digital cable?

The challenge is... if everyone does that, the word recession will be spoken about quite often! In fact, we would all experience it again.


Very true Steve, that's a large part of the problem with a consumer economy IMO. So many people have to buy things that they don't need, so that other people can have jobs to buy things that they do need. I find that a little bit scary.

The comments to this entry are closed.

Start a Blog


Disclaimer


  • Any information shared on Free Money Finance does not constitute financial advice. The Website is intended to provide general information only and does not attempt to give you advice that relates to your specific circumstances. You are advised to discuss your specific requirements with an independent financial adviser. Per FTC guidelines, this website may be compensated by companies mentioned through advertising, affiliate programs or otherwise. All posts are © 2005-2012, Free Money Finance.

Stats