Topic: The less you own, the more you have (Read 3512 times)

I have noticed the same thing.  The more you own the less freedom you have. Less money, the more you have time to worry about how to maintain your bankroll. Very true how everything really has a price to pay.

I love reading it!  I love the idea of minimalism.  I even apply it to our house like I would choose to buy with something that have already everything on it. 

I also wish I could do what have you done.  Certainly, the less you own the more you have.  You have more time with having less things.  And being contented on what we have is the best feeling.  I read about the president who they said was the poorest president.  Contrary to that he said that he is the richest president as he do not want and need anything more.  He is contented on what he have.  He is the president of Uruguay I guess, I forgot already.  But it just makes me to adore him as it gives happiness and hope in my life.

So you've been living 3 years spending more than you earned? Hmm...
I've been a nomad for 28 years, and I can't remember the days of my youth when I was working less than 50 hours each week. And I want to own! You just need to act sensibly so your possessions don't own you. It's not difficult.

You sound reasonably intelligent. But you sound bitter, as well. Perhaps if you used your intelligence a little differently, you could get a 5 figure income. Then you might not feel so bitter.

The less you have ?

Coming from a guy who said he gets paid 6 figures ? LOL

There is a reason people have "stuff"
And another reason why people are sometimes "hoarders"

Take away that 6 figures and see the poor talk bullshit.
I lived it.

Being on the street with 0 cents and no prospects vs having a bank account with 6 figures is laughable.
And get this..
Not everyone wants to travel.

I live in Canada so why do i want to go to your shithole country ?
Travel can blow me.. gay bullshit !
What like you think it's going to be different ? LOL
Same shit.. different pile  

"The things you own end up owning you"
Of course.. there is some truth to that.
I had to pay for a storage locker not long ago LOL
First thing i did was go through everything i owned and chucked as much i could.

I did throw away 2 computers i didn't need too.
Ended up getting them back and i have used them non stop ever since.
I ended up selling the fancy 3rd one and needed my crappy ones.
So had i not stored "stuff" i would not even be typing this right now !

Anyway you should see the retard pointless crap i see bums push around in carts here.
Just a heap of useless garbage.. and i have wondered WHY so many times passing them by.
The answer is rooted in the repeated comments by one of my favorite reality TV show stars.
..
He says what ever "stuff" you can dig up or find / use etc the better.
Because it make you feel more HUMAN ..which is comfort while sitting in a bush in the dark.
Ever sat in a bush with no home ?
I sure as fucking hell have and with out stuff i would not have gotten rid off bears countless times.
Stuff ?
I knew i was going into a bush so i went and bought an air mattress HAHHAHAHA
Hey i might end up being some bush man weirdo bum type guy
but i am going to do it in style and COMFORT !

But hey.. you enjoy your 6 figures telling everyone they don't NEED anything LOL
Me ? I will take Les Stroud's side from Survivoman fame.
Where he mentioned that quote while drinking plain hot water in a found cup
..to feel more human and have comfort.

It's a dream life style. Congratulations! Nothing binding you but a suitcase is awesome, true freedom.

Over the last 4 years I've been involved in the Bitcoin industry, researching digital money and stashing away Bitcoin. This year, business has reached a point where it is covering my monthly expenses with plenty left over for disposable income. At first I thought this was an opportunity to splurge on something fancy to celebrate, but I did the exact opposite - I sold everything I owned but the bare essentials. My entirety of my belonging fit into a suitcase and carry on and I cannot express how liberating this is. Truly, the things you own end up owning you. I've discovered less is more.

Although I've been a nomad since 2013, I've never gone full digital nomad until just now. Since 2013, I've lived in Saskatchewan, Sweden, Toronto, and now Montreal. I attribute this lifestyle to a combination of mobile and Internet technologies.

What I would like to do is invite others to discuss this life of minimalism and digital nomadship as I believe it is magnitudes more fulfilling than the traditional 40+ hour workweek.

Well, congratulations. I'm saving 20/30% of my monthly income these days. We have several things in common, though. I don't have much attachment to places nor material stuff. I've sold my house n 2012, and I've been living here and there since then, but I don't want a boat for the future (I love the sea, but I love it from the seaside). My goal is to have several houses in several different countries, and I'll be traveling between them.

I haven't been without a job since I was 14. I doubt I would ever be without one. Even if I was retired I'd still work. So I don't know how I'd feel without one.

As for the wallet, that's the point. You don't have to worry so much about money without a lot of stuff. My monthly spending on essentials is about 10% of my income and I could easily drop that down to 4-5% if I had to.

Elwar, I think you own a lot. It doesn't matter that you don't own a lot of stuff. You have the confidence coming from having a good job with a regular income and (I assume) a pretty fat wallet. Would you so enthusiastic about owning few material things, if you had less immaterial things like your job and your wallet?

That was an interesting read! I'm glad for you, OP, and I really hope I will be able to live at least close to what is your lifestyle is. To visit one new country even in 6 months is my long time dream. Also it's nice to see that one can always easily change Bitcoins to get a local currency anywhere.

I get tempted to buy things all the time. There are billions of dollars spent to psychologically get us to buy stuff. I just go back every time and remember that it has to fit in my carry on or backpack. Then the temptation goes away because I remember that my life is a lot easier without all of those things.

What a wonderful idea.  I all loved the comments here.  It is very practical.  By owning less we will become more happy.  We will be able to enjoy single thing that we have right now.  I wish I could be you someday.  Just enjoying the things which only matters to me.  Nowadays, people were so busy making a living but forget how to live.  They are tied to their bills, to their luxurious things, to their egos.  If only I could have a nice job maybe I can do that.  But for now I will work hard to do the same like you do today.  I will put it always in my mind, "the less I own, the more I have."

Yes, in America, but beyond America as well, although not worldwide. However, there will be some worldwide penetration sooner or later simply from the winds. Some will even penetrate to the Southern Hemisphere.

In America

With all the aluminum oxide and barium being sprayed into the atmosphere - chemtrails - it won't take as long as you think. The "numbness" is penetrating slowly. But it has already started, and we don't even realize it.

Hopefully by then I can just upload my brain to a hard drive.

And fortunately I'll have the bitcoins to afford it.

Alzheimer's.   

So essentially what you're saying is to not be materialistic about things and worry about only life experiences?

Wow, your story is awesome. You managed to get out of System and live in some other way, and it really deserves respect.

I wish I could live like that too. Unfortunately, the cult of consumerism is still strong in my mind, though in time I'm getting more and more unattached to material assets. Hope someday I'll be wiser.

Totally agreed with OP. While I haven't implemented minimalism as extreme as the OP, I have managed to lower the costs of living considerably in the last years. Because of this, I don't need a fulltime job to make ends meet (roughly 18-20 hours per week is enough), unemployment is a minor annoyance at most, and most of the time I can do whatever the hell I want. I see relatives owning new and expensive cars, big houses and lots of electronical equipment, but they can only finance that when working fulltime. Unemployment for them would probably turn out disastrous.

What you're right ... The wealth and love of things, it binds the human hands and feet. It deprives him of true freedom. But if they refuse, then give up everything. Absolutely and always away from civilization. But for this it is necessary to have a solid solution. And strong mativatsii. But try yourself in the limit against their will, it is not necessary. Especially if such a desire arose only from the fact that it is the same thing the others do. Minimalism is a state of mind rather than a passing fad.

I feel like I would get along with you very well, Elwar.
As I was driving to work today I realized that its so awesome to not care about owning anything that I couldn't carry with me in one bag.
As long as I have a laptop, and an internet connection, I could be happy anywhere.
The less things I own the happier I am. Being mobile is amazing. The only things that matter are your experiences and your knowledge.
Don't get tied down with too many material possessions or you will spend your whole life worrying about things you can't take with you to the next life anyways!

And worst of all, you are spending this stuff you want to protect, to buy the protection to protect it. What a vicious cycle!

Those who own little do not have to worry about money as much. And they are more likely to have more money.

Consider owning a bar of gold.

Do you live in an apartment? You will need to secure that gold from someone stealing it so it is better to own a house if you're going to own a bar of gold. So now you have a bar of gold in your house. You need to buy a safe to put the bar of gold in. But what if someone steals the safe. You need to buy a gun to protect your home. And paying for a security system for when you are away is a very good assurance that the bar of gold is safe.

Look at all of the hassle you have gone through just to own one thing.

It is the same with everything you own. You are constantly protecting it from being taken.

Nobody can take your fun memories of enjoying your life instead of working hard to buy then protect your stuff.

I do not think this applies to debt. I currently have a stupid amount of student loans, so I technically have less than nothing and I would rather much not have loans to be paying off.

I totally agree to this. I am living a simple life, i am a minimalist. I have a stable job to earn money, then i use the money to travel. I do not own a car because i do not want to have debts. I travel most of the time and it makes me happy. Being simple is a total happiness!

It is because you value things you count. So if you own less, you will value them a lot because you that's the only thing you have while if a person own more. He's less likely aware of valuing it because he can easily replace it.

Whatever you said has pros and cons on its own! Yes, the more you have, the more you are worried of losing it and being bankrupt. You are concerned about the society and your image in the society. You want to be the best in society and try to make more money. You lose all your money and then you go insane and find yourself blinded. However, having less is bad on its own too. You are dreaming of winning big. You gamble at every possible offer. You are ready to do anything for free money and find yourself ended in jail. You think you are worthless and may not enjoy many wonders in life

The obligatory George Carlin's take on having too much stuff:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvgN5gCuLac

Yaaa the less you own the less worries we have in our life. The less we have the lesser the stress level. This can help us have the best in life.
It simply mean we will have enough time to gain the experience that we want to have.

Well I think I agree with you. The less you own is equal to pleasure since you don't need to worry about many things. I guess we bitcoiners need few things to live daily life. The first thing of course I think is laptop and modem to earn some bitcoin. The second and last thing is cooking equipments and bed to sleep and electricity too. I guess living like that seems good to do with a modified camping van. 

The more you control without owning it, the more you have. Consider government people, for example.

Life experience and things are connected. Without things you couldn't experience bitcointalk forum 

I think OP is saying "The less things you own, the more you have" because six figure income is not poor.

I get what you mean about local community. My job has always moved me around and I thought at one point that I would like to try to stay in one place and settle down but life is so dynamic that trying to stay in one place becomes a battle in itself. At least in my line of work where the jobs pick up in different places at different times.

Though if I was tied to one place due to my job I would probably feel trapped too.

The Internet helps to keep in touch with your community of friends no matter where you are.

Funnily enough it seems you're not that different from your former self since the second part of your motto has stayed the same 
You've gone from "the more you own, the more you have" to "the less you own, the more you have" leaving the end result the same, you still have more 
Seriously though, I know what you mean, I backpacked across South East Asia for 4 years and yeah it's a pretty cool lifestyle at first but it's not as rosy as you make it sound. I had money and never had to work while I was there but being a drifter is exhausting after a while at least for me it was. It's something to do with not really belonging to the local community wherever you stop. It was fun at first but I quickly realized that the longer I stayed in one place the more complicated things got. And to always be moving gets tiring after a while. Maybe it's different for you since your job acts as a real life anchor.

Very Nice. It is not bad to be materialistic. but you should live your life the fullest not wasting your life preparing for the life you want. You have to realize that present moment is all you have. The idea of the less you own, the more you have is nice but I would like to say I don't care how much you own but you shouldn't be attached to the things you own or those things will start to own your life.

"The things you own end up owning you"

    - Tyler Durden -

I am certainly not poor. I have a six figure income and have been buying bitcoins since they were $18.

It is life's experiences that have value. Not things.



I don't understand this statement. I actually sold my house. I sold everything I own except what fits inside a suitcase. That was not expensive. I have a small apartment that I have a month to month lease on so that I can move any time I want if I find a better job anywhere else in the world.

The part I like about it is not wanting anything. I see some cool toy or gadget on the Internet and think...wow, that would be awesome. Then I remember that it would not fit in my suitcase. The feeling of want goes away and I realize that the cool thing isn't worth the headache that comes with owning it. And would likely only be fun for a short amount of time. Instead I can go to http://www.google.com/flights and find the next city I want to travel to for the weekend.

Minimalism & bitcoin.

This is what poor people tell to themselves.

I'll stick to that >> "The more you own, the more you have."

We are in a bitcoin forum for fcks sake. Everyone here is after money yet you say "own less have more".

Please....

For me more i have i have more because if i have more btc i have more $ and i csn buy more things,i can invest more money,i can spend morr money,i fan gamble if i have too much money but if i have less money i as so sad befause i need more money to live better than mow becaude with more money you could have bigger standard life.

This quote is not only for bitcoin but also in real life, the more you have the less you control them, you spend more time on them by managing improving increasing the volume etc. Having less stress can be better for the health.

Not only god we need.. we are also need to be a hard working to help our life to live in this world.
If you really want to live and help your parents better to be a hard worker. no less is you need better to dream high

Having a relationship with God is all that man needs.

I did not say that the less prosperity you have, the more prosperity you have. The less things you own, the less those things control your life. The more happiness you have.


My mother was a credit counselor. She told me about this doctor couple that came in with debt up to their eyeballs. They owned the expensive house with two new expensive cars and spent money on all of the finer things. When she told them that they can't afford to keep doing that they were shocked because the other doctors had the same lifestyles. She told them that it was very likely that the other doctors were also in debt up to their eyeballs.
If those doctors had instead bought a reasonable house worth maybe a year's salary and paid in cash. Paid for reasonable vehicles with cash. Eat at home more. Then they would have huge salaries with no debt, nothing holding them back from chasing their dreams. Focus on living life instead of working to pay for their stuff.

For me, I'd rather have a large bitcoin wallet than the latest BMW and house on the beach. It opens up my future to so many more possibilities.

Your way of living is really intresting,i have read a lot about this philosophy,but i dont really imagine myself living it.
I love luxury i cant denay it,When i have a lot of money i need to have a shitton of party,booze,recreation etc.
I admire its smart,but just not for me

How about placing everything you own in trust, and control it rather than own it.

Do you remember the Ted Kennedy/Mary Jo Kopechne incident? Look at Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Jo_Kopechne for a refresher:
The thing that the article doesn't talk about is, Ted Kennedy owned nothing to speak of. He held everything in trust. When Kopechne's parents tried to sue him, all they got was the car, because it was the damaging "thing" that killed their Mary Jo, and it was in a trust all its own. The Kopechnes got the trust and the car. That was it.

Indeed but what are the options,  my family can't really live in  a tent and its not really the travelling part that would draw me to it,  more just not having to continue with the rat race from 8 till 5 everyday.

 That's awesome if it works for you.  I can understand how it might be a desirable way to live and at the same time I wonder why you haven't considered whether a family would fit in that backpack?  I used to live similarly to the way you describe - not so much a conscious effort; I simply hated the idea of monthly payments and debt hanging over me.  I wouldn't say it made me happy, it just made life more simple.  Suddenly, I met someone and everything changed.  Now I have to work, I have some debt (quite manageable) and even a couple of monthly payments (mostly utilities but still I will never pay for television!).   I have never been happier and I cannot describe the feeling a young child of yours will give you as they grow and learn nor the feeling of loving and being loved.  I realize family isn't for everyone but I never though it was for me either... +bitcoin

by the sounds of it the op has no money problems at all. he's talking about divesting himself of pointless crap.

i could very happily never settle in one place ever again. before i set off on that odyssey i'd make sure i'd never have to resort to selling my ass at the docks to feed myself.

I agree with Spendulus, I have virtually nothing, great views of the welsh mountains, a flourishing river right along side of me, birds twittering early mornings, watching the Buick swans as they come in to rest, some of the best natured parks, its all beautiful, I only wish I had some money to enjoy life as it is, not life as you dream about, I have that around me right now with my children.

I have been on the road (more gutter), and its not very nice at all, some people think the grass is greener, when its not so different to where you are.
Been there done that, don't like it.

But go as you wish, and enjoy, if you really want to do something without fully leaving it behind.
Go visit Mt Shasta and explore the surroundings, that is something I always wanted to do, its a place of mystery, and hey you could find Jimmy Hoffa 

I agree completely with both of you.  Just give me 90% of all your money and stuff, and learn to live on the minimal amount left.  You will be very happy I assure you. 

Buying a house is not living minimalistic. You basically sign up to be a bank's slave for a number of years. Even if you're rich enough to buy a house for cash, it will still be a burden. You can't easily move to another country, you must maintain it, sell it, the real estate market can go against you, etc.

It is like a philosophical sentence which doesn't interest many people. Our society has programmed our mind to seek for materialistic life.

Wealth is linked to success therefore being rich is the only way to happy life. This is the concept we are grown up into. But many rich people live a stressful unfulfilled life. they may seem prosperous but aren't happy. So there should be balance in life. The less you own more freedom you have. You have time to connect with people.

That sounds to me as some sort of sophism. Like the more you have cheeze, the less you have cheese because of its holes. And this one creates illusion that a way to be in prosperity is negation of prosperity at all. When by common sense the only way to have property is to have it already. The more you own, the more you have. Like A is A, obviously.

I don't think it's the volume ( or even value) of ownership that is the problem. It's the type of ownership, the risks, and the need for management that matters. I think one of the reasons so many people voted for remaining in the destrructive EU was concern for house prices. House prices are not determined by the EU, but by bankers and government poliucy. At the moment they are massively over valued in most of the world. The worry about loss of capital distorts judgement. Living in a van gets rid of this, and removes the costs of property ownership. Owning more than one property makes it worse, as you are in constant fear of break-ins and squatters if the property is unoccupied.

perfectly agreed.. your lifestyle is my biggest dream . i am crazy about minimalist lifestyle but i cant dare to make it happen. The more you own the more you are unhappy .. go for your best decision..

Ive always fancied living minimalistic but even then its too expensive to be self sufficient without a bit of capital to say buy a house and i would still need to work a full weeks work just to get by so its kind of pointless. If i had enough money saved that io could just switch to a more minimalistic lifestyle and quit work i would though .

Please don't trot out that rubbish. Our economy and assets tanked under the EU, and we had less power for it. Once we are free, we can start to rebuild our assets and our economy.

So do you people really believe it?

Less bitcoins equals more bitcoins... wanna send me some btc? :S

Was that the same though behind brexit? Less economical and political powers equals actually to more of it? 

I kinda agree.

Once I was walking through Phoenix (Arizona) because my bicycle was broke down. I worked my way past the chain-link fences next to one of the highways, down under a bridge where a couple of railroad tracks ran under the highway. There I came upon a treasure trove of all kinds of various (mostly broken) items of just about anything you can think of.

Then I noticed this scruffy looking guy watching me from a ways away. He was wearing military fatigues, so I thought he might be ex-military. But who knows.

This guy walked slowly towards me until he was about 10 feet away as I was visually cataloging the junk. Then he spoke in a gruff, barely understandable voice. He made it known in no uncertain terms that the several hundred square feet of trash belonged to him.

Did it really belong to him? Naw. It was just junk, lying around on the ground... although he might have had a hand in retrieving it from who-knows-where all around Phoenix.

I didn't bother the guy, and when I had gone about a hundred feet away from him, back over the fence, I wrapped up a $20 in a scrap of hose that was lying there, and threw it over the fence to him. He understood what I had done, and acknowledged me for it.

The point? You can have everything in the world that you need without owning any of it.

 

i think i have a lot of work to do but having scarcity of time. i think the more opportunities we have to get the bitoicn. but the balance we have very little. we cannot utilize the opportunities.

Great testimony, thank you for sharing!
I really hope I will be able to quit my job to and live freely, as I want, without everyday pressure and stress on work.
I also have great hope that bitcoin will help me to achieve this dream but also I'm trying to develop my own online busoness as well.
If successful, all my financial worries will disappear
Hoping the best.

I don't know but what I observe from homeless people. The less they have the more they know what's the people of a person being empty.

I think it depends. If you own alot and you can make it work for you then that's perfect. I wouldn't want a pile of stuff lying around doing nothing.

People either above or wilfully below the average rut seem happiest to me. Too many get stuck in it hoping to get to the higher level that never arrives.

In pictures: Less is more, minimalism in Japan

http://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-36574697

I agree with you man. I am a teenager too that don't have the most expensive phone that I only buy using my earnings. I only have a simple phone and own a little but im content with it and im happy. I think that most of the rich kids have many things to worry about and I see it everyday they are worrying about those pointless things that they don't really need in life.

I agree. if we don't have too much things, we don't need to think much either, but if we have many cars for instance, we will think them all and how to keep them safe.

Have a look at England. Brexit will make us stronger. The only question is - Will the gov. expand the economy, or just push up house prices and bond values?

You don't have to buy food from the supermarkets. I bought a slow juicer, and I'm experimenting with drinking things like juiced stinging nettles.

Wow, this is insane to read Elwar because I live the exact same way. I have totally downsized everything to one 25 liter bag which weighs at most 10kg. I read that nomads during historical times had about 10kg of items and it is possible to carry that much on your back all day. I've gradually optimized my possessions (wool is key and I have a small pharmacy with me at all times, plus a 20L bag inside my 25L bag which collapses down into nothing for daybag use) and now have just under 100 items using a conservative counting system. I actually have a cool Google Spreadsheet which has everything I own on it besides a few childhood things like you mentioned which I just have to photograph and destroy, old family VHS tapes/photos which really aren't "mine" but I will take responsibility for digitizing some of them, etc. Being able to list every single object I own off the top of my head is something I am proud of, and it feels like a huge burden lifted.

I just spent 8 months in South America and got back to the US in early June. Prior to that I lived in Asia for 9+ months, England for a few months, and a few other places. Later this year I will be renouncing my US citizenship to close that out. I just sold my small car here which I bought used (2 years old seems to be the ideal point, never had a problem with it for the six year I owned it). I've been staying with my family here in the US and the US lifestyle seems to be destroying them as well as many of the people that I know. Hoarding, excessive debts, cultural disease. Trading the hours of one's life for money is just a horrible slow suicide and anyone with a decent income should be able to retire early if they really want to. But spending near one's limits makes this impossible. The manufacture of desire. Hedonic treadmill and all that.

I could never go back to my old way of life, although I have always been a minimalist during my adult years. It's funny because I feel people would often dismiss me as eccentric, which I certainly am, but now people seem to admire me and often say they are envious for my life which I know they could easily have but they won't. I actually transitioned to this system just during the earlier days of bitcoin so to many it seems as though bitcoin savings are necessary to be free, and it certainly helps, but the core idea has to do with not having much stuff. In fact the more money you have perhaps the closer you should guard it because it seems to easily slip through people's hands.

It sounds like you aren't a Yankee given your use of m^2 so perhaps your society is not as bad as this one but I have no intention of returning here. The entire world is mad and of course it takes a long time to see the differing insanity of each society, and common strains run through all of them. But the key is we can take the benefits of the societies and escape from the rest. For instance, American grocery stores are fucking amazing. Nobody here seems to realize this. But then again not many people are just eating fresh produce all of the time. I just can't believe how many good fruits and vegetables are available in the aisles of this country. But this comes with downsides as well. Anyway, not to be hard on the US, ignorance is found everywhere, I just understand this culture best and despite the fact that I soon won't be a US citizen I will still always be an American culturally.

Only problem is it is hard to find similar people. Everywhere you go you just have people living their lives and the world is focused on this economic machine. Gotta feel for people in less prosperous societies for which the above is all nonsense. But for people reading this and in rich countries, there are certainly alternative ways of life. Anyway, not my intention to criticize, just writing up some thoughts as those reading this thread are hopefully interested!

I could notice in our country that most rich people are depressed/anxious. Teenagers are doing their best to pretend that they have all the nice things out there. They follow the trend and everything that is advertised on TV. I realized that these people aren't happy at all. They have a lot of things to manage in their life, and has to maintain their figure in the society.

On the other hand, me, a financially broke teenager, has none of these nice things. I do have a laptop because I need it for school and now I use it to earn money as well. Ironically, I seem to be more content than those people who have it all. I simply smile whenever I see someone with the same age as mine holding the most expensive phone because I know that he/she only asked his/her parents for that when I have a simple phone but I know in myself that I worked hard to buy my simple phone.

PS: I want to try that campervan thing one day when I migrate to another country. It was never a thing in my country so I think it would be awkward for me when people see me in that van.

Less is more indeed. Less money, the more you have time to worry about how to maintain your bankroll. Very true how everything really has a price to pay.

I think you on to something.  I have noticed the same thing.  The more you own the less freedom you have.

I looked into the campervan thing when I lived in the US. I would totally do that. I had two friends that did something like that.

The first guy just said "f$#% it" and instead of paying his rent, bought a cheap van. He pulled the back seats and turned it into a bed with storage underneath. He added 2 solar panels and he and his wife took off. He would go to national parks and just drive inland far enough and just call that his home for a while. Bathe and get water from a creek and just enjoy life. Sometimes he would house sit for people. It was ironic because his wife collected about $1,000 a month in disability from the military and he collected food stamps. When I ran my budget in my nice house with nice cars, he had more spending money than I did each month and my dumb ass was working 40+ hours a week while he got to chill at home doing whatever he wanted all day.

The second lady I worked with in Afghanistan. She was a DBA making good money in Afghanistan ($200k+). I think she got burnt out though. She quit her job and bought an Airstream trailer when she got back home and just took off to see the country. It's been 2 years and she's still out enjoying herself.

I'm considering this. I fancy selling almost everything, and living in a campervan. I can carry on making money by building websites for the ad revenue.

Minimalism + Bitcoin = happiness

I have been living this lifestyle for about 4 years. Everything I own can fit in a carry-on and a backpack (other than a box of childhood stuff at my mother's house). My expenses are about 10% of my monthly income having downsized to a small 35 sqm apartment. I bought a cheap/reliable car, paid in cash (my criteria was something that would last 2 years, good gas mileage and I wouldn't mind walking away from).

By doing this I can focus on the things in life that truly make me happy, last year I traveled to one new country a month. I don't worry about money like I used to. I will probably be able to quit my job in the next few years and do something I enjoy instead of just working for the money. And it has allowed me to accumulate bitcoins. Continuing this lifestyle will allow me to see the world and be independent/free instead of having to spend my life protecting my stuff.

Bitcoin does a lot to help with this lifestyle as I would not be able to be as mobile with gold, moving place to place carrying large amounts of gold across borders while I can carry my private key easily anywhere. I can always find a localbitcoins seller in whatever country I go to to get local currency.


The Less You Own, The More You Have (TED talk)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyKmpyYy14k