Summary: Learning to live with less

This post was written for anyone who is dissatisfied.

However, others might still find value here.

You will benefit from this post if:

  • You are tired of running on the treadmill of over-consumption.

  • You bring home a shit income.

  • You're a young man who wants to fly the coop (today) and you don't think you can survive.

In college, I was determined to not live with my parents anymore. The problem was that as an engineering student, I didn't have time to work and make money.

I had to find a way to get by on the little financial aid I had given to me.

The first thing I did was buy a sleeping bag and camp out in my car in one of the dorm parking lots. Hours went by of me trying to find the perfect way to contort my body to lay in my tiny, old and rusty Hyundai Elantra.

With a seat belt buckle placed firmly up my ass, I thought to myself, "I know how this ends... When the sun comes up I'm going to go back home to reclaim my childhood bedroom."

All of my stuff was there still anyway. I miss my stuff.

I was fighting a losing battle. What else could I do?

I had heard from everyone that the minimum wage wasn't livable. "How the fuck is anyone supposed to not live in their car on a $1000 per month income?"

If the minimum wage wasn't livable, I'd be dead.

It turns out that pretty much anyone can live on an American minimum wage budget; it's just that no one in America wants to.

The only thing required is living within your means -- which most people don't like to do. The middle class wants to live like the upper class, and the lower class wants to live like the middle class.

If you don't live within your means, you are going to be a poor person -- financially and spiritually.

After fixing my twisted body, something occurred to me.

I always thought of moving out of my parents house to be something I would need to show off. "Come over and check out how great I've done for myself. As you can see, across from my 60" tv is my massive sofa."

I left my car, went to the library, and sat down at a computer. I need to find a room for rent.

Craigslist.com is great for anyone who needs a cheap place to stay. I found a private room in my college town for $320 per month. Perfect.

When I went to go check out the place, I was disturbed.

As I walked in, the smell of curry invaded my nostrils.

That's when I found out there were going to be 4 of us staying in a small two bedroom apartment. One of the guys had converted the living room into a third bedroom.

There was no couch, tv, or coffee table in the entire apartment. I love coffee tables. Their beds consisted of a blanket thrown on the floor.

As a white suburban kid in America, I did not know of anyone who would consider living in a place like this. My future roommates were not white suburban kids; they were all from India.

To them, this wasn't that bad. Back in India, they didn't even have "western style" toilets. Maybe if they can be content with this, so could I.

Financial success and furthermore, tranquility, can be found in the following statement.

Learn to need less.

Just as you don't need a harem of women to consider your life worth living, you don't need a doctor's salary to be satisfied.

Having monetary abundance can be a symptom of one's character, just as having a plethora of pussy can be.

That is not to say these things are necessary for having high self-regard. However, having self-esteem is often a precursor to having abundance in all areas of life.

Abundance is not found in buying more bullshit. Abundance is found in needing less bullshit.

"The things you own end up owning you." -- Tyler Durden

"Can I move in today?"

I went back to my parents' place. I wanted to move my things.

All of this stuff is too big. The room I rented was tiny compared to my old room. The queen bed can't go. My giant desk has to stay.

I grabbed my clothes, laptop, some books, and I left my childhood residency behind for good.

Although I respected their ability to rough it on the floor, I had learned from my previous night's experience that sleep was essential to my being. I found a twin bed on Amazon.com for $200.

I also found a small plastic desk for myself which cost $50.

Let's see...

  • Rent - $320

  • Utilities - $40

  • Phone - $50

  • Food - $200

"That essentially covers the first and second base of Maslow's hierarchy of needs." Anything else is extra.

That adds up to monthly expenses of $610. My budget is $1000.

"I guess that means I'm keeping my car."

  • Gas & insurance - $200

Okay, so that leaves me with $810 for expenses and $190 to spare for miscellaneous stuff like car maintenance.

Owning a car on a sub-poverty budget is usually a bad idea. To get to class I just walked or took the bus anyway. I only wanted it as a way to go see friends and family.

As time went by in my new living arrangement, I started to love living with less.

It allowed me to focus on the things that really matter to me. I always felt like I was trimming the fat from my life. Buying expensive stuff to fill my shitty apartment with seemed pointless.

Instead I put all of my energy into becoming a stronger person. I studied and read more. I lifted habitually. I cooked all of my meals because I couldn't afford not to. During that time I also started meditating.

After a couples years of lifting and growing out of my clothes, I replaced them with very few new clothes. I got rid of books I wasn't reading anymore.

Before living with less, I used to fantasize about all the great shit I'm going to have one day. A Corvette and a huge house -- the biggest one on the block.

These thoughts gradually faded over the years. Living like this, I was clearly no longer trying to impress anyone. Then I realized I didn't need to impress anyone. I stopped caring what people thought of me.

People still think I'm crazy when I tell them I don't ever foresee myself trading up from my old and rusty car I slept in that night.

“It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor." -- Seneca

Lessons learned:

Anyone in the western world without an extreme physical or mental handicap can be financially independent -- today.

Learning to live with less will help you not care what others think of you.

We don't need nearly as much as you might think in order to be satisfied.

Having abundance means needing very little, both from women and the things around you, or lack thereof.