The minimalist lifestyle. Anyone here successfully implemented it?

[kyrathaba]

Is the minimalist lifestyle described in this Lifehacker article really attainable?  Anyone here successfully doing it?

[40hz]

Probably a worthwhile aesthetic and philosophy to embrace.  

But in my case, I think I'll wait until after the big bombs hit before I start embracing it.  

"Necessity furthers. No blame." as the I Ching teaches us.  

[wraith808]

I actually like my job   But we've started paring down our lifestyle.  I found a nice place to live with a job I loved that paid as a salary 25%+ less than what I was making.  But we've made it work, and we're a lot happier.  And we've been paring down further, in order to decrease the stress of dealing with money matters, and the stress of the economy.  I recommend it to anyone in that capacity... it has definitely increased the quality of my life.  I just wish I had embraced this at a younger age.

[40hz]

I think wraith808 hit on something that goes to the heart of the matter: that many of us can benefit from simplifying our lives. And that it can be accomplished without needing to radically alter everything we're doing or go without.

My GF and I made a significant commitment to streamlining and simplifying our life a few years back. And it worked. We managed to keep everything that really mattered to us, and got rid of all the objects and responsibilities we almost mindlessly accumulated over the years that didn't.

Now we have cosiderably less than we had before. And we've become much richer and happier in the process.

-------

P.S. I actually like my job too!

[kyrathaba]

My wife and I are managing to live within our means, even beneath our means.  So money matters aren't particularly stressful.  But I would dearly love to have the kind of freedom that the article in the OP talks about.

[Curt]

Is the minimalist lifestyle described in this Lifehacker article really attainable?  Anyone here successfully doing it?

Notice that the first demand to fulfil was to have economical success online...

[40hz]

There's also that presumption that a day job is, by it's very nature, "soul crushing."

Some of the most soul crushing experiences you can imagine come from owning a business and being "your own" boss. (Whatever that means.)

I speak from direct personal experience on that score. 

[tomos]

Some of the most soul crushing experiences you can imagine come from owning a business and being "your own" boss. (Whatever that means.)

I speak from direct personal experience on that score.

what you and me need (and many others) is the article called
The Minimalist Guide to Leaving My Soul-Crushing Business/Self-Employed work

[cranioscopical]

"your own" boss

That slave-driving swine who expects you to work all hours for next to nothing.

[40hz]

Some of the most soul crushing experiences you can imagine come from owning a business and being "your own" boss. (Whatever that means.)

I speak from direct personal experience on that score.

what you and me need (and many others) is the article called
The Minimalist Guide to Leaving My Soul-Crushing Business/Self-Employed work

I can't remember where I first heard this. But it still rings true:

"Being self-employed is no different than working for somebody else, except that the hours are usually longer and the medical benefits are nowhere near as good."

[wraith808]

^ +1000 

[kyrathaba]

My dream is to be a novelist.  Sit at home in my underwear (well, okay, add a bathrobe when family members are home with me) and write books for a living.  Trouble is, to make enough as an author to live comfortably, you've got to be quite popular which, in turn, probably requires skills above the level of those I possess.

[tomos]

My dream is to be a novelist.  Sit at home in my underwear (well, okay, add a bathrobe when family members are home with me) and write books for a living.  Trouble is, to make enough as an author to live comfortably, you've got to be quite popular which, in turn, probably requires skills above the level of those I possess.

skills can be learned (or so I'm told!)

[cmpm]

I've done both, self-employed and employed by a company.
At the same time at one point.

One problem with being with a company is you have one 'client' who can fire you.

Being self-employed, one usually has multiple clients.
Loose one, gain another.

One problem with self-employed is your services are no longer needed on a large scale.
Killing the business.
Another problem is your tax is higher here in the US for self-employed.

And you are always working for someone in either setup.

[tomos]

skills can be learned (or so I'm told!)

this might help: How To Make Money on Ebooks

[wraith808]

skills can be learned (or so I'm told!)

this might help: How To Make Money on Ebooks

It's a bit more than skill though (and I know from wanting the same goal... at least to an extent).  That's the discouraging part... that you can do it forever and still never have a break (just like acting and other entertainment arts).  You have to have an audience, and that's daunting.

[40hz]

The biggest problem I've encountered with the whole e-book thing is that it's such a good idea that virtually everybody is on to it.

The market is glutted with tons of self-published technical e-books. About 30% are good. The remaining 70% are pitiful and have had the unfortunate effect of damaging the reputation of the entire tech e-book market.

So unless you can interest a publisher (Que, O'Reilly, SAMS, Wrox, Prentice-Hall, APress, etc.) to sign you on, it's going to be a tough sell to the consumer since they don't know you. And getting the big publishers to take you on for an e-book is no easier than convincing them to put you in print, since they have their own reputations to consider.

The other big problem is "ad hoc reproduction" (i.e. bootleg) issues. Since an e-book can be readily duplicated and distributed without paying the author, the only way to really make out with an e-book is to use it as a marketing tool to help sell your other products or services.

Writing a good tech book goes a long way towards establishing your credibility and expertise on a  subject. Ideally it will lead to additional publishing deals, consulting contracts, speaking engagements, or the opportunity to do a sales presentation. But by itself, it's usually little more than a lot of work for very little in return.

Smart musical groups have already started to realize they're not likely to continue raking in millions on old-style recording contracts alone. The smarter groups have already taken action by pushing their live performances, ancillary merchandise, and building their fan clubs - some of which charge a fee to belong to!

The fact that many fans are willing to pay for VIP memberships indicates these "clubs" are providing something more than a list of concert dates and a gallery of band photos. (Hint: priority notifications and announcements, advance private ticket sales, "preferred" concert seating, discounts on merchandise, "members only" unreleased singles, the opportunity to 'vote' on future concert locations, etc.)

So again, an e-book may work. But it won't be enough by itself. Most likely it will only be part of a larger suite of products and services that make up the rest of your revenue model.

[kyrathaba]

It's a bit more than skill though (and I know from wanting the same goal... at least to an extent).  That's the discouraging part... that you can do it forever and still never have a break (just like acting and other entertainment arts).  You have to have an audience, and that's daunting.

Even authors who are now highly successful will generally admit to hundreds of rejected submissions before they achieved recognition.  "I just don't know if I can handle that sort of rejection!" (spoken with the voice of Sheriff Woody from the first Buzz Lightyear movie).

he market is glutted with tons of self-published technical e-books. About 30% are good. The remaining 70% are pitiful and have had the unfortunate effect of damaging the reputation of the entire tech e-book market.

So unless you can interest a publisher (Que, O'Reilly, SAMS, Wrox, Prentice-Hall, APress, etc.) to sign you on, it's going to be a tough sell to the consumer since they don't know you.

Absolutely true!  I can't tell you how frustrating it is to sift through the thousands of free eBooks (PDF, mobi, Kindle, etc.), only to discover that most of what you've downloaded is rubbish.

[wraith808]

the market is glutted with tons of self-published technical e-books. About 30% are good. The remaining 70% are pitiful and have had the unfortunate effect of damaging the reputation of the entire tech e-book market.

So unless you can interest a publisher (Que, O'Reilly, SAMS, Wrox, Prentice-Hall, APress, etc.) to sign you on, it's going to be a tough sell to the consumer since they don't know you.

Absolutely true!  I can't tell you how frustrating it is to sift through the thousands of free eBooks (PDF, mobi, Kindle, etc.), only to discover that most of what you've downloaded is rubbish.

That's why I, for better or worse, only deal with known outlets; your pay for what you get is very much a maxim when applied to technical documentation, I've found.  There are some treasures in there, but the signal to noise ration is quite high, IMO.

[zridling]

The only part of the lifestyle I've mastered is getting rid of junk I don't need or use. Each year -- sometimes twice a year -- I go through every shelf, closet, corner, and space in the house and pull out things I either will never use again -- that book I've read and don't intend to reread, the tool I have a duplicate of, printer cartridges for which I have no printer for, clothes I don't wear, etc., -- and either find someone to give them to or I take them to the recycle station or dump yard.

My mom is a hoarder and I refuse to live like that.

[tangent]
The other thing is I don't do credit cards or loans (except to buy a car). I was in the bank recently and they were flustered that they couldn't loan me any money. I finally said okay and asked for a $2.5mn loan but they were thinking more like $5000-10,000. "No deal, then." I could do a lot of good with millions and if I defaulted, I could claim I needed a government bailout and that I should receive a huge multi-million dollar bonus for failing to pay the loan back!

They didn't fall for it, since that's how banks do business, but they didn't think it fair that customers should borrow on the same terms they get! That didn't stop them from bringing the branch bank president over to shake my hand and ask again if there was any way I would take a $10,000 credit card before leaving. "Nope, I'm good."

The funny thing was: I'M UNEMPLOYED! They knew that. And you wonder why they went broke!

[cranioscopical]

Each year -- sometimes twice a year -- I go through every shelf, closet, corner, and space in the house and pull out things I either will never use again -- that book I've read and don't intend to reread, the tool I have a duplicate of, printer cartridges for which I have no printer for, clothes I don't wear, etc.,

Admirable! 

[johnk]

Yes, we've also done the down-sizing, down-salary, simpler life thing. We left the big city and moved to a small town. And yes, our lives are much richer, and we're much happier.

In fact I've yet to meet anyone who has done the same thing and regretted it.

And when serious illness struck last year, the fact that we only had a small and very manageable mortgage, and we had learned to survive on a relatively modest income, made things a lot easier.

[PeterRossy]

No, I still have a day-job. Too scared to drop working somewhere, but I really would like not to have a day-job. You know, this article made me realize some things, I will consider them, maybe will try to do something to achieve be-a-minimalist goal.