Do Any Of You Live Simply??

Do any of you only work part-time, or have a lifestyle where things are just good overall... no huge struggles??

It's my dream: a cozy home, nature nearby, books, rewarding work that isn't stress-filled, family, friends, creative expression, spirituality, etc...

I've become wrapped up in a lifestyle of struggling to be an entrepreneur though, and it's been eating away at any sense of contentedness I have. When things go well I feel proud, but when our business is pushed against a wall time and time again I start to become scared of the future. The competitive level *of our industry has gotten to points recently where competitors are actually working at a loss believe it or not. I have no clue how long it can go on, but I've been at a loss as to how to direct my life because of it...

Post Edited (Thoreau) : 2/28/2014 8:56:54 PM (GMT-7)

i guess I kind of do but it's all relative. I used to live a much more simple life, worked part-time freelance from home and went hiking a lot in the mountains, spent a lot of time with my dogs, cooked and gardened, enjoyed life.. then I had to get health care insurance so I got a job, and to be honest, I am no more stressed while working fulltime. I like my job and the people so that makes it easy plus steady income and health insurance makes me less stressed.

My dream is to teach college while my partner stays home to write and take care of our future offspring. Too bad I picked a dream career that's saturated!

is it too late to become a monk ?

well that depends t man - do you want a wife or need one ;-)
anymore, the rules for most religions have gone the way of the world - pretty much if you whine enough and pitch a big enough fit, then you get what you want -


sorry - kinda started to get a little rantish there -

you know, I think you can be successful financially and also live a simple life - it's about choice -

kinda what I thought you might say

Yes. But we worked really really hard to get here. I'm also an entrepreneur at heart and like your real estate idea, we based our businesses on a reoccurring revenue model that allows a lot of freedom and security.

I don't work, haven't since I got sick so I guess technically you could call that living simply but I have to say that even without having the stress of a job, everything else in general life finds it's way to stress you out anyway...sometimes I wonder if I was able to work, all the other life stresses wouldn't seem so apparent (not likely though, it's more likely that having a job for me---being sick to boot--- would just make my life that much more stressful.

The grass isn't always greener on the other side, that's for sure.

Hey Thoreau-It's tough to find that perfect balance of stress free work/life. I try not to dwell on the stressful aspects of my life and focus on the positive. I have a pretty involved job that can be very stressful but I am rewarded with a great salary. I have two little kids that never allow me to get 8 hours of sleep and can test my limits but they are the best thing that has happened to me. I am unfortunate to have this crappy disease but I'm fortunate that it is a condition that can be managed and not something much worse. I live in a nice house, but it is well below what I can afford. I drive a car that is well below what I could afford. During the most stressful times during the week, I look forward to the fun I will have over the weekend.

I control what I can and I don't sweat the things I can't control.

Hi Thoreau-
IMO working for yourself in an uncertain economy is much more stressful than working for someone else.

Even tho the work was very stressful at times, I am so thankful that I was able to retire from a corporation that offered a pension, 401(k), life insurance and health benefits. For many years I lived way below the level my salary could support and saved as much as possible. The outcome was that I could retire at age 57 and live that simple life you describe.

Owning things and impressing others was never that important to me. I spend time happily shopping at thrift stores and doing DYI projects at home. My one indulgence is to go on a cruise every so often.

Real estate may well be a promising less stressful alternative for you. Looks like many areas of the country are coming back strong.
I think you're the sort of person who will succeed at whatever you decide to do.
IAS

Thank you so much to all of you for responding in this thread. This is a topic I really find meaningful, and was happy to hear of all your different angles on things.

When I was 18/19 years old I spent a very significant amount of time pouring over books on living simply. Getting UC earlier that year really led me to question what I needed in my life. This was a time when I was also trying to figure out who I was, so the concepts fit well into helping me create my adult sense of self.

As IAS said, I do think I am the type that will be successful at whatever I do. I am persistent as heck. I have days where I want to scream from the rejections at work, the stress, the wondering how things will ever work out. I end up regrouping though, and going back at it again. I do not want my future to be like this for a long time because the stress IS too high, but if I'm able to succeed for even 2-3 more years I will have all the financial goals I've made met. After this I will feel I can take on any work situation I want and still live the lifestyle that means the most to me. It's been hard to choose a direction lately, but with my dad being 60 I am trying to help him get to retirement with our business if I can, and get my wife-to-be and I comfortable enough that we can save a decent amount of money even if we don't earn high salaries (such as if we work part-time lower stress jobs).

One nice thing is that my dad isn't leaning on me a lot lately. His depression meds are working well, and he has told me that if I want to try selling out our business that we can try at any time. He tells me to take care of myself and that he will figure out how to take care of himself.

I have been self employed for the last eleven years except for a brief point in the beginning where I also worked at a tool store. The amount of strain, struggle, learning, success etc... that I have experienced has made most day-to-day situations in my personal life easy in comparison. Self employment has perks where when the business does well you do well. But, there are also a lot of times you worry, you cut your own margins to compete, you deal with complaints on pricing, you just really end up putting a lot more in for your return than a job.

I am actively looking at how I can develop myself into a professional who is passionate about his field and has opportunities in many places. I absolutely love business, economics, accounting and investing... and do not have a college degree yet. So, I am trying to balance the business I have now and also the efforts/plan to get me into a new role as someone that can expand from just this one business into who knows what kind of opportunities. I will be needing less and less earned income in the future, and hope to leverage that into taking my time to find the best situations for me.

I can say that living simply does bring a lot more to a person than materialism ever will. To be able to have more time is priceless. I have essentially practiced deferred gratification for most of my adult life, choosing to work hard and save most of my income so that I was able to have options. I haven't lived simply in the sense of my career-life, but the rest of my life has been kept simple... and it has been perfect. Time with friends, living in a cozy home, walking by the lake or in the woods, having fires, spending time with my dog, reading and learning etc... it has been great. My biggest challenge is definitely regarding the career part of my life. I will continue to do what I can with it and not give up easily. Eventually I will get that part of life in line with how I really feel I would like to live.

I like to think I live simply- I work part-time, have absolutely zero financial/housing stressors, & am darned lucky! My family lives with my Mom- can be very trying at times, but... she recently put her house in a trust, with me as the trustee, so I am basically the current owner of a beautiful house worht well in the $500,000 range. Please, my husband & I clear about $50,000 a year if we're lucky! So, I will never, ever have to worry about housing. I'm lucky enough to work in a field I love, non-profit healthcare, & have been working in this field for over a decade. I'm able to work part-time, about 20 hours per week. We have 1 child, an 11 year-old daughter, who is growing up in a safe, nice, neighborhood with lots of other kids- she can take off on her bike & we won't see her for the day- no worries! AND- to top it off, I only think my upcoming surgery will further simplify things- yes, I'll have the "stress" of ordering supplies, but no more meds, no more endless doctors appointments, no more "Where's the bathroom?!?!?!". My husband & I both want a small, simple home, at some point- he gardens, I like to cook, we tend to be homebodies. We're lucky, & I am grateful daily. Really, if one has family, friends, a job that they like, & enough $$$ for food, clothing & shelter- what more does one really need?

oh, the only reason we can live comfortably, & live where we do, is because we're living off my parents labors, really. It's incredibly expensive to live on Cape Cod- in order to even buy a house, a family of 3 needs to be making around $140,000/year at least. The cheapest house starts around $200,000- and that's in the crappiest areas- drugs, crime, transients, etc. That's what I meant by living worry-free- thanks to my parents wanting to give their grandchild a good life, we do have a solid, upper middle class life. Before we moved in here, we were living in a mobile home park! Which we liked, but... it's not always the nicest class of people. I do miss our little trailer, though!