Making the Most of DIY Days
A lot of my friends see my lifestyle filled with travel, leisure, plenty of free time, and no regular job, and they can’t help but wonder: How am I living on a tropical beach without a job for over four years, while they’re stuck in the office, barely managing to save $5,000?
It’s becoming pretty obvious that major companies and even the government prefer that you stick to a traditional job for 45 years or more. They set things up to make sure you don’t leave. They want you to keep paying income taxes and stay within the system. It takes a lot of determination to break free from it.
Fifty years ago, your grandparents lived simpler lives, often in small towns or the countryside. They did most things themselves. Grandma cooked from scratch while Grandpa fixed the car, the house, and maybe even built an extra room for the kids. She would sew clothes and cut everyone’s hair while he chopped firewood. Their days were packed with chores, and even in the evenings, they would keep busy with tasks like polishing silverware or greasing the entrance door.
Because of this self-sufficiency, they needed very little money. A one-income household could pay off a mortgage in 10 years or less. Not because they earned more or houses were cheaper, but because they dedicated a larger portion of their income to it. They had no other debts and would save until they could afford a car or a refrigerator. They bought quality items meant to last a lifetime and avoided impulse purchases.
A crisis or job loss was serious but not catastrophic. Families grew their food, mended their clothes, and leaned on social support from their communities and families. When you’ve built your house and cut your firewood, you can afford to work only for what you need to eat.
But what benefit was there for manufacturers? If you bought a table when you got married and didn’t need another for life, they wouldn’t have repeat customers. So, they started flooding the market with a variety of consumer goods, from sofas to ready meals, constantly changing to push you to keep up with trends. With all these new options, companies pushed you to work harder to earn more money to buy more stuff. Eventually, the second spouse had to join the workforce to afford the ‘American Dream,’ two cars, a big house, and periodic upgrades.
Now, I fully support women joining the workforce. But when I see people like my sister working minimum wage jobs where their household would be better off if they stayed home, I wonder. They’d save on taxes, a second car, childcare, and more—often work-related costs exceed her salary, but she doesn’t see it that way. Unless both partners earn high incomes, the lower earner may be better off staying home.
Money has also bought many conveniences. Instead of chopping firewood, you could work a couple of hours at a desk to pay your electric bill. By maintaining a lifestyle similar to your grandparents—limiting your needs and being more self-sufficient—you could either:
1. Save an incredible amount of money, potentially over 50% of your salary, leading to financial independence in 10 years or less, or
2. Have a lot of free time if you stop working once you’ve saved enough to cover your bills. This is many people’s idea of financial independence. If you live on $1,000 a month, you could work part-time, cover your expenses, and enjoy more free time.
When you have free time, you can do things yourself and spend less. Make more, spend less? That spells trouble for big corporations. So, they entice you with TVs, amusement parks, laptops, movies, and malls, ensuring you never have time to think about freedom. They want you working more to pay for all of it.
They make it easy by giving you credit cards with “convenient installments” at high-interest rates. This ties you to more years of work just to clear these debts. To keep you wanting more, they also offer drugs, social media, alcohol, and prescription meds—anything to keep you producing and making them richer.
Do you need to go live in the woods and hunt for food? Absolutely not. Enjoy the fact that your labor can buy so much more now than before. Use your hard-earned money to buy things that offer more value than the effort spent earning it. Early retirement isn’t for everyone, but consumer debt should be avoided at all costs.
