"Simple Living" is a luxury of the wealthy

[sparrowrose]

We bought ourselves a Roku box a while back and one feature of owning it is that we're now able to watch NBC Nightly News every day. Last week they ran a series about simplifying one's life and we were suitably disgusted by all the information they *didn't* mention. For example, NBC was so enamoured of a millionaire who downsized and went to work

Comments

[moonwalker]

"A few times we’ve rented or borrowed a car, and boy, it really reminds me how lucky we are to be without one."

Did it remind you how lucky you are to have the money to rent a car? Did it remind you how lucky you are to have a social network of friends with cars they are willing to loan?

Plus, for most car rentals you need to have a credit card, with *three times* the price of the rental available credit on it. The company puts a hold on that much and says it releases it when the car is returned safely. Which means you have to have good enough credit to have a credit card in the first place, plus a hefty credit line.

I really get annoyed when wealthy people write these condescending articles about how to make do with less, and when they offer great "money saving tips" like "shop at WalMart!" *eyeroll*

Mary MMM

[sparrowrose]

ouch! I've never rented a car before because for most of my adult life I either didn't have a credit card, didn't have a driver's license, or both. I had no idea how much they ding your credit card for when you rent! I know I'm eligble for a veteran's discount at most car rental places, but I don't think the discount is for very much.

Geez . . . rent a car and then not have enough left on the card to buy gas with. I really want to go back to Kentucky some time to visit family and I'd *have* to rent a car once I got there because some of the family I want to see are spread out in the hills (presuming I'm willing to fly. I don't want unnecessary x-rays so I may be unwilling to fly any more.) and I just don't see how I could afford any of it, especially with a triple charge for the rental car!

Maybe in a few years I'll be able to afford a car I trust to leave town with (the one we have now is pretty reliable but I don't trust it to drive up the mountain sides or leave town) and I can just drive out there and sight-see along the way.

[christina_tm]

It's even worse if you're under 25. Most rental car companies charge $20-$30/day for insurance and either require or try to hassle you into paying extra for their insurance.

I don't want unnecessary x-rays so I may be unwilling to fly any more.

I'm thinking next week may be the last time I fly, ever, until the TSA either gets their head on straight or somebody torches the Department of Homeland Security. I don't want a government employee seeing me naked or frisking me like I'm a criminal.

[sparrowrose]

I didn't think one *could* rent a car under age 25 at all. At least that's what I was told when I was under 25.

As for the x-rays, if we don't take a stand on this and refuse to submit to these intrusive, unhealthy, and infringing security practices we can expect to see x-ray machines in our local courthouses next. How's about a nice dose of cancer-causing radiation (and never forget that radiation is cumulative over the course of your life. It never "wears off.") and some naked pictures of your children next time you need to renew your license plate?

[karalianne]

Yeah

[sparrowrose]

oh, yes, I get so tired of people telling me I can save lots of money by growing my own food. Because I would LOVE to grow my own food but first I would need some ground to grow it in . . . which costs money. And then I'm told to just grow it in a window and, well, I would if I didn't live in such a tiny apartment that the windows are blocked by furniture (mostly bookshelves and since I'm planning to go into education, I can't get rid of most of my textbooks when I'm done with them because I will need them for future reference.)

Congratulations on scoring 40 acres! That is so awesome! Will you be doing any fruit or nut orcharding on your land? I'm so excited for you both!

[karalianne]

You know, people like that... argh! We currently rent the main floor of a house, and there's a nice big garden in the back yard. We didn't bother planting anything this year, because last year we planted all kinds of things and all we got were some dinky carrots, a bunch of lettuces (Romaine, butter lettuce, and some mixed variety), some spinach, and some rather spectacular leeks and green onions. Our beans, onions, nasturtiums, peas... yah. Nothing grew

[christina_tm]

"First, we sold our second vehicle and learned to make it work with one."

My family made it work with one car most of my childhood. One old, junky car no less. I don't think we had 2 cars until I was 13.

"Buses often have very weird people in it, who yell things or smell or dress funny. I love that. It’s something my kids have never been exposed to, and now they’re getting an up-close education. They’re never in danger, but now they see so much more of the world than they ever did while isolated in a car."

I'm not sure I would want to expose my young children to some of the people who ride buses. I fail to see how letting my kids see people who haven't bathed since the Clinton administration shout obscenities is good for them.

[sparrowrose]

My family made it work with one car most of my childhood. One old, junky car no less. I don't think we had 2 cars until I was 13.

About the same here. We got our second car when I was about twelve. My father's parents died within a month and a half of each other and when he went with his brothers and sisters to settle the estate, he came home with my grandparents' car. (And a bunch of junk no one else wanted. My dad was the baby in his family and all his older brothers and sisters browbeat him into letting them have the nice antiques.)

I'm not sure I would want to expose my young children to some of the people who ride buses. I fail to see how letting my kids see people who haven't bathed since the Clinton administration shout obscenities is good for them.

Well, you see, it will open their eyes to the hoi polloi and they will learn tolerance for their lessers ... er, for the lower and working class (maybe their father should ride a few more buses and learn not to be so glowingly full of himself about getting rid of his car and

[graywolf44]

I'm totally with you on this.

What irks me the most about this type of "go green" article is that the message usually says either get rid of your car, or get a new one that gets good gas mileage.

What the authors of these articles fail to grasp is that those of us in a lower income bracket usually live far away from where we work with terrible mass transit options (if any), so having a car is absolutely necessary; the jobs we do have, don't pay us enough to afford a new car - it barely makes us able to pay for gas, and the constant repairs to keep our heap on the road, not to mention pay rent and utilities, and buy food. I drive a 1977 Chevy Caprice. It gets terrible mileage. It's bent and beat up a little. It only has an AM radio, over which I can only get one news radio station in clearly. I've had it since 2001. I paid cash for it, and own it outright - no car payments. Would I like something better, newer, that gets over 20 MPG? HECK YES, I would. But, I can't afford it, and my credit wouldn't let me pull a loan for a new(er)