Possum Living
Apr. 29th, 2004 01:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
flexagonJesus, now here's some extreme frugality (full text of Possum Living by Dolly Freed behind the link).
It's about, basically, getting by (easily) without a job. We live this way for a very simple reason: It is easier to learn to do without some of the things that money can buy than to earn the money to buy them. This is definitely true for, say, a yacht. I'm not so sure about some of the things these people go without, and not excited about raising rabbits for meat in the basement either. I also note that it takes time to get set up in a house that you own free and clear. Nonetheless, two people living on $1440/year in 1978 while maintaining an essentially middle-class facade is no uninteresting feat, and the section on growing one's own herbs sounds tempting.
I'm glad the author admits (at the end of Chapter 4) that possum living may not be for everyone. She closes with some very good sense: If you can't go the whole route, at least go part way. If you can't become a non-consumer, aim to be a mini-consumer. Okay? Okay. Even though my reasons are basically that I want the security of savings, and Dolly pretty much eschews thoughts of security.
I suppose this is also the wrong time to say how much I'm jonesing to get another $85 facial at Candela.
It's about, basically, getting by (easily) without a job. We live this way for a very simple reason: It is easier to learn to do without some of the things that money can buy than to earn the money to buy them. This is definitely true for, say, a yacht. I'm not so sure about some of the things these people go without, and not excited about raising rabbits for meat in the basement either. I also note that it takes time to get set up in a house that you own free and clear. Nonetheless, two people living on $1440/year in 1978 while maintaining an essentially middle-class facade is no uninteresting feat, and the section on growing one's own herbs sounds tempting.
I'm glad the author admits (at the end of Chapter 4) that possum living may not be for everyone. She closes with some very good sense: If you can't go the whole route, at least go part way. If you can't become a non-consumer, aim to be a mini-consumer. Okay? Okay. Even though my reasons are basically that I want the security of savings, and Dolly pretty much eschews thoughts of security.
I suppose this is also the wrong time to say how much I'm jonesing to get another $85 facial at Candela.
