Comments on: The Minimalist Road to Location Independence

By: greg locascio

greg locascio — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 01:15:01 +0000

Thanks for the article on minimalism. I think it's funny that not being interested in material things brands one as an oddball. This is because so many people base their lives on the acquiring of and/or care for stuff.

By: Cody McKibben

Cody McKibben — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 10:22:54 +0000

Awesome guest post David, glad to see you on J.D.'s site! Great writers, both of you! And of course I am totally down for the minimalist lifestyle. Thanks for sending a shoutout for me and Mark, just got back from a trip to Laos with that crazy guy, Dwight & Joel!

By: @gotpassport

@gotpassport — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 18:37:33 +0000

I love reading this post and so fitting as we are in the process of becoming a more efficient minimalist. after our three month long trip on the road in US and in Asia, my suspicion is confirmed- too much stuff we lived out of our two suitcases and our Honda Fit. And John is right, so freeing mentally to not be constantly in the consuming mode. I am amazed when I hear about those stories where consumers wait all night before a big christmas sale so they can be the first in line. Crazy! I agree it is better to spend my money on experience for me and my family, especially my child in creating memories, than on stuff. She will learn deeper lessons than just spend spend spend- buying affection from children as some parents do!

Great article. Thanks to Cody, so glad I found it.

By: @cathduncan

@cathduncan — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 08:49:08 +0000

I love having very little stuff, and I love having a clean out and giving some of my stuff away, which I do every time we move. We're moving again at the end of the month and since we haven't collected much extra stuff this time, I only have a small bag of clothing to pass on. I agree with John - it's an enormously mentally freeing thing not to have much stuff.

A challenge for us is that my husband and I like to "do" a lot of things that require stuff (cycling/ snowboarding/ kiting/ motorcycling/ camping, etc), but we're learning to pare that stuff down to the bare essentials (you don't really need all the kit!) and in some cases, since we're a little ADD with our hobbies, rather than buying kit, we're renting it. If you have a diverse range of interests and hobbies, you'll often spend only a few weekends a year on each, and it can be cheaper to rent the equipment rather than buying stuff you don't use very often.

Cath

By: jdbentley

jdbentley — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:49:47 +0000

Well said, John. I'd never even thought of the mental benefits of minimalism, but I'm sure it's the most rewarding part about not having to maintain a lot of junk. Like they say, it's better to spend your money on experiences than stuff.