Moneyless Living; and Time Millionaires

Two great articles for you today on subjects near and dear to my heart! Although I started on my low-footprint path in order to be part of the solution to the biospheric crisis, the personal rewards of this path have ended up being huge.

1) Radically reduced financial overhead, allowing me to have creative and occupational freedom;

2) Increase in free time. I truly consider myself a time-millionaire!

• “Lessons in Moneyless Living,” Laura Oldanie at Rich & Resilient Living blog: “Do you often find that the less money you spend the richer an experience or connection is? I sure do. For a recent potluck dinner at a friend’s house I made limeade with limes I’d rescued from a grocery store dumpster and added mint from my garden. The limeade was a hit! In exchange I was treated to homemade chocolate and papaya ice cream, tasty entrees, and engaging conversation on my friend’s back patio overlooking her beautiful gardens. How much of what truly brings joy to our lives stems from money? It all got me thinking about the intriguing stories of those pursuing moneyless living. The point of this post isn’t to encourage people to completely avoid money. In fact, for most of us a certain baseline amount makes life easier to navigate and helps us thrive. There are a number of people in our modern day society though, who for ethical reasons have chosen to eschew it all together. They’re sharing their inspiring stories online to motivate others and get us thinking differently about what is possible.” Visit Laura’s post to read their stories!

• “Time Millionaires: Meet the people pursuing the pleasure of Leisure,” Sirin Kale at theguardian.com: “First named by the writer Nilanjana Roy in a 2016 column in the Financial Times, time millionaires measure their worth not in terms of financial capital, but according to the seconds, minutes and hours they claw back from employment for leisure and recreation. ‘Wealth can bring comfort and security in its wake,’ says Roy. ‘But I wish we were taught to place as high a value on our time as we do on our bank accounts – because how you spend your hours and your days is how you spend your life.’ And the pandemic has created a new cohort of time millionaires. The UK and the US are currently in the grip of a workforce crisis. One recent survey found that more than 56% of unemployed people were not actively looking for a new job. Data from the Office for National Statistics shows that many people are not returning to their pre-pandemic jobs, or if they are, they are requesting to work from home, clawing back all those hours previously lost to commuting.” Great article! The guy profiled at the beginning comes off sounding like a bum (and it seems like he is actually deceiving his employer), but the message of the article is solid.