living with less - a dare
September 24th, 2007 @ 3:44 pm
something chris and i have been praying about over the last couple of years is living with less. i remember shortly after we were married, we moved into an 1800 sqaure foot, 3-level townhome with all the bells and whistles in a nice subdivision of olathe, kansas. in our basement, we filled up the area under the stairs with boxes of stuff.
stuff we didn’t touch the year we lived there.
when we decided to move to shawnee to be closer to our church (employer), we got a crazy idea. let’s downsize. we had always lived in two bedroom places…let’s see if we can make a one bedroom work. we lost about half of our square footage, a basement, garage, half bathroom, and a fireplace…but gained so much freedom.
those boxes of stuff that were under the stairs? we didn’t even open them. we hadn’t touched them in a year so obviously we didn’t need them. one chilly october afternoon, i took box after box to our dumpster. honestly, to this day i still have no idea what was in those boxes. and we haven’t missed anything yet, two years later.
when we moved to texas last march, we kept the one bedroom apartment thing going. and lost another 400 square feet. we sold chris’ car and whatever didn’t fit in the uhaul or our other car didn’t make it to texas. we moved a few months ago to save gas and live closer to the church where we work. another one bedroom. in an area that probably isn’t the safest at night. but we actually gained 100 square feet but saved 70 bucks in rent.
chris and i had a great conversation over lunch today. in the last six months, we have been considering what we need versus what we want. we traded our billion stations cable for whatever comes through the wall - i think we have 10 english channels and 3 spanish ones. we bundled my cell phone with our internet and home phone and got the lowest plans. the only stuff we have in storage is a bookshelf, some blankets, and our christmas decorations. one small closet.
we are looking at other ways of being more responsible with what we’re given. we rarely eat out. we eat a lot of cereal. i make it work with my so unhip cell phone (honestly, i do lust for a blackberry pearl). since we both do contract work on top of our employment, we keep meticulous track of expenditures that can be tax write-offs. a few more months and there won’t be any credit card debt. or medical debt. and in a couple years, we’ll be able to move from the basic membership to the chrome membership of the junky car club. we have decided to very rarely do the starbucks thing and when we do, it’s usually from gift cards (woot!)
confession: in my heart of hearts, i am a big, spoiled brat. [you can read my struggle with the little green monster here.] this has not been easy for me. but in the last few months i have seen the benefit of spending less and giving away more. we are sponsoring a new compassion child from ethiopia. we are able to give to random causes as god leads us to give. and sometimes even go a little bit above that.
i say all this not to flaunt charity. but to share the incredible excitement and joy that comes with giving. i was challenged even more this last week to see the world not through my eyes of want, but through others’ eyes of need.
give something up. see what happens. then share…
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Jimmy Paravane said,
September 24, 2007 at 4:58 pm
I grew up middle class, lived on skid row, maxed out credit cards, gone through bankruptcy, got out of debt through stock option grants, bought two mortgages and a some used and some new cars. Possessions come and go (get given to the kids and grand kid). Debt should be gotten rid of at all cost. Compassion is a luxury of the debt free. That’s not a bad thing. IMHO, as always.
Joshua said,
September 24, 2007 at 5:19 pm
Love it… my wife and I have actually been on the same journey ourselves. I recently sold my PS3, my HDTV, my home theater system, my PSP, and my 200 disc CD changer.
Daniel D said,
September 24, 2007 at 6:42 pm
My wife and I are wrestling with this ourselves. “What can we do without so that we can bless others more?”
We have a long way to go.
I think the wants of this world can enslave us. Living with less seems so difficult but yet it’s like a “get out of jail free card.”
robb overholt said,
September 24, 2007 at 6:51 pm
We have now reached the “elite lemon” membership status of the Junky Car Club. And so the dialogue and pursuit continues on in our home as well. Blessings.
James McLean said,
September 24, 2007 at 8:47 pm
way to go! that is great, Christians should be leading the way in this area.
we are constantly showing people where our treasure is. i am trying to get this area under God’s control too.
Jason Curlee said,
September 24, 2007 at 9:57 pm
Sorry Anne…gonna keep my billion channels….LOL
Krysta said,
September 24, 2007 at 11:32 pm
hmmm. interesting post considering i had this very conversation tonight in my business ethics class (yes, business and ethics have officially been spoken in the same sentence).
i live in-between the o.c. and l.a county. coming from the modest life of most midwesterners, i fear becoming accustomed to the greedy and materialistic mindset of my o.c. counterparts. i hate to say it, but this has to be the most shallow county in the united states and i’m in the thick of it, trying to hold on to my oh-so-precious values while staring at the BMW and Mercedes emblems on the cars in front of me in traffic (and wondering why the 16 year old girl in the grocery store had a purse that cost more than my car) . ugh!
it’s all about a middle ground. i am enjoying life much more now than i did in kansas when i was a slave to my savings. but if i don’t watch it … i could just as easily end up on the opposite end of the spectrum with the rest of my southern californians who can’t afford the lives they’re living.
(this was my way of avoiding the dare of giving something up in the name of finding my happy medium by comparing myself to the people around me who are doing a worse job)
tunz said,
September 25, 2007 at 7:09 am
I can agree with you wholeheartedly, until I look down at my new Macbook Pro. I don’t need the fancy car, beautiful home, and other trappings of this world but I love being computer hip. Guess I know what I should focus on. Ouch.
Anne Jackson said,
September 25, 2007 at 7:17 am
Tunz-I don’t think there is anything inherently wrong with owning a Macbook Pro. Truth be told, I am going to be buying myself one shortly. If you need it to work (in my case, I dare anyone to run InDesign on a Macbook with Photoshop open)…you need it to work.
Our main question with large purchases is, “will this a) strengthen our relationship with christ; b) build our relationship with others; c) strengthen our own marriage; d) allow us to earn income in a more cost-effective way? we don’t spend a lot of time justifying answers…they’re pretty obvious if you let them be.
Then we do our best to get the best deal possible if it is a purchase we decide to make.
Michael Buckingham said,
September 25, 2007 at 9:08 am
I was part of the dotcom cloud…lots of money, lots of toys…lots of searching for happiness.
I don’t think it’s a matter of not having stuff, but about being content with the stuff you have. I think we feel like we must sacrifice the nice things in life, as if having less makes us better. Some of the greatest men of God lived in castles with servants and gold goblets…would those same people today live in 800 sq ft with a rusted out chevy? At the same time you have to know when enough is enough and be satisfied and grateful for what you have.
Maybe it’s about controlling what you have, not what you have controlling you. I like nice things, but I made a decision a few years ago that I wouldn’t be controlled by bills and credit card payments. By living within the means God has given me it allowed me to start Holy Cow Creative and be both blessed and a blessing.
saralee said,
September 25, 2007 at 9:22 am
Serendipity is a weird thing. Lately I have rediscovered the Living More With Less concept that is a forgotten part of the Mennonite church that I am a part of. My son confiscated the book and took it back to college with him, amazed that the same ideals of simplicity and anti consumerism were as important “back then” as they are becoming now. Then, last night my husband and I starting attending a dave ramsey class at our church. It seem as though God is letting us know it is time for us to consider how we honor Him and His creation with our time and money.
Heidi said,
September 25, 2007 at 9:46 am
I believe shaving down and blessing others is only a start in WHERE God blesses us. If we don’t hunger or thirst for things even electronics than maybe we are missing out in the BIGGER picture.
I didn’t say this was easy. I just cut up my credit cards. and threw out some of those electronics. But it was difficult.
candice said,
September 25, 2007 at 1:27 pm
brilliantly put, anne. i, too, have very much been seeing the need to downsize! give and it will be given to you, our lord commands..
D Rho said,
September 25, 2007 at 2:06 pm
Good thoughts Anne! Our family has been on this wavelength, too.
We live like spartans, only I don’t have abs and I suck at fighting.
Simplicity - though not very exciting - provides much for the frantic soul. Removing noise and clutter from our life makes us more aware of what is real & meaningful and what is not.
Some things we do:
- ride the city bus instead of driving (I’ve met and shared and
ministered to more people this way!)
- own only one car until it dies (do we really need two, or new?)
- no cable (people don’t live long enough to spend it watching 60
channels)
- buying groceries at discount stores (it’s all just food)
- Costo gas only (sure it’s only a few cents a gallon but do the math -
how many gallons you fill up on every year?)
- recycle (you can get some decent kickback for all your glass, plastic,
and aluminum)
- taking old clothes to charity before buying new ones (don’t add to
the collection - revolve it)
- have sex (wife) and wrestle (kids) instead of watching movies
- we actually tithe now
- garage sales - we’ve had 5 in 2 years - bye bye stuff
- cash system - it works (btw, I hate those commercials where the
guy paying cash is screwing up the balance and flow of the world -
future blog)
Anne Jackson said,
September 25, 2007 at 2:19 pm
great stuff Daniel!! Thanks.
Neener said,
September 25, 2007 at 10:39 pm
OH MAN, there must be something in the air because this issue has been weighing over my head even moreso for the last month. I almost want to move into a smaller apartment so I will be forced to throw away all my random boxes instead of thinking, “When I have free time, I will go through those boxes.” But I never have free time. Why? Because I’m busy watching my billions of channels.
mike foster said,
September 26, 2007 at 10:59 am
as always great post anne…and its great having you in the junky car club..cant wait to upgrade your membership :) …mike.