The Less is More Philosophyby Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 20 Apr 2008 04:31 AM
In spite of the card's real intention, the less is more philosophy is a good one to adapt. Using less, taking less, and even having less can lead to a happy life. I know that this goes against everything that our instincts tell us. To survive and thrive, we want more, more and more. Advertisements tell us that products contain more, do more or will help us get more in some way. In fact, "MORE, MORE MORE!" is the new slogan for our Comcast cable company. We will be happy with more. We need more. We deserve more. Of course, we know, that simply isn't true, although it is still usually hard for us to live with less than we think we deserve. I am guilty of this, just as most people are. Although we try to practice the less is more philosophy, there are certain areas that are more difficult for us. Toys are one of them. Although in comparison, my kids may have less toys than many of their local peers do (and 75 percent of those are second-hand), the fact remains that they have an astronomical amount of toys when compared to the handful either my husband or myself had growing up. They could certainly be happy with less. I'm going to assume that all of our basic needs are met. We have food, shelter, clothing and the means to take care of ourselves (soap, laundry facilities, food prep, transportation, etc). I'll even throw in some basic entertainment, since there should be some rest and enjoyment (toys, books, games, videos, music, sports, whatever suits your family). But be careful here. Is the latest DVD really going to add to your happiness over the long term? Less stuff equals:
Can you think of any more "Mores?" Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here. Related Articles: Don't Believe Frugality = Happiness? Try This! Being Frugal Can Make You Healthier Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevantfrugal tags User Comments StBridgit (322) 20 Apr 2008 08:19 AMI think another "more" is more freedom. You aren't tied down to your stuff as much as when you have more of it and consider it to be a status symbol. You also have more creativity, because you come up with new ways to use what you have, instead of buying another gadget or game because you don't think about how to reinvent what you already own.  Mary Ann Romans (26886) 20 Apr 2008 08:29 AMMore Freedom is definitely a plus. And the best frugal people are so creative. Thanks St.Bridgit. mrmnmom82 (3365) 20 Apr 2008 09:57 AMMore time. If you have less stuff to spread around the house, and get out of it's home, you spend less time putting things away and cleaning up, and more time doing things that build you up. MegfromAllAboutAppearances (330) 20 Apr 2008 10:55 AMI agree with mrmnmom82 on "more time". I can't believe how much time I save just by shopping less! Turns out, even making/fixing stuff myself usually takes less time then buying a replacement. I definitely believe in the "Less is more" philosophy in many areas of life including cooking, fashion, home decor, gift giving, etc. It's just to easy to clutter things up to the point where we don't appreciate what we have. That whole "less is more" philosophy is why I organized FruWiki around using less, buying less, spending less, replacing less, and throwing out less. Community Tags frugal, less is more, tightwad gazette, thrifty Discuss this article
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