Growing up poor, I found solace in my material possessions. Still to this day, I struggle with the pack rat mentality of parting with stuff I own. This is something I have been working on recently.
Over the holidays, I spent some time in SF and NYC, working and couch surfing. When I was in NYC, I worked from friends’ places and from coffee shops. For four weeks, I toted my life around on my back from couch to couch. It may surprise some that I found it to be a rather enjoyable experience.
What I found was that I could be perfectly happy living life out of “one carry-on and one personal item” (a shoulder tote bag for clothes and a laptop bag for gadgets and work stuff). A carry-on bag is enough to fit a week’s worth of clothing, if you’re okay with wearing jeans 2-3 times before washing them. If you can find a place to do laundry every weekend, you’re set.
Why do I need all that stuff at home? It’s nice having a comfortable bed, a computer desk, privacy. It’s comforting to know my mortgage payments are baby steps toward owning my own place outright and having drastically lower living expenses in the future.
But if I got rid of it all, that mortgage payment could go into an interest-earning account and would be quite a sum after 20 years.
If I sold now, I probably wouldn’t walk away with any cash, since I don’t have much equity. On principle, I’m not going to sell my condo to break even or take a loss. For 3 years, I’ve been paying more than I would have if I was renting on the basis that the money isn’t being “thrown away.”
When I was walking the streets of New York City, I was thinking about becoming homeless. Then I realized my situation at home and came to the conclusion that I cannot afford to be homeless.
Hey Brian! At the least, you can find solace in knowing that you’re not weighed down by material possessions or a lifestyle that you can’t support; which is a problem that I think many people wish they didn’t have at the moment. For example, if I wanted to pick up and simply move, I would shudder at the amount of ‘stuff’ I have stashed away in closets and my garage (I’m simplifying bit by bit and getting rid of things I don’t need, but still have a way to go). I applaud you for being able to be so nimble with your lifestyle and hope that someday, even a mortgage doesn’t keep you from enjoying a life that isn’t tied to any person, place, or thing. :)
“Getting rid of things I don’t need’ is not as easy as it sounds.
It seems like getting a jolt and being pushed outside your comfort zone can help reduce the separation anxiety people can have with their belongings. Think how a castaway stranded on a deserted island for months would feel about all of his “stuff” at home when he returns. I feel like being on the road, living out of a small suitcase is like that, but only to one-millionth of a degree. It was still noticeable, though. At least noticeable enough to write a blog post about it! :-)
man, you have no idea how much this post resonates with me. i hear the requirement to be loose with movement and function but still be grounded in some way. great post dude.
Great post. I actually think about this all the time. But for me its the family that I have that holds me in place. But even then I think about packing up and heading to SF or LA.