On downgrading lifestyle

From September 2008 onwards, I think majority of the people in North America have downgraded their lifestyle, including us or us in particular.

Is it necessary? I think so. Every time we upgrade our lifestyle. We do not just spend more money once. We basically commit ourselves to spend more on all our future years until we decide to downgrade. The best example is for someone to decide upgrading by moving into a bigger house. All of a sudden you are paying more for mortgage, insurance, property tax, utility and other miscellaneous expenses for the next 25 years or longer. We know we can afford it now, next year and maybe even the next 5 years; that was good enough in 2006, when everyone is living high. But now, one year after the crisis, we are thinking longer term. We are realizing that more is nice and it is human to want more, but less is equally nice and does not make us inhuman.

I myself always prefer less, the way of simple life, which is consistent with my desire for freedom. Less means less obligations and less obligations lead to more freedom. So I choose to live the way I prefer. How wonderful!

However, the whole world cannot live the way I live and most people choose to have more if they can. I salute these people. By consuming what others produce and producing for others to consume, isn’t that the way we are organized to live?