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And at least one cutting knife, a set of utensils, some dishes, a place to store long-term products, spices and leftovers...oh look, I need a shelf now. Poor f

by Sacho 9y ago

And at least one cutting knife, a set of utensils, some dishes, a place to store long-term products, spices and leftovers...oh look, I need a shelf now. Poor families need space to store stuff, because they stock up during good times to go through the bad. My family had a huge basement stocked with pickled vegetables and fruits, bought during harvest when they are cheap to use during winter when everything is expensive. We also had tons of bookshelves, filled to the brim with aged books from parents, cousins and other relatives, because we could not afford buying school materials every year and school libraries were usually picked clean. You need a place to store all the stuff from your parents - your crib, clothes, toys, so you can use them for your kids too... I don't know how you get around all that with minimalism - from my POV, owning a big house is the best investment a poor family can make.

dagw 9y ago
owning a big house is the best investment a poor family can make. You'll notice that it's mostly rich people preaching minimalism.
NiklasMort 9y ago
unpopular opinion: poor people shouldn't have big families to begin with, it is highly irresponsible to have children without proper financial savings and a good career
tedmiston 9y ago
One idea is to not hold onto all of the things. An implication that stems from poverty is an understandable hoarding mentality. I would ask instead, "How could I possibly know whether my child will even want this same thing 5–20 years from now?" then donate it to a thrift store or sell it. And focus on free activities like going to the park over object ownership. I don't consider myself a poor person but I grew up lower middle class and practiced habits like stocking up on consumables in bulk when they're on sale that you'll definitely use before they expire — things like soap or shampoo or toilet paper. I still practice that today because to me it's fiscal responsibility, but it is easy to go overboard as well. I just always try to optimize for reasonable unit economics which can vary quite a bit from thing to thing. Sometimes buying the cheap disposable version makes more sense than a BIFL.

by Sacho 9y ago

dagw 9y ago

owning a big house is the best investment a poor family can make. You'll notice that it's mostly rich people preaching minimalism.

NiklasMort 9y ago

unpopular opinion: poor people shouldn't have big families to begin with, it is highly irresponsible to have children without proper financial savings and a good career

tedmiston 9y ago

One idea is to not hold onto all of the things. An implication that stems from poverty is an understandable hoarding mentality. I would ask instead, "How could I possibly know whether my child will even want this same thing 5–20 years from now?" then donate it to a thrift store or sell it. And focus on free activities like going to the park over object ownership. I don't consider myself a poor person but I grew up lower middle class and practiced habits like stocking up on consumables in bulk when they're on sale that you'll definitely use before they expire — things like soap or shampoo or toilet paper. I still practice that today because to me it's fiscal responsibility, but it is easy to go overboard as well. I just always try to optimize for reasonable unit economics which can vary quite a bit from thing to thing. Sometimes buying the cheap disposable version makes more sense than a BIFL.