Escape from Affluenza

Just watched the video "Escape from Affluenza," a
sequal to the documentary "Affluenza" and book by the
same title. I haven't seen the first film, but I am
reading the book based on it.

I was affraid I wouldn't enjoy or get much out of the
sequal without watching the original, but it turns out
that it can actually seem independent of the first.

The key theme is voluntary simplicity: living a simple
life by choice in order to enjoy life more fully, save
money, and protect the environment. All three of these
things appeal to me. We are in the process of cutting
way back, and reading lots of books on the subject in
order to scale back our spending habbits.

One idea we got while watching this film that we
didn't have before was chickens. We are going to pick
up a few next year to raise over the summer for eggs.
Maybe ducks too. We live in town, but it is a small
town. We will just need to be careful that we don't
get roosters, who can make much more noise than
hens. May three hens and one duck will add just the right atmosphere, while allowing us to get the food we need.

Lot of ideas in this movie, but mostly inspiration.
They also mentioned another book that I am studying:
Your Money or Your Life, by Joe Dominguez and Vicki
Robbin. I'm also working my way through The Complete
Tightwad Gazette, an excellent book with lots of
practical ideas on frugality.

I will be posting my thoughts and things I learn on my
journey from time to time.

By the way, I bought the Tightwad and Dominguez books
because I wanted to study them and outline them and
mark the heck out of them. I first checked copies out
of the library. Video, too. If you don't have them in
your library, go to the reference desk and request
them via intelribrary loan.

Following are some links to some of my favorite resources mentioned here:

Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship With Money and Achieving Financial Independence

Affluenza

The Complete Tightwad Gazette