Living better with less

We quite frequently read about how people lived through the Great Depression and how many thrived in those demanding conditions. The lack of money, jobs, food and housing certainly made life difficult for almost everyone back then. And yet many people who lived those years say they were good, the tough times brought families together and valuable lifelong lessons were learned. I understand how tough times can teach frugality, appreciation, unwavering responsibility and courage but I think you have to be in the right circumstances to appreciate the lessons. If you're scared and hungry, every life lesson is difficult and maybe you feel too desperate to take much notice of anything except where your next meal is coming from or how to pay the bills.

I think you learn a lot when times are tough and also when things are going well. No one is born with a life manual, you do your best, and live with the consequences of whatever you do. But sometimes something comes along that will knock you over and through no fault of your own, you might be out of a job, go from full time to part time work, lose a partner, or your home. When the global financial crisis started in 2008, there were a lot of big changes and many people lost their home or job, and sometimes both. Lifestyles changed and many of us looked for ways to be frugal while living a good life. And here we are now in 2015, still living frugally, the world economy is still recovering and life has changed in countless ways. Many of the new ways of living we've adopted since 2008 are more sustainable. We're eating healthier and fresher food, we've changed the way we prepare food and shop for it, and for many of us these new ways will remain, even if the economy returns to what it used to be.

Because, just like the Great Depression, this long recession we're having is changing our mindset and showing us that modifying old ideas of how to live fit very nicely into modern life. Even with the recession, we've made many improvements to our lives while living on less money and being thrifty and sensible. We are recycling and mending now, we're cooking more of our own food and we're mindful of many things such as the importance of family and community and the insidious impact advertising has on us.

Simple living has taught me that almost everything is a series of small steps. What you see in someone who has "made it", or look like they have, is only part of the picture. That person got there one step at a time doing who knows what to get to the point you see them at. Those who don't have much are the same, it wasn't one big thing but rather many small steps to get to that point.  And so it goes with working your way through a simple life. It may have seemed like a huge decision to change how you live but after that, it's small steps. You start with one thing, that leads to other options and by taking one step after another, you reach another point.

It's certainly been a time of change. The recession has reminded us that we're not helpless and that we can do a lot more for ourselves than we had grown to believe, and those things can be life changing and enriching. I think you know what I've learnt along the way but I'd be interested in knowing what you have learnt in the past few years. What have been your good changes - both the big ones and the small, those things that even if the economy improves now, you won't go back to what you did before?