I'd argue it's not about selling everything. Instead, avoid buying things by default and trying to keep up with the Joneses. You don't need to move to the wilderness, you just need to choose to escape consumerism.

For example:

- Do you really need a new car, when a lightly used one will do just fine and will be more economical?

- Do you really need to upgrade to a new phone every year when your current one is still working fine?

- Do you really need to buy premium clothes from the mall when the ones from Target are much cheaper?

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grahamburger 33 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

Trying to be gentle here but this is pretty out of touch.

- I have bought a new car exactly once in my life, and likely never will again. This is the same as pretty much every other person I know personally. The last vehicle I bought had over 300k miles on it.

- Does anyone buy a new phone every year? I've never met them.

- Do you really need the fancy clothes from Target when the ones from Walmart or Goodwill are much cheaper?

	▲	tjohns 16 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		I think you're focusing too much on the specific examples? I just grabbed random things I've seen from behavior in other people. If you don't fall victims to those consumerist traps, then that's legitimately great. Yes, I absolutely know folks who buy new phones every year, and who lease new cars and upgrade every 3 years. Most of whom really can't really afford to do these things but do it anyway and end up in increasing debt. And sure, buy clothes from Walmart if you have a Walmart location near you. I just picked the nearest big-box store to me, for some reason Walmart doesn't have much of a presence out where I am. (The takeaway I got from the game is "don't try to buy the hat, it's a trap". I'm curious what your takeaway was?)

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mossTechnician 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

How does that go for Americans who cannot afford to pay for a $400 surprise expense out of pocket?

https://www.federalreserve.gov/consumerscommunities/sheddata...

	▲	jxf 2 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Let them eat crow.
	▲	tjohns 2 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		If you can't afford a surprise expense, you need to build up an emergency fund as a buffer. The first step in doing so is almost always to find opportunities to lower your expenses and put it towards savings. As a society, we've gotten very good at encouraging people to quickly spend all their money. I'm absolutely not saying this alone is sufficient - particularly if you're unemployed or your job truly doesn't pay a living wage. There are absolutely people who don't make enough to survive - and that's a bigger problem of course.