"having a big house means you worked hard to make big money to pay for the big house"

Ahhh. That old "my material possessions prove I worked hard clichè", 555.

Or it could mean you stole the money, sold illegal drugs, embezzled the money, cheated senile people out of their life's savings in a Bangkok boiler room, pimped underage women or, the most common of all---simply fell out of the right womb and was born rich and never worked a day in your life.

555

How big is big?

a person don't need to have more than one room.

ask monks, they are totally happy in their cell of 3x3meters, they have shower outside and share kitchen. show them your mega house and swimming pool, they will tell you you are a poor soul and need help.

a person don't need to have more than one room.

ask monks, they are totally happy in their cell of 3x3meters, they have shower outside and share kitchen. show them your mega house and swimming pool, they will tell you you are a poor soul and need help.

I'll take the house with the pool thank you very much.

I will take the monk cell and travel worldwide in nice 5* hotels with my money invested. and if I need a big house I will rent it for a few months until I m tired of it, and I will go back to my cell to prepare my next adventure to Ushuaia or else.(and I will laugh at all these idiots who pay tax and maintenance fees on a 5 bed rooms house that they don't even use or don't even own legally in Thailand)

until you're tired of it - or until you found what you were looking for?

I will take the monk cell and travel worldwide in nice 5* hotels with my money invested. and if I need a big house I will rent it for a few months until I m tired of it, and I will go back to my cell to prepare my next adventure to Ushuaia or else.(and I will laugh at all these idiots who pay tax and maintenance fees on a 5 bed rooms house that they don't even use or don't even own legally in Thailand)

I don't think a family of four would be comfortable in a 3x3 cell.

The people living in a 5 bedroom house with a pool won't give guys like you a second tnought.

There are no 'idiots' here, just people with a different outlook on life.

I will take the monk cell and travel worldwide in nice 5* hotels with my money invested. and if I need a big house I will rent it for a few months until I m tired of it, and I will go back to my cell to prepare my next adventure to Ushuaia or else.(and I will laugh at all these idiots who pay tax and maintenance fees on a 5 bed rooms house that they don't even use or don't even own legally in Thailand)

If all you need is a monk cell, why would you waste your money renting fancy hotels rooms and houses?

@longstebe, I think he's just trying to wind us up - as is the OP - my advice is not to take any of these rants too seriously. Anyone silly enough to live like that when they dont have to will rapidly realise how much 'fun' they've just bought themselves, particularly with the hottest months of the year rapidly approaching.

@longstebe, I think he's just trying to wind us up - as is the OP - my advice is not to take any of these rants too seriously. Anyone silly enough to live like that when they dont have to will rapidly realise how much 'fun' they've just bought themselves, particularly with the hottest months of the year rapidly approaching.

so monks are silly? as well as the majority of Thais?

A crude off topic post removed along with reply quoting that

"Hottest months approaching"..not everyone likes A/conditioner...i grew up without it ..and now dont need it.

Several fans...balcony breeze is mostly sufficient.

You can have a electrcian install ceiling fans and they are better than Air Con.

But if people choose to spend their hard earned cash then its their life..I choose not to spend..I choose not to tip....I choose not to be taken advantage of..others may want to be opposite and spend all their money..they may wish to buy alcohol with it..waste money and then I see these same people down at the markets haggling...I see guys in my own Condo building with nothing...living in smaller rooms than mine. Their doors open because of the heat laying shirtless on their beds drinking alcohol and coughing.

Some of you middleaged and younger living here have nothing to your name..

I had a tenant last year renting one of my studio rooms who had no money to pay his rent..I even gave him 1 month free to help him...but he just spent his disability pension and when he left the room I found umpteen bottles of alcohol under the bed..no money tor rent but money for grog...and he was only 26yo...what a waste of life and money.

"having a big house means you worked hard to make big money to pay for the big house"

Ahhh. That old "my material possessions prove I worked hard clichè", 555.

Or it could mean you stole the money, sold illegal drugs, embezzled the money, cheated senile people out of their life's savings in a Bangkok boiler room, pimped underage women or, the most common of all---simply fell out of the right womb and was born rich and never worked a day in your life.

555

prove to me you learned that "cliché" is written with an accent aigu instead of an accent grave and i will engage in a discussion with you telling you all about nearly two decades of hard work in the Arabian desert, the African bush and the swamps where a boy (born poor and growing up in post-war Germany) made his money and now enjoys spending the proceeds of it on an extremely comfortable lifestyle.

question: could your posting indicate you were born poor, are still poor because you never studied hard, never worked hard and live now a miserable life envying those who where successful? it sure looks like it!

"having a big house means you worked hard to make big money to pay for the big house"

Ahhh. That old "my material possessions prove I worked hard clichè", 555.

Or it could mean you stole the money, sold illegal drugs, embezzled the money, cheated senile people out of their life's savings in a Bangkok boiler room, pimped underage women or, the most common of all---simply fell out of the right womb and was born rich and never worked a day in your life.

555

prove to me you learned that "cliché" is written with an accent aigu instead of an accent grave and i will engage in a discussion with you telling you all about nearly two decades of hard work in the Arabian desert, the African bush and the swamps where a boy (born poor and growing up in post-war Germany) made his money and now enjoys spending the proceeds of it on an extremely comfortable lifestyle.

question: could your posting indicate you were born poor, are still poor because you never studied hard, never worked hard and live now a miserable life envying those who where successful? it sure looks like it!

You grew up in post War Germany?

OmG you must be pretty old mate...in that case feel free to spend your money..your kids may not agree with you spending the inheritance though.

Please keep posts civil. Thank you.

George, are you really going to start attacking the older members of this forum ? Is that a hornet's nest you really want to start poking with a stick ? If you were able to do basic arithmetic, unless Naam had kids well into his 60s, chances are they have lives - and incomes - of their own now, in any case its none of your business what he does with his money. Since the majority of the people you've been lecturing in this thread are somewhere north of 60 years of age, I think they've earned the right to make their own financial decisions.

Grow up.

It would be interesting to see what happened if george and naam met in person...theoretically they should cancel each other out and vanish into nothingness....naam values money above all else and loves to tell everyone how he is rich....me money mak, me money mak....george loves to tell everyone how he has no money and values everything inversely to cost....equal and opposites....id like to see it happen....

I have money..i dont flaunt it..i dont buy expensive perfumes...i live in my own Flybird Condo and have 4 other studio in this building that are tenated.

But i dont need to wear expensive clothes . shoes. .have gold chains..etc i just live my life .

"having a big house means you worked hard to make big money to pay for the big house"

Ahhh. That old "my material possessions prove I worked hard clichè", 555.

Or it could mean you stole the money, sold illegal drugs, embezzled the money, cheated senile people out of their life's savings in a Bangkok boiler room, pimped underage women or, the most common of all---simply fell out of the right womb and was born rich and never worked a day in your life.

555

prove to me you learned that "cliché" is written with an accent aigu instead of an accent grave and i will engage in a discussion with you telling you all about nearly two decades of hard work in the Arabian desert, the African bush and the swamps where a boy (born poor and growing up in post-war Germany) made his money and now enjoys spending the proceeds of it on an extremely comfortable lifestyle.

question: could your posting indicate you were born poor, are still poor because you never studied hard, never worked hard and live now a miserable life envying those who where successful? it sure looks like it!

You grew up in post War Germany?

OmG you must be pretty old mate...in that case feel free to spend your money..your kids may not agree with you spending the inheritance though.

thanks, you are too generous! but what part of "spending the proceeds" (which should actually read "spending a part of the proceeds" is it you don't understand mate?

Back to the subject of "Minimalistic Living", I enjoyed this documentary... http://m.imdb.com/news/ni56987329

"Synopsis: After breaking up with his girlfriend, Petri embarks on an experiment. Noticing that he is unhappy despite his wealth of possessions, he decides to place everything he owns in storage for a year, allowing himself to remove only one item per day, in order to determine the true value of his material possessions",

When it says "Everything he owns" it means "Everything he owns", didn't even have a stitch of clothes to wear.

Yes thankyou JB for putting this back in topic.

This thread is about minimalistic living .

Also the thread is about shameless cheapskates that have money but choose to mooch thru life, imposing on others.

I hate people like that.

I liken minimalism to a sport, one which is noble and tests character. And when i read the posts of george or micmichd and others, i feel there is always a new nugget of wisdom to be gleaned. These people are a treasure trove of philosophical insight of what life is about. Through their lives, thoughts and words they boil life down to its irreducible minimum, its very essence. So please stop fighting them, stop your childish defiance, open your minds and ears and just listen.

Also the thread is about shameless cheapskates that have money but choose to mooch thru life, imposing on others.

I hate people like that.

WoW! That's a lot of people to hate

Yes I agree,I think when most of us get tonover 70yo we would go for that "minimalist" lifestyle if we are still single.

Of course people such as my friend choose to be single rather than have a partner because they are "independent", I was going to say "loners" but that would be the wrong word to describe him/them.

He hated anyone doing anything for him and didnt like to rely on other peo0le,well thats what he kept telling me not to rely on others,not even sure what that means but yes he is too independent.

Im not I need other people around me,I cant live by myself,I wonder how many others live independently and prefer it that way ?

Our needs change as we get older,my friend who was 75yo going on 76 in May,lead a minimalist lifestyle ,well thats the way he described it,enjoyed watching his TV on the balcony most days,had his tuna and cucumber sandwiches for lunch every day with a cup of tea,read nearly a new book every week,went walking every morning at 630am,that was his life but didnt want to use a computer !

I remember he had a scrapbook where he wrote down everything he spent.

He was in bed most nights with a book by 10pm,and i really liked him because he still had all his marbles so to speak and hated whingers and whiners ...such as me lol.

Good post. I used to be wasteful and not save until a rainy day happened and I realized all I had was debt. That was 14 years ago. At 51, I've turned that boat around and work and have a high savings rate. I have a big house on a big lot, but I'm frugal and live pretty simple like the person you describe. I can read books from library, read online like these forums, go for walks, cook at home and live pretty simple and cheap. We do have a very big tv (73 inches diagonal), but we don't go to the movies. Our entertainment is Netflix for $8 a month and movies from the library (USA). I take no pleasure out of parting with money, aside from the things I do want (some electronic toys).

Yes thankyou JB for putting this back in topic.

This thread is about minimalistic living .

then keep on being a "mini" and stop insulting the "maxis" with ridiculous insinuations that they are criminals. by the way, i find your pauper attitude as entertaining as i find it disgusting.

I think what the "look at me I'm so rich and successful that's why I live in a Big House" crowd (Maximalists) doesn't understand:

The Minimalists are not living that way because they HAVE to. They're living that way because they WANT to.

The Minimalists understand something the Maximalists don't:

The difference between a WANT and a NEED.

Sure, a Maximalist may WANT to live in a Big House.

But the Minimalist has proven with their own lifestyle that you don't NEED to do so, etc etc etc.

Perhaps the Maximalists could watch the movie:

"Living On One Dollar a Day"

http://livingonone.org/

(available for streaming on Netflix. Surely with your affluent lifestyle you have a V.P.N. that allows you to stream Netflix in your Thai mansion, no?)

This movie is a documentary about 4 upper Middle Class, college educated kids, who try and live on only $1 a day in a small, rural village in Guatemala.

Just like a Billion people in the world.

The difference is they do it because they WANT to FOR THE EXPERIENCE.

Not because they HAVE TO, or because they're "cheapskates", 555.

I did the same thing in Guatemala 20 years ago-- I lived on a dollar a day for two months BECAUSE I WANTED TO EXPERIENCE WHAT THAT WAS LIKE.

And to make it more realistic, they randomized their income from zero to nine dollars a day, to average a dollar a day, to simulate the income uncertainty someone who survives on that income would experience.

Once again, living minimally is not about being a tightwad.

It's about being humble.

Its all about me choosing what to spend my hard earned cash on and not letting anybody tell me that I'm an idiot for doing so.

your pauper attitude

What next? Abolishing the workhouses? Repealing the Corn Laws?

No need for workhouses in Thailand. Thais work anyway, they don't take anything for free.

Farangs need a working permit. There might be some niches for jobs that can only be done by Farangs, like playing the role of a Farang as an actor in a movie.

When I came to Thailand, my gf told me I better live the life of a native. Ie. live on 300 THB a day (Thai minimum wage), and leave the rest of your money for my family. Because that's why you came here: to live in a family that you never had in your Farang country. See if we can make it.

And, see? We can.