So What Is Voluntary Simplicity?

Voluntary Simplicity, simply put, is the decision to live a simpler, more frugal life, to consume less and to be conscious of what we buy.

Now, to be honest, I'd say that many, if not the vast majority, of people who embrace simple living do so initially out of necessity. This is involuntary simplicity a.k.a. poverty. Many who live the simple life are unemployed, Senior Citizens, students and people with low-paying jobs.

There are also others who, having lived this way out of necessity at one time in their lives, return to it out of choice because of political or religious conviction or simply because they are disllusioned with the false promises of consumerist culture and remember being happier when they had very little.

What I'd like to do in this blog is offer some resources for those who are trying to the simple life whether out of necessity or out of choice. These will include not just money-saving ideas and tips but a look at the reasons why a simplified life is perhaps the best kind of life. I am not well-off myself - I'm in a low-paid job - but I could spend more than I do and could do lots of other things to maximise my income but I don't - preferring to spend my time doing things like this rather than working my ass off to buy stuff I don't really need. I also think it is important to inform myself about the consumer choices I make and to consume in a way that causes as little harm to other people and the world in general as possible.