So the way I figure it, simple living means being able to exercise some choice in life. And the more money you have the more choice you have, so the more potential for simplicity.

For example, if someone is struggling financially and needs to work long hours to make ends meet then it is pretty difficult to make choices that will lead to simple living.

I’m in a situation in the middle where I am not struggling, but life isn’t simple because of the effort to get to that position. Then if I want to use the modest amount of assets I have to leverage for more that complicates things even more. Contrast that to if I used those assets to simplify now I’ll eat into them and affect my ability to make choices in the future.

Just to be clear, I’m not talking about being mega wealthy or whatever. I find work makes me unwell, and I struggle with the impact is has on my wellbeing. So I try to simplify. I sleep best in a tent. I spend time in the outdoors. I use free time to socialise. My long term plan is to finish the tiny house I’ve been building and leanFIRE into it. But the choices to fund that simple lifestyle lead to a complicated one now. And if I choose to opt out of that then it affects my ability to do my plan.

Thoughts?