I subscribe to this subreddit and the concept of simple living aspirationally. But I find that I keep making contrary decisions and I feel conflicted about them. For example, I’m typing this post on a latest-greatest smartphone that I picked up to serve a temporary need (thinking of returning it after my other phone is unlocked and my number port goes through) and as I consider adopting it as my daily device, I feel conflicted as it really goes against my value of simplifying my life and being less consumerist.
My view for a while has been that my approach to simplifying my life isn’t an absolute ethos but more of a general guidelines, and I allow myself certain indulgences such as on tools like my electronics and vehicle and the equipment for my main hobby. I am humble and frugal about other things like housewares, clothing, and food. Am I inherently being too indulgent if I succumb to consumerist impulses such as getting a shiny new smartphone? Or can that be an element of indulgence in an otherwise simple life?
To be clear, this thing is ridiculous. The new iPhone. $1400 or so after tax and warranty, more than I spent on most of the computers I’ve ever owned. After selling my old one it will still be a $900 upgrade. But I don’t have to keep it. I need two phones for about a week while waiting for my complicated number transition to go through (shuffling numbers around to switch my cell and my google voice) and after that I will have to choose between returning this one or selling that one. The smart thing to do, inherently, is to return the overkill device and keep the simpler one. I’m not sure why this seems so difficult to me.
Submitted January 01, 2018 at 02:37PM by NotRoryWilliams http://ift.tt/2Cyp0r9
