Practice: Breaking Free

Quit Smoking & Drinking !
Over 60 million Americans, including most prison inmates, smoke. A pack-a-day smoker these days is spending about $60 per month, or $720 per year. Double that amount for two people in the same family, or if somebody smokes a couple packs a day. Add in a similar amount for beer, wine, or liquor, and you can see that many people who may consider themselves poor are working about a quarter of their time to pay for these habits which shorten their lives, weaken their health, and provide a bad example for their children. Voluntary, suicidal slavery.
Many prisoners say they wish they could do more for their kids, yet they take serious amounts of money from their families for cigarettes. Talk is cheap. There's no better way to show you've really changed than to give up smoking and devote that money to your kids. This is not just about alcohol or tobacco; it's about taking control of our lives.
Get Out of Debt and Stay Out !
Pay off your debts and then live within your means. If you can't afford it, don't buy it. Other than a home or land, never buy a car or anything else on time. You will discover many good things about yourself if you follow this advice. Your kids will benefit greatly. Especially never go into debt for a wedding or graduation, tuxes, gowns, limos, etc. This is a horribly misguided way of expressing love. It creates stress and reinforces distorted views about "the good life." Celebrate weddings, etc., with pot-lucks, picnics, and other happy, stress-free occasions.
Buy One, Give Away One (or Two!)
Get into the habit of giving away one old item for each new item you buy. Want a new CD? Give away (or sell) an old one. Want a new shirt? Shoes? Same thing. Again, your kids will learn a lot from this, and your home will be less cluttered. If you want to reduce clutter even quicker, give two away for every one you buy. It is a wonderful feeling not to be burdened by too many possessions. This practice also helps you think twice before buying!
Team Up With Friends & Neighbors
Bulk buying, carpooling, exchanging goods & services, even buying an apartment building or piece of land to live on with friends - there are many ways you can save money by teaming up with others. It begins by simply having open discussions about what you all spend money on. Many ways to save will become obvious. We must overcome our latter-day attitude of not wanting to share and not wanting to depend on each other. It has not worked. We need to need each other, to share. This is the heart of community organizing.
Boycott Holiday Buying Madness Forever
Sita, Josh & I agreed years ago not to buy gifts for each other on birthdays or holidays. What a relief! And believe it or not, your friends and family will survive the shock if you extend it to them as well. We make plans to be with each other and do something together instead of rushing to the mall to buy meaningless junk. We make something ourselves, or bake a special treat. How much of your annual salary do you spend on things that break and rust?
No Escaping A Few Trade-offs
But there's no way around the fact that we can't have everything. A lot of the joy of simpler living is to love the old car that's paid for; to enjoy the old sofa from the thrift shop. Whether it's cars or clothes or furniture, we need to strengthen our inner dignity so that we are no longer slaves to fashion. We have to rethink our basic values and not try to spare our kids from forming a deeper sense of self-worth than the cost of the clothes they wear.
Being brainwashed by countless advertisements which have convinced us that we are incomplete without the new this or the improved that, it is quite understandable that we get frightened and tense by the idea of "doing without." But those of us who have gotten off of that treadmill rejoice at the discovery that the ads were never true. Our needs are very simple. Most of what we hock our lives for is excess. We have the power and choice to be prostitutes to consumerism, or spiritual pilgrims getting to the heart of what we're all doing here in the first place.
Find the people in your community whose lives revolve around helping out, and link your family up with them. Step away from the "shallow mass movements" which degrade your childrens' souls and which guarantee they'll either be slaves of the state (in prison) or slaves of the credit card companies. Be bold. Our people are very unhappy and confused. It's time to take a stand toward simpler, soul-powered living even if it's hard to do.