I think one of the most significant ways for us to make wealth history is to work out how much it costs us to live, and then stick to it. We’ve been told we can expect our quality of life to go up every year, and that we have a right to up our consumption year on year. I don’t think we should aspire to this. It may sound like stinginess, or self denial, to say no to ourselves in this way, but it isn’t – it’s actually freedom. It’s the freedom not to have to upgrade, not to be forever wanting, seeking the next thing. It’s the freedom to enjoy what we already have without looking over our shoulders. It’s freedom from envy, and freedom to be generous without feeling like we’re missing out. It allows us to laugh at the adverts, and it’s very liberating.
An example of such a lifestyle choice is John Wesley, who worked out that he could live on £28 a year. This was a while ago, obviously. At the time he earned about £30 a year, so he gave the spare couple of quid away. Later when he was famous and he started making money on book sales, he was earning £1400 a year, but he still lived on £28 and gave the rest away.
The Earthbound Report 