For example, my car is 15 years old. I’m cooking in half an oven because one half broke but the other works fine. I like a caravan holiday, I like a Travelodge. My towels don’t match because I bought random ones as I needed them but the old ones were still fine. A lot of my clothes are 10–15 years old at this point because they’re still fine.
I’m not deliberately tight, I just feel like all this stuff is fine. I feel like there’s a very powerful current especially on social media and in advertising that tells you it’s bad for stuff to be fine, that fine is bad, you should want more. That everything in your life should be aspirational and instagrammable.
But surely many people are also happily basic?
39 comments
I like going away but I’m always happy in a place that’s on the cheaper end, I’ll always take location over it being ‘nice’
If you like what you’re doing and where you’re spending your money, then you’re absolutely fine.
There’s a little bit of a culture on Reddit of being aggressively cheap, delighting in not spending money, and anybody buying anything new is a fool wasting their money, which is often taking it to the extremes.
If you’re happy with your life, then it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks.
No I would find this extremely frustrating
You’re describing me. I am such a “fit for purpose” person. And I live in east Asia now where it’s even more superficial than the UK. There are a select few things in life I will splash out on, mostly when other people are involved, but everything I buy and own myself is basically “fine”.
Yep I’m similar to yourself. In every way you listed. We have splurged on exotic holidays a few times (which I’ve never regretted and think is money well spent) but I’m pretty frugal generally.
Yes completely fine. Capitalism wants you to spend all your money so you work longer. I buy in charity shops and vinted now I love how I can still express myself.
I’m performatively happily basic
A lot of this sounds fine other than the oven. What you have is a broken oven.
https://preview.redd.it/2kn1xfha5jof1.jpeg?width=1187&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9c37cf3d8271c7823be442d5b88a7f88c2bfa453
If you’re content with your life as it is and not always chasing your tail trying to keep up with trends or get the latest tech, I think that leads to a happier life.
Maybe I’m just old before my time.
As a guy, I’m in the same position.
Same clothes, for years, typically my nice clothes are gifts from people.
Car is the first I ever got, and its lasted.
Never felt interested in fashion, or trendiness.
In my 20s and have my own place.
My money gets spent on Gym, food & pets.
Anything left over goes on a nice holiday with friends each year.
Other than that, I’m happy not caring about the opinions of others.
I get it. I’m not super frugal but for about 2 or 3 years now I’ve been really questioning and challenging my own consumption.
I also don’t have matching sets of towels etc. I live a pretty basic life and I’m okay with it.
If you’re happy then who cares? Social media is all overconsumption! Half of these influencers get all this stuff sent to them for free…
Im definitely trying to cut down on my spending in this economy! Who isnt?
I bought season passes to a theme park for us all. Cost £900 but we take a picnic and it’s a day out when we want. Or I could have had a long weekend in a caravan.
Yeah I’m pretty much the same.
I’ve had friends just get fed up and give me shoes before because I have a comfy pair that are fucked but they’ve still got some life in them!!
Went without gas for 2 years too, and again, other people were more worried than I was 😅
If this is basic, I’m basic AF. And it’s exactly like you said – I could buy new clothes, but these fit, are not worn, etc. I don’t even have a TV. My last one broke. I never replaced it because I don’t need a TV.
It’s fine as long as your genuinely happy. I have a new car but it’s a Toyota (not a posh Audi or fast car) I’m really happy as it’s pretty cheap and roomy and very reliable which is all I need. My bicycle is a basic carbon one (worth about 1k) and riddled with bodge repairs but again I’m really happy with it, my mate just bought a fancy one for £3k reduced from 4…. 😮😮
Holidays is an interesting one, I like wild camping as it’s back to nature but I do find caravans dingy and small. If I stay away I don’t need a Megabucks hotel but I’ll normally get an air BnB barn in the country. If I have to stay in a city I find Holiday Inn generally are better than travel lodge and not that much more expensive and dog friendly.
I ride a 50cc moped everywhere I go and live extremely frugally. I’d say I’m very basic haha.
Oh yeah. My main one is my phone. I never get a modern phone and the one I currently, begrudgingly have has had half its stuff turned off.
Wife keeps trying to get me on IPhones and I just have no use for them.
Social media is the biggest advertising slop ever invented. Bigger than tv or any other form of advertising medium. And it is working brilliantly at telling people they need to consume and spend more because otherwise they are failing at life. And many people fall for it. We all probably do in one way or another or to a greater or lesser extent.
You’re questioning of whether it’s ok to be happy with basic as you call it means that the huge pressure of advertising and capitalism is trying its best to break you down and spend and consume more in order to be happy. But it sounds like you are happy — don’t ever bend because you have it worked out and have won!
In fact your so happy and content you had to make a Reddit post to check and ask others 🤣
Live your life how you want, personally I don’t want a broken over, but no issue if you’re happy with that
I don’t think you know what basic means.
If anything it would be basic to match your towels.
yep im pretty basic, exception being my running hobby (i like soar kit) and my homelab hobby but tbh i buy loads of used kit for this. Apart from that I have a 10 year old car that im not upgrading until it dies, i live a 3 bed semi thats an ex council house with a small mortgage, i could move somewhere bigger but …why, i like it here. Most of my clothes are free t shirts from races and my favorite pair of shorts im wearing right now are a pair of scruffs work shorts, even my daily trainers are old running shoes. I am quite happy!
Happily basic is actually pretty optimal.
I’m the same, to an extent. I like having a newer car I guess, and gadgets that make my life easier. Though I need to ask, where are you buying your 10-15 year clothes??
Yep. I replace what needs replacing. Otherwise I’ll happily dry myself on a hodge-podge of towels before dressing in genuinely worn jeans and a polo with a fading logo (“I ❤ whisky” from The Pot Still for the few vaguely interested). I cook in the combi microwave or on the hob. Big oven is for high days and holidays.
No need to buy new shit for the sake of it.
I’m like this. Car is 17 years old and still going strong so why change? Try to keep purchasing anything to a minimum and generally live frugally. Come from parents who were always mortgaged up to the hilt, lived on an overdraft and spent every penny they had on soft furnishings and useless antique ornaments. Never had a family holiday as a child, they saw that as wasteful. But we had lots of nice cushions on the sofa! So now try to live with little and have holidays and treats instead of things.
Well done for ignoring capitalism. The rat race in unavoidable but you can choose to walk it.
Stoicism helped free my mind from the daily stresses and the toxic elements of using social media such as comparison and envy.
We will all die, eventually. Enjoy what you have before it’s gone, even the little things in life.
Good for you. If many others were like you the planet wouldn’t be so trashed.
Yeah, that’s me.
My brother in law bought us some wine glasses, so that we could have ‘matching glasses’ when we have guests. But we just kept them to one side for when our existing ones broke (we still have some spare!). We like having mismatched stuff, because it gives you options to choose from!
Also, I would rather save money for early retirement or working less, rather than having everything look right for other people.
(Some of our towels are about 40 years old now, and when I wanted some smaller towels, I chopped one of the bath-sheets that we don’t use much in two and hemmed them to make two smaller towels).
partially; I’m happy without upgrading my phone, I’m actually happier with an older car than a new one, shops own food is fine. but generally I’d rather be able to extend beyond that, an expansive life would be nice. going abroad more than once a decade would be nice. I’d be happier if I had more and better things. but this is fine, it’s nice to appreciate things on a smaller scale
I’ve got an old car and coats that are 20 years old. They do the job, and l am happy with them.
However, where l make savings there, and other places, l really like to splurge on things. I don’t eat out a lot, but when l do, it’s all courses, multiple drinks and in a top quality restaurant.
A bit of restraint in some areas allows some fun in others!
I would call that logical. Why buy more towels before you need to. A car is a depreciating asset and plenty of new ones have serious issues and recalls. If it works, you’re sorted. I think prioritising things to spend money on is smart. I never get a new phone because it’s a waste of money. I don’t need the newest filters on apps to lie to myself. Going abroad for the sake of showing off is a tad pointless. If you really enjoy it fair enough but it’s more stress than not , why bother? . I’m afraid you are a nightmare for corporations. Highly likely to not be influenced by social media ad campaigns or company sponsored peer pressure. I’m afraid I think ,that basic is doing what you are told to do ,by dudes in suits in boardrooms.
We have all we need and some of what we want so basically enough.
Meh! I only replace things on an as and when needed basis. I only bought some new clothes last year because I changed jobs from being a carer back to office work.
Being honest, love nice clothes and homewares but just buy most of it second hand.
We used to go caravanning as a child and never want to do it ever again.
I’m typing this on a Motorola 8500x so what do you think?
you have a healthy brain with healthy habits and healthy look at life. Please stay as you are. You’re not basic, you’re NORMAL. Which is a very rare thing to achieve now days.
ps. my towels do not match either can’t can’t be bothered with it at all.
I like having nice things, but nice doesn’t always mean expensive or popular. I couldn’t give a crap about trends, or showing off my stuff, but I want it to look and feel nice, and to last. I will spend a little more to get a better product, but I’ll happily buy a cheaper product if it’s just as good. Not sure if that makes me basic or not.
I have very little debt, a mortgage and a small loan to buy a car when our last car was literally scrap which will take less than 2 years to pay off and leave us owning our car.