![]() When I was 22 and I got my first professional job making $33,000 a year in Minneapolis, the first thing I did was go to the Toyota dealership and buy a brand new $22,000 car, debt that essentially matched my take-home pay for the year and saddled me with a 5-year loan. The pursuit of bigger, better, and more is an American invention I’ve come to resist that as often as I can. The American reaction? Just buy another there is no limit to what money can buy. In fact, I found a way for my Greek friend Vasilis to retrieve it, who was on another island but would later come to visit me in Croatia. But I didn’t want a new jacket-my jacket, purchased five years earlier at Target for $27, was not special in any way, but it worked just fine. “Just buy another jacket!” they exclaimed, incredulous that it was even an issue. Upset at my forgetfulness, I told some American friends how I lost the only jacket I had in Europe. Later that day, I flew to the Greek island of Corfu. In Athens, I got a haircut and left my jacket in the salon. ![]() Now, I glue, sew, fix, resole, DIY, and trade-in, as much as I am able to, and breathe new life into old things. In the past, if something I enjoyed was broken, torn, slow, outdated, or damaged, I would’ve tossed it in the trash (or in a kitchen drawer to deal with later) and gone about replacing or upgrading it. You bring your own, or buy a reusable tote.) (In Mexico and much of Europe, retailers do not offer plastic bags. How everything we buy comes in layers of plastic, which we then put in another plastic bag and walk out the door. I remember all the Amazon purchases I so carelessly and thoughtlessly ordered, each one coming on a truck, on its own trip, in its own box… resold for pennies on the dollar at the garage sale I held when I became a nomad in 2020. While Americans are fortunate to have such infrastructure and business ingenuity, there is so much waste. is a country where anything can be ordered up and delivered in mere minutes or hours, and many people don’t typically bat an eye at the premium they pay for convenience, ease, and shiny newness. Broken, torn, damaged, depleted? Fix it, glue it, sew it, buff it, fill it-Mexicans are handy, and while whatever it is might not be made perfect, it’s usable. Part of that outlook could be due to the prevalence of poverty in Mexico, but I think it’s also the cultural thinking that everything has a use. I spent the first six months of 2022 in Mexico and one of the things I came to notice about Mexicans was that replacement was a last resort. Outside of America, “replace” is not the first impulse ![]() Because if there was one thing I had come to notice spending most of 2022 abroad… it was that NOBODY had as much attachment to their belongings as Americans, while simultaneously having the mindset that everything is disposable. Whether she meant “us Germans,” “us frequent travelers,” or “myself and Lena,” I wasn’t positive, but she could’ve easily meant all three. Maybe it is in America, but that’s pretty normal for us.” She chuckled, and gestured around the simple two bedroom, one bathroom flat she shared with her girlfriend, Lena. I don’t care about or collect material things, and I’d rather my money go towards experiences versus possessions.” I sold my house and got rid of 98% of my belongings and furniture two years ago. “Pretty much everything I own can fit in my car. ![]() Last August, we sat on her balcony eating fresh bread and cheese and drinking beer, staples of the German diet. Sarah, my host in Munich, had seen my nomadic lifestyle blog in which I talk about travel, minimalism, budgeting, and love. “So Julie-I see you quit your job, but what makes you a minimalist?” Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Julie B.
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