war on stuff

A Salute to Digital Nomads.

What we can all learn from the guy living in a van down by the river.

by Brad Beckstrom

It was around 2008 when I first started reading about digital nomads. The economy had tanked and a lot of people were out of jobs. The world had changed, and many were seriously questioning their commuter / cubicle / consumer lifestyles. They still are. Enter the digital nomad.

For the uninitiated, digital nomads are folks who leverage digital and wireless technology to work and create outside of the traditional work, school, office environment. A digital nomad can come in many flavors: The travel writer who travels globally on $50 a day, a suitcase entrepreneur running a cloud business from a laptop, a couple crisscrossing the globe in a sailboat.

I once considered the sailboat option, but quickly realized that someone who loves spending time on the water doesn’t necessarily translate to someone who wants to live on the water full time. Often, digital nomads are just locals working in a library or coffee shop or at home, while doing what they love: writing, surfing, cycling, creating, hanging out with their kids. You might even find them in a (kick ass camper) van down by the river, publishing books on kickstarter, creating photography about a movement.

What I’ve found is that actively pursuing dreams often leads you down unknown paths. Researching life on a boat, writing this blog, led me to discover many of the digital nomads I’ll share here. The journey often begins by looking in, before you look out. I’ve also discovered the many distinguishing traits these nomads share. Traits that anyone regardless of age or station in life can aspire to.

These are real examples and I’ve included links to their stories at the end of this blog post with hopes you’ll read that far.

They are frugal. Make no doubt about it, if you’re going to travel around the world on $50 a day or semi-retire to do your own thing at 30, you’re probably pretty frugal and have been working at it for a while.
They are minimalists. If you’re going to run a business out of a suitcase or travel around the world owning less than 50 things, there’s a pretty good chance you learned how to live with a lot less stuff quite some time ago.
Wanderlust. They’ve got it. This doesn’t necessarily mean full-time world travel, it can be something as simple as someone who works from home so they can bike, surf, hike or disappear in the mountains for a few days.
They have plans. They may not know exactly where they’re going next, but they know how to take the crucial first steps and START.
They think differently. They don’t wait till retirement to do amazing things like quitting a job on Wall Street to build windmills in Africa and inspire others to do the same.
They have what I call “creative ambition.” The powerful desire to create something everyday and put it out into the world without the concern of always getting paid.
They are misfits, living anything but average lives in exhilarating and unconventional ways.

So here is my list of a few Digital Nomads I’ve discovered. They’re Vagabonds, Dreamers, Entrepreneurs, Minimalists, and Misfits with a passion for the frugal lifestyle on the road and around the globe. This list is just getting started. You can find it and add to it on list.ly

[listly id=”Emi” layout=”gallery”]

You can also find a few of their books on my Amazon bookshelf.

Digital Nomad Photo credits

Andrew Waits

Foster Huntington

Simplicity is the whole secret of well being.

01/14 by The Frug 2 Comments

I said more cowbell, not more cowbells.

The holidays are hard for the Frug. Christmas shopping gives everyone a fantastic excuse for buying more stuff. You know the whole gifts and holiday traditions thing going on. Our friends, family, and our extended family fully embrace the holidays. Multiple family get-togethers and other holiday parties take their toll on the wallet. There are also 9 plastic tubs of holiday stuff that emerge from the deepest corners of the storage room shortly after Thanksgiving. Lots of festive pinecones, cowbells, singing Santas, ornaments and knickknacks.

I said more cowbell, not more cowbells!

I can just feel the surge of stuff rolling into the house from all directions. Just thinking about my required half day of frantic holiday shopping also gives me hives.

This holiday season we made an effort as a family to see more stuff instead of buy more stuff.

So here’s the idea. SuperK and I hatched a plan in June to join some other family members on a trip to Mexico for Christmas. This would require some saving, airfare hacks, and creative scheduling as far as the traditional holiday get-togethers are concerned. We also had a goal of scaling back on gifts and having a more traditional utilitarian (I love that word) Christmas celebration.

We would make this holiday season all about family experiences versus stuff. Sure the kids would be disappointed but to be honest they are generally disappointed with most gifts. You can see SuperK’s thoughts on this here. Plus, it would be hard for them to complain while sitting on a beach in Mexico hearing about the icy temperatures at home. So, instead of making the trip a surprise we let them in on it early on. We built excitement with countdown calendars, savings thermometers and photos. We also talked about some of the adventures we would have in Mexico with friends and family.

I am also always playing up the idea that less stuff equals more. Less stuff to shop for, put together, store, repair get rid of, equals more time for adventure. In a year, I’d like to say we are traveling light not just on our adventures but at home, lightening the load that excess stuff puts on you.

Okay so this was a big experiment. Did it work? Here is some of the stuff we saw this holiday season in Mexico.

Family and friends from Baltimore MD, Amherst MA, Minneapolis MN, Los Angeles CA, Brooklyn NY.
A school of gray whales about 30 yards from a boat that was significantly smaller than each of the whales.
Went to Spanish Christmas Mass in a small neighborhood church in Puerto Vallarta.
The Greatest Mariachi Band in the World, as touted by family and friends that had seen them before. I must agree.
Several beach towns including Yelapa Mexico, only accessible by boat.
A taste of some small village life in Mexico by hiking up a trail of crumbling rocks and ancient steps.
Peluchelandia.
Six fantastic sunsets.
A dose of reality for the boys, seeing many kids working selling trinkets on Christmas Day
The famous pie ladies of Yelapa, and some coconut pecan pie on the beach, why not.
Some of the best food Mexico has to offer including a great Fish and Chips place Joe Jacks

So here are a few tips for lightening the load so you can see more stuff next holiday season.

Use the stuff in, stuff out formula. For every new item that comes in the house two items need to leave. This can include toys your kids no longer play with, clothing they’ve outgrown (or I’ve outgrown), items you no longer use, knickknacks you’re just tired of looking at.
Start planning your adventures now. To make this happen, it really does require some thinking in February once you’ve recovered from your holiday $ hangover.
Add up everything you spent this holiday season and take a hard look at what you can move out of the category labeled stuff.
Give things away, It’s easier to part with anything when you believe someone may get some use out of it. We keep a large donation box in the hallway to always remind us of this. Last year we filled about 20 of these.
Keep a record of what you give away, Goodwill, Purple Heart receipts etc. you may be able to write off $500 or more on your taxes.
Make sure you’re using a credit card that produces from 2 to 5 points for each dollar spent. Check out the Chase Sapphire Preferred or the Fidelity American Express that include 2% cash back or points on every purchase.

I’ll be working on the stuff out formula and who knows we may end up in Mexico again next Christmas.

“One Man’s Trash” My 5 year experiment with Craigslist

11/13 by The Frug Leave a Comment

And 10 Tips on selling stuff from an adman.

Starting with $60 for a grill I couldn’t give away.

My first experience with Craigslist was about 5 years ago. We had an old Weber Genesis 1100 grill. This thing was about 15 years old and we had it for about 10 of those years. A neighbor had given it to me in fair condition. We put it to good use, and it showed. The bottom was rusted out and various other parts had started to give way. Ours was actually in worse shape than the photo above.

Curb Alerts

I’d heard about other people listing old couches and other various items on craigslist as a curb alert. Curb alerts are for things generally not suitable for sale or donation to charity. Our grease covered rotted out grill was definitely in this category.

To my surprise, in searching craigslist, it turned out that this grill was a “classic” and there was an active market of people who purchase these, paying from $40-$80 then use the parts or completely restore them. Here is an “after” photo I found of one of these restored grills on craigslist.

Restored grill for sale as seen on Craigslist.

As they say, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure” and this sure beats a trip to the dump. Also, call me a Frug, but I feel bad just chucking something that may have a few more years of useful service in it. So I took the leap and created my first post on craigslist, included two photos, grill info, and listed it for $60, a price well beyond its scrap value. My thinking was maybe someone would want to restore it like the one above.

Craigslist a powerful tool in my war on stuff.

I was a bit concerned about getting mocked, spammed, or receiving offers for escort services in response to my ridiculous first attempt at a craigslist ad for a rusty grill. But, based on the immediate responses, my inner ad-man had come through and created a successful post. By that afternoon, not only did someone reply, but actually arrived at my home to pick up the grill with no negotiation. Just three crisp 20s and a thank you!

Craigslist has become a powerful tool in my war on stuff. Here are a few tips to make getting rid of stuff on craigslist easy:

Always use multiple photos. Just like any other customer, craigslist shoppers want to see what they’re getting, even if you are giving it away for free.
Try to get a good photo by placing the item outdoors, or in a well lit area, without distractions or “other junk” in the background.
For quick posts. use a craigslist app. Once your account is set up it’s easy to just snap a photo with the app then add a headline and a good description.
Good headlines work, something like “Vintage Peugeot French Road Racing Bike.” I used this description to sell my 12 speed bike from 10th grade that was still in my garage until about a year ago! Another “classic vintage” item that had retained all of its value 30+ years later.
For more expensive products, it’s always good to paste in a quick description from the manufacturer. Just do a quick search including the model number and you’ll get a bunch of options. These more detailed descriptions will also make your item easier to find for searching shoppers.
Avoid using photos from the manufacturer’s website unless what you’re selling is brand-new. People will be disappointed if your sale item differs from the photograph.
There is no need to include your email, phone or home address in the post. Just use your craigslist mail ID which forwards to your email box. This helps you avoid spammers.
If someone asks you to deliver the item, just say no, unless you know them. The time involved in this negates any benefit you get from using craigslist. Think of this more as a garage sale. People should just take things home and leave you with the cash.
When you come up with your price give yourself about 10% to 15% negotiation room. People who purchase on craigslist generally like to ask for some small discount from your list price.
If you are getting rid of stuff that is in really bad shape just do a quick curb alert, Craigslist has some good mapping tools so you can just drop a pin on the curb location and it will be gone in no time.

Zach Galifianakis presents Craigslist Joe

Once you start playing around with craigslist, you’ll find there’s a whole hidden economy involved. It goes way beyond stuff, and includes fantastic vacation rentals, computer repair services, handyman services, on and on. Check out the film Craigslist Joe about the guy who travels the country relying solely on the support of the craigslist community.

Unloaded anything crazy on Craigslist. I’d love to hear about it.

The_Frug

Individual Containers of Crap

11/13 by The Frug 2 Comments

A Frug Rant about Doubling Down on Duplication

By Brad Beckstrom

Okay, once a while I just need to do a quick rant to get something off my chest. In this case, about 40 plastic bottles of shampoo, conditioner and body wash.

Growing up, we had two types of shampoo (Pert and Head & Shoulders) and a bar of soap, usually Dial, or if someone got fancy, “Irish Spring.” In college, I had a roommate who shaved, showered and shampooed with one bar of soap. He was ahead of his time.

Alas, my simple living college days are over. With a teenager, a tween and my lovely wife SuperK, the shampoo, conditioner, body wash situation has gotten a bit out of control. I did a quick count including our three bathrooms and various other cabinets around the house. Grand total: 41 bottles of shampoo, conditioner, face soap, and body wash.

We may be uniquely ridiculous in this regard but I was so fascinated, I needed to share it. Turns out, with all the different flavors of body washes and rinses and shampoos, the kids and SuperK have been trying certain products out, then not finishing the less popular ones.

Looks like a lot of these bottles just get chucked in cabinets or put into the rarely used basement bathroom. I guess we’re hoping some guest will love one of the seven or eight bottles of three-year-old shampoos that we’ve displayed for them. There was also a dog shampoo in the basement bathroom. I did not include that in the total count.

I have no problem with grooming but we need to really work on using up all of these individual containers of crap. I tried setting an example by complaining to the family about it at dinner, letting them know that I was personally using up all of their unused soap. That was until I tried using some of my son’s AXE Shock Body Wash Gel. It had pieces of mint scrubbing crystals in it and smelled like a very strong industrial cleaner. It made my eyes water and burned hair out of my sinuses.

I also bought some nice soap and tried to explain that this was a better way to keep clean and get rid of all these plastic bottles. They just end up having a third of the gel/crap stuck to the bottom, unused or in some landfill somewhere. This suggestion was met with outrage and angry stares.

Well, if it was up to me, I think an ideal solution would be something like this:

Yea, it’s called MAN 2.0. It’s a combination body, shampoo and shaving bar. I guess once we use up the other 40 containers I’ll give this a shot.

I’m not going to kid myself and think that we’ll end up with my ideal solution. However, I am hoping to go from 40 to about six bottles total.

Frug rules for containing shampoo gluttony

Don’t buy any more shampoo until the current three year inventory is used up.
When you must buy shampoo, soap etc. open it up in the store and smell it, they won’t mind. You are a great customer.
Replace all body wash with a quality bar of soap.
Find a good combo shampoo conditioner.

That’s it, end of rant. Look for future rants on other types of individual containers of crap. I’m happy to have problems as insignificant as these, and share my futile attempts to save the planet.

George Carlin – Stuff

07/13 by The Frug Leave a Comment

George Carlin on Stuff transcript.

Actually this is just a place for my stuff, ya know? That’s all, a little place for my stuff. That’s all I want, that’s all you need in life, is a little place for your stuff, ya know? I can see it on your table, everybody’s got a little place for their stuff. This is my stuff, that’s your stuff, that’ll be his stuff over there. That’s all you need in life, a little place for your stuff. That’s all your house is: a place to keep your stuff. If you didn’t have so much stuff, you wouldn’t need a house. You could just walk around all the time.

A house is just a pile of stuff with a cover on it. You can see that when you’re taking off in an airplane. You look down, you see everybody’s got a little pile of stuff. All the little piles of stuff. And when you leave your house, you gotta lock it up. Wouldn’t want somebody to come by and take some of your stuff. They always take the good stuff. They never bother with that crap you’re saving. All they want is the shiny stuff. That’s what your house is, a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get…more stuff!

Sometimes you gotta move, gotta get a bigger house. Why? No room for your stuff anymore. Did you ever notice when you go to somebody else’s house, you never quite feel a hundred percent at home? You know why? No room for your stuff. Somebody else’s stuff is all over the place! And if you stay overnight, unexpectedly, they give you a little bedroom to sleep in. Bedroom they haven’t used in about eleven years. Someone died in it, eleven years ago. And they haven’t moved any of his stuff! Right next to the bed there’s usually a dresser or a bureau of some kind, and there’s NO ROOM for your stuff on it. Somebody else’s shit is on the dresser.

Have you noticed that their stuff is shit and your shit is stuff? God! And you say, “Get that shit offa there and let me put my stuff down!”

Sometimes you leave your house to go on vacation. And you gotta take some of your stuff with you. Gotta take about two big suitcases full of stuff, when you go on vacation. You gotta take a smaller version of your house. It’s the second version of your stuff. And you’re gonna fly all the way to Honolulu. Gonna go across the continent, across half an ocean to Honolulu. You get down to the hotel room in Honolulu and you open up your suitcase and you put away all your stuff. “Here’s a place here, put a little bit of stuff there, put some stuff here, put some stuff–you put your stuff there, I’ll put some stuff–here’s another place for stuff, look at this, I’ll put some stuff here…” And even though you’re far away from home, you start to get used to it, you start to feel okay, because after all, you do have some of your stuff with you. That’s when your friend calls up from Maui, and says, “Hey, why don’tchya come over to Maui for the weekend and spend a couple of nights over here.”

Oh, no! Now what do I pack? Right, you’ve gotta pack an even SMALLER version of your stuff. The third version of your house. Just enough stuff to take to Maui for a coupla days. You get over to Maui–I mean you’re really getting extended now, when you think about it. You got stuff ALL the way back on the mainland, you got stuff on another island, you got stuff on this island. I mean, supply lines are getting longer and harder to maintain. You get over to your friend’s house on Maui and he gives you a little place to sleep, a little bed right next to his windowsill or something. You put some of your stuff up there. You put your stuff up there. You got your Visine, you got your nail clippers, and you put everything up. It takes about an hour and a half, but after a while you finally feel okay, say, “All right, I got my nail clippers, I must be okay.” That’s when your friend says, “Aaaaay, I think tonight we’ll go over the other side of the island, visit a pal of mine and maybe stay over.”

Aww, no. NOW what do you pack? Right–you gotta pack an even SMALLER version of your stuff. The fourth version of your house. Only the stuff you know you’re gonna need. Money, keys, comb, wallet, lighter, hanky, pen, smokes, rubber and change. Well, only the stuff you HOPE you’re gonna need.

All material written and owned by George Carlin.