Comments on: Extreme Cheap: Daniel Suelo

By: KitK.

KitK. — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 22:49:10 +0000

I just recently learned about this man’s exploits of “living the the natural way.” I respect, admire, and I seek to be able to do that myself. I don’t totally agree with him, yet, through his actions he has proven his point. As a “societal solution” I think it could work. We came from that but, our desire for an “easy lifestyle” drove people to what was proposed as “progress” and technology which led to convenience and now complacency.
How does one just walk away? For those that want to criticize him I ask have you done this? And do you have the confidence to do so? In “society” fear drives the machine and whether by design or not we have let ourselves become “interdependent” on too much. I say the earth is not over populated at all; I think it could sustain billions more, but it is overpopulated with those that want something for nothing. It is possible too live very simply and it starts with the individual gaining the courage to do it. I am no different than anyone else when it comes to these inner fears as well as the outside. I have, however, learned that it is within me to figure out what I need to do and how to go about doing it.
As Mr. Suelo said the biggest difficulty in beginning what he has done is getting over what others will think of him. Yet actions speak louder than words and as for money, I have found that it is the virtual whip along with fear creation that keeps us in this “slavery without slavery” illusion. We have but ourselves to blame. I could say more but, its alot.

Thanks,
KitK.

By: Mr. Cheap

Mr. Cheap — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:46:47 +0000

Frugal New Yorker: Well, I never said he’d buy a new jacket with the money. It could be used just as easily to buy a used jacket. Ain’t money grand!

Similarly, as I said in the paragraph about living off of Western excess, I don’t have a problem with that either.

As I also wrote in the post, I admire him too. That doesn’t mean I have to think he’s 100% right in everything he says and does.

By: The Frugal New Yorker

The Frugal New Yorker — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:38:33 +0000

To answer your confusion about Heidemarie and the used-jacket example, one reason it makes sense is because they are using secondhand materials, rather than buying new and encouraging increased consumption. You say that their lifestyle is dependent upon the society they reject–I think that’s the whole point. They “live off of Western excess” to diminish the amount of waste we produce and to illustrate that we consume and produce far, far more than we need (or even want).

I actually admire Suelo and the others who live alternatively. Obviously it’s not a societal solution–if everyone decided to live like them, we couldn’t survive. But to personally opt out of the consumption-crazy world of the US is a valid response to many of today’s problems.

By: Carnival of Personal Finance #217: The French Money Quotes Edition — Almost Frugal- a frugal blog

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 11:23:25 +0000

[...] Cheap from Four Pillars presents Extreme Cheap: Daniel Suelo, and says, “A look at Daniel Suelo’s life rejecting money and why it’s a bit [...]

By: Ananke

Ananke — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 03:00:52 +0000

I could never do what Daniel is doing but I have far less problem with his views than those on the other extreme, ie. those whose purpose in life is to make money at all costs.

By: Sunday Money Roundup - Kid Proof The House Edition. | My Two Dollars

Sunday Money Roundup - Kid Proof The House Edition. | My Two Dollars — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 13:31:53 +0000

[...] Pillars has an interesting post up about Daniel Suelo, a man who has “quit using money like a bad drug“. AKPC_IDS += “2140,”;Popularity: unranked [?] Share and [...]

By: MoneyEnergy

MoneyEnergy — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 01:45:45 +0000

oh, p.s. – as an ex-anthropologist I can pretty much assure you that Daniel is fully conscious and definitely not buying into any illusion about money or noble savagery…. his head is definitely above such caricatures, however we find the “yuck factor” of his lifestyle (or not).

By: MoneyEnergy

MoneyEnergy — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 01:43:16 +0000

Weird, I was just reading about Suelo today, too – elsewhere…. I guess the article reporting on him must be the source of all this. I was saying that I wasn’t surprised he was an anthropologist – for some reason even before finishing the first sentence of the article, I had the sense he was involved with anthropology somehow:) Great story. I could never be that extreme, though. Letting mice bite you while you’re sleeping is gross and unhygienic.

By: Mrs. Micah

Mrs. Micah — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 20:54:46 +0000

I think it’s important for people like Mr. Suelo to realize that the very reason people in places like India or Thailand can choose to live as holy ascetics is because people who do have money (or goods or something) and who work for a living choose to support them. It’s a system of giving and blessing. Putting down the people who make that sort of thing available is hypocritical as long as you accept their handouts.

I don’t know if I’d give to someone who chooses not to have money for the sake of not having money. Now, if the person chooses not to have money and devotes his/her life to doing something I approve of–peacemaking, activism, volunteerism, etc, then I’d be more likely to give. Or a person who chooses to do one of those things and (while not eschewing money) accept that that they’ll live a comparatively ascetic lifestyle.

By: A Lap Of The Blogs : WhereDoesAllMyMoneyGo.com

A Lap Of The Blogs : WhereDoesAllMyMoneyGo.com — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 01:35:01 +0000

[...] Four Pillars: Extreme Cheap! [...]