Welcome to the Non-Consumer Advocate!

by Katy on May 20, 2008 · 6 comments

I call myself “The Non-Consumer Advocate.” What does that mean? For me, it means living a life for myself and my family that is not controlled by the economy. Economy up? Great – Hooray for everyone! Economy down? That’s okay too, because I know how to live well either way. My family’s happiness doesn’t depend on income fluctuations.

I am part of “The Compact,” a group 1000’s strong worldwide that chooses to buy nothing new. I have been living this way since January 2007, and the change was hardly even noticed by my family. Really, our life and the environment is better off as a result.

Anyone knows how to live well in good times – lots of delicious dinners out, sumptuous presents for all, great clothes and furnishings. The art is to know how to live well whether your income is up or down. And live well we do. A nice big house in Portland, Oregon, classic comfy antique furniture, cool kids, really- the “American Dream.”

We watch DVD’s from the library, give and receive used gifts, eat great meals at home and even eat out occasionally.  When I get together with friends, we go for a walk, see a second run movie, socialize in one another’s homes. Income down? None of this changes.

I like to scrutinize my utility bills to see how little energy we can be using. This somewhat dorky hobby is not supported by a shiny new Prius hybrid or an array of solar panels on my roof. What I do to save on utilities cost pretty much nothing and can be implemented with just a slight adjustment of attitude. I’ll be discussing how you too can make these minor changes.

In this blog I will be writing about how my family works with the challenges of living on less, living less wastefully and the occasional obstacles that come up. If you have ideas to add I would love to hear them.

-Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

Your Non-Consumer Advocate:

Your Non-Consumer Advocate

{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }

Alexis Ahrens May 30, 2008 at 8:20 pm

Great picture, Katy.

There is another benefit to this lifestyle that you didn’t mention, and that is the freedom you are modeling for your children. When they see that it is possible and enjoyable to live with a frugal and simple lifestyle, it allows them the freedom, down the road, to explore and choose careers without a concern for the financial compensation. So many young people who would have been brilliant artists, musicians, writers or the like turn away from those paths because of their fear of “not making enough money”. Feeling confident in their ability to live well on little frees them up to choose based on their passions and interests, and not on what society tells them is a “good job”.

And when they aren’t programmed to feel limited by money, one way or another, chances are there will be plenty of it flowing for them.

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Shell November 4, 2010 at 1:17 pm

Excellent point about modeling the freedom for children! Allowing them to follow their heart and dreams and not society will lead to much happier adults as they grow, for they can follow a passion without stressing about a “small paycheck”.

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Tim Knight August 25, 2008 at 4:19 pm

Katy,
Great website!
Thanks again for including us at Emma’s birthday party. Damn! That was a pretty hot day. I’m such a dork…remember the wrapping paper everyone asked if Michael hadpainted it…and I said I didn’t think so…um, well, he did. Regardless, it’s always great to see you and the gang. Tina was sorry she couldn’t join in. The wedding she coordinated went much better because of her. Michael is totally bugging me about having a play date with Nate. I guess he figures a play date with Nate will get him back into Emmett’s toy nirvana. BTW, I figured out what happened with the eVite from Jessica. It was weird…I received 3 text messages…the 1st one was an invitation to the party. I RSVP’d, but the text message was actually from a link on the eVite website that Tina forwarded to me, so Jessica never received our RSVP. The next 2 text messages were from the same “sender” but we’re for a couple places in Auburn, CA. CRAZY! Is it OK with you if I put a link in my website (tknight.pru-nw.com) for your website? Let me know. Talk to you soon.

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Cass November 20, 2018 at 10:53 am

Ohhh, I’m a bit sad to be here at post#1. I’ve been reading backward through your blog for about six months now, and now I’ve read them all 🙁 guess I’ll have to check out some of your recommended blogs next.

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