Im guessing our annual household income to be about $20,000, after our tax returns and any miscellaneous income I make. Depending on how it is calculated, our family hovers around the top 14%..
Poking around the site a little bit, I see that 85% of the worlds population lives on less that $6 per day. Along with that, 50% live on less that $2.35 per day and the bottom 10% live on around $1 a day.
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Who is it that we are comparing ourselves to that we think that we need more than we have?
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The official world poverty level is $1.25 per day. The US poverty line is drawn between $30 and $10 per person per day, depending on the size of the family. As someone who lives below the US "poverty" line, I can confidently say that US poverty is a hoax (with the exception of the homeless). Those living below the US poverty level are some of the richest people in the world, myself included. Not to mention, my family has been offered, on several occasions, a lucrative $400 per month in food stamps, and the government doesnt even know that Im pregnant. But that is not the point...
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The point is that our standard of living is much higher than is NECESSARY. Yes, we may like buying new toys and continually updating our shoe collection, but it is by no means necessary.
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What is necessary? Clothes to keep you warm and descent, some sort of shelter, depending on your climate, and basic food and drink to nourish your body. That is all. Everything else is gravy. And my "poverty-stricken" family has a LOT of gravy. Im sure yours has even more.
This "African Washing Machine" is similar to my washing machine, except I have one bucket and it is filled with running water. I didnt have to carry it from the well. When we moved to an apartment with no washer/dryer hookups, I found myself shelling out $40 per month to the laundromat. So I started filling a bucket, hung a few laundry lines in our bedrooms, and kept my money. In what way can you save money by living a little more like the rest of the world?
