Earning More Vs. Spending Less, Round 1: Housing

All along we have thought of our small-space living as practice for some day when we'll be in New York, or Tokyo, or who knows where else, but we've been feeling cramped lately. Creatively, frugally, minimally, apartment-therapy cramped.  Tiny houses can be a giant pain sometimes.

Is it really necessary?

We could find a studio or office space outside our home to free up our living room, and that would make things more flexible, but it would cost more money. And since ours is a “passion” line of work, we do it at all hours of day and night. When you're up at 3am editing video, or writing, or painting, it helps to be near your own kitchen and bedroom, not in a deserted building under green fluorescent lights.  Our situation simply calls for bigger housing. Or doesn't it?

Next year we're going to be in an artist residency (free housing and free studio space for a few months). After that is over we'd like to move to a more spacious and safer home. But we could also sublet our place so we come back to it, and continue saving money.  Both options have their pros and cons.

Yes, people are poorer and more cramped in the third world, but we don't live there, and we're just two human beings with earthly desires.  We can argue until we 're blue in the face about what is a “need”, but fortunately in our society no citizen's committee can tell you that you have to be content with your housing allocation. It's a free country. And right now, we're feeling restless.

Our next goal: earn more

Should we focus more on earning so that we can move to a bigger place, or just be happy with what we have?

We would like to move, and we'll work on earning more with this goal in mind until it happens or something changes our minds. Are we asking for “lifestyle inflation,” dear readers? Or are we being reasonable?   Counter-cultural frugalistas will see us as hungry capitalist pigs, but more advanced capitalist pigs will laugh at the squalor of our daily life.  No matter what you do, you can't please everyone.

And so, to improve our lives while staying in balance, we will make more money and add to our savings before we move to our next place.

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