Last night I read the book Rational Simplicity : Setting Course to a Simpler Life, by Tim Covell. It caught my eye at the library, because it was small (about 90 pages) and the title was exactly what I was looking for.
Overall the book was pretty good. The book was more focused on financial aspects of living simpply than I had expected, and it hit on some things I was not expecting, but pleasently surprised by. I really liked some of the ideas, such as getting rid of TV, as it provides little value - he asks if you can remember the plot of the episode this week last year of your favorite show - and is mainly a tool for the advertising agencies to snuggle up next to you and pick your pockets.
However, of all the things in the book, probably the most important was his discussion of looking at money as time, literally “Time is money”. He recommends - strongly urges - you to figure out your real wage per hour (basically your income minus all of the expenses to earn that income), and then everytime you want to buy something, divide the price of the item(s) by your real wage. So if your real wage is $10/hr and you want to buy a $2000 LCD TV, get ready to work an extra 200 hours in your life, just for the TV. This tells you how much time you will have to work, be away from your family, and - if you do not do what you love for a living - focus on something other than what you love.
I do not agree with all of the book, and there are places where I would have really liked to have seen references to articles and studies the author mentions, but overall, the sentiment is in the right place, and it conveys its message effectively. I enjoyed it.
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