| HN Mirror

I don't have the latest iPhone, my Android is years old and I'm genuinely considering a true-to-life dumb ol' flip phone for my next purchase. I hardly use the damn thing.

We don't have a tablet in the house, or the latest video game consoles. You should've seen how outdated our TV was before we upgraded a couple of years ago, but I didn't go posting about it online.

I don't subscribe to most streaming services, preferring to sail the high seas. Sure, we used them for a while, but then the experience began to become subpar. Even then, my collection is fairly small, limited largely to my favorite films and a small smattering of television shows I occasionally re-watch.

My musical hobbies all involve old gear that I've not upgraded in two decades.

I don't have social media and don't feel the need to show off to others.

My car is terribly old and has none of the modern luxuries of today's vehicles, but it still chugs along nicely.

Little Free Libraries are a delightful way for us to find new books and put books we love back into the community. Other than a few specific books related to our hobbies, that's where most of the books in our house come from. The children's books we have, most of them are hand-me-downs or gifts.

We value vacations in wilderness over hotels and fine dining - it's a lot cheaper, keeps us in touch with the natural world, and as a bonus, one doesn't have to have TSA fondle you prior to cramming yourself into a metal tube with a bunch of strangers for five to ten hours. And, no, we don't go camping with the latest-and-greatest gear.

I'm quite happy with all of that, and genuinely don't feel like I'm missing out on anything, or a connection with the people that matter in my life.

You talk about how everyone is addicted to unnecessary luxury, but that's an absolute that's simply not true. There are plenty of people out there who try to live a life as free of material attachments, luxury worship and whatnot as possible. The broader culture might be that way, but it's not everyone.

I've built my life around my core values (or "principled stances" as you put it), I wouldn't preach it if I wasn't trying my damnedest to practice it.