How Vintage Do You Go? -merged thread-

[desi_de_lu_lu]

How Old School Can You Get?

I had a recent discussion with my husband about taking the television set out of the bedroom. I protested because I like listening and watching out of the corner of my eye, the morning news, CNN or the like. He insisted that having a television in the bedroom wasn't "old school" (which seems to be his catch phrase for anything that doesn't fit inside his 1958 Utopian Universe that he lives in.)

And the cell phones are going away as soon as the contracts are up, the same with the cable, cable modem, microwave and he even balks at my built in icemaker in the fridge. (which I get to keep, because dang it... it is hotter than hades here!)

He constantly tells me I could never make it back in the day. He says I rely too much on credit cards, debit cards, and modern appliances.

So to prove him wrong (and to see if I could really live without my modern conveniences) we are putting this to a test. We are getting rid of the bedroom television and all the aforementioned technological gadgets...much to my chagrin. We are also NOT buying anything on credit, or loans. (mortgage excluded).

Could you do it? How old school is your lifestyle now? How old school could you really get? Can you use cash only and buy an item if you could really afford it? Could you cook all your food from scratch? Or does the microwave get used 3 times a day?

Just how vintagefied is your lifestyle?

 

[Story]

Sorta struck me as related to this recent article...
http://green.yahoo.com/news/ap/20080524/ap_on_re_us/environmental_survivalists.html

 

[desi_de_lu_lu]

Sorta struck me as related to this recent article...
http://green.yahoo.com/news/ap/20080524/ap_on_re_us/environmental_survivalists.html

This is sort of the way my husband is thinking, minus the home-militia mindset. Even though we do have some guns in the house for protection.

This article is right up my husband's alley and I am printing it off now to give it to him. Thanks for the link...

 

[desi_de_lu_lu]

I'm brand new to this thing so please be patient with me.
I'm 50 yrs old so I'm not only obsessed with vintage, I am vintage myself.
My husband and I bowed out of the debt culture about 18 yrs ago. We only do cash and keep our finances pretty simple. basically the opposite from the way most people do.
We noticed that my parents who grew up during the 40's have always done this and even though my dad was a manual worker they owned their house outright, had money in the bank, no debts, were able to puchase their cars with cash and had savings.
The process was painful at first but now we wouldn't live any other way. The freedom from worry is great. We traded our huge mortgage in on a house we could actually afford , and now years later, we own the place and I can buy whatever I want. Cash of course!

Welcome to the Lounge VintageJoAnn! Both my husband and I subscribe to this way of life, in theory. He just wants to put it into practice and wants to wean me off the teat of the 21st century. I tip my hat to you and have deep respect for folks like yourself who made it this way...it just seems like the simpler way of life is better all the way around.

Now we need to put it into practice!

 

[Story]

Thanks for the link...

Nanu Nanu.

 

[alexandra]

I think that most of the stuff you're getting rid of is probably good for you, but I wouldn't underestimate the power of a cell phone. I personally don't have one, but everywhere I go, someone does. In moderation I think cell phones are a very good invention.

 

[desi_de_lu_lu]

I think that most of the stuff you're getting rid of is probably good for you, but I wouldn't underestimate the power of a cell phone. I personally don't have one, but everywhere I go, someone does. In moderation I think cell phones are a very good invention.

I also think it is a good invention... and often protest that I would need it in an emergency. But the mere fact that EVERYONE happens to have one makes me feel better that in a true emergency, if I didn't have one.. I would make a good samaritan feel better for having helped me out in distress by loaning me his or dialing emergency services for me.

There really was life before the cell phone. Back in the day when you actually memorized folks' numbers. [huh]

That said.. I will miss mine. (until the sweet sound of silence of not having an electronic leash fills the room)

 

[sixsexsix]

...but what does he say about the computer....internet....this website?

 

[zaika]

boy, i would love nothing more than to live old school circa pre-industrial age. lack of funds to purchase land and living in an apartment kind of put a damper on that.

but i have no credit cards (working on paying the old ones off), don't own a car, don't use microwaves (not even at work), don't have a/c in my house. i'd like to cancel my cable (i've been trying to get the guts up to do it for a few months...but...but! haha), get rid of my cell phone, and limit eating out to special occassions.

i figure that the less gagetry and convienence i have in my life, the better i'll be able to adjust if the energy apocalypse does come.

i just wish that i had some land. seriously.

that article was kinda scary.

 

[Miss 1929]

I can't do it.

I like my modern conveniences and my vintage aesthetics!
And for any woman who is driving a car, to not have a cell phone is VERY DANGEROUS. What of you break down somewhere off the beaten path? Many, many women are assaulted and abducted by people pretending the be helping them. Keep the cell phone for emergencies and traveling! You don't have to turn it on until you need it!
But I think keeping the TV out of the bedroom is a grand idea, and computers too - it makes romantic encounters more likely!
You could also put it in an armoire or cabinet if the look of it is what he objects to.

 

[desi_de_lu_lu]

...but what does he say about the computer....internet....this website?

That is the bone of contention in our house. I can't CAN'T live without the internet. I need it for my business, and of course for places like this.

However, we do have a rule of thumb in our house. No internet on weekends. (hence why you never see any of my posts on a weekend.)
I have an easy time with this since I am in my studio painting on the weekends.

 

[sixsexsix]

I like my modern conveniences and my vintage aesthetics!
And for any woman who is driving a car, to not have a cell phone is VERY DANGEROUS. What of you break down somewhere off the beaten path? Many, many women are assaulted and abducted by people pretending the be helping them. Keep the cell phone for emergencies and traveling! You don't have to turn it on until you need it!

I agree with this 110%. This is an extreme example, but one close to home....my mother died in an accident that could have been avoided had she had a cell phone. After that happened, everyone in my family got one.

 

[desi_de_lu_lu]

I like my modern conveniences and my vintage aesthetics!
And for any woman who is driving a car, to not have a cell phone is VERY DANGEROUS. What of you break down somewhere off the beaten path? Many, many women are assaulted and abducted by people pretending the be helping them. Keep the cell phone for emergencies and traveling! You don't have to turn it on until you need it!
But I think keeping the TV out of the bedroom is a grand idea, and computers too - it makes romantic encounters more likely!
You could also put it in an armoire or cabinet if the look of it is what he objects to.

His solution to the "What of you break down somewhere off the beaten path?" is to have one of those pay as you go phones in the glove box.

I also have a loaded .22 and a taser on me (pocketbook) at all times. (except when at the University, as per policy)

 

[Miss Neecerie]

See, I am in between somewhere.


I could not survive without the computer, etc. I have two cell phones (one is work and paid for by them), etc.

That said, I have a tv with rabbit ears (just got the digital box for when they convert) but use it mostly for watching dvd's. No cable, no satellite tv. On average, unless I have a netflix movie, the tv does -not- even get turned on to broadcast tv except for Tuesday at 8 (my NCIS is on then) and dvd maybe once or twice a week.

I have a microwave, but its for -warming- things, I do not really use it for cooking, and I -could- live without it. But I got it for free, so I have one.

On the money side, I too am on the 'no new credit' plan, and paying off all the old credit cards. I do use debit card, but thats mainly because I am too disorganized to plan ahead and take cash out, but I could if needed. I have paid off about 3k of debt this year, mostly with bonus money and I have another bout of that coming up in July. After the cards are gone, I will just have student loans.

 

[MrFusion]

Heck, just keep the cellphone after your contract has been canceled. It will still work for emergency (911) calls even without a service plan.

 

[VintageJoAnn]

Let me assure you just because you simlify your life financially doesn't mean your life has to be austere and Amish like! It just means living within your means and getting creative. Thanks to shopping flea markets, yard sales, thrift stores etc. I think my house is fairly crammed with vintage glamour including my totally decadent dressing room that includes crystal chandelier and waterfall vanity table.

 

[desi_de_lu_lu]

Heck, just keep the cellphone after your contract has been canceled. It will still work for emergency (911) calls even without a service plan.

This is so true.. to hell with the cell phone plan! LOL

 

[pgoat]

I think that most of the stuff you're getting rid of is probably good for you, but I wouldn't underestimate the power of a cell phone. I personally don't have one, but everywhere I go, someone does. In moderation I think cell phones are a very good invention.

moderation being key. I HATE Cell phones, purely because people abuse them, and they are marketed towards that purpose. I recall a TV ad with Catherine Zeta Jones (where the action around her froze as she delivered her sales pitch) lamenting that the poor schmoe on line at the post office is bored - and we simply cannot have that!!!

I'm old school in that I resist getting doo-dads and gadgets until it's fairly necessary. I didn't get a cell until 2003, cable tv until 1997 and eyeglasses until a few years ago

 

[alexandra]

moderation being key. I HATE Cell phones, purely because people abuse them, and they are marketed towards that purpose. I recall a TV ad with Catherine Zeta Jones (where the action around her froze as she delivered her sales pitch) lamenting that the poor schmoe on line at the post office is bored - and we simply cannot have that!!!

I'm old school in that I resist getting doo-dads and gadgets until it's fairly necessary. I didn't get a cell until 2003, cable tv until 1997 and eyeglasses until a few years ago

Eyeglasses are a pretty good invention too!

 

[LizzieMaine]

I've never had a cell phone -- when they first came out I simply didn't feel the need for one, and I still don't. (My best friend does me one better -- she's deaf and so doesn't have a telephone at all.) I don't live in the kind of place where I feel I need to have 911 in instant reach, and I never go off the beaten path -- the reality is that pretty much my entire life iis lived within the space of about ten well-lit blocks, between my house and the theatre, and I know enough what dark corners to stay out of. For me, a cell phone is redundant.

The computer, I have mixed feelings about. I refused to get one until the late '90s, when I started a job that required net access. It's given me access to a lot of things I wouldn't otherwise have had access to, including such things as the Lounge, but at the same time there's a part of me that really thinks 95 percent of the net is a bigger waste of time than television. But I have it now primarily for the sake of my aforementioned best friend -- it's our only day-to-day means of communication, since we can no longer afford the gas for frequent visits. Oh, and I couldn't live without the Panda-Cam, so maybe that's two good reasons to keep it.

Creditwise -- well, I didn't have any kind of a credit card at all until I was 34 years old, and I only got it then because I needed some way to pay escalating medical bills. Now I'm so deep in the bank's pocket I doubt I'll live long enough to pay it all off, but hey, the Golden Era was full of predatory lending too: ask your grandfolks about "Finance Companies" and how they'd send a couple of goons around to repo the furniture if you were a week late on the payments.

A/C? I live in Maine. For the two weeks out of the year that I'd use it, it's not worth the expense.

Giant screen HDTV stuff? Feh. I manage a theatre. The last thing I want to do when I'm home is watch movies.

Microwave? I'm with Neecerie on this -- I use it to warm up leftovers. It was a wedding present in 1988, and so far has outlasted the marriage by five years, but I doubt I'll bother to replace it when it dies.