Isn't it weird how you once had fun with no money???

I was thinking about something today. Like when I was younger, like in my teens, I had so much fun but with so little money. Like if I had 20 bucks to my name at any given time I was DOING VERY WELL back then.

But regardless somehow I was able to have SO MUCH FUN. And I had NO STRESS at all over it. None what so ever. Plus I didn't feel the need hardly at all to try and get out there and make money either.

I really don't get it. Like as you get older it seems like things become so opposite to that. A complete 180. Life is for the most part not that fun anymore. You have a million and one problems. Endless stress. And never even close to enough money even though you probably have thousands or even a lot more than that.

Not to mention it seems like life just costs so much more to do anything. Even the smallest thing. Like how did we do it all back then with little to no money? Cuz we still did somehow and yet we didn't have jobs or businesses or any source of income. Mind you I recall I had to scrowng around a lot when I did need some money. But still things worked out.

Like I don't get it. What's wrong with this equation??? Seriously. Seems like now a days if you don't have tons of money then essentially you're SOL in terms of having any real fun. Not to mention if you're not rich then chances are you're terribly stressed and have no freedom anymore as an adult.

It's just nuts. Your thoughts??

I do remember the time that when banks where closed you couldent get or spend more money, the good old days.

Nope... its why every mid life crisis wants to swoon about highschool or college days.

As a teen ager 20$ did seem like a lot... because with my parents covering my room/board/food/utilities/etc expenses that $20 could go to whatever i wanted it to.

15 years later, I have rent, Car payment, Insurance, Bills, Taxes...

I guess i'm just saying it's easy to have fun with no money or little money when you don't have that many priorities and most things are taken care of for you.

These days fun is relatively cheap for me but only after initial investments.. Now that my guitar and associated gear is payed off, I get to have fun for free all day.... Same could be said for people into videogames or whatever..

If you cant have fun without spending money, try producing instead of consuming.. Don't go to a concert, play an instrument...don't buy beer at a bar, learn to homebrew..don't play MLB '16 on PS4, go outside and play ball..etc..

What's "Fun", anyway?


a reply to: lavatrance

a reply to: lavatrance

Some people are obsessed with money. They base their freedom and happiness off of it and I find that to be pathetic. Obviously they've never been free in their lives. Obsessing over money is slavery, not freedom.

I can't afford a lift ticket to go ski at Vail, but I can climb the mountain and ski it down myself. Most don't have the physical or mental capability to do that. I get more exercise, more alone time, more personal accomplishment, and I earn respect from nature, my peers, and the slack jawed rich folks who don't have the courage to take on a real challenge. Plus, I get the fresh snow and they don't. Rich people use money to create the illusion that they have accomplished something while I watch them shrivel up when they try to stand next to me. They're so desperate to get attention from confident people who have real accomplishments. They're the same people who had to buy their friends in grade school.

a reply to: lavatrance

As a child of the Happy Days age, I grew up without personal money. Our ranch was our playground, a river running on its flank, so we spent summer days as river rats, making grass forts, riding the skateboard I fashioned out of old roller skates (the metal ones that required a 'key') and a discarded bit of wood. Hopscotch, Red Rover, Red Light/Green Light, Simon Says, tire swings. As Dads job bettered, we were introduced to badmitton, croquette, SlipnSlide and a basketball with a hoop (backboard homemade &nailed to an unused telephone pole).

We created fun!

I wouldn't trade my childhood for any childhood of today's youth. Happy days they were indeed!

The system we live in causes stress, mostly financial stress. We live in slavery and don't even realize it. We're no better off than the slaves the founding fathers owned when America was founded. At least those slaves were guaranteed food to eat and a place to lay their heads, nowadays not even that is guaranteed with the cost of living as high as it is.

We're the slaves who make just enough to live off of while the masters we work for live in luxury. It's a broken system but most will not see it for what it is because they are so dependent on it that they refuse to. Money will buy them that new gadget they've been wanting but don't really need so they are fine with the way things are.

Money is slavery, it is but a middle man to what we need and is used to oppress us.

a reply to: 3NL1GHT3N3D1

Nope people make choices to have that responsibility because its expected... many times not what they want thats wy the devorce rate and infidelity numbers are so high... aside from that trying to live in a fairytale on both sides of the fence not reality.

Im 43 got married early 20s got fairytailed got infideled and devorced... being middle aged and semi retired? Its weird to see people my age going through my been there done that senario. Its why so many people think I have some tiny bit of insight... so when they get into their 60s into my now 40s where them and I currently are... Ill be like in my 80s as far as that life path goes.

Weird how that works... the 20 somethings I still look like are like wtf is the deal with this dude? No buttons no way to make him dance, including the younger ladies expecting a chase or grovel... its like um been through this like 4 ever nothing anyone does is surprizing in the slightest... I can see intention 100 miles away before it walks into my local.

Knowing slang from the 1920s through to the teens now is kinda a rare thing... older gens and even my gen are like wtf are these kids even saying I thought jelly had to do with either toast or insoles.

Oh humanity whut happened?

I've had some fine adventures when I was completely broke.
It forces you to be creative.
Too much money can make you lazy.

I spent $8 on a 6 hour four wheeling trip with my family. It was money well spent. I read, play games with my daughter, go to the park, have picnics, and play games on a computer I just got from a friend who bought another one. You can have cheap fun, just need to look for the little things.

a reply to: BigBrotherDarkness

I didn't choose to be born into this system, I had no choice in it. I was forced to go to school as a kid and conform to societies rules and wasn't taught any survival skills to escape the system and am basically stuck here. If I had a choice I would go off the grid but I cannot make time to learn the skills to do so because of the system I was born into.

Most people don't know anything other than the system and are so dependent on it that they don't see what's wrong with it. Current society is the result of a people who are brainwashed into defending it and aren't really given any other options.

Luckily I see past the charade and see money and the economy for what it is: tools of slavery to keep people trapped into working for "the man".

I still have no money and I have fun everyday just kicking it. All the best things that ever happened in my life were when I was flat broke.

I think the problem is a myriad of things. I think most of it can easily be blamed by technology. But a capitalistic economy is also a huge part of it. Then you have the sheer number of people who exist on this planet. And finally the laziness factor. There are a lot of small factors that build up to this dillema but even i am having trouble just having fun when i am doing an activity with friends.

In order to have any real fun you have to spend spend spend. And if you do not spend any money, are you really having fun?

I wonder what would happen if everytng electronic did finally break. No more computers, no more running cars.... nothing.

I really wonder what would happen.

And i think it would go something like this: a million different jobs would suddenly open up. There would be a ton of jobs that would finally open up. For one reason.... we have been replacing humans with machines for decades. But we do not compensate the ones still working for us properly. Instead the head of the company takes in all of the extra profit over the lost workers paychecks, instead of paying the survivors more. That is how it should work, but greed?

That is why i think companies that do this are killing America. And outsourcing is doing the same.

While economy and technology is in one corner, in the other is food. Whatwe are doing to our food is actually attrocious.

You may never have this go through your mind but i started to notice that almost everyone in my generation buys prepackaged foods, or eats out at restaurants. More often than our parrents and grandparrents. We don't want to cook our food we just want to eat it. The amount of actual ingredients found in markets have dwindled while prepackaged foods take up to 90% percent of shelf space.

The next time you go shopping for food look at how many things come in nicely packaged, brightly colored, fully detailed, and priced items on the shelves versus anything that comes raw. Where it looks like it was produced right there, or brought in completely raw. The amount of prepackaged foods is so great that our kids think this is normal. When actuslly it isn't.

And i started to avoid buying things that had ingredients, additives, or contained anything with any word that i can no pronounce, or anything that sounds scientific in it. If it has the word concentrate on it i avoid it. If it has artificial anywhere on it i skip it. If it has the word substitute on it i dislike it.

But that is just it... everything is prepackaged, pre cooked, scientifically altered food. All in an effort to increase shelf life for higher profits.

You know i was thinking back a while ago of making a prepackaged food competitive market a while ago. Where you can walk in, have a meal prepared, or cooked for you using daily fresh ingredients.

Where as you place in the order of what you want to eat for the week and the chefs at my market will put everything together for you so all you have to do is either pay for them to cook it for you, or stick it in your oven. No microwave.

And everything would be made right then and there. And you just bring it home, and stick it straight into the oven. No preservatives, no fancy packaging. You just look at the cooking instructions, and you're done. And if you want something new? Put in a request a month ahead.


To me i think what we are doing to preserve shelf life of food is the root cause of all our health problems. Obesity, cancer, allergies. Everything we are doing to keep food on shelves longer is actually bad for our molecular structure. But no one wants to say it. Because everyone likes being able to just open it up from a vacuum sealed enclosure and eat it.

I think a billion jobs could suddenly pop up if we did this. Have cooks that don't even have to cook over a fire unless people pay extra for them to do so. That way they can have everything "prepared for the oven."

None of the ingrediants will have any preservatives found in them, none of the ingredients will be placed in any type of machined packaging. It will be nothing but fresh ingredients all the time.

I think i could get a bunch of cooks together to do this and pay them 10 dollars an hour doing so while at the same time making it extremely ccompetitive in the restaurant business.

You see the funny part about restaurant eating is that you are with people who you wanted to bring. But not everyone likes italian. Or fish food... or bbq. They always tell you to enjoy the atmosphere... of other larger groups than yours eating together....

This world is #ing boring......

It seems like all your posts are basically the same, "growing up is no fun and costs money".

I am 42 right now , living life the way I want and enjoying it more than at any other point in my life. Of course I have made the sacrifices necessary to have a stable and financially viable+rewarding career so I can afford to live the way I do.

I would say you should stop complaining about the process of growing up and rather enjoy it because you only get to go through that process once.

Life is like a free game. Its fun for a little bit to play for free....but before long the only way to have fun is to invest in power ups that give you something to do other than walk around and scratch your butt.

a reply to: 3NL1GHT3N3D1

I dont know... have you tried prioritizing your time? Make an accounting of how much to do and what you do everyday and Im sure youll find something wasteful that can be managed out or shortened then use that time to get out of your stuck... maybe do some money accounting too downsize was a buzz word nearly 20 years ago living below ones means is what this thread is really about... it loosens the ol noose abit... then take that time and money youve accounted and reinvest in back into yourself and true passion and cut out the man by being your own boss and forging your own destiny. Its what Ive done... it takes time but its a hell of a lot cheaper than trying to go back to college and if you think thats what 2 to 8 more years ahead then imagine what that 2 plus spent reinvesting in yourself towards your passion can do.

This has been a long ass arm down in that pit you say your stuck in... whether you take it or not aka the advice ladder here is your choice. Find a need and fill it in something not offered around you in your area is always a pathway to success btw.

originally posted by: SteamyJeans
As a teen ager 20$ did seem like a lot... because with my parents covering my room/board/food/utilities/etc expenses that $20 could go to whatever i wanted it to.

15 years later, I have rent, Car payment, Insurance, Bills, Taxes...

I guess i'm just saying it's easy to have fun with no money or little money when you don't have that many priorities and most things are taken care of for you.

These days fun is relatively cheap for me but only after initial investments.. Now that my guitar and associated gear is payed off, I get to have fun for free all day.... Same could be said for people into videogames or whatever..

If you cant have fun without spending money, try producing instead of consuming.. Don't go to a concert, play an instrument...don't buy beer at a bar, learn to homebrew..don't play MLB '16 on PS4, go outside and play ball..etc..

What's "Fun", anyway?


a reply to: lavatrance

You have to look at the prices today. Food used to be cheaper. Bus fares use to cost less. People used to drive less cars. Neighbors use to always come out and play. Everything used to be cheaper.

a reply to: lavatrance

I'll be turning 48 tomorrow and I have plenty of fun with no money. I'll take the dogs for a walk, take a hike down the river. Watch some television, read a book, play a game, spend time with friends. I especially love it in the spring when I can go weekly to the river and see the different flowers coming in and out. (Sure it kills me later in that day with allergies...but it's fun anyways.)

I actually have plans to go wading in the river tomorrow...just trying to find a pair of old sneakers that I can destroy.

Ok I'm only 29 do remember those days.

Working as a trainee car mechanic at 16 making only £75 per week and no rent/food etc to pay just mobile phone bills, felt alot to me for a while.

Got drunk at the weekend with my friends, bought new clothes/watches/shoes/phones etc and cinema whenever something good came out,,,ok saved for most of it but felt like it went along way.

Now it's every bill under the sun and just enough to feel comfortable,,why oh why can't i go back in time even for a day lol.

I am a master of the freebee's. I can have a pile of fun on practically nothing.

Seriously, the old addage still holds true if you look for it,...

Some of the best things in life ARE (still) free!