@Lifestyle: My Reasons Becoming A Partial-Freegan

 

Reject mindless consumerism

I chanced upon freeganism when reviewing my investments. I just left my stressful job (details in another post). I dreamed to retire from work by age 45 but had no concrete plans then.

I felt freeganism is a path to fulfil my early retirement dream. The idea behind freeganism is to get what you need for free and use your money only on necessities. I joined the "Freegan in Singapore" Facebook group, where Colin Lau's articles on freeganism impress me. I started dumpster diving and managed to rescue mostly merchandise and occasionally food. I spend money on bills, insurance premiums and food.

Below are my reasons for becoming a partial-freegan:

• Sick of work. Mainly due to office politics, backstabbing, lack of job satisfaction and Information Technology (IT) industry are always fire-fighting. Felt physically and mentally tired. Low pay jobs have their stress and problems. Want to quit working for money forever. 

• No idea why I earn money. I am a thrifty person until I found something I like. Otherwise, I don't spend much money and I prefer simple living. I don't agree working for money til retirement as you never know when you die. So earning less or not working suits me better. 

• Want to be physically and mentally healthier. I was diagnosed with stress-induced migraines. I suspect I have mild depression and anxiety too, as I have some of the associated symptoms. I tried to exercise regularly but my busy work schedule keeps me away. I also took up meditation but has limited benefit to my depression and anxiety. I decided to change myself before change changed me for the worse. 

• Want to reduce stress. In my work, I am hit with the stress of different magnitude. Last minute changes, urgent requests, demanding customers, unrealistic expectations, etc. These caused me to have stress-induced migraines. Since all this stress comes from work, stop working is the most viable solution. Stop working kills work stress. 

• Calm my monkey mind. I naturally overthink. My mind is always busy with some thoughts or tasks to get me to work on. I  have worrying thoughts but I couldn't get over them. I did try meditation but doesn't work much for me, resulting in wanting to retire to slow down and declutter my mind. 

• Cheapo by nature. Who doesn't like cheap or free stuff? I don't have a strong spending desire or upgrade mentality, unlike normal Singaporeans, except for IT gadgets, feng shui stuff, and Thai amulets (no longer a collector). I have financial sense due to my family not being well off, so I make sure I get the best deals. Dumpster diving achieved this purpose. 

I chose to be a partial-freegan due to my desire to retire by age 45. With the benefits of dumpster diving, I only half succeed in retiring before 45. Another is changing my spending habits dramatically to suit my new lifestyle, making it sustainable to live without working.