Living within your means as a choice
When Commentator Joe Bevilacqua lost his six-figure job, he left the city lifestyle and went to live with his wife in the Catskills. Since then, they have made due with what they've had, and have lived richly.
Commentator Joe Bevilacqua (Joe Bevilacqua)
More on Sustainability, Commentaries
TEXT OF STORY
Bob Moon: Tough times are forcing many of us make changes in our lifestyle -- eating out less, shopping less, just generally cutting back. A few years back, commentator Joe Bevilacqua lost his job and made some drastic changes to his lifestyle. Now, he says, it's second nature.
Joe Bevilacqua: A good life is one that evolves slowly. Patience is the difficult part.
I grew up in New York and until seven years ago lived only in cities. Food came from the grocery store. Heat, water, electricity came from utility companies. I never thought about the true cost of such convenience. The word "sustainability" was something environmental nuts talked about.
Things changed when I met my wife. She was a vegetarian and I became one too, just to please her. But as we learned more about the health and environmental benefits, sustainability began to make sense to me.
When I lost my high-tech job and cashed out with six figures, we bought a small 60-year-old house in the Catskills. We started gardening, composting and doing about 50 other things.
The learning curve was high. A garden doesn't grow overnight. But within two years, we were dicing up a 2-foot long zucchinis from our garden. Large, south-facing windows greatly reduced our heating costs. We spent a lot less money and felt more connected to nature.
Over the years, we've lost other jobs, and the six figures have dwindled to a near zero bank balance. Today, we both work but can't go on vacation and have no health insurance, yet are surviving pretty well.
Our patience has paid off. We know how to live well with only what we need. Not as a panicked reaction to the current economic crisis, but as a personal choice. Some day, we may again have six figures in the bank, but as for our lifestyle, we wouldn't change a thing.
Joe Bevilacqua's 50 ways of living more sustainably
1. Drive a Honda Insight hybrid, which gets 60 to 70 mpg.
2. Live in a small, 1,100-square foot house.
3. Cook most meals fresh at home, no microwave.
4. Eat vegetarian at home and compost food scraps and uneaten leftovers.
5. Produce very little garbage and take it to the dump ourselves.
6. Rake our leaves into the compost.
7. Have a small but prolific organic garden that feeds us all summer.
8. Process and store the rest of the garden's bounty in a large freezer in our basement.
9. Grow nearly every kind of vegetable.
10. Grow many kinds of herbs in the garden and around our 3-acre property, and hang and dry the herbs inside our house.
11. Buy very little packaged or processed foods.
12. Buy dry foods such as beans and grains in bulk.
13. Hand grind coffee beans.
14. Designed the inside of the house for maximum exercise, including a hatch with weights and pulley to go to the basement, and pipes bolted to the ceiling for a chin-up bar.
15. Hike and run with our dogs in the woods.
16. Heat with a wood stove, which we can cook on, too.
17. Turn down the water heater.
18. Have a small, efficient refrigerator.
19. Air dry (hang our clothes) outside in the summer, inside in the winter, and have no dryer.
20. Hand wash dishes. Have no dishwasher.
21. Have no fully working stove, cook mostly in a small convection oven.
22. Have our dogs eat a vegan food mix.
23. Use recycled wood for cat litter.
24. Cook outdoors in a solar oven all summer.
25. Have fruit trees -- peaches, cherries.
26. Pick wild raspberries, blueberries, scallions on our property, and acres of woods behind.
27. Only mow a small part of our yard, let the rest go natural.
28. Have a lot of plants in the house, creates oxygen, natural air cleaner.
29. Ride bikes into town in the summer, about 4 miles one way.
30. Ride a stationary bike indoors in the winter.
31. Buy clothes at thrift stores.
32. Organize errands to save trips.
33. Use compact fluorescent bulbs and LED lights.
34. Turn off lights when we are not in a room.
35. Keep electronics (TV, etc.) on a power strip and turn it off when not in use.
36. Have a small TV that uses less power.
37. Use a bidet instead of toilet paper.
38. My wife uses reusable, washable cotton pads and a rubber cup instead of tampons.
39. I shave with an old-fashioned, double-edged safety razor. No better shave, very inexpensive, no plastic disposables, no four and five blade razors.
40. Make fresh soy milk and tofu, with a soy milk machine, from bulk soy beans.
41. Cook rice and other grains in a rice cooker, saves time, keeps food ready anytime.
42. Bake bread from scratch.
43. Only use orange oil, vinegar to clean the house.
44. Winterized the house.
45. High ceilings, ceiling fans, open floor plan.
46. Use passive solar techniques -- skylights with shades, large windows on southern exposure.
47. Added reflective film to south facing windows.
48. Sewed mylar to back of curtains on south side, which keeps cold out, heat in in the winter, and the opposite in the summer.
49. Be multi-talented; have many diverse skills--just like our garden, we do not "mono-crop" how we can make a living. If one job ends, it is easier to find work in another area. I currently make a living writing and editing books; writing articles for newspapers and magazines; writing, directing and acting in stage plays; drawing cartoons; illustrating books; writing technical manuals; writing, producing, directing and acting in radio dramas; reading/recording audio books; reporting for public radio magazines; teaching broadcasting and public speaking on the college level; doing publicity and PR for a variety of clients and more.
50. We shop locally and support local businesses over big corporations, which saves fuel and helps the community.
Comments
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From Nanpnoch, NY, 04/29/2009
Our local newspaper did an feature on us about this subject. Check out: http://www.joebev.com/jb-press-ulster-pub-GREEN-2009.htm
From Nanpnoch, NY, 04/29/2009
Check out this newspaper article about my lifestyle:
http://www.joebev.com/jb-press-ulster-pub-GREEN-2009.htm
From Napanoch, NY, 01/26/2009
This is Joe Bev. (again). A friend just asked about about the solar oven, and I thought I should add these details:
We bought the solar oven for $250: https://www.sunoven.com/
It really works. Gets up to 450 degrees. But it only works in direct sun, spring, summer, fall. And you have to keep pointing it towards the sun as you are cooking. I've never cooked meat in it but you can. I make rice, sauces, soups, roasted veggies, etc. The food tastes great, very full flavored.. sun roasted.
From Columbia, MO, 01/18/2009
I originally submitted this as a Facebook message to Joe Bevilacqua himself... am reposting it here.
"I loved your Marketplace piece on sustainable living. It seemed appropriate to tell you so on Facebook, seeing as I found out by seeing the link you posted on Bob Edwards' wall.
Anyway, great work! Keep spreading the word; Facebook is a powerful medium."
From Wesley Chapel, FL, 01/15/2009
Full disclosure first: I'm probably one of Joe's oldest friends, having known him since the 1st grade (many, MANY years!). Joe is positively insane. I've been to his house, and he and his fabulous wife live a lifestyle that I never could. But, that doesn't mean that absolutely everyone can't garner some incredible lessons from his wisdom. He's been to my home, and several others I've owned before this one, and I think he'd admit, I'm getting better. Joe's gone all the way and, from his commentary, you know he's still evolving. Because of his circumstances, he chose to completely change his lifestyle. While I haven't gone to his extremes, I, too am evolving. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that it is an evolution, not necessarily a revolution. One doesn't have to do everything Joe does, any more than one emulates 100% of what others whom we look up to do. I just know he's made me a better person by teaching these things (by example! he's no hypocrite!), and if people listen to him, the world could be a much better, safer, healthier place for all of us. Keep it up Joe, and NPR for airing his commentary.
From Bloomingburg, NY, 01/15/2009
What a helpful piece! Mr. Bevilacqua not only made me think about the way I am living, but also included a list on ways I can improve! Though I now do some of the things he suggests, (no dishwasher, wood stove for heating and cooking, big vegetable garden, buying local) I feel I really need to implement more of these actions into my lifestyle. Thank you for a very inspiring article Mr. Bevilacqua - now if we can all just come together and do this as a TEAM!
From New Brunswick, NJ, 01/14/2009
Great work Joe keep it up. Radio needs a man like this.
From Concord, NH, 01/14/2009
Thanks Joe! I appreciate the list of ideas on living sustainably. So many of these are within our means to do, yet I only live up to a few of them, like eating vegetarian, hand washing dishes and buying from thrift stores. One day I'll hopefully become a homeowner and then I can aim to accomplish more of these goals.
From NY, 01/14/2009
Bravo Joe. It's always good to hear from like minded individuals. Aside from the validation it allows, I always feel less crazy when others feel likewise. Thank you NPR, I also live in Napanoch and have NPR tuned to 3 different channels so I don't miss anything.
From brooklyn, NY, 01/14/2009
I listened to it several times and each time fixated on what was said in the first few seconds, " a good life is one that evolves slowly, patience is the difficult part". Really resonated, I even wrote it down. Thanks!
From Napanoch, NY, 01/14/2009
To Kathryn Davies<
Thanks for your comments. Actually a bidet uses very little water and live in the Catskills where water is clean and abundant. Our water comes down from the mountains and feeds our well and is not from a municipal source. You are correct that life is a series of trade-offs. At this time we have to burn wood to heat so we feel it is best to not use toilet paper which, in turn, saves many more trees. In addition, a bidet is much more healthy and hygienic way to clean up. Bidet's are the norm in most countries outside the US. FYI, we don't have a dishwasher. Wait... I'm the dishwasher. :-) That is to say, we are trying to do as many things as we can by our own manpower instead of using electricity. You'd be surprised how much more exercise your body gets just doing simple tasks.
From Napanoch, NY, 01/14/2009
Hi Chris M,
Thanks for your comments.
You are correct that heating with wood has a very large carbon footprint and is not sustainable on a large scale. Someday, we hope to move to alternative energy such as wind (we have a right land and climate for it). However, wood is better than most ways to heat a home. Our place is very small and open plan so it takes very little to heat it. Our skylights and large south facing windows also cut down on wood burning. Wood is more sustainable ona small scale though, since the wood comes from local tree farmers and threes are a renewable resource versus oil or coal, which pollute just as much or more. Finally, a microwave may be one of the most energy efficient ways to heat food/water, it is also very unhealthy (look up "free radicals") and until we can switch to wind or solar, it uses electricity which still comes from a utility company that is burning coal, perhaps the dirtiest of all energy sources.
There are trade-offs. We are trying to balance between our wish to be more sustainably. and what we can currently afford. When I conclude the commentary with, "We wouldn't change a thing," I should have added "except to improve and get better at our lifestyle over time."
From Asheville, NC, 01/14/2009
Great story Joe! Several years ago we made a move across country to a region we loved with very little money, basically what we had from the sale of our house in midtown Kansas City. It's not always easy, but it is rewarding. With the economy the way it is now, I don't know what we would do without the food from the gardens, the money it generated this summer, or the rows of home canned produce and bins full of storable crops in our root cellar (you and the missus should really think about building one!).
Sustainable living can be done anywhere and at anytime. In the city, we grew tomatoes and peppers along the sunny south facing side of our house. Lettuces and greens were planted among the flowers. Oh, and I do miss public transportation...
The loss of jobs and steady income over the last couple of months have had my husband and I reevaluating our work/professional lives. I love the comparison of professional life to mono-cropping.
Our lives have been more sustainable for several years. Perhaps these times will also encourage others to do the same. Living sustainably is best done in baby steps. Walk, bike, use public transportation. Plant a tomato or two, throw some lettuce seeds in between the pansies. I have to disagree with Tina on a few points. Choosing to live within one's means isn't elitist. I wish I had at some point in my life made a six figure salary. I didn't and I doubt I ever will. I'm a teacher and an artist, and now a farmer as well. Choosing to live within one's means is a responsibility. I think we'd be a lot better off as a nation, if more people had faced up to that before the current economic crisis.
From Raleigh, NC, 01/14/2009
Very inspiring - I can appreciate the joys of a simple, natural lifestyle. For others who may read this, let me point out that heating with wood has a very large carbon footprint and is not sustainable on a large scale. Also, the microwave is one of the most energy efficient ways to heat food/water.
From Manteo, NC, 01/14/2009
This all sounds very admirable and congratulations on your vegetable garden.
But bidet instead of toilet paper? Seriously? That sounds like a ridiculous waste of water.
It's always difficult for an individual to calculate the trade-off between different ways of doing things: for instance, using an energy efficient dishwasher can be less water and carbon-intensive than washing up under a hot tap heated by your furnace.
Respect for making do with less; but if it's about sustainability then it's about sustainability, not just going misty-eyed and atavistic. (that said, you could do worse than installing a composting toilet)
From New Paltz, NY, 01/14/2009
Considering the post 9/11 surge of people moving from the city and all the enormous "McMansions" that were recently built in the Catskills to accommodate many of them, (not to mention the energy required to dwell in one) what I find refreshing about the perspective in this commentary is the encouragement to use what is already available. Low impact is the key and the DIY ethic is the means. Thanks for listing alternatives to the disposable culture too!
From Lenexa, KS, 01/14/2009
I found Joe Bevilaqua's commentary to be inspiring. To live your life and be more in touch with the earth and its bounty, is what more of us should and can do. It shows how two people can follow their beliefs and through all of their struggles,many caused by todays economy,sustain a happy and fulfilled life. I for one would like to hear more from Joe about his life and see what he does and what the future holds for him and the rest of us.
From Danville, OH, 01/13/2009
Great piece in this new climate of "YES WE CAN". If only more of Joe's generation could find the joy in the simple life. I live among the Amish and they continually model a slower and more joyful way of life. Harder, sure, but surely more rewarding. Moving to Ohio from the Tri-State area of high pressure living, there is something to be said for getting stuck behind an Amish buggy and having to slow down and actually "see" the road. The Greek Philosopher was right, "You make your living in the city, but you save your soul in the country." We retired to rural Ohio to save money and our sanity and have never regretted it. Keep on composting, Bev-man! PD
From San Jose, CA, 01/13/2009
I worked with Joe at the 6 figure job he had that he lost. (Hi, Joe!) I love to see him so much happier and feeling more fulfilled. That rocks. I have seen people happy or miserable in the city. I have seen people happy or miserable in the country. I think it's all about finding what makes each of us happy and living that, no matter what. Yay!
From Louisville, KY, 01/13/2009
I love the optimism of this piece, even though life for Joe and his wife has been a mix of gains and losses. The lesson for me is that this is an opportunity to reconsider my lifestyle. There's a lot of room for frugality and maybe more room for enjoying what I have.
From New York, NY, 01/13/2009
Joe -
Nice piece this morning... I have numerous friends who have done something similar - usually without the financial safety net that you and so many other urban refugees take with them... And the beautiful thing is that they are all happy, healthy, and far more connected to their surroundings than most urban dwellers... You find the same wort of werenity and conectedness in urban community gardeners - there must be something about toching actual plants and dirt that does wonders for one's mental health :-)
dave n
nyc
01/13/2009
I was inspired by Joe Bev's commentary this a.m. because it was hopeful without being too pie-in-the-sky. I gotta admire a guy (and gal) who make such a big lifestyle change and seem to be happy they did.
From Glen Rock, NJ, 01/13/2009
Joe Bev hit it right on the head. Great ideas and story of how we all can pull back from consumption to living a full and real life. I look forward to hearing more from Joe Bev and other Americans who are making do with what they have been given. "This land was made for you and me."
From d, OH, 01/13/2009
Loved the commentary esp. about growing one's own food. For 40 years my husband and I grew our own vegetables and some fruit trees, marketed organic elephant garlic for the local market, etc. At age 72 we decided we had had enough of the "farm" and its isolation. When I get my next home, I will certainly be putting in a garden.
elizabeth shipley
From San Antonio, TX, 01/13/2009
My hubby woke me up at 8 this morning to tell me that one of my facebook friends was on NPR and that he and his wife sounded just like us. My hubby is a green architect who specializes in sustainability. I'm a homeloving, bicycling, nature lover.
From Salem, WI, 01/13/2009
I really enjoyed the story this morning featuring Joe Bevilacqua. One of the most important points that Joe made, which certainly impacts ALL of us, is that conserving is something that we should all be doing. And, to counter Ms. Stanton's comment (posted today), I in no way found Joe's "story" to be one from of some sort of elitist who decided to rough it out in the country. I would posit this to Ms. Stanton, there are many people who believe that those of us who listen to NPR are elitist who sit around all day listening to Terry Gross, Ira Flatow, Steve Inskeep, and maybe a science story from Richard Harris. That's certainly not who I am. (Althought my four Border Collies love listening to "Calling All Pets" hosted by Patricia McConnell) Well, let me say, in closing, I commend Joe for taking his life and situation not only in stride, but is being proactive and "pro green." As I listened to Joe's story, I was actually able to smell the fresh baked bread...thinking about spreading some creamery butter and some orange marmalade on a slice...while listening to "Morning Edition."
As a professor and screenwriter/radio dramatist, I rely on down-to-earth stories like the one I heard today from Joe Bevilacqua. Oh yeah...having heard Joe a number of times on NPR as well as the show he used to have on XM Radio, "The Comedy-O-Rama Hour," I know, from things I've read about Joe, that he's the real thing. Thanks NPR for giving us a chance to hear his story on today's "Marketplace Morning report."
From Detroit, MI, 01/13/2009
I loved this piece because it show the situation so many families are faced with and it puts a positive spin on what can be done.
01/13/2009
Hi Joe, enjoyed your commentary. Several years ago, we also decided to do with less. We got rid of cable. It's just unAmerican to pay for TV. With the digital converter and my mom's old tv, we get four PBS stations and a plethora of Korean, Japanese, and Chinese soup operas. What could be better. Also, we have a '72 Bug and an '89 Toyota Wagon. BART's the best, though. The only disagreement: I won't forego eating out. The Bay Area's a food mecca. Thank you for reminding all of us that there is always more we can do to do less.
From Napanoch, NY, 01/13/2009
One other point regarding Tina's comment:
"The fact is, cities are the most efficient places for people to live, and the fact also is that most people must live in cities or crowded towns whether they want to or not. Joe Belivaqua gets to choose to live within his means; Most of us don't get that choice-- we're stuck with it. And as a world we are stuck with it and getting more and more stuck as we fight it."
You are not stuck with it, Tina. You have to work towards it as a goal. No matter where you live or what your income, you can change your lifestyle to be more sustainable. But, as I say in the piece, it takes patience. Read the 50 Ways to Live Sustainably listed on this page below the commentary. It was added later. I would bet most of those things you could do right now. And yes, if you are in a city, organize a rooftop or community garden. That is what my wife and I would have done if we had not moved to country for a job.
From Napanoch, NY, 01/13/2009
To Tina Stanton,
I am Joe Bevilacqua, the person who did the commentary. You misunderstand. We did not spent the "six-figures buying land and time to establish a new lifestyle". We moved to the country by choice when I took a new job in the Catskills. We still had much of the money and very little was used for the change in lifestyle, except to buy a house of course. The money dwindled only after my wife and I lost several jobs one after another, at the same time and did not find more work for a long time. We were forced to use the money to live until we found new work.
Yes, we were luckier than most in that regard but the money had less to do with it than you suggest. The real point of the story is that we would have paired down our lifestyle, and developed mopre sustainable habits reagrdless and were already working towards that long before the stock money landed in my lap.
But the fact is we live so much more sustainably than most people, the loss of money had much less impact on us. We are surviving on very little. Sorry if this wasn't clear. I would have explained all this in the piece except I only had one minute and forty-five seconds to tell the story.
As for health insurance, we'd love to have it but like many right now, it is not possible. We are lucky we are healthy generally but much of our health has to do with living the way we do. I mentioned that in the piece to show that life is not perfect for us but we are still better off than most.
Also, while it is true that city living can be the most efficient way to live, as you suggest, very few people do the things you are suggesting. What you state only proves you can do what we did even in a city. It is about how you live, not where. The one difference is we are much more connected to nature than a city dweller and see the direct effect our lives have on it in a way you can never get from city living.
Finally, one nit-picky point: Marketplace is not an NPR show. It is produced by American Public Media.
From Rutledge, PA, 01/13/2009
Here is yet another NPR story of someone discovering simplicity and running off to the country to live it. I am a true believer in the benefits of simple living both for individuals and for the world, but spending a "six-figure" savings buying land and time to establish a new lifestyle is NOT simple. Separate households dwelling on separate pieces of land does not represent sustainability. Likewise, living without health insurance is neither simple nor sustainable when it comes to a population. If you are not now one of the people who cannot do without health treatments and medicines you may be one at any time and most likely will be in the long run.
The fact is, cities are the most efficient places for people to live, and the fact also is that most people must live in cities or crowded towns whether they want to or not. Joe Belivaqua gets to choose to live within his means; Most of us don't get that choice-- we're stuck with it. And as a world we are stuck with it and getting more and more stuck as we fight it.
I would be much more interested in a story of an ordinary person with ordinary financial resources living simplicity and sustainability in their present home: gardening on their balcony, rooftop or tiny urban yard and/or creating community gardens in whatever space might be around; sewing and installing quilted window shades and laundry lines; using their wash water to flush toilets and scrub floors; working with their landlord and neighbors to fund and install insulation, green roofs, solar panels, and reflective surfaces; reducing, reusing, recycling and doing all this while also working eight hour days for money so they can pay their rent or mortgage and get some kind of health coverage. Now that would be real and interesting and helpful.
NPR, tell us about people who are doing that we might do ourselves to mend and tend and fix the lives we've got. Then might we all have the chance and the choice to live good lives.
01/13/2009
Good story, made my day! I am glad some people are taking the economic downturn into there own hands.
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