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Scott Burns / Syndicated columnist
'Lite-living' readers share secrets

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I got a real surprise when I asked readers to participate in my "Living Lite" columns. "There are pioneers out there," I wrote. "They are people who live differently and think differently. They are people who march to a different drummer. They are people who live on less money but feel wealthy — if they think about such things at all. "You may be one of them. Or you may know one of them. Let me know."

Legions of you did just that, which gave me a new problem: How to present so much? This is a book, not a few columns. How do I tell you about:

• The couple who live on a barge in France?

• The disabled man who decided to turn living on less into an extreme sport?

• The couple who have done missionary work across the country, living in an RV?

• The couple who built a small compound in East Texas and enjoy acres of wooded land?

I will find a way to visit them and tell their stories. Please be patient. It will take time.

Today let me share the basics of how they manage their lives.

John praised RV living: "This life is an untapped resource for affordable, enjoyable living, allowing the RVer to use mobility and low cost of living to move from job to job — a perfect solution in a market where careers are disappearing but there is plenty of low-paying work. I was a high-tech project manager making $35 an hour. Now I clean swimming pools and bathrooms for $6 an hour, and I will never go back to that back-biting lifestyle."

George, who called himself "Mr. Simple," wrote: "I realized there were a few things I must do to escape this rat race. (1) Forget about the Joneses. (2) Educate myself on assets and liabilities. (3) Increase passive and portfolio income. And (4) it's less about what you make and more about what you spend."
 
Jerry wrote that he wasn't a pioneer. He was just someone "who is aware of how much we waste on things we don't need and probably don't enjoy very much. I think of commuters driving Hummers, living in $1 million homes and eating $500 meals as examples. We can live healthy, productive lives on very little if we slice away the fluff, work hard and get back to basics."

Howard sent a quote without a source: "To have more is to want less, and when you don't want anything, you have everything."

Betsy sent a three-step plan:

"Want less than you have.

"Spend less than you get.

"Share."

Questions about personal finance and investments may be sent to Scott Burns at The Dallas Morning News, P.O. Box 655237, Dallas, TX 75265; by fax at 214-977-8776; or by e-mail at scott@scottburns.com.

Questions of general interest may be answered in future columns.