I just bought 3 extra credits on audible for $36 dollars and it worked. That alone with two months of audible is over $50. I also bought beard oil and wireless ear pods. I’m pretty sure I’m over $100 now…
I’m scared… I kinda want to take it back
In todays edition of Late Capitalism it’s time for a guessing game. How much is this persons monthly rent (in £ or $ equivalent, spoiler in the article if you can’t wait)
For Rioch Fitzpatrick, a 39-year-old dubbing mixer for television, home is a tiny studio flat smaller than a standard Premier Inn hotel bedroom. At just 19 sq metres (204 sq ft), his north London “microflat” has a shower and lavatory separated from the main room by a partition, without even a separate wash basin.
“I have to sleep with earplugs because the boiler is right above my bed and the fridge is also making noises all night. And my sink is my kitchen sink – that’s where I wash up and shave and do my teeth.”
And the answer
£900 ~ $1200 a month in rent, not mortgage, rent.
Just keep using it for stuff you would buy anyways.
Man if I was younger and single, I’d love to live in a tiny place like this. Sort of an enforced simplicity. You don’t really need a shelf of books or an entertainment center any more. You don’t need a desk and an office. There have to be lots of solutions for stacking storage and laying things out efficiently in tiny spaces. Of course it should be more reasonably priced, depending on location and building amenities. My 25-year old self might pay $5-600/mo for this place.
Of course, if you need to keep lots of musical instruments (is that a keyboard next to the bed? lol), a mountain bike that can’t be stored outside, and a full gymnasium in your living space, 20m2 might not be for you.
Edit:
He is always on the lookout for a bigger place and would also like to get on the housing ladder, but has been put off by high property prices.
I had to look this up as it’s not an idiom we use in the States. I thought it might be something official, like “the dole”. 
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I think the problem is that is has to cheap for this to work. If its really cheap, you give yourself an opportunity to save up some money and you can live with a plan to someday move on to something bigger and better, with a spouse, etc etc etc. If your are living hand to mouth in a place like that you will be forever hopeless and weighed down by thoughts of “will it be like this forever”. People need attainable goals to work toward or they’ll be miserable. Only a very small number of people will live alone in a 200 sq ft apartment and feel like they’ve made it.
Yeah I’m probably going to take it off audible and not use it anymore and make sure I stay ahead. They will likely miss it if it goes dead.
I also just realized when I return a book I get a credit back. Audible seems like a much better deal now. I thought you could only get 1 book a month and your credit was gone LOL.
Edit: Seems like its limited and once they realize you’re doing it a lot just to get new books they will probably cancel it. Plus you have to maintain premium membership. So not as good as a I originally thought but still decent. Makes sense, otherwise you could just sign up for your 1 credit and have infinite books.
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I agree, but I think it’s part of the problem. Things would be better if more people could learn to be perfectly satisfied inhabiting a smaller physical footprint. Obviously if living in a small place causes hopelessness and thoughts of “will it be like this forever” that’s bad and people should have as much space as they think they need and can afford.
But constraining your physical space promotes a lifestyle that’s less geared toward the accumulation of possessions and consumer goods and that’s a good thing.
I’ll admit 200 sq ft would be pushing it, but part of the package should be living in a thriving urban environment where you can walk to bars, restaurants, shops, parks, etc. so you always have options and don’t feel trapped inside.
But of course there’s a million factors going in to what makes people happy and fulfilled. I lived in a small 1br apartment for many years well into my 30s (probably 550 sq ft?). I loved it but eventually climbed the “housing ladder” and bought a real house for various reasons. Now I live in a house filled with love and happiness but also 20 years worth of accumulated stupid bullshit. So it goes…
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Crouch End has been massively overpriced for a long time (some tosserish locals even used to pronounce it “Croosh En” to sound French lol), but even so that’s a ridiculous price for 200 sq. ft.
The single biggest factor is if you have kids or not.
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Yes, you’re totally right. My view is that people cannot be well if they don’t think they are working toward a prosperous future for themselves and their loved ones. But it is certainly the case that prosperity is a subjective thing AND orthodoxies about prosperity should be challenged. In fact, given the current state of the world and the millions of miserable people that are “prosperous” in a traditional sense, we’re actually decades behind schedule redefining prosperity to align with reality.
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Yeah, it’s this. If you’re young and without kids, and you have enough disposable income that you can spend most of your waking hours in shared spaces with other people, sleeping in a place like that isn’t bad. And yes, spending your money like that instead of accumulating stuff isn’t bad, either. OTOH, locking down in a place like that like in early covid would be misery.
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that room needs a bike hook real bad.
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Just a heads up to check your local library. There’s an app called Overdrive for e books that works with local libraries that is free.
Also apps for streaming audiobooks (Libby) and movies (Kanopy).
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So much wasted space in that apartment.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/article/hong-kong-living-trapped-lam-photos
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Counterpoint - we need to stop babying kids, if they can’t pull their own weight by age 8 then fuck em. Also old people are a burden on society and they should fill their pockets with rocks and walk into the ocean at age 65.
I once considered starting a grassroots organization called “Eighty is Enough” which would advocate and encourage people to make a commitment to ending their lives at age 80 if they make it that long.
Such an organization wouldn’t be completely serious, but would encourage people to think about end of life issues and consider what they hope to get out of their post-working life. What impact do you hope to have on the environment, on your loved ones, and on your community in general? What would it mean to be in full control of your own demise?
Plus knowing there’s an exact hard date past which you won’t be around would make financial planning much less complicated. 
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I live in 400 sq ft and I could do smaller.
I’ve been wandering since early April and I could freely get rid of 90% of the stuff I have at home and be happy.
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So I have a coworker about to go out on maternity leave. She has been amazing and helped me with a ton of stuff. I had zero experience in shipping and she basically walked me through transportation stuff even though she’s in a different department and not tied to me in any way, just super nice
Would getting her a gift be appropriate? If so any ideas?
Can’t go wrong with a children’s book.
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