Why aren't these ideas leaned on more heavily in this sub? It seems like the typical response to these ideas is that they're some how impractical or totally out of reach. Barter skills with other professionals and remove monetary transactions from your life whenever possible. Pool skills and resources into a collective network with your friends to help reduce overall costs. Learn skills that reduce your day to day expenses and you won't have to spend as much time exchanging your life for money. It's not easy and it doesnt happen overnight but it's way more fulfilling than slaving for a corporate overlord. Advocating for change to the system is an incredibly important part of the solution because it helps lift up people with disabilities and other circumstances that keep them from attaining even partial self sufficiency but it's not the whole solution. Steps must be taken to at least partially remove ourselves from the system that oppresses us.