Great post!

For me, getting "Light" has been a kind of long process that's still in the works. It's never been an issue of money really, because I don't have any, it's been more about being patient for really good deals, taking it one step at a time, and learning from others.

My "Big Three" are not at all expensive, but they are pretty light. It took me several years to get to that point, but not a lot of money. Lately, I've focused on food and clothing. Not buying new clothes, but selecting what's best from what I have for the trip I'm taking. I finally spent the time to make a "Cat Stove" and learn more about lighter weight food, and plan what I'd eat better. I've always carried way too much food. The last few times I only carried a bit too much. I still carried way more fuel than I used though.

So I'm down to shaving ounces here and there now. To do that I have to pay close attention to what I didn't use or need.

For me, getting lighter on the cheap, and learning make some of my own lightweight gear has been a lot of fun. But I've never NOT went because I didn't have what I needed. I've always took too much instead