Everywhere we turn, we are told to consume. New gadgets, new clothes and new cars are coming out constantly.
Do you really need to buy all that new stuff to be happy?
Having the latest gadgets can be cool, but they are largely unnecessary.
Realizing that I can consume radically small amount and be happy has tremendously increased my freedom, because I no longer have to earn a lot of money to support my spending habits.
I was never a big spender, and I’ve always enjoyed saving. Lately I’ve taken it to an extreme. My girlfriend and I don’t eat out, eat meat, buy gadgets or even clothes regularly.
We love it.
I value my freedom more than buying stuff, which is why I enjoy living this lifestyle. I don’t have to have a huge income. I can live anywhere and I can take a vacation when I want because of my minimalistic lifestyle.
I may very well change my lifestyle in the future, but this is how I am living now. Just the realization that I do not have to do what everyone else does is exhilarating.
Programming Awareness
In order to consume less, I’ve had to develop my awareness and become more aware of my thoughts.
Whenever I feel the urge to buy something, like a new laptop, I stop, breathe and observe. Why do I want one? Do I need one? Would it really make me happy?
Stopping and asking myself these simple questions almost always helps me realize that I don’t need this stuff and I wouldn’t be happy with a new laptop for more than a few weeks.
Sure, a new laptop would be nice, but it would quickly become commonplace and my happiness level would default to where it was before my purchase.
There’s a reason why studies show that lottery winners are back to their pre-lottery happiness within a year.
This is because happiness doesn’t come from things. It comes from inside. We feel our thinking, and our thinking fluctuates regardless of if we have zero or a million in the bank.
This does not mean you shouldn’t consume. I love consuming, but only when it doesn’t get in the way of me living my life the way I want to live it.
Getting out of this constant need to consume to make yourself happy will boost your freedom. It will increase your probability of breaking free from the 9-to-5 because the income you need will drop significantly.
Mental Burdens of Ownership
Not only does consuming less leave you with more income, it also relieves many mental burdens that come with ownership.
I strategically chose an apartment that is close to a store, a buss stop and a train station. This eliminates the need for a car or any kind of vehicle.
Owning a car is nice, but I’m not willing to spend money on one when I don’t need it. It would be nice for my ego, but it isn’t worth it.
Next time you’re thinking about buying something new, stop and ask yourself if you need it. The message I’m trying to get across in is that if you reduce the income you need, you decrease the amount of time it will take to be able to make a living doing what you love.
Update on Ownership
This article was originally written in 2010 when I was living in Spain with my girlfriend.
We are now back in Scandinavia, and we have two kids. We have a house, and we have a small car. Owning a car and a house now makes sense, because it makes life easier.
We are still very frugal in the other areas of our life.
Ability to Work Less
Since I spend less, I have to earn less, which means I have more choice in the work I do.
This allows me free time to explore other interests I have, spend time with my family, and other opportunities life offers.
It also allows me to build my business with more freedom and relaxation.
All the best,
Henri
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When you consume information or spend money on products, you’re adding clutter to your life. I recently “de-cluttered” my life by selling some of my expensive gadgets and giving away clothes, old textbooks, old TV’s and adapting a minimalist setup in my house.
Since I set this up I’ve noticed my productivity skyrocket. Now I need to focus on keeping my life this way.
Thanks for the Article Henri, this should help me stay on track and keep me from continuing my pointless consumption.
Hey Henri,
I think there’s definitely a trend I’ve been seeing, which is the less things you focus on – the more you are able to focus on them and enjoy them.
One of the things I have been looking at is similarly getting rid of my car. Not just for financial reasons or minimalism, etc – but because I see it as a lifestyle shift. For now I am sticking with it because I have many friends spread out, and do use it regularly to visit them – so it’s a part of my life, but I agree with your general point: buy stuff and use stuff that represents the lifestyle you have (or preferably, the lifestyle you want!)
It would be AWESOME to live without a car. It’s something I’ve only dreamt of doing for a while now. I actually did it for about a year living in Germany, and it was such a relief not having to worry about all the garbage that comes along with maintaining a car.
Too bad public transport is as bad as it is in the states, particularly in the northeast. But I’m with you, I want to make living without my car a long term goal of mine. Kudos for making it a priority for yourself!
HAHA. Try doing that in LA :). I’d love it if we could have no cars here, but that’s going to be impossible.
Another way to think of consuming less is the “Assets vs. Liabilities” discussion. In the “Rich Dad Poor Dad” books, the author, Robert Kiyosaki explains as this:
Assets feed you, Liabilities eat you. If you stop working; does the investment feed you (make you money) or eat you (cost you money). Most people think of their “things” such as houses and cars etc. as assets; but they aren’t. If you stop working, you still have to come up with a house payment, car payment, etc.
Most of us have a ton of stuff we’ve accumulated over time – collecting dust. These aren’t assets, and maybe not even liabilities; but by getting rid of some of the stuff – we open ourselves up to more: more time, more energy, and more freedom.
Great post, Henri! Keep up the good work!
David
That’s a great way of looking at it. I tend to have no problem accumulating assets, but I think hard before I buy a liability and so far I’ve stayed far away from cars, houses and so on.
Henri, I love this topic! We got rid of cable tv many years ago, stayed in our tiny house while everyone else was buying larger, and we only spend money on necessities and travel. (Oh, and bottles of the GOOD wine).
There is much less stress and need to bust your butt when your expenses are low. Living in the O.C. in Southern California, we are an anomaly. But, I like being different.
One great way to consume less: When you live in a small home, there’s no room for extra stuff. If I buy a new blanket for the bed, I have to get rid of the old one. There’s no room for storage. Makes me think twice before buying stuff…
(I would love to live without a car, but there’s no good public transport here in California. You have to have a car….)
Being different is awesome. It fills my heart with a nice warm energy 😉 Oh well, sometimes you need a car, but then you can always minimize the cost of the car you have. Buy an old one and so on.
My favorite word is ‘simplify.’ That’s interesting, since I’m a stylist and a coach. Sometimes my work, at least that relating to image consulting, means shopping. But ultimately, it’s to get rid of the proverbial white noise in someone’s closet, allowing them to dress comfortably and efficiently.
I spent a lot of time with elderly relatives, now sadly passed to the ‘other side’, but who in their day thought through a purchase 10 times in their minds, asking the same questions you have done: ‘do we REALLY need this?’ They were war survivors and found ways to mend and make-do.
They thrived on simple things, like love and friendship and meaningful conversations. They were connected with nature. They read books. They listened to music and cooked real meals. In my coaching work, I often find people who feel stuck. They have all this rubble of life to carry – intense jobs, commuting, stress.
Purchasing gives them a little high, a burst of new-ness and something fresh. But then – as you say – it fizzles out, and they wait for the next fix. Maybe it’s shoes. Or gadgets. Whatever it is, there’s something in it for all of us to challenge what we value and how we scratch that itch. Nice think piece – thanks!
I agree with most of your post. A lot people probably wouldn’t be on anti-anxiety medicines today if they didn’t become slaves to their jobs. In other words, if people didn’t concentrate on buying every gadget and having every luxury, then they wouldn’t probably have so much financial worry and have to stay in a deadend job. But on the other hand, I think it’s necessary to use money for some enjoyment. For example, if you wish to expose yourself and your kids to certain tourist destinations, then you have to spend money. However, I agree your chances of not being tied to a job you don’t like are slimmer if you do not spend money on unnecessary material things. Having a simple life to some extent allows you and your love ones to be happier and not on edge.
Timely article.
My husband and I are in the process of a room by room purge of stuff from our home. We have only just started – trying to do just 30 minutes a day in one area (stop us from feeling overwhelmed) at a time. It is amazing that our home although small, has managed to help us accumulate clutter in the 3 years we have lived here.
Similar to unwanted thoughts and habits, clutter can creep up on you if you’re not paying attention. Happens to me all the time!
I feel you 🙂
This is such a great post Henri.
My husband and I live a very low consuming lifestyle and we are working much less as a result and focussing on what we do want to do (mainly gardening for him and blogging for me). It is such an empowering feeling to feel like you don’t need much in the way of material things. It surprises me how much people spend or waste when they could work less if they focussed.
One great tip for people is to think about how many hours work you will need to do to buy something. I.e. if a dress is $50 how many hours work is that for you? Then decide. It focusses the mind. You may still buy the dress, but this exercise brings awareness to the choices you make.
Henri,
It looks like you’ve identified the Golden Handcuffs. So many people are bound to their cubicles with these self-imposed cuffs, looking forward to a weeks vacation or (ugh) retirement. Minimialism isn’t for everyone, but being aware of the trade-off for the things you think you need is important. I’ll quote Tyler Durden (Fight Club):
“Advertisements have us chasing cars and clothes. Working jobs we hate to buy s**t we don’t need.”
Great post! 🙂
Henri,
You truly hit the core of the issue. Many people are slaves to their jobs because of their possessions and lifestyle. People want more and therefore, they need jobs that enable them to have the means to buy more.
The funny part is that the possessions end up owning people as opposed to people owning their possessions.
Like you, my husband and I do not own much. We have a simple life and as a result, we are able to have a lives that we love. We are able to move with ease and travel when we want. We simply take our “jobs” (actually, what we do is so much fun, it is not work) wherever we go.
So it all depends on how much someone needs and in reality, people do not need as much as they think.
Hope all is awesome, my friend!
Henri,
I love this post. It’s funny because when I was in business school I had all these grand plans for a fancy apartment and nice stuff and major upgrade in my quality of life. What’s funny is I eat out less, I buy less stuff, and I have more money saved and I never seem to be stressed about money. The reality is since I spend all my time surfing, all I needed was an apartment 10 mins away from the ocean and at most I spend money on new wet suits and gear, which only happens once a year. It’s funny because I even get into a “I need to buy something” mode when I don’t need anything. Lately I find that decreased consumption has not only increased my freedom, but also made me a much happier person because I’m not counting on something external for my happiness.
I’ve noticed the urge to buy something as well. To quench it, I usually buy an ice cream or a can of tuna. That usually takes care of it 😀
It’s funny how we think we need all this money when in reality we just want to surf all day and to do that you just need an apartment 10 minutes away from the beach and your gear.
I know it sounds strange, but I buy stuff to relieve the tension of wanting it. I don’t spend an extravagant amount of cash, but I’ve learned quite a bit by studying my nature and I’ve realized that if I want something and don’t buy it…I’ll be distracted until I buy something.
So in the end, I just buy it and go back to work. Strange, but it works.
If it works, don’t change it. Learning what works for you is something I resonate with a lot. We’re all different, so something that works for me, may not work for you.
Here’s my problem… If I want something I just buy it. I don’t like depriving myself from the things I want. I figure, that’s why I work. I work to buy the stuff I like. So I’ll keep working, keep buying and end up broke. lol 😉
I agree with your sentiments in this post. Circumstances have given me the opportunity to change my lifestyle, from consumerist, to minimalist.
At first, I resisted. But, the more I sold or gave away, the calmer I became. I am living car-free in an east coast locale that is spread out. I am discovering walking again. I have had positive experiences with all forms of alternative transportation, including hitch-hiking.
Now a trip to the city is a day long adventure, and i love it.
Great article. Thanks.
I don’t spend much at all but lately, I have been trying to earn more so that i can give to the causes i believe in. Every time I see someone in the areas I believe I was called to give to, I feel so ad and ask God to give me divine ideas i can use to earn so much more just so that i can give.
Let me quote Jesus Christ: “A man’s life does NOT consist of the abundance of the things he owns”
Most of us in the East still value savings. That is why the household saving rate is so high. Only the governments worry about that, since economy cannot improves if everyone refuses to spend.
Henri:
As usual, what a great post. And amazing comments from remarkable people too.
I was an incorrigible accumulator for several years, until I finally saw the folly of my ways. You seem to have a wisdom beyond your years. By contrast, I am a late-bloomer, and not the brightest light shining in the empty closet space.
I used to buy and hoard, buy and hoard, buy and hoard. Every part of my home was lined with stuff. Once, I opened a closet and several whiskey bottles attacked me. The funny thing is, I don’t drink hard liquor at all. And then other stuff mowed me down, like a guilt trip gone bad or like Charlie’s Angels with a bad hair day.
Then, it finally hit me like a bolt from the blue; “You dolt, why are you buying stuff you ain’t never gonna use anyway? Why do you keep on storing stuff, man, are you brain dead? Is your mind slow?” Stuff never made me happy or sad: I did, myself.
I am happy to report I have donated most of my stuff to charity. And I am gonna get rid of even more stuff too. I am well on my way. And I am gonna say bye-bye to my car and driver too. No, thank you, I prefer to walk in the outdoors. No need for transport. Walking is good for health. Three cheers for the minimalist lifestyle!
By the way: many things in this life are free: like a cool breeze caressing your face; fresh air and sunshine in the morning; listening to the birds chirping and the rooster’s shrill voice in the wee hours of the morning; and spending an hour with a dear friend on a bench in the park; a pleasant conversation with a mentor, etc.
Some of the wisest people in the world have lived this minimalist lifestyle. Ask Henry David Throeau. “Walden” changed my life. Look at the Dalia Lama’s lifestyle. He won the Nobel Prize and still lives like an ascetic. Look at Mahatma Gandhi’s life.
There are so many examples. Inspiring lives are part of our history books.
I think your sense of maturity shines through, it is badly needed, and your perspective is like a breath of fresh air in the smog and fog of this insane world.
(These people need to subscribe to your blog and read it regularly: Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, Tiger Woods, Andre Agassi, Hugh Grant and Lindsay Lohan. People who have issues really, really need to read your posts! It would be a miracle.)
Cheers to you, Henri, and keep up the good work. May the force be with you.
Totally agree!
I started to live on 10 rmb(less than 2 US Dollars I guess) per day life since Feb and it can really work.
It frees me from the worry of what if I would like to resign and just live for a year or two without doing anything.